Houston Astros

Jeff Fulchino picked up his first career win and Humberto Quintero went 3-for-4 as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 in a battle of NL Central cellar dwellers.

The Astros (25-30) won their third series in a row and seventh of their last 10. Houston is a half game behind Pittsburgh for fifth in the division. The Astros went 5-2 on their home stand this week.

With the bases loaded in the sixth inning and Carlos Lee facing Bucs reliever Edwin Meek with two outs, Meek tossed Lee a curveball.

It was, according to the venerable Astros' play-by-play announcer Bill Brown, supposed to be a curveball outside. But this one floated up and in the zone. Lee belted a grand slam to help starter Mike Hampton as the Astros went on to win, 9-1.

Hunter Pence reminds me of one of my favorite Jerry Reed songs: When You're Hot, You're Hot.

In last night's 6-4 win over the Colorado Rockies, the Houston Astros' Pence went 4-5 with a double, home run, and three RBI. He's currently hitting .346. Pence should receive All-Star consideration, but alas, since it's a popularity contest (i.e., fan-voted), as of May 26th he wasn't even in the top 15 outfielders. (Manny Ramirez, who's serving a 50-game suspension for a drug violation, was in fourth place).

Good news and bad news about the Houston Astros' latest game against the Colorado Rockies.

First, the bad news: Astros starter Mike Hampton pitched six innings, giving up seven hits and five earned runs.

Good news: The Astros had an offensive explosion, getting 24 hits (including two in three at bats by Hampton, who also drew a walk) as they defeated the Rockies, 15-11.

Yes, a football score: Houston had two touchdowns, an extra point, and a two-point conversion while the Rockies had a field goal, touchdown, and two-point conversion.

Someone forgot to tell the Houston Astros that Coors Field is supposed to be a HITTERS' ballpark.

It's 11-1, the Colorado Rockies leading Houston going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Colorado has hit four home runs, including one by Astros killer Todd Helton (who I've always felt has some slightly-padded offensive numbers due to playing home games at Coors Canaveral).

Kaz Matsui is 0-4 in the leadoff tonight, while Lance Berkman, back in the lineup, is 1-4 and is hitting .187.

The first month of the MLB season was rough on Houston Astros hitters with only two players (Miguel Tejada and Geoff Blum) finishing with an above-.300 batting average. Tejada hit .315 while Blum was close behind at .313. Both are regular players, so thankfully, the numbers don’t seem inflated.

You're probably thinking, "Roy Oswalt, I get, but PINK?!"

No, I'm not talking about the sometimes-blond, sometimes-pink-haired pop star, but rather the pink bats for Mother's Day.

Roy O got his first win of the season while the Astros' offense exploded, as Houston completed a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres 12-5.

Twelve runs! Maybe Houston should use the pink bats full-time. Maybe they should change their team colors from black, brick-reddish-orange, and sand to pink.

First, let me preface my comments by saying that as someone who spent many years attending a Baptist church (like Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane), I'm sure he's a nice guy. Heck, he teaches Sunday School. Any nicer, he'd probably be driving an ice cream truck and giving kids Popsicles and Rocky Road ice cream cones for free.

But I digress. While McLane is a wonderful guy, I question his skills as an owner.

Here's why.

The Los Angeles Dodgers flew down to Houston riding high after sweeping their opening homestand against the Giants and Rockies, and having won a total of eight straight games. The Astros help bring them back to Earth taking the first two games of the series before the pitching of Chad Billingsley (pictured above) prevented a sweep in the final game.

Manny Ramirez continued his torrid batting, going 5-for-12 with five RBI. It wasn't enough however, as the Dodgers struggled to deliver in the clutch, a measly combined 3-for-29 with runners in scoring position.

Face of the Franchise:  Craig Biggio

Craig Biggio

Manager: Larry Dierker

C - Brad Ausmus
1B - Jeff Bagwell
2B - Craig Biggio
3B - Doug Rader
SS - Craig Reynolds
OF - Jose Cruz
OF - Cesar Cedeno
OF - Lance Berkman
DH - Bob Watson
Bench:  2B Bill Doran, 3B Ken Caminiti, OF Terry Puhl, OF Jimmy Wynn