The Astros were looking for their first win of the year today against the Phillies.  In the 3rd inning, it looked as though they may just get that win.  Jamie Moyer made it to 2 outs in the 3rd before all hell broke loose.  He took a 4-0 lead and turned it into a 4-5 deficit in the blink of an eye.

For a few minutes, many wondered if they were watching a baseball game or a boxing match, as Moyer took blow upon blow from the Astros bats.  With 2 outs in the inning, the right and left hooks began, starting first with the Astros pitcher who whacked a double to get the rally started.  Here is the remainder of the beating, which even included a single from former teammate, Pedro Feliz: 2-run homer, a walk on 4 pitches, 2-run homer (yes, again), 4 singles in a row to score the 5th run of the inning.  It was a total knockout.

Or, maybe not…the Phillies rallied back in the 7th inning and took the lead again on a Ryan Howard 2-run homer.  Howard also tripled and walked with the bases loaded for an RBI earlier in the game.  Shane Victorino, who has been very unlucky of late, finally got in on the action with an RBI single in the 7th.  In the 9th, Victorino hit a 2-run homer to give the Phillies a 9-5 lead.  And then he breathed a sigh of relief…whew!

As for the bullpen, Chad Durbin mowed down the Astros in the 7th inning.  Danys Baez followed suit in the 8th and then Ryan Madson came in for the 9th with 4 runs to play with.  He gave back one run but still escaped with a 9-6 win. 

So the question now remains, how effective will Moyer be in future starts?  The one big inning nearly killed him, but the Phils bats bailed him out.  But no team can be expected to score 9 runs every game.  Well, it was only his first start, so we will have to wait and see how his next start goes.

Also of note, the Phillies kept their streak of at least 10 hits in a game going tonight.  Yes, all 5 games played so far have featured at least 10 hits and a minimum of 5 runs scored.  They are averaging over 8 runs a game…scary.  Can they keep up this pace?  We hope so :O)

The Phillies will finish the series with the Astros Sunday at 2:05pm.  It will be a battle of the Roy’s; Halladay vs. Oswalt.  The Astros are still looking for their first win, so do not expect them to just lie down and give up.  It should be a good game….Go Phillies!

 

Head shots by Jenn