Who are these guys?
I’m finally back in a relatively civilized place and catching up on all the news from the past few days (I’m actually typing this while at the airport waiting to leave for Houston). This is a strange Astros team I’m finding on my return. If you asked me before I left if Wesley Wright was likely to throw a seven inning gem on Sunday, I would have laughed. After that performance against the Cubs, I was completely disheartened by his short-term potential as a starter. And yet, he struck out six while giving up four hits, two runs and one walk, holding the Brewers in check for most of the game.
Wright continued a sterling run by Astros starters in this series. Yes, the Brewers aren’t the best team (sorry, ol Pete), but J.A. Happ, Wandy Rodriguez and Wright really gave the Astros an excellent chance to win these games. Add in a newly-extended Brett Myers and Bud Norris and this rotation is going to be very intriguing for the rest of the year.
That’s still not referencing the biggest moment in the game, Jason Michaels’ seventh inning, pinch-hit grand slam. Michaels had a very good weekend against Milwaukee, rewarding Brad Mills for sticking with him. Sunday, with one blow, Michaels turned a 2-0 disheartening loss into a 4-2 victory. It’s also an interesting deployment for Michaels. Instead of letting rookie Brett Wallace bat in the situation, the General put in a veteran and J-Mike hit a 2-0 fastball from Zack Braddock into left field. Wallace has struggled some since being called up, but he had gone 1 for 2 before being pulled. There will be some growing pains with the kid, but I like that Mills isn’t tied to seeing him hit all the time and can pull him in critical situations.
I’m going to get back to reading through 1,000-plus articles in my Google Reader. Until tomorrow, though, I’m feeling pretty good about this win.