Wandy Rodriguez continued with his Jekyll and Hyde season last night, pitching eight innings while getting a career high of nine strikeouts.
The Astros won the game 2-1 last night when Eric Munson singled Ty Wigginton with two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. This was the 12th time this season the Astros have won a game on the final at bat.
The Astros, at 49-63, are settling into a strange role, the role of the spoiler. Last night’s win against the Cubs knocked the Cubs from a first-place tie with the Milwaukee Brewers. After the ‘Stros finish up this series with the Cubs, the Brewers will come into town. So the Astros can begin to play a big role in deciding which team wins the NL Central. And 17 of the Astros final 50 games are against the Cubs and Brewers, so the ‘Stros can play a big damn role.
But just remember this, the Astros ain’t going to be playing for one of the playoff spots. It’s just not going to happen.
Woody Williams and his 5-5 record and 5.37 ERA takes the mound for the Astros tonight. But the really fun game should be Wednesday night when Roy Oswalt goes up against Carlos Zambrano. – John Royal
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2007.
