Sorry for the delay folks, but there haven't been too many positive things to write about during the last week. We got absolutely walloped by the Giants to the tune of 34-5 over the series. Yikes. Of course, that's becoming commonplace when the Giants come to town. But we bounced back and won 2 of 3 against the Rangers, capped by Buchholz's 5-hit shutout on Sunday. Buchholz is turning into a typcial Astro pitcher: mediocre on the road, sparkling at home.

Lamb has been swinging a hot bat lately. He filled in for Berkman, who missed the entire Giants series with a tight hammy, and did pretty well. Garner's been shaking up the lineup, keeping Lamb at first, moving Berkman to RF and benching Lane. He also put Willy T in the leadoff spot for a couple games and moved Ausmus up to 6th and then 2nd. Lane is underperforming, yes, and a few days off might get his head straight, but he is better than Lamb, so I hope this doesn't become a platoon just yet.

Oh, and Burke's off the DL; Super Joe is back at Round Rock. We now head to Capitol City to face the Nats. Their lineup is like ours: if you can get around their big bombers, they probably won't score any runs. If you don't let Soriano and Johnson hurt you, the rest of the lineup will take care of itself. Here are the pitching matchups:

Monday: Wandy vs. Day
Tuesday: Nieve vs. Ortiz
Wednesday: Oswalt vs. O'Connor
Thursday: Pettitte vs. Armas Jr.

Is three out of four too much to ask? I think not. Our last road trip was a disaster, but in our defense, the Rockies, Giants and Dodgers are all contenders for that NL West crown. Everyone knows the Nationals aren't going anywhere, so it's important we start this thing off right and take care of businiess. I'm really hoping Oswalt and Pettitte can find their grooves.