News
Astros prevail late in duel
Pence delivers winner after Oswalt's gem; Berkman homers
By Josh Katzowitz / Special to MLB.com
04/27/09 11:45 PM ET
CINCINNATI -- Whenever Roy Oswalt pitches against the Reds, he dominates. Whenever Lance Berkman takes the field at Great American Ball Park, he does the same. So, it should be no surprise how Monday's series opener against Cincinnati transpired.Another home run for Berkman? Check. Another outstanding pitching performance from Oswalt? Yes. Another Astros victory? No doubt about it.
On this occasion, though, Oswalt and Berkman needed a little extra help from a teammate to top the Reds, 4-1, and keep alive the Astros' 10-game winning streak in this ballpark. Right fielder Hunter Pence was the one to deliver the game-winner.
Pence hit a two-run double in the top of the ninth off Cincinnati closer Francisco Cordero to combine with a solo shot from Berkman and seven innings of one-run pitching from Oswalt.
It's become a familiar sight for Reds fans. Berkman, Oswalt and yet another Cincinnati defeat. Pence was just happy to be along for the ride.
"Roy Oswalt is the story of the game," Pence said. "He pitched an unbelievable game. He kept us in it. Our offense took a while to get started, and his outing was the reason we were able to win."
Well, that's not the entire truth. Pence played a pretty important role as well.
Oswalt entered the game with a 23-1 record and a 2.39 ERA lifetime against the Reds, and the first time he faced them this year, on April 17, he allowed five hits over six scoreless innings but received no decision. He was just as good Monday. He gave up six hits and one run in seven innings, but he left the game with the scored tied at 1 and again didn't factor in the Astros' victory.
After Oswalt's exit, Pence came through.
Cordero (0-1), who entered the game with a 1.29 ERA and six saves, struggled, allowing Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada to hit back-to-back singles. Pence came to the plate and fell into an 0-2 hole, and Astros manager Cecil Cooper could swear he thought Pence was trying to hit the ball the opposite way to right field. It's not what Cooper wanted to see.
"To me, Hunter is an RBI guy," Cooper said. "That's why he hits down in the order. I told him in that second pitch I thought he might have been trying to go the other way a little bit. I told him I didn't want him to ever do that. He's an RBI guy, and we need him to drive in runs for us to be successful."
Pence said he wasn't necessarily looking to go the other way, but after falling behind in the count to Cordero, he simply focused on protecting the plate.
"That's all you can do off of him at that point is just try to stay inside a fastball and keep your hands back in case of a slider," Pence said. "Cordero challenged me. Sometimes they hit you, and sometimes you hit them. Fortunately, I was able to find a hole."
Pence drove the ball into right-center field, driving in pinch-runner Jason Smith and Tejada, and after Reds right fielder Jay Bruce misplayed the ball off the wall, Pence took third. Geoff Blum followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Pence and giving Houston a three-run lead.
After Cooper pulled Oswalt, relievers Tim Byrdak and Chris Sampson (2-0) combined for two scoreless innings to finish off Cincinnati. That was the other reason the Astros were so pleased with Oswalt. With closer Jose Valverde sidelined temporarily with a sore right leg and with the bullpen pitching nine innings in the past two games, Oswalt needed to give the relief corps some rest.
"We have one guy down, and I tried to get into the eighth," said Oswalt, who lowered his ERA to 3.94. "I got my pitch count up in the last two innings. Before that, I looked up and I had 50 pitches after five. I thought maybe I could get into the ninth. But I started to get the ball up a little bit in the last inning."
Following Berkman's solo home run in the sixth -- the 20th of his career at Great American Ball Park, the most of any Reds opponent -- to give Houston a 1-0 lead, Oswalt ran into trouble in the bottom of the frame. Reds first baseman Joey Votto stroked a 3-2 breaking ball to center field to score Laynce Nix from second base, and though Cincinnati loaded the bases with two outs, Oswalt coerced Edwin Encarnacion into a weak groundout to Pudge Rodriguez to end the threat.
Before the game, Cooper had crossed his fingers and hoped Berkman and Oswalt would come through for his squad. His wishes came true.
"Make me a prophet, I guess," Cooper said. "You have to feel good for those guys when they have a chance to play the Reds."
Josh Katzowitz is a contributor to MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
