It was a day of positives for the Astros, as they had everything working en route to a 8-0 shutout victory over the Mets. After losing 12-1 in his last start against Mike Pelfrey, Wandy Rodriguez turned in a solid effort: 4 innings, O R, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K. He looked healthy and had his curveball working for him. A nice sign to see after he was delayed a day after injuring a finger. After Wandy exited, a quintet of Astro relievers (Hawkins, Valverde, Brocail, Byrdak and Arias) topped off a fine performance by our pitchers.
At the dish, the offense clicked as Pelfrey wore out. Six of our eight runs were scored in the fifth inning, when thte Mets' starter was beginning to fade. Pudge homered with one out in the inning, and after a Berkman strikeout the Astros went on to score five more runs, highlighted by a Geoff Blum bases clearing double. Michael Bourn was a brightspot- he collected an RBI single after the Blum hit, and came around to score after New York RF Bobby Kielty let Bourn's single get under his glove and roll all the way to the wall.
Defensively, there were not many opportunities to make outstanding plays, but there were no major gaffes either. Carlos Lee even made a play lumbering over to the foul line in left. Four double plays, including one to end the game, was evidence of a 14:7 GB:FB ratio for our starting pitchers.
Looking ahead: Tomorrow the Astros will take on the Cardinals in Jupiter, FL at 12 PM CDT. Fox Sports Houston will broadcast the game on TV, and as always, a Game Thread will be up on TCB.
