All good news in Astros' first sweep: Lance Berkman is NOT hurt

Update: Lance, says manager Brad Mills, is fine. He thought that he may have hyperextended his knee after coming out of the batter's box, but upon further review realized he was actually fine. Phew. Ok, then. This was a perfect series after all.

I don't want to jump to conclusions or make news where there really is none, but Lance Berkman limped out of the box after an eighth inning at bat. It was his left leg that looked hobbled and not the right knee on which he had surgery, so from that standpoint this may not be anything after all. Still, on a gorgeous afternoon that saw the Astros complete a series sweep and 5-1 homestand, the Berkman injury was a blemish on an otherwise perfect afternoon. Neither Alyson Footer or Brian McTaggart tweeted anything about the injury so maybe it's nothing. Hopefully, it's nothing.

The rest of the afternoon was all good for our Astros. Brett Myers scattered eleven hits while walking just one in six innings of work. He was able to allow just two runs because all of those hits were singles. He had some good luck and managed to strike out six batters as well. It was another 6+ inning start for Brett, so while he has been very hittable, he is keeping his ERA under control while saving the bullpen. Brad Mills was in a situation where he needed to have his relievers get in some work today. What a nice thing to say after 18 games of a season.

On the other hand the Pirates limp out of town after suffering another sweep this week. Starter Charlie Morton pitched only three innings, forcing his bullpen to pitch another five. Walks killed the Buccos today- eight Houston walks is like 24 walks to a normal team. Extra base hits were plentiful as well for the Astros as half of our 10 hits went for extra bases. Lance Berkman joined Pedro Feliz in joining the HR party this weekend, and Carlos Lee smoked a ball in the fourth for a two run triple to centerfield. Both Lee and Hunter Pence had two hits today. It is the Pirates they're playing against, but this can't be anything but a positive sign for those two.

Lest I forget, Michael Bourn gets himself an entire paragraph to himself in this recap. The man walked three times, collected a hit, scored twice and stole three bases. Tremendous, says I. His most impressive play though, came in the top of the first when he doubled Aki Iwamura off first place after making a shoe string catch on a Andrew McCutcheon flly ball to center field. Bully on you, Michael Bourn.

There we have it. A sweep so sweet. Four games remain in the month of April, three with Cincinnati and the opener on a road series against Atlanta. A 3-1 or 4-0 finish means the month is finished off at or above .500. Don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but what a difference a week makes.