San Diego, CA (Betting Express) - Wandy Rodriguez threw seven strong innings to
help the Houston Astros take a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres in an unusual
finale of a four-game set.
Rodriguez (7-6) gave up just one run on seven hits with two walks and five
strikeouts for the Astros, who have won six of their last eight. Geoff Blum
hit a three-run home run and drove in four while Lance Berkman scored three
times and drove in one in the win.
"The key is to keep winning series'," said Astros manager Cecil Cooper.
"That's the name of the game and we've been able to do that quite a bit lately
and that's good."
Scott Hairston and Everth Cabrera each drove a run while Kevin Correia (5-6)
was tagged for all six runs on eight hits with three walks and three
strikeouts over five innings of action for the Padres, who have dropped six of
the last nine games.
"I made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage," said Correia. "It
wasn't my day today. Especially that last inning, that's what killed me and
the game."
What made this game stand out was a delay in the top of the ninth due to a
swarm of bees.
With Miguel Tejada at the plate with two outs in the frame, Padres left
fielder Kyle Blanks began walking toward the infield as the bees became thick
in the air.
The rest of the players soon left the field as the game went into a delay
until a beekeeper arrived at the park.
The swarm eventually centered around a ballgirl's jacket on a chair near the
stands and fans were evacuated from several sections near the swarm.
When the beekeeper arrived, he sprayed down the jacket and, after a 52-minute
delay, the game resumed.
Houston jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Michael Bourn led off
with a single and Berkman later drew a walk. A single from Carlos Lee loaded
the bases and Blum followed with an RBI single. Hunter Pence then grounded
into a fielder's choice that saw Berkman score.
In the third, the Astros made it a 3-0 game as a single from Lee scored
Berkman, who had doubled prior to Lee's at-bat.
San Diego had a golden opportunity to score in the third as the team had the
bases loaded with no outs. However, Adrian Gonzalez hit into a fielder's
choice that saw Correia forced out at home and Kevin Kouzmanoff then hit into
a double play.
Houston padded its lead in the fifth as Tejada led off with a single, Berkman
later walked and Blum smacked a 2-1 pitch into the left field stands for a 6-0
advantage.
The Padres finally got on the board in the fifth as Cabrera hit a two-out
single and Hairston followed with a double to center to score Cabrera.
San Diego had men on first and third with no outs in the eighth, but
Kouzmanoff struck out and Blanks hit into a double play to end the inning.
The game then went into a delay due to the bees, but when it resumed Berkman
hit an RBI double to left that scored Bourn for a 7-1 lead.
Cabrera hit into a fielder's choice to plate Edgar Gonzalez in the bottom of
the ninth.
Game Notes
The Padres welcome the Dodgers to San Diego for a three-game set starting on
Friday...Houston begins a three-game series in San Francisco on Friday...The
Astros took six of seven against the Padres in the season series...San Diego
went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine men on base.
