Now this is what the 2008 Houston Astros offense should be doing. Every Astros starter except for catcher Brad Ausmus recorded at least one hit tonight, with shortstop Miguel Tejada doing the most damage with his 4-5, 3 RBI's and 3 runs scored including a double and a home run. Tejada raised his average on the season to .342 with his best offensive performance of the year. Lance Berkman added a home run of his own to help the Astros beat the Padres 10-3 in the 1st game of this 2 game mini series.
Padres starter Justin Germano entered today's game with a top 5 ERA of 1.35; he left the game with a middle of the pack 5.01 ERA.
Roy Oswalt is starting to return to his old ways after losing his 1st 3 starts of the season. Roy has been good in his last 2 starts by giving up just 4 runs over 14 innings. Roy's ERA is still at 6.00, but that is much better than the 9.00 he was sporting 2 starts ago. I'm not going to say that he's 100% back to normal, but his breaking ball is coming around and he's hitting his spots most of the time with his fast ball. Roy struck out 6 batters tonight and only walked 2. On the down side, 2 of Roy's earned runs against tonight were home runs; but fortunately, both solo shots.
Other Notables
- Bullpen : Byrdak, Villarreal combined for 2 scoreless innings
- Pence : 2 for 4 with an RBI - avg up to .229
- Bourn : 1-3 with 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored
- Matsui - 2-5 with 2 runs scored