Crane: New era begins
(c) Reuters
|
Some have likened the 2012 Astros to a minor league team or an exhibition team. One similar trait is when a team beats themselves. That's what happened in Houston Friday night as the Astros opened their season with a 5-3 loss to the Rockies.
A throwing error by Wandy Rodriguez in the third led to three unearned runs then a throwing error by Jason Castro in the eighth allowed the winning run to score. Other than the one meltdown inning, Wandy did rather well, lasting into the seventh while giving up six hits and walking two. Colorado's Jeremy Guthrie matched him with three runs allowed over seven innings on four hits and three walks.
Carlos Lee singled home Jose Altuve in the first for the season's initial tally but the Rockies went ahead in the third. Houston tied it in the fourth on back-to-back homers by Lee and Brian Bogusevic.
In the eighth, pinch-runner Eric Young Jr. stole second and sped all the way home on Castro's misplay. Fernando Abad served up a solo shot to Troy Tulowitzki in the ninth which gave the Mountain Men an insurance run.
Despite their four errors and overall sloppiness, the Astros managed to send the winning run to the plate in the ninth after pinch-hitter Travis Buck doubled and Castro walked. But Rafael Betancourt fanned Matt Downs for the final out to earn his first save and disappoint those who stayed til the end.
The Astros and Rockies will meet again Saturday night at 6:05 Central when Lucas Harrell will match up against Colorado's 49-year-old Methuselah, Jamie Moyer. Seven players on the Astros roster were not even born when Moyer made his big league debut in 1986.
|