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Michigan State wasn’t the only team to underwhelm last night; the Astros also did a great impersonation of a team that wasn’t ready for prime time losing to the Cubs 4-2 in a game that was almost shorter than the pre-game ceremony.
You only need one stat to tell you the whole game: after two pitches, the Astros had lost. Roy Oswalt launched the second pitch of the season to Alfonso Soriano and Alfonso launched it to left-center.
To give Oswalt his due, he only gave up three runs, two of them solo homers, and looked pretty good. However, any true NL Central fan knew that the Astros were done by the third inning. Why? Carlos Zambrano. He was brilliant and practically unhittable. Carlos was pitching so good last night that if you didn’t score on him early, you might as well call the game. The run that Houston got off of him was more of a lucky break than any kind of skill.
The only good thing for the Astros last night is that Zambrano ran out of steam early and the Cubs had to go through four more pitchers to finish. Unfortunately, Houston couldn’t capitalize on the relief pitching with only scoring one run in the 9th and a sacrifice at that.
Good News
Michael Bourn had a good game. He got a two-out RBI in the 7th inning and finished the night batting .500. Migeul Tejada also looked good at the plate with three hits and a .750 average. Both players also looked good defensively. Roy Oswalt didn’t have a bad night, but at times he seemed to be more concerned with the umpire getting the call right rather than getting the batter out. He gave the Astros 7 solid innings which probably has to do with the WBC. Roy is in good form right now and I hope his next start equals a win.
With Roy pitching 7 innings, the Astros only had to use one pitcher in relief, so the bullpen is pretty rested unlike the Cubs relievers.
Bad News
While Kaz Matsui did respectable at the plate (1-for-3), he made a baserunning error in the first inning that could have been avoided. It probably wouldn’t have led to anything, but it sure would be nice for the Astros to avoid snafus in the opening game.
On Tap
Wandy Rodriguez will be facing Ryan Dempster at 7:05 pm CT. Last year, Wandy had his first winning season with 9-7 and a 3.54 ERA. In the spring, Wandy went 1-for-3 with a 3.60 ERA. Each year of his career, he has been a little better and this could turn out to be a huge year for him.
However, Ryan Dempster was on fire last year posting a 17-6 record with a 2.96 ERA. He remade himself and became one of the better pitchers in the NL Central. He also had a good spring going 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA.
Stats point to another win for Cubs pitching, but Wandy is pitching at home and he is almost untouchable in front of the Houston fans, so this one is hard to call. It might end up being a great pitcher’s duel with the decisive run coming late in the game.
