A big part of baseball’s attractiveness is its utter unpredictability. By any measure, Monday’s game between the Astros and the Cardinals should have been a cake walk for the Redbirds. Due to Andy Pettitte going on the disabled list, the ‘Stros started Jared Fernandez, a journeyman knuckleball pitcher. The Cards were starting Houston native and former University of Houston pitcher, Woody Williams, who has owned the ‘Stros over the past several seasons.
So, what happens? The Stros score four runs in the top of the 1st off of Williams, and then the Cards score four runs off of Fernandez in 1/3rd of an inning in the bottom of the first. The game then settles down until the 8th, when the Stros put it away behind Craig Biggio’s three run double, his third of the game, to win 10-5. Richard Hidalgo was the other big run producer for the Stros, hitting a three run dinger in the 1st and a sac fly in the 8th.
Grizzled observers of the Stros are starting to wonder just how bad those pictures are that Fernandez apparently possesses of manager Jimy Williams and Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker. Williams continues to trot Fernandez into games despite the fact that, after last night’s game, he has an earned run average of 54!
Roger Clemens goes for the Stros in the second game of the series in St. Louis this evening.