Astros Report 7/13/03

50-44 1st in N.L. Central 1 game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals

GOING INTO THE BREAK

The Astros rebounded the past 2 weeks and moved past Chicago and St. Louis into 1st in the N.L. central division. The team started off by taking two of three from the Milwaukee Brewers. The only set back was a 3 game trip to Pittsburgh where the Stros were swept by the Pirates. The team bounced back at home however and swept the Cincinnati Reds in a 4 game series. The Astros finished the first half by taking two of three from the Pirates at Minute Maid Park. Houston looks to carry this momentum through the All-star break and into the second half.

DOUBLES RECORD

Craig Biggio reached a milestone on Thursday, July 10, by smacking the 500th double of his career. Biggio is the first Astros player to reach the mark and the 40th player overall.

STROS ACE RETURNS

Roy Oswalt returned from the DL on July 7th and pitched a solid game against the Reds. He pitched again on July 12th against the Pirates and allowed 4 runs in the 1st inning. However he pitched well after that as he pitched through the 6th inning though he absorbed the loss. Oswalt was on the DL for the second time this season due to a groin injury. The first time he game back from the injury he re-aggravated it in his 3rd game back. Hopefully Oswalt can stay healthy the rest of the season but with type of injury there is always the chance of the injury flaring up again.

REVIVED ROTATION

With Oswalt back the Astros’ rotation is the strongest it has been all year. Jeriome Robertson has been pitching great and has not lost since April 25th. The team is an impressive 11-2 in his starts during that time. Ron Villone seems to have been revived by his arrival in Houston. Villone hasn’t given up more than 3 runs in his 5 starts so far. Time Redding is not pitching as well as he was earlier in the season but he is still pitching decently. As long as he doesn’t get frustrated he pitches well. Wade Miller rounds out the rotation and he had a great second half last year. Hopefully he can repeat last year’s 2nd half performance and overcome his early struggles.

KENT WILL RETURN FOR 2ND HALF

Jeff Kent will return to the team for the first game after the All-star break. He just finished a minor league rehabilitation stint and reported no problems. With Kent’s bat back in the lineup and a more solid rotation the Astros should come out of the break with potential to pull away from the Cubs and Cardinals.

BILLY THE ALLSTAR

Billy Wagner will be the Astros’ lone representative in the All-star game. Wagner has been great this year, arguably the best closer in baseball behind Eric Gagne and John Smoltz. Kent probably would have been in the game but his numbers suffered due to his injury. The rest of this team can get some R & R to be ready for the second half.

SPLITS

*Some interesting Home/Away numbers to help you set your lineup*

These guys hit much better at home

Morgan Ensberg

	ABs	R	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	SB
Home	93	29	11	28	.387	1.336	3
Away	96	14	6	14	.229	.735	1

Jeff Kent

	ABs	R	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	SB
Home	131	21	6	32	.366	1.025	3
Away	134	21	5	18	.261	.765	1

Geoff Blum

	ABs	R	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	SB
Home	126	23	5	26	.349	.910	0
Away	134	12	4	6	.216	.614	0

These guys hit better on the road

Lance Berkman

	ABs	R	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	SB
Home	165	28	7	31	.261	.822	1
Away	137	32	9	27	.307	1.017	1

Craig Biggio

	ABs	R	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	SB
Home	180	32	4	13	.256	.741	3
Away	179	26	5	19	.291	.822	2

These guys hit about the same everywhere

Jeff Bagwell

	ABs	R	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	SB
Home	170	36	8	23	.265	.840	4
Away	175	22	7	21	.269	.773	1

Richard Hidalgo

	ABs	R	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	SB
Home	134	23	7	28	.321	.954	2
Away	133	25	7	21	.316	.959	2