HOUSTON (AP) -In 2004, the Houston Astros were .500 at the All-Star break and went 48-26 the rest of the way to earn the NL wild card. A year later, Houston reversed a 15-30 start and reached the franchise’s first World Series.
The Astros are at it again in 2008, making another second-half run built on strong pitching, timely hitting and the best defense in baseball.
Two games before the All-Star break, Houston was 42-51 and 8 1/2 games back in the race for NL wild card. The Astros have gone 38-16 since, the best record in the majors, and now are just three games behind sagging Milwaukee in the wild-card chase.
In late August, Houston manager Cecil Cooper looked at the team’s schedule on the wall of his office and set 90 victories as the goal. The Astros were just starting their run of 14 wins in 15 games, which continued this week with a four-game sweep of Pittsburgh.
Now, they’re 80-67 and looking a lot like last year’s Colorado Rockies, who won 14 of their last 15 games to reach 90 wins and secure a playoff berth.
e ago that we had to get a minimum of 90 and I still believe that,” Cooper said after Wednesday’s 7-4 win over the Pirates. “It might take more than that. I feel like we have a chance to do it.”
The Astros were forced to take a break this weekend as Hurricane Ike approaches Houston. On Thursday, baseball officials postponed the first two games of their series with the Chicago Cubs and the games have not been rescheduled.
“When you’re playing well, you don’t want time off,” Cooper said. “A lot of times, it kind of affects you a little bit, to the point where you don’t come out and do the things you’ve been doing before.”
Lately, the Astros have been doing it all, starting with Roy Oswalt.
The ace right-hander has thrown consecutive, complete-game shutouts and hasn’t allowed a run in a franchise-record 32 1-3 innings. He’s 8-1 since the All-Star break and the Astros have won 10 of his last 12 starts.
“I wish I would’ve seen a little bit of that in the first half,” Cooper said, “but he has been sensational in the second half.”
The rest of the starting rotation has been just as dependable in the last few weeks, with eight victories in 10 decisions.
Randy Wolf is 4-1 with a 3.81 ERA in nine starts since the Astros acquired him from San Diego on July 22. Houston is 8-1 in the nine games Wolf has started.
s Wandy Rodriguez and Brandon Backe nursing minor injuries this week, even their replacements have done well.
When Rodriguez left Sunday’s start in Colorado with an oblique strain, minor league callup Jack Cassel threw four effective innings to help the Astros beat the Rockies 7-5. On Monday, Alberto Arias, called up from the minors on Sept. 2, took Backe’s start and threw five scoreless innings in Houston’s 3-2 win over the Pirates.
The bullpen has also been strong, going 10-5 since the break. And closer Jose Valverde has been downright perfect, going 17-for-17 in save chances since July 25.
“If you get good starts and your bullpen is solid and you have a team that has veteran guys who can swing the bat a little bit, you’re going to win games,” first baseman Lance Berkman said. “We’ve got great starting pitching, our bullpen has been outstanding and that’s why we’re winning.”
The pitchers have been backed up by a defense that’s committed only 61 errors, the lowest total in the majors. Houston leads both leagues with a .989 fielding percentage.
Meanwhile, the offense has stayed productive without Kaz Matsui and Carlos Lee. Matsui has been out since early August with back soreness and Lee broke his left pinkie finger on Aug. 9.
Matsui’s return date is uncertain and Lee, who was hitting .314 with 28 homers and 100 RBIs, is likely out for the season.
gginton to replace Lee in left field and Wigginton tied a franchise record with 12 home runs in August. He led the majors with an .806 slugging percentage for the month and drove in 26 runs.
Wigginton has missed this week with a strained groin and the Houston hitters kept scoring.
Berkman knocked in four runs in Tuesday’s 9-3 win over Pittsburgh to reach 100 RBIs for the season. Hunter Pence has three homers and 10 RBIs during a 13-game hitting streak. Miguel Tejada hit a grand slam on Wednesday and has a 12-game hitting streak.
But like the Rockies in 2007, Houston has virtually no margin for error down the stretch. The Astros don’t play the Brewers or Phillies again, so they not only need to keep winning, but also need some help.
Still, the clubhouse is suddenly buzzing with just the prospect of contending for the playoffs.
“The main issue we’re trying to take care of is winning each game,” said Wolf. “If for some reason, there is a spot for us, that’s be great. But it’s just fun winning. It’s fun to come to the park every day when you win.”
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