Necks_Fan
07-27-2008, 08:01 AM
Astros squander lead, fall to Brewers
Bullpen struggles as two-run margin dissipates in late innings
By Dave Fultz / MLB.com
MILWAUKEE -- A big night for Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun spoiled a good performance by Brandon Backe and the Astros offense. Backe left the game in line for the win, but the Houston bullpen blew a two-run lead en route to a 6-4 loss at Miller Park on Saturday night.
Braun drove in the Brewers' first four runs as he had two sacrifice flies off Backe followed by a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning off Astros reliever Geoff Geary.
"I was looking for a fastball, and he left an offspeed pitch over the middle of the plate," Braun said. "I took advantage and hit it hard. I didn't know whether I hit it good enough to get over the fence or not. Fortunately, I just got enough."
Astros manager Cecil Cooper thought that Geary made a good pitch, but Braun made an even better swing on the ball.
"[Geary] threw a nice pitch to him, a 3-2 breaking ball," Cooper said. "I didn't think it was a hanger; I thought it was a pretty good pitch. But [Braun] just put a pretty good swing on it."
Houston setup man Doug Brocail (4-5) was tagged with the loss as he allowed two straight hits to lead off the eighth inning. Corey Hart doubled, and Bill Hall hit a game-winning single to right-center field.
"Seemed like we had [the bullpen] in the right situation," Cooper said. "We want to get Geary through the seventh and then Brocail in the eighth, and then go to [Jose Valverde] in the ninth.
"We had it set up. ... I don't know maybe it's inactivity or something [for Brocail]. He didn't seem as sharp as he normally is. Maybe it's because he sat for three days, so we'll have to look at that."
Milwaukee added one more run for insurance, but they wouldn't need it as their closer, Salomon Torres, pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 20th save of the season.
The Astros had opportunities to score, racking up 14 hits, but were never able to break the game open, once they had the lead. The Brewers' bullpen shut Houston down, throwing four scoreless innings to close out the game.
"I wish we would have chipped in another run or two," Cooper said. "We had the chance, but a double-play ball wiped us out [in the sixth inning]. We had some chances."
The Brewers struck first -- and second -- with two identical efforts in the first and third innings off Backe. In both innings, Ray Durham doubled, Craig Counsell moved him over to third, and Braun plated a run for the Brewers with a sacrifice fly.
Carlos Lee tied the game in the Astros' half of the fourth inning when he yanked a two-run homer over the left-field wall. Two batters later, Hunter Pence gave Houston the lead with a solo shot to the upper deck in left.
The Astros tacked on one more with a Lance Berkman RBI single in the fifth inning to make the score 4-2. The hit was Berkman's second of the game and the 1,400th of his career.
Tejada made his first start of the season in the No. 2 spot of the lineup and made the most of his night. The Astros shortstop snapped an 0-for-16 streak in a big way, going 4-for-4 on the night and scoring the Astros' first run.
"We had some chances to really break it open," Cooper said. "I was very happy that [Tejada] swung the bat well tonight; so did Lance and Hunter. That's a good sign, but it seems like we take one step forward and two steps back.
"We've got to step forward, a big step forward."
Both starters were overshadowed by the late-inning drama. Neither made it through the sixth inning, but they didn't pitch poorly, either.
Backe gave the Astros 5 1/3 innings of solid work, allowing two runs on four hits, and left the game with the lead. The Brewers' Dave Bush was in line for the loss -- he allowed four runs on nine hits -- before the Milwaukee offense took him off the hook.
"I thought Backe threw the ball well tonight," Cooper said. "He got us into the sixth. That's what we ask him to do, get us through the sixth with a chance to win the game. I thought he made some real nice pitches and battled."
Astros center fielder Michael Bourn left the game in the sixth inning with a sprained right ankle and is currently listed as day-to-day. Bourn said that the injury wasn't as bad as a previous one, and that it felt like he "jammed" the ankle.
"We'll see how I feel when I come in tomorrow," Bourn said. "Once the soreness goes away, I think I'll be fine."
Link (http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080726&content_id=3202796&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou)
Bullpen struggles as two-run margin dissipates in late innings
By Dave Fultz / MLB.com
MILWAUKEE -- A big night for Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun spoiled a good performance by Brandon Backe and the Astros offense. Backe left the game in line for the win, but the Houston bullpen blew a two-run lead en route to a 6-4 loss at Miller Park on Saturday night.
Braun drove in the Brewers' first four runs as he had two sacrifice flies off Backe followed by a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning off Astros reliever Geoff Geary.
"I was looking for a fastball, and he left an offspeed pitch over the middle of the plate," Braun said. "I took advantage and hit it hard. I didn't know whether I hit it good enough to get over the fence or not. Fortunately, I just got enough."
Astros manager Cecil Cooper thought that Geary made a good pitch, but Braun made an even better swing on the ball.
"[Geary] threw a nice pitch to him, a 3-2 breaking ball," Cooper said. "I didn't think it was a hanger; I thought it was a pretty good pitch. But [Braun] just put a pretty good swing on it."
Houston setup man Doug Brocail (4-5) was tagged with the loss as he allowed two straight hits to lead off the eighth inning. Corey Hart doubled, and Bill Hall hit a game-winning single to right-center field.
"Seemed like we had [the bullpen] in the right situation," Cooper said. "We want to get Geary through the seventh and then Brocail in the eighth, and then go to [Jose Valverde] in the ninth.
"We had it set up. ... I don't know maybe it's inactivity or something [for Brocail]. He didn't seem as sharp as he normally is. Maybe it's because he sat for three days, so we'll have to look at that."
Milwaukee added one more run for insurance, but they wouldn't need it as their closer, Salomon Torres, pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 20th save of the season.
The Astros had opportunities to score, racking up 14 hits, but were never able to break the game open, once they had the lead. The Brewers' bullpen shut Houston down, throwing four scoreless innings to close out the game.
"I wish we would have chipped in another run or two," Cooper said. "We had the chance, but a double-play ball wiped us out [in the sixth inning]. We had some chances."
The Brewers struck first -- and second -- with two identical efforts in the first and third innings off Backe. In both innings, Ray Durham doubled, Craig Counsell moved him over to third, and Braun plated a run for the Brewers with a sacrifice fly.
Carlos Lee tied the game in the Astros' half of the fourth inning when he yanked a two-run homer over the left-field wall. Two batters later, Hunter Pence gave Houston the lead with a solo shot to the upper deck in left.
The Astros tacked on one more with a Lance Berkman RBI single in the fifth inning to make the score 4-2. The hit was Berkman's second of the game and the 1,400th of his career.
Tejada made his first start of the season in the No. 2 spot of the lineup and made the most of his night. The Astros shortstop snapped an 0-for-16 streak in a big way, going 4-for-4 on the night and scoring the Astros' first run.
"We had some chances to really break it open," Cooper said. "I was very happy that [Tejada] swung the bat well tonight; so did Lance and Hunter. That's a good sign, but it seems like we take one step forward and two steps back.
"We've got to step forward, a big step forward."
Both starters were overshadowed by the late-inning drama. Neither made it through the sixth inning, but they didn't pitch poorly, either.
Backe gave the Astros 5 1/3 innings of solid work, allowing two runs on four hits, and left the game with the lead. The Brewers' Dave Bush was in line for the loss -- he allowed four runs on nine hits -- before the Milwaukee offense took him off the hook.
"I thought Backe threw the ball well tonight," Cooper said. "He got us into the sixth. That's what we ask him to do, get us through the sixth with a chance to win the game. I thought he made some real nice pitches and battled."
Astros center fielder Michael Bourn left the game in the sixth inning with a sprained right ankle and is currently listed as day-to-day. Bourn said that the injury wasn't as bad as a previous one, and that it felt like he "jammed" the ankle.
"We'll see how I feel when I come in tomorrow," Bourn said. "Once the soreness goes away, I think I'll be fine."
Link (http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080726&content_id=3202796&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou)