Astros Make it To .500 : Saturday, August 2nd, 1969

Scores, as my replay reaches the exact two-thirds point:

CHI 9, SD 5  W-Abernathy 4-7 L-Sisk 4-11  S-Regan(13)  HR-Santo(16)

HOU 10, MON 3  W-Griffin 8-10 L-Stoneman 4-11  HR-Miller(5)

NY 4, ATL 1  W-McAndrew 7-11 L-Pappas 8-6  HR-Gonzales(4) Shamsky(8)

CIN 12, PHI 8  W-A.Jackson 4-0 L-Raffo 1-3  HR-Stewart(4) Allen(20)  Reds 22 hits.

PIT 11, SF 2  W-Bunning 8-7 L-Sadecki 5-7  HR-Mazersoski(1) Oliver 2(23)  Oliver 5 rbi, Mazeroski 4 rbi.

LA 4, STL 2  W-Moeller 11-6 L-Washburn 7-12  S-Brewer(11)

So weird that a 5th place team is hogging all the headlines, but what the Astros have done in 5 weeks time is truly astounding. At the end of June, they were 31-49, 16.5 games out of first, and 15 games out of 4th. Then they promptly lost their first game of July. But since then they are 23-4, and are now 10 games out of 1st place and 5 games out of 4th. Fifth is still fifth, you may say, but they sure have been fun to play lately. Their most recent victim is expansion Montreal, whom they have drubbed 14-1 and 10-3 at Parc Jarry.  A doubleheader is scheduled for Sunday.

Right in his beer!

The Reds went into Philadelphia and smashed 22 hits against the Phillies, who had taken a 5-0 lead only to see hapless Jerry Johnson be unable to hold it. The Cincinnati crew are still not hitting homers--although reserve Jimmy Stewart did hit one Saturday, landing it right in Old Man Potter's beer cup--but they *are* finally hitting again, and scoring runs. Nonetheless, it is a real mystery why May, Perez, Bench et al are no longer finding the seats. 

"No...not the bicycle spokes! No! Please, AAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!"

Veteran second sacker Bill Mazeroski was reinserted into the Pirates line-up the past two games, and responded with 7-for-8, a double, a homer, 4 runs and 5 rbi. Kid keystoner Dave Cash may have to rot on the bench for a while. Jim "Easter" Bunning went the distance against the Giants, then rushed home to chase some neighborhood kids off his lawn. "It's not easy being a geezer," he opined.

He experienced occasional irregularity.

Finally, Phil Regan of the Cubs, who went the entire month of July without garnering a save, picked one up on Saturday against the preposterous Pods. "They were threatening!" he insisted, fighting down a guffaw.  

Friar Man threatens the universe.