Another day, another come from behind win. This must be a nice feeling for the Astros. Behind 2-0 in the 6th and going nowhere against Astros' nemesis Ted Lilly, the Astros scored three runs to take the lead, and their relievers made it stand up for the win.
You may have seen Chris Johnson in that cheeky turqoise superhero outfit during rookie hazing week. But Chris turned out to be a real superhero today. With 2 runners on base, CJ got down 1-2 in the count, but battled back to a 3-2 count and held serve with foul balls on a couple of pitches. Then that mammoth home run to LF came off his bat. Johnson didn't even have to watch the ball to know where it was going; it was that obvious coming off the bat. The term "light tower" power had real meaning in this case, with the ball hitting the light stand near the Citgo sign. Johnson committed a costly error in the 1st inning which turned into one of the two LA runs. In his radio interview, Johnson said he wanted to make up for putting his team "in a hole by throwing the ball away." And, boy, did he make up for it.
After that, the Astros relievers had to overcome lead off walks in the 7th and 8th, but it worked. Chacin got himself in a jam in the 7th, but finally notched two outs before Melancon came on to get a critical grounder between 1st and 2d. Brandon Lyon was perfect in the 9th, and he is quietly proving himself to be one of the more effective closers in the league.
Let's not forget Bud Norris. Norris' only real mistake was allowing the HR by Ethier in the first inning. As I watched the game, Norris didn't look all that sharp. But, after his six inning stint was completed, the scoreboard tells you that Bud had a good game. Norris struggled with his control at times. However, the sign of a maturing pitcher is pitching well even if the sharpness isn't there.
Somehow the Astros were not waylayed by ghosts of Pod-people past (even though Podsenik still proved pesky in this game). And somehow the Astros hung a loss on Ted Lilly who came in with a career 3.02 ERA and 4-1 record in Minute Maid Park.
I'll end with the post of the game thread by "going for the corner:" Hell of a defensive replacement there.
He was talking about Jason Bourgeois, who took over LF as a late inning replacment, and made a great running catch on a hard hit liner for the last out. As OremLK noted, Michael Bourn probably is the only other outfielder on the team with the speed to get to that ball.
J.A. Happ is next up as the Astros' starting pitcher for tomorrow's game.