Yesterday, we are all pretty deflated around here. The sting of Jose Valverde's blown save knocked the wind out of our sails and all we had left to discuss was managerial mishaps and scrutinize personnel decisions. Tonight, however, Roy Oswalt toed the mound and nine innings later there are just a lot of positives to sort through.
- Roy Oswalt pitched a complete game two hitter and needed only 109 pitches to do it (74 strikes). His full line was: 2H, 1ER, 8K, 2BB, 8 K/9, 4 K:BB, 7.34 K/100 (strike outs per 100 pitches). Dominance and efficiency.
- Roy didn't just pitch amazingly, he was also one of three Astros to have a multi-hit game. Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee being the other two.
- Ivan Rodriguez hit a monster home run that tied the game in the fifth.
- Roy Oswalt had a combined WPA of .524 (.502 pitching). Yes, Roy contributed to over half the win. As was dicussed in the game thread, that's what happens when you have a two hit two hitter.
- The game was only two hours and eleven minute. A godsend from Roy for all of us back in the Central time zone.
There are a few negatives to point out, however:
- Pudge's home run was the only extra base hit of the game.
- No Astro drew a free pass.
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