Listening to the Astros game last night, I heard Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies talking about how Woody Williams has been serving as a mentor to Wandy Rodriguez.
That explains a lot. High ERAs. Awful records on the road. Maybe it’s just me, but shouldn’t the Astros have someone like Roy Oswalt serving as Wandy’s mentor?
Wandy Rodriguez pitched for the Astros in Los Angeles last night. So, since the game was on the road, he lost. The Astros lost. The final score was 6-2, with the Dodgers’ Derek Lowe gaining his first victory since June 22nd. The score was 6-0 going into the ninth, when the bats woke up for a bit and scored some runs. The game ended with Jason Lane, of course, striking out with men on first and third.
Former Astros second baseman Jeff Kent slugged three doubles for the Dodgers last night.
The Astros had a chance to gain ground on the Brewers yesterday. The Astros didn’t, though the third place Cards did gain ground, primarily because it was the Cards that beat the Brewers.
The Astros are in San Diego for a three-game series this weekend. Woody Williams gets the start tonight, and he goes up against Jake Peavy, one of the best pitchers in the majors.
Following the series with the Padres, the Astros are supposed to return home for a ten-game home stand against the Nationals, the Pirates and the Cardinals. However, with Dean possibly moving into the Gulf next week, there’s a chance that some games may end up being postponed. – John Royal
This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2007.
