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| Roy Oswalt |
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A: Roy Oz, Roy Oz, Roy Oz.
Q: Name three reasons why the Astros mustered only three hits vs. the Pirates, but still won.
I'm still not sure who should win the NL Cy Young. Maybe it should be Brandon Webb. But I'd like to officially nominate Roy for National League Pitcher of the Month for September:
| Pitcher | W - L | ERA | WHIP |
| Roy Oswalt | 5 - 0 | 1.85 | 1.01 |
| Bronson Arroyo | 4 - 1 | 2.23 | 0.90 |
| Anibal Sanchez | 5 - 1 | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Brandon Webb | 2 - 2 | 2.23 | 0.64 |
| Rich Hill | 3 - 1 | 1.93 | 0.88 |
| Chris Carpenter (not!) | 3 - 2 | 3.57 | 1.15 |
Oswalt's season may not be over. If we play that tiebreaker game next Tuesday, Roy will almost certainly be the starter, and those stats would count, but by getting his ERA under 3.00 this afternoon, Roy for the second time in his career was able to at least temporarily join a very elite club in team pitching history.
| Year | Pitcher | IP | ERA | W |
| 2006 | Roy Oswalt | 227 1/3 | 2.98 | 15 |
| 1977 | J.R. Richard | 267 0/3 | 2.97 | 18 |
| 2005 | Roy Oswalt | 241 2/3 | 2.94 | 20 |
| 1989 | Jim Deshaies | 225 2/3 | 2.91 | 15 |
| 1999 | Mike Hampton | 239 0/3 | 2.90 | 22 |
| 1973 | Dave Roberts | 249 1/3 | 2.85 | 17 |
| 1976 | J.R. Richard | 291 0/3 | 2.75 | 20 |
| 1979 | J.R. Richard | 292 1/3 | 2.71 | 18 |
| 1972 | Don Wilson | 228 1/3 | 2.68 | 15 |
| 1997 | Darryl Kile | 255 2/3 | 2.57 | 19 |
| 1982 | Joe Niekro | 270 0/3 | 2.47 | 17 |
| 1971 | Don Wilson | 268 0/3 | 2.45 | 16 |
| 2005 | Andy Pettitte | 222 1/3 | 2.39 | 17 |
| 1969 | Larry Dierker | 305 1/3 | 2.33 | 20 |
| 1986 | Mike Scott | 275 1/3 | 2.22 | 18 |
Over the space of about 25 hours now, the Astros have
1) Found a way to win despite committing three more errors than their foes
2) found a way to win despite being held to three hits
3) played and won a 5-hour game
4) waited three and half hours to play and win a 2-1/2 hour game.
They have now won five games in three cities in five days.
I write this as the Cards and Brewers are in the early stages of their game. As it stands right now, the Astros are 81 - 78, and the Cards are 81 - 76. People talk about our quest to catch St. Louis, but as I write, in a very real sense, we HAVE caught them, in the win column. Now I'd like very much to see them catch us . . . in the column with the L at the top.