2006 - Luke Scott hits for the cycle but it is not enough as the Astros fall to Arizona, 8-7, in 11 innings. Scott, a call-up earlier in the month from AAA, performs the feat backwards, smacking his first major league homer in the fourth, a triple in the fifth, a double in seventh and a single in the 11th just before the final out was made . Scott drives in five of the runs. Andy Pettitte makes his first relief appearance since 1998 and takes the loss.
2005 - Brad Ausmus doubles home Orlando Palmeiro in the bottom of the ninth to nip the Mets, 3-2. Rookie Ezequiel Astacio battles Pedro Martinez to a draw, helped by a solo homer from Adam Everett and an RBI squeeze bunt by Ausmus. The win puts Houston into a tie with Washington for the wild card slot after starting the season with a 15-30 mark. All the excitement overshadows the return of 2004 postseason hero Carlos Beltran who then rebuffed the Astros and signed with New York. Beltran is booed relentlessly by the sellout crowd as he struggles through an oh-for-four night.
2001 - A grand slam by Brian Giles off Billy Wagner caps a seven-run ninth as the Astros waste a three-homer performance by Vinny Castilla in a 9-8 loss to Pittsburgh at PNC Park. They make sure not to blow a similar lead in the nightcap of the twinbill, scoring four times in the ninth to seal a 12-3 victory.
1985 - Craig Reynolds bangs out four hits as Houston bombs the Mets, 12-4. Mark Bailey and Jose Cruz contribute three hits each in the 19-hit effort. The New Yorkers are gracious hosts, giving the Astros four errors to work with. They ought to be since the Astros giftwrapped 16 unearned runs in a doubleheader fiasco the day before.
1979 - Ken Forsch twirls a three-hitter as the Astros top the Dodgers, 5-2, but the talk is about a brawl that clears the benches. Cesar Cedeno spikes Steve Yeager during a play at the plate. Yeager later tosses a ball out to Cedeno at first who fires it back into the L.A. bench. Ken Brett then hits Enos Cabell with a pitch and away they go. Tommy Lasorda beat the rush, getting tossed three innings earlier.
Date Opp Result
7/01 SEA L 13-2
7/02 SEA* L 5-2
7/03 @ANA L 5-2
7/04 @ANA L 7-6
7/05 @ANA L 11-5
7/06 @ANA* L 6-1
7/07 @TEX W 12-7
7/08 @TEX W 8-3
7/09 @TEX W 8-4
7/10 off --
7/11 BOS L 8-3
7/12 BOS* W 3-2
7/13 BOS* L 11-0
7/14 off --
7/15 ASG AL 5-3
7/16 off --
7/17 off --
7/18 @CSX L 3-2
7/19 @CSX L 4-3
7/20 @CSX* W 11-7
7/21 off --
7/22 @OAK W 3-2
7/23 @OAK L 9-7
7/24 @OAK* L 13-1
7/25 MIA L 2-0
7/26 MIA L 7-3
7/27 MIA* L 4-2
7/28 OAK W 7-3
7/29 OAK ----
7/30 OAK* ----
7/31 TOR ----
* - day game.
April record: 9-19
May record: 15-14
June record: 12-15
July record: 7-15
AstrosDaily.com is tested on Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. It is designed to look best at either 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768 resolution.
First of all, let's tip a cap to the Miami Marlins who, with a payroll lower than any team not named the Houston Astros, have managed to hover near the .500 mark all season and are keeping themselves in the discussion for a wild card berth. That success includes a three-game sweep of Houston this weekend capped off with a 4-2 decision on Sunday.
The Houston offense managed just five runs in the three-game series and have upped their losing skid to five with the league-leading A's coming to town for three.
Back at the beginning of the month, I noted how horrific the Astros have played in July the past three years. 2014 appears to be no different. Other than a three-game sweep of the lowlier (by one game) Rangers, Houston has posted just three wins against 15 defeats this month.
Collin McHugh struggled in the first inning, allowing three runs on a single, triple, sacrifice fly and a solo homer by Garrett Jones. That turned out to be the ballgame right there.
Jose Altuve belted a solo homer in the bottom of the first and Jon Singleton homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth to account for Houston's runs. Altuve had another three-hit game, pushing his batting average back up to .344. Why teams still pitch to him is one of baseball's great mysteries.
Marcell Ozuna homered off McHugh to account for Miami's other tally.
Perhaps in two years, the Astros can be that economically-efficient contender the Marlins have become this year. Until then, they can continue to look like the worst team in the majors and pile up the draft picks.
Another team with an efficient payroll, the Oakland Athletics, are next up for the Astros. Brett Oberholtzer (2-7) will try to snap the skid Monday night when he faces Jesse Chavez (8-6) with the first pitch at 7:10 Central. Oberholtzer, you may recall, pitched well in Oakland in a game that Houston won in extra innings.
