ASTROS DROP SERIES OPENER IN GRAND FASHION

On an evening that saw four grand slams, the most damaging had to be the one hit last night at “The Friendly Confines” off the bat of Alfonso Soriano. In the bottom of the thirteenth inning, Soriano would send the 1-0 offering by Chris Sampson deep into the left-centerfield bleachers to secure a 5-1 walk-off win for the Cubbies.

In what can only be described as a pivotal series for both clubs, the Astros and Cubs have a lot to prove. The Cubs, who recently gained sole possession of first place in the NL Central, are trying to place some distance between themselves and the other contenders within the division, while the Astros are trying to use this four game set to make up some ground and stake a claim as a serious contender for the NL Central division crown.

The Cubs and the Astros series has provided their respective fan bases with some exciting baseball over the past few seasons, and this series should prove no different. The Astros sent Wandy Rodriguez to the mound last night in an effort to end a two game loosing streak, brought to you courtesy of the NY Mets, and Wandy failed to disappoint. Rodriguez entered the game riding a five game winning streak and for the month of July proved to be the Astros top pitcher, running his record to 4-0 while notching a 0.89 ERA. Although Wandy would receive a no-decision, he would lower his July ERA to 0.75 to set a record for the Astros as the lowest ERA total for the month of July, previously owned by Andy Pettite in 2005.

Although Soriano would be the hero for the game, the real story was Carlos Zambrano and his continued dominance of the Houston Astros. Zambrano has been a thorn in the Astros side for several seasons now and the Astros have yet to find an answer for the big pitcher. Zambrano would toss seven innings of three hit ball in the no decision. For his career, Zambrano is now 13-7 lifetime against the Astros.

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The series continues tonight and the Astros will send ace, Roy Oswalt, to the mound tonight to square off against Ryan Dempster. Oswalt has finally begun to find his rhythm is hoping to even the series to 1-1. Through his four starts in July, Oswalt is 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA. Dempster will be making his first start since coming off the DL for a broken toe. For the season Dempster is 4-4 with a 4.09 ERA, but has pitched well in his two starts against Houston, no record with a 2.08 ERA in thirteen innings of work.

NOTES: Since placing Lance Berkman on the DL for a strained calf, the Astros are now 0-3 … The Cubs are now 9-2 since the All-Star break, the Astros are now 6-5 … As a team the Cubs are hitting .251, only the Reds, A’s and Padres are worse (the Astros are tied at seventh with a .267 AVG).

By: Jordan Fleck
MLBcenter.com Houston Astros correspondent

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