No question why Zach Greinke has been the talk of Major League Baseball this season. He is a real good pitcher and he showed it against the Astros on Tuesday. The 6'2 righthander was touched for a few hits...including three in a row in the first inning for a run, but nothing more than a single and hardly anything after that first inning.
Greinke has a fast ball that can reach 96, but which more often than not is in the 92-93 range. He has a good slider and an off speed curve that even Roy Oswalt would love to have..and Roy usually has a pretty good one.
It was too bad Russ Ortiz had to hang that one slider that Billy Butler might have hit all the way to Conroe had the roof been open. As it was he banged it off the back glass wall above the train tracks. It hit the glass at 408 feet. Had the roof been open it would have easily been the longest ball hit at MMP this season.
Even so, that gave the Royals only a 2-1 lead with a lot of game to play. But the Astros could mount no threats. In a couple of instances they handicapped themselves by either hitting into doubleplays or failing to get bunts down...or bunting and giving up an out. Against pitchers as good as Greinke it is always problematical whether outs should be given up to move up runners since getting ANY hits is tough enough and giving up outs makes it tougher.
In the 9th inning when a bunt might have been well advised after the Astros got the first two runners on base in a one run game, they did not. Cecil Cooper elected to see if one of the next three hitters could get a base hit that would have been good enough to get the runner from second base home. They could not. Pudge Rodriguez struck out. Kazuo Matsui struck out. And pinch hitter Jason Michaels hit a weak grounder back to relief pitcher Joakim Soria who easily made the play and got his 8th save to protect Grienke's ninth win.
The loss could have been expected. The Astros have been very weak the day after an off day. They kept that mark intact. Roy Oswalt goes on Wednesday against another young gun, Luke Hochevar. It will probably take as good a game as Ortiz gave the Astros on Tuesday for the Astros to have a chance to win the second game and even the series.
LONGHORNS VS LSU
In the College World Series it has gotten down to winner takes all on Wednesday in Omaha. The Texas Longhorns evened the best of three at one game each after a 5-1 win on Tuesday in which the Longhorn pitching showed its full effect. Even though LSU won the opener the depth of the Longhorn staff may prove to be the difference on Wednesday as college baseball's winningest coach ever-- Augie Garrido-- tries to tie Cliff Gustafson with his third U-T College World Series title and the sixth of his career. While the Longhorn pitching staff has been the story this season it has been an amazing season for a team with only two players drafted in the recent free agent draft and a team berift of multiple top major league prospects. The Longhorns have been the epitomy of what a team must be. They set a school record for sacrifice bunts. They have the best team earned run average ever. Until the College World Series the long ball had not been a major part of their offense. But they may just wind up champions of College Baseball.
ROCKETS TO GET A PICK?
Apparently the Houston Rockets are trying to figure out a way to get a pick in the upcoming NBA draft. So far, no go and the Rockets are on the outside looking in with no picks in either of the rounds. What do they need to acquire? A servicable big man who can be a defensive and rebounding presence, possibly a point guard, but only a real solid one. They can win with what they now have after another year of experience. They could also stand to get a more all around offensive small forward. They won't get everything. And in the draft they may not get anything and won't for sure if they can't make a deal to get a pick.
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