The Houston Astros are World Series Champions!
Sunday, December 02, 2007




October 28, 2005: The Astros come out victorious in a back-and-forth battle with the Twins to take game 6 by a 3-2 score and win their 2nd World Series championship in my SOM replay era. The Astros also won in 2003 in 7 games over the Red Sox. In today's game, starters Roy Oswalt and Boof Bonser were going at it in a pitcher's battle but both got high in the pitch count and were pulled before the 6th inning was out. Oswalt allowed a Twins run in the 2nd on a double followed by a single, while Bonser allowed just 1 hit through the first 5 innings. He allowed a home run to Mike Lamb in the 6th which tied it up, then allowed a single, hit a batter, and allowed another single before getting pulled. Juan Rincon would enter with the bases loaded and strike out Aubrey Huff, then get Adam Everett to ground out to end the threat and keep the score tied.

In the 8th, Chris Burke would break the tie with a solo homer off Rincon to give the Astros a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, the Twins would tie it right back with a Mike Cuddyer solo shot off Brad Lidge. In the 9th with Rincon still in the game, Adam Everett would lead off with a walk and be followed by a Brad Ausmus single. Rincon would be pulled in favor of Jesse Crain, but Willy Tavares would meet Crain with a single to load the bases, and Crain would walk Craig Biggio with the bases loaded to push across the go-ahead run. Mike Lamb would then ground into the home to first double play, Lance Berkman would be walked to reload the bases, but Chris Burke would ground out to end the inning.

Enter Dan Wheeler, who inherited the Astros closer job for the World Series after Lidge was so ineffective in the NLCS. Wheeler gets the first 2 outs, but then allows singles to pinch hitter Jason Kubel and Luis Castillo. Nick Punto ends the inning, disappointing the home crowd by flying out for the final out as the Astros celebrate on the field.

Mike Lamb is the series MVP. He had a solo homer for one of the 3 runs in this game, and had 3 other home runs in the series while hitting .400.

This is the 5th time in 6 replays that the National League has won the World Series, but the first time that the losing AL team didn't have 'Sox' as part of their team name.


Strat-O-Matic Report





BOXSCORE: 2006 Houston Astros At 2006 Minnesota Twins              10/28/2006
 
  Astros             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Twins              AB  R  H RBI AVG
  C.Biggio 2B         4  0  0  1 .211     L.Castillo 2B       4  0  1  0 .309  
  M.Lamb 3B           5  1  2  1 .379     N.Punto 3B          5  0  1  0 .339  
  L.Berkman 1B        4  0  1  0 .247     J.Mauer C           3  0  0  0 .278  
  C.Burke DH          4  1  1  1 .314     M.Cuddyer RF,1B     4  1  1  1 .297  
  L.Scott LF          4  0  1  0 .343     J.Morneau 1B        3  1  2  0 .305  
  A.Huff RF           4  0  0  0 .224   B-L.Ford PR,RF        0  0  0  0 .267  
A-J.Lane RF           0  0  0  0 .059     T.Hunter CF         4  0  1  1 .246  
  A.Everett SS        3  1  0  0 .200     P.Nevin DH          4  0  0  0 .250  
  B.Ausmus C          3  0  1  0 .241     R.White LF          3  0  0  0 .147  
  W.Taveras CF        4  0  2  0 .191   C-J.Tyner PH          1  0  0  0 .214  
                                          J.Bartlett SS       2  0  1  0 .208  
                                        D-J.Kubel PH          1  0  1  0 .200  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      35  3  8  3                 Totals      34  2  8  2
 
A-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Huff In 8th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Morneau In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For White In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Bartlett In 9th Inning
 
Astros.......... 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 1 1  -  3  8  0
Twins........... 0 1 0  0 0 0  0 1 0  -  2  8  1
 
Astros (11-7)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
R.Oswalt                  5 1/3   5   1   1   2   3   0  93   2.55
B.Lidge WIN(1-0)          2 2/3   1   1   1   1   3   1  33   4.50
D.Wheeler SAVE(2nd)       1       2   0   0   0   0   0  22   2.35
Totals                    9       8   2   2   3   6   1
 
Twins (9-7)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
B.Bonser                  5 1/3   4   1   1   1   4   1  88   4.70
J.Rincon LOSS(0-2)        2 2/3   3   2   2   1   2   1  39   7.71
J.Crain                   1       1   0   0   2   0   0  14   4.22
Totals                    9       8   3   3   4   6   2
 
ATTENDANCE- 48,548 DATE- Saturday, October 28th 2006 TIME- Night 
UMPIRES- Jim Reynolds, Tim Welke, Gary Cederstrom, Kerwin Danley
T- 2:44
LEFT ON BASE- Astros:10  Twins: 9
DOUBLE PLAYS- Astros: 0  Twins: 1
ERRORS- L.Castillo
DOUBLES- J.Morneau-2(3rd)
HOME RUNS- M.Lamb(4th), C.Burke(1st), M.Cuddyer(1st)
SACRIFICE HITS- L.Castillo
WALKS- C.Biggio, L.Berkman, A.Everett, B.Ausmus, J.Mauer, J.Morneau, J.Bartlett
HIT BY PITCH- C.Burke
STRIKE OUTS- C.Biggio, M.Lamb, C.Burke, A.Huff, B.Ausmus, W.Taveras, N.Punto-2,
             M.Cuddyer-2, T.Hunter, R.White
GIDP- M.Lamb
 
One run was the difference at Metrodome as the Houston Astros defeated the
Minnesota Twins 3 to 2.
 
The game was won by Houston with a run in the top of the 9th inning.  Adam
Everett drew a walk.  Brad Ausmus followed and he stroked a base-hit.  Willy
Taveras then lined a single to load the bases.  Craig Biggio was up next and
he drew a walk scoring the run.  Both teams ended up with 8 on the night.
 
Brad Lidge(1-0) was the winner allowing 1 run in 2 and 2/3 innings. Dan
Wheeler got the save, his 2nd.  The loss was charged to Juan Rincon(0-2) in
relief.  He pitched 2 and 2/3 innings and surrendered 3 hits and 1 walk.








posted by spooky @ 10:18 AM, ,


October 26, 2006: Astros 8 Twins 4 (Astros lead series, 3-2)
Saturday, December 01, 2007




In game 5, the Astros reverse the score of the previous game and win 8-4 before the home crowd. The Twins certainly had the perceived advantage in this one with Johan Santana on the mound, but the Astros were able to get to him for 2 runs in both the 2nd and 4th innings. The walk was the killer for Santana, as he allowed 2 in each of those innings. The Twins would manage to tie it up at 4 n the top of the 6th, but the Astros would come back to strike in the bottom of the 7th against a tiring Santana for 4 more runs. The big hits in the 7th were back to back triples - a bases clearing job by Chris Burke, followed by Luke Scott to knock in Burke and finally knock Santana from the game.

Roy Oswalt will take the hill and try to clinch the series for the Astros in game 6. Boof Bonser will try to get the Twins to game 7.


Strat-O-Matic Report





BOXSCORE: 2006 Minnesota Twins At 2006 Houston Astros              10/26/2006
 
  Twins              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Astros             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  L.Castillo 2B       5  1  1  0 .313     C.Biggio 2B         5  1  0  0 .224  
  N.Punto 3B          4  0  2  2 .351     M.Ensberg 3B        4  0  1  0 .185  
  J.Mauer C           3  0  0  0 .294     L.Berkman 1B        2  1  0  0 .246  
  M.Cuddyer RF        3  2  1  0 .300     C.Burke CF          4  2  2  3 .319  
  J.Morneau 1B        3  0  2  0 .286     L.Scott LF          2  2  1  1 .349  
  T.Hunter CF         4  0  0  0 .246     J.Lane RF           2  1  0  0 .059  
  P.Nevin LF          4  0  1  1 .313     A.Everett SS        2  0  0  1 .210  
  J.Bartlett SS       3  0  0  0 .196     B.Ausmus C          3  0  1  3 .236  
B-J.Tyner PH          1  0  0  0 .222     W.Rodriguez P       1  0  0  0 .000  
  J.Santana P         2  1  1  0 .500     C.Qualls P          0  0  0  0 ----  
  M.Guerrier P        0  0  0  0 ----   A-E.Bruntlett PH      1  1  1  0 .300  
C-L.Rodriguez PH      1  0  0  0 .000     D.Wheeler P         1  0  1  01.000  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      33  4  8  3                 Totals      27  8  7  8
 
A-Pinch Hit For Qualls In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Bartlett In 9th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Guerrier In 9th Inning
 
Twins........... 0 0 2  1 0 1  0 0 0  -  4  8  1
Astros.......... 0 2 0  2 0 0  4 0    -  8  7  3
 
Twins (9-6)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
J.Santana LOSS(3-2)       6 2/3   6   8   4   6   7   0 120   3.16
M.Guerrier                1 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0  20   2.79
Totals                    8       7   8   4   6   8   0
 
Astros (10-7)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
W.Rodriguez               5 1/3   6   4   2   2   3   0 104   8.64
C.Qualls WIN(1-0)         1 2/3   1   0   0   1   0   0  18   4.63
D.Wheeler                 2       1   0   0   0   3   0  21   2.70
Totals                    9       8   4   2   3   6   0
 
ATTENDANCE- 38,716 DATE- Thursday, October 26th 2006 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Charlie Reliford, Larry Vanover, Greg Gibson, Paul Nauert
T- 2:43
LEFT ON BASE- Twins: 6  Astros: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Twins: 2  Astros: 4
ERRORS- J.Bartlett, M.Ensberg, J.Lane, A.Everett
DOUBLES- L.Castillo(4th), N.Punto(4th), M.Cuddyer(5th)
TRIPLES- C.Burke(2nd), L.Scott(5th)
SACRIFICE HITS- A.Everett, W.Rodriguez
SACRIFICE FLIES- B.Ausmus
WALKS- J.Mauer, J.Morneau, J.Santana, L.Berkman-2, L.Scott, J.Lane-2, A.Everett
HIT BY PITCH- M.Cuddyer, L.Scott
STRIKE OUTS- L.Castillo, N.Punto, T.Hunter, P.Nevin-2, J.Tyner, M.Ensberg-2,
             L.Berkman, C.Burke-2, J.Lane, B.Ausmus, W.Rodriguez
GIDP- T.Hunter-2, J.Bartlett-2, L.Berkman
 
At Minute Maid Field the Houston Astros easily handled the Minnesota Twins by
the score of 8 to 4.
 
Chad Qualls(1-0) got the win with a steady relief outing.  He surrendered 1
hit and 1 walk in 1 and 2/3 innings improving his ERA from 5.40 to 4.63.
Houston banged out 7 on the night.  
 
Johan Santana(3-2) absorbed the loss. He was knocked around, surrendering 8
runs in 6 and 2/3 innings.








posted by spooky @ 10:35 PM, ,


October 25, 2006: Twins 8 Astros 4 (series tied, 2-2)




The World Series is all tied up at 2 games apiece after the Twins beat Andy Pettitte and the Astros by an 8-4 score. Torii Hunter was a big part of the Twins offense, going 3 for 5 with a double and 2 homers. Leadoff hitter Luis Castillo also had a 3 hit day. Twins starter Carlos Silva allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs over 7 innings, but was left in a little too long in the 8th and ended up with a 7 2/3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER line. Still, it was good enough for the win. Joe Nathan came in with the tying run on deck in the 8th and struck out pinch hitter Jason Lane to end the threat. The Astros would load the bases in the 9th, but Nathan struck out Chris Burke to end the game.

Game 5 will be a rematch of game 1 starters, this time in Houston. That means Johan Santana for the Twins and Wandy Rodriguez for the Astros.


Strat-O-Matic Report





BOXSCORE: 2006 Minnesota Twins At 2006 Houston Astros              10/25/2006
 
  Twins              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Astros             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  L.Castillo 2B       5  2  3  2 .322     C.Biggio 2B         5  0  1  1 .242  
  N.Punto 3B          3  1  1  0 .340     M.Lamb 3B           5  1  1  1 .377  
  M.Redmond C         5  0  1  1 .400     L.Berkman 1B        4  0  0  0 .254  
  M.Cuddyer RF        5  1  2  1 .298     L.Scott LF          4  1  1  0 .344  
  J.Morneau 1B        5  0  0  0 .264     C.Burke CF          4  1  1  0 .302  
  T.Hunter CF         5  3  3  3 .264     A.Huff RF           3  0  0  0 .241  
  P.Nevin LF          5  0  1  1 .333     A.Everett SS        4  0  2  2 .217  
  J.Bartlett SS       2  1  1  0 .208     B.Ausmus C          3  1  2  0 .231  
  C.Silva P           4  0  0  0 .000   C-J.Lane PH           1  0  0  0 .067  
  J.Nathan P          0  0  0  0 ----   D-E.Munson C          0  0  0  0 .200  
                                          A.Pettitte P        1  0  0  0 .000  
                                        A-M.Ensberg PH        1  0  0  0 .174  
                                          D.Borkowski P       0  0  0  0 .000  
                                        B-W.Taveras PH        1  0  0  0 .172  
                                          B.Lidge P           0  0  0  0 ----  
                                        E-E.Bruntlett PH      1  0  1  0 .263  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      39  8 12  8                 Totals      37  4  9  4
 
A-Pinch Hit For Pettitte In 5th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Borkowski In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Ausmus In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Lane In 9th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Lidge In 9th Inning
 
Twins........... 1 1 1  3 2 0  0 0 0  -  8 12  2
Astros.......... 0 0 0  1 1 0  0 2 0  -  4  9  2
 
Twins (9-5)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
C.Silva WIN(1-0)          7 2/3   8   4   4   2   4   1 105   2.79
J.Nathan SAVE(5th)        1 1/3   1   0   0   1   4   0  23   0.00
Totals                    9       9   4   4   3   8   1
 
Astros (9-7)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
A.Pettitte LOSS(0-2)      5      11   8   7   1   3   3 100   8.84
D.Borkowski               2       1   0   0   1   2   0  39   0.96
B.Lidge                   2       0   0   0   0   3   0  22   4.82
Totals                    9      12   8   7   2   8   3
 
ATTENDANCE- 39,596 DATE- Wednesday, October 25th 2006 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Andy Fletcher, Mike Reilly, Jeff Kellogg, Jerry Meals
T- 3:05
LEFT ON BASE- Twins: 8  Astros:10
DOUBLE PLAYS- Twins: 1  Astros: 0
ERRORS- N.Punto, J.Bartlett, C.Burke, B.Lidge
DOUBLES- M.Redmond(2nd), M.Cuddyer-2(4th), T.Hunter(2nd), C.Biggio(2nd),
         L.Scott(5th), B.Ausmus(3rd)
HOME RUNS- L.Castillo(1st), T.Hunter-2(4th), M.Lamb(3rd)
SACRIFICE HITS- N.Punto
WALKS- N.Punto, J.Bartlett, L.Berkman, L.Scott, C.Burke
HIT BY PITCH- J.Bartlett, A.Huff
STRIKE OUTS- J.Morneau, T.Hunter-2, P.Nevin-2, C.Silva-3, C.Biggio, M.Lamb,
             L.Berkman-2, L.Scott, C.Burke-2, J.Lane
GIDP- W.Taveras
 
Center fielder Torii Hunter slammed 2 homeruns and had 3 RBI at Minute Maid
Field as the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros by the count of 8 to
4.
 
Hunter enjoyed a fine evening at the plate.  He blasted a solo shot in the 2nd
inning, hit a bases-empty home run (his 4th of the season) in the 4th inning
and doubled scoring a run in the 5th inning.  Overall Minnesota out-hit
Houston 12 to 9.  
 
Carlos Silva(1-0) allowed 4 runs in 7 and 2/3 innings, and picked up the
victory. Silva got help from Joe Nathan who earned his 5th save.  Andy
Pettitte(0-2) was the loser.  He served up 3 homeruns in his 5 innings.








posted by spooky @ 5:04 PM, ,


October 24, 2006: Astros 10 Twins 0 (Astros lead series, 2-1)




The Astros make game 3 of the World Series look easy as they hand a 10-0 shellacking to the Twins. Roger Clemens allows just 3 hits in 7 shutout innings, extending his shutout inning streak to 16. Brad Lidge pitches the last 2 innings to preserve the shutout. Offensively, the Astros are led by Craig Biggio (3 for 4, HR, 4 RBI), Luke Scott (3 for 4, 3 runs, 2 RBI, 3B, HR) and Aubrey Huff (2 for 4, 3 runs, HR).

Brad Radke takes the loss, allowing 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings. The long ball was his downfall, as he allowed all 3 Astro homers.

Carlos Silva will try to tie up the series in the game 4 start for the Twins, while Andy Pettitte will go for the homestanding Astros.


Strat-O-Matic Report





BOXSCORE: 2006 Minnesota Twins At 2006 Houston Astros              10/24/2006
 
  Twins              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Astros             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  L.Castillo 2B       3  0  0  0 .296     W.Taveras CF        5  1  2  0 .175  
  N.Punto 3B          3  0  0  0 .340     M.Lamb 3B           5  0  2  1 .396  
  J.Mauer C           4  0  1  0 .313     L.Berkman 1B        4  1  0  0 .270  
  M.Cuddyer RF        4  0  0  0 .288     L.Scott LF          4  3  3  2 .351  
  J.Morneau 1B        4  0  2  0 .292     A.Huff RF           4  3  2  1 .255  
  T.Hunter CF         4  0  2  0 .229     C.Biggio 2B         4  1  3  4 .246  
  R.White LF          3  0  0  0 .161     B.Lidge P           0  0  0  0 ----  
  D.Reyes P           0  0  0  0 ----     A.Everett SS        4  0  0  0 .196  
  M.Guerrier P        0  0  0  0 ----     B.Ausmus C          3  0  1  1 .204  
C-J.Kubel PH          1  0  0  0 .111     R.Clemens P         3  0  0  0 .000  
  J.Bartlett SS       2  0  0  0 .196   B-C.Burke 2B          1  1  1  0 .308  
  B.Radke P           2  0  0  0 .000                                          
  J.Crain P           0  0  0  0 ----                                          
A-J.Tyner LF          1  0  0  0 .231                                          
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      31  0  5  0                 Totals      37 10 14  9
 
A-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Crain In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Clemens In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Guerrier In 9th Inning
 
Twins........... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  5  0
Astros.......... 0 1 0  2 0 2  3 2    - 10 14  0
 
Twins (8-5)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
B.Radke LOSS(1-2)         5 1/3   7   5   5   1   5   3  91   6.61
J.Crain                   1 1/3   3   3   3   1   2   0  28   4.66
D.Reyes                   0 2/3   3   2   2   0   1   0  16   7.50
M.Guerrier                0 2/3   1   0   0   1   1   0  14   3.24
Totals                    8      14  10  10   3   9   3
 
Astros (9-6)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
R.Clemens WIN(3-1)        7       3   0   0   2   7   0  95   2.05
B.Lidge                   2       2   0   0   1   2   0  38   6.14
Totals                    9       5   0   0   3   9   0
 
ATTENDANCE- 39,406 DATE- Tuesday, October 24th 2006 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Mike Everitt, Alfonso Marquez, Larry Young, Bill Hohn
T- 3:08
LEFT ON BASE- Twins: 7  Astros: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Twins: 0  Astros: 1
DOUBLES- J.Morneau(1st)
TRIPLES- L.Scott(4th)
HOME RUNS- L.Scott(4th), A.Huff(3rd), C.Biggio(7th)
STOLEN BASES- N.Punto(2nd), T.Hunter(1st)
SACRIFICE FLIES- L.Scott
WALKS- L.Castillo, N.Punto, J.Bartlett, L.Berkman, A.Huff, B.Ausmus
STRIKE OUTS- L.Castillo, N.Punto, M.Cuddyer, J.Morneau, R.White, J.Kubel,
             J.Bartlett, B.Radke-2, W.Taveras, M.Lamb-2, L.Berkman-2, A.Huff,
             A.Everett, B.Ausmus-2
GIDP- T.Hunter
WILD PITCHES- D.Reyes
 
Left fielder Luke Scott jacked one out of the ballyard and had 2 RBI at Minute
Maid Field as the Houston Astros embarrassed the Minnesota Twins by the
lopsided score of 10 to 0.
 
The home town fans were very appreciative of the fine hitting performance
provided by Scott.  He smashed a bases-empty 'big-fly' (his 4th of the
season) in the 4th inning, tripled in the 6th inning and laced a base-knock
in the 7th inning.  Houston had 14 hits for the night while Minnesota had 5.
 
The win was credited to Roger Clemens(3-1) who went 7 innings allowing no
runs. The losing pitcher was Brad Radke(1-2).  He served up 3 homeruns in his
5 and 1/3 innings.








posted by spooky @ 8:41 AM, ,