That's right, we're going back to just last year to check in on another Astros win. Since Tim gave me grief about being depressing, I've tried to conjure up as many wins as I can. Here, we've got another one in the Astros Magical Second-Half Turnaround Tour, with a 6-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.
You think we have it bad this season? Remember when Brian Moehler was regularly starting games? Yeah, that was last year. He lasted 5 2/3 innings in this one, before a bevy of relievers, including Gustavo Chacin, Brandon Lyon, Wilton Lopez, Chris Sampson and Matt Lindstrom closed the door on San Diego.
Oh, and leading the hitters were two of the Astros most unwanted players, Jeff Keppinger and Jason Michaels. Kepp was 2 for 5 with three RBIs and a sacrifice while Michaels was 2 for 5 with a solo home run. Michael Bourn also got a triple and Chris Johnson hit a double, going 2 for 4 and raising his batting average to .345.
As few roster moves as it seems Houston made over the past season, the team in question here looks markedly different from the one who played last night. Only Bourn, Kepp, Pence and Johnson remained in the lineup, while guys like Berkman, Blum, Chacin, Sampson, Lindstrom and Osvaldo Navarro aren't even on the team and Lyon, Humberto Quintero, Jason Castro and Jason Bourgeois are all on the disabled list. That means just six of the 17 active players from this game were active last night. Oh, what a difference a year makes.
Here's the graphic replay from the game, a link to TCB's game thread and the recap.