The Stros magic winning streak ran into the buzzsaw of the Pirates’ Oliver Perez, but the Stros rebounded to win the second game as they split their doubleheader with the Pirates this evening at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, 3-1 and 9-2.
Perez is one of the best young pitchers in baseball, so the Stros loss was not particularly surprising. The Stros could manage only three hits off of him and they whiffed 14 times. I’m not sure that the Padres made such a good move in giving up Perez for what appears to be a fading Brian Giles. Carlos Hernandez was only marginally effective again in taking the loss as he continues to rebuild arm strength from his shoulder surgery of last year.
The Stros cranked it back up in the second game, peppering various Pirate pitchers for 10 hits, including five doubles and a triple. That was good enough to gain the win even though Tim Redding pitched ineffectively again after his exile to AAA New Orleans. Having to pitch Redding at the backend of the rotation is a big impediment to the Stros winning the National League Wild Card playoff spot.
Pete Munro takes the hill in the Friday game in Pittsburgh as the Stros attempt to start another streak to keep pace in what is going to be a tight Wild Card race with the Giants, Cubs, and Marlins.