Big win for the ‘Stros last night, as the offense, led by Jason Lane, who had 2 HR’s and 5 RBI’s, finally scored more than 5 runs in a game, and won 11-2. Roy Oswalt pitched great: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 K. Pretty much how games are supposed to go. Morgan Ensberg had a big game, too, going 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s. It’s good to see guys like Ensberg and Lane pick up the offense, because we can’t rely on Biggio and Bagwell anymore. And one bright spot that I’ve failed to mention from Adam Everett, who’s hitting .167 in the leadoff spot, is that he’s also drawn 6 walks already. If Everett can keep his walk rate up, he can still hit .260 or .270, which would put his OBP right around .330 or .340. Not great, but if Garner stays obsessed with batting our 2nd worst hitter leadoff, it’s decent news.

``He's [Oswalt} taken years off my life -- not days, years,'' Dunn said. ``He throws every pitch the same. He's got great control. He'll throw a 95 mph fastball one pitch, the next one's a 69 mph curve. He's just good.''
Man, I like to hear that. When as good a hitter as Adam Dunn says “you’re just good”, that’s pretty high praise.

Russ Springer and Brad Lidge came in and combined for 2 innings of perfect relief, with 4 K’s.

Today it’s Andy Pettitte vs. Eric Milton. I’m hoping Chris Burke sees some playing time again; probably at LF, although Garner did say he intends to sit both Biggio and Bagwell for one game each this series, which is a good idea. We did some damage against Milton last time, and our lineup is full of guys (Biggio , Bagwell, Lane, Ensberg, even Everett) who have traditionally hit very well against lefties, so look for some offense. It would also be nice if Brad Ausmus could improve on his .083 / .185 / .083 line. Man, his hot spring training seems a long time ago.