Astros annihilate the Cubs 8-4

The Astros showed fans what a perfect night looks like, for 8 innings at least, with their destruction of the Cubs Monday 8-4. The offense was fantastic and the starting pitching was dominant. What more can you ask from them than to beat a hated rival so convincingly? The young kids had some fun with big nights from Bud Norris, Jed Lowrie, Jason Castro and Chris Johnson. It felt very good to beat up the Cubs especially coming off a few frustrating yet competitive games against the Rangers. The Astros could get healthy very quickly with a struggling Cubs squad in for two more games.

The Astros offense would crush Cubs’ ace Matt Garza to the tune of 7 runs in 3 innings. That’s awfully impressive considering the major roll Garza had been on and his impressive career ERA vs the Stros. Jason Castro hit a much needed 3-run homer to start the scoring in the 2nd. That’s huge because Castro has been on a slide in May and his confidence has to have taken a hit. Jed Lowrie continued to impress with another homerun and 2 additional hits. Jed is making a case to be on the NL All-Star squad with his fine play so far this season. Okay boys and girls remember, we got him for Mark Melancon. Chris Johnson continued his good pace with a monster 3-run homer that would go into the dinning area in CF. Honestly, I didn’t think he could do that but sure enough, the guy proved me dead wrong.

Bud Norris was brilliant once again, going 7 innings of shutout ball. Honestly, the guy has been simply dominant in May with an ERA of 0.35. He has to be the pitcher of the month in the NL, his numbers have been ridiculously good. He and Wandy have been as steady as any 1-2 tandem in the big leagues so far and have helped the Astros exceed expectations. If, when, Wandy is traded, Norris looks to be poised to take the #1 spot in the rotation by the horns. Tomorrow night J.A. Happ looks to build off his best start of the season his last time out, which would be a much welcomed sight.