The Astros took game two of the series yesterday winning by a score of 4-3. Roy Oswalt looked like the Roy Oswalt of old as he dominated Cubs hitters by mixing his high 90’s fastball with his power curve. He is the type of pitcher that when he is on there not much that hitters can do, his stuff is just too good. The big news for the Cubs though was the injury to Tom Gorzelanny. The left-hander was forced to leave the game just one batter into the fourth inning after getting struck in the shoulder by a line drive. Despite having to leave the game the injury does not appear to be serious. It is unclear whether or not Gorzelanny will miss any time.
Alfonso Soriano committed another error yesterday, already his third of the season. That is a number that is just unacceptable especially at this point in the season for an outfielder. Lou Piniella has already shown his displeasure in the outfielders play when he stared him down after he dropped a fly ball last week. However, he has been swinging the bat better recently. He had two hits including a clutch RBI double during the Cubs eighth inning rally that came up just short. Soriano is now hitting .286 for the season which is a good sign for a player that normally gets off to slow starts.
The bullpen was solid yesterday going six innings and allowing just two runs giving the team a chance to win the game. The new and improved Sean Marshall was dominant again striking out all three batters he faced.
The rubber game of this series is at 2:20 today. It appears to be a favorable pitching matchup for the Cubs as they send Ryan Dempster to the mound against Wandy Rodriguez. The Cubs are looking to get back to .500 before heading to New York to take on the Mets tomorrow.
