News
Tejada aims to stay strong down stretch
Houston (46-44) at Los Angeles (56-34), 9:10 p.m. CT
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
07/18/09 1:05 AM ET
LOS ANGELES -- Long before he arrived at the ballpark Friday afternoon, shortstop Miguel Tejada was hard at work. Tejada travels with a personal trainer and works out for 60 to 90 minutes doing cardio, running and lifting weights to keep himself in game shape. At 35 years old, Tejada is trying to keep himself prepared for the grind of the second half of the season. His power numbers dropped off dramatically in the second half last year, hitting only three of his 13 homers and driving in 22 of his 66 RBIs. He did hit for a higher average in the second half (.295) than he did the first half (.275), though. He entered Friday leading the National League in multihit games (37), doubles (30), and hits (117) and hit his eighth homer in the first inning against the Dodgers. "I feel good," Tejada said. "I always say I prepare myself to be playing every day. I worked hard in the offseason and I continue to work hard, and I work every day in the morning with my body." Tejada said he began using a trainer on the road last year, and teammate Ivan Rodriguez has been joining him for morning workouts this year. "We're a little bit older, and we've got to continue to work hard," he said. Tejada has started all but two of the Astros' 90 games this year and is adamant about being in the lineup every day. He played in 1,152 consecutive games from 1998-2007, which is the fifth-longest such streak in baseball history. The streak ended when he was hit by a pitch thrown by current teammate Doug Brocail. "I am going to play every day because now we're in the race, and I don't think I'm going to help this team sitting on the bench," he said. "It doesn't matter how tired I am. I know how to play tired." Tejada, who last year played under the cloud of a steroids investigation and admitted early in the year he was older than originally believed, said the off-the-field distractions of a year ago made baseball more difficult. "It was just all the stuff," he said. "Last year there was too much going on with me. I think I was thinking too much, and we were losing and didn't get to the playoffs. We didn't win as much as we should have won, and all that stuff was getting on my mind and now I'm ready to play baseball every day." The Astros entered play Friday three games out of first place in the National League Central, and Tejada believes big things are in store. "Everybody in this room knows we have a chance and we're going to work hard to be in the same group with all those guys," Tejada said, referring to contending teams. "We're going to continue to work hard, pitch good and play good defense, and when the season's over we're going to be up there."
Pitching matchup
HOU: LHP Mike Hampton (5-6, 4.52 ERA)
Coming off one of his best starts of the season, on July 6 against the Pirates, Hampton was roughed up on Saturday in his final start before the All-Star break. He gave up nine hits and five runs in 3 2/3 innings Saturday against the Nationals. He is 8-7 with a 4.61 ERA in 22 career games (19 starts) against the Dodgers, including 3-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw went six strong innings in his last start. He held the Mets scoreless, allowing three hits and striking out seven in an 8-0 win for the Dodgers. The 21-year-old lefty was saddled with his first loss of the season in his last outing against the Astros on April 21, when he gave up six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Tidbits
Aaron Boone, who underwent open heart surgery on March 27, will rejoin the team Thursday in Houston with hopes of returning to the field this year. ... The Astros have posted a better winning percentage in the second half of the season than they did in the first half in 12 consecutive seasons. ... Center fielder Michael Bourn is the NL's toughest player to retire on a double play, having hit into just one in his first 336 at-bats. Tickets
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On the Internet
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• KTRH 740, KLAT 1010 (Español) Up next
• Sunday: Astros (Russ Ortiz, 3-4, 4.44) at Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 3-5, 4.67), 3:10 p.m. CT
• Monday: Astros (Brian Moehler, 6-5, 5.08) vs. Cardinals (Kyle Lohse, 4-5, 4.26), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Tuesday: Astros (Wandy Rodriguez, 9-6, 2.81) vs. Cardinals (Todd Wellemeyer, 7-7, 5.56), 7:05 p.m. CT
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
