Astros let out plenty of frustration on the Buccos

After a tough series in St Louis, the Astros needed a game like Friday night’s lopsided 7-1 victory. Honestly, after the season they’ve had, those types of games are always welcomed. Brett Wallace, Jed Lowrie and Justin Maxwell all went deep and six pitchers pitched effectively to give the friends and family crowd at Minute Maid Park a nice evening out. Edgar Gonzalez, who had for the most part, pitched well since his arrival in Houston left with an injury in the 2nd inning but thanks for Fernando Rodriguez‘s best outing of the season, the effect was minimal. The Astros now have won 4 of the last 5 home games, all against Pennsylvania teams who still had slight hopes of playoff runs.

Brett Wallace: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Brett Wallace needed a good showing at the plate after going through a rough September. Signs of improvement have been apparent but his numbers had slipped a bit. His 2 x 4 night with a triple was a good sign for the 1st baseman and his triple showed interesting speed, given Brett’s stature. Jed Lowrie would homer for the first time in a long time, well mostly because of his injury, and it was a welcomed sight. Justin Maxwell did his thing as well, with his 17th bomb of the season. Maxwell truly is making his case for something bigger in in 2013, the question is can he make enough contact to be a regular on a good team?

The pitching last night was outstanding with Fernando Rodriguez supplying quality innings for the first time in a good while. With Gonzalez going down so early in the ballgame, the Stros needed good innings and they got them but not only from F-Rod. Six pitchers would combine to hold down a struggling Pirates’ bunch. At this point in the season, where evaluation is more of the point than wins, looking at all these pitchers will happen more and more as the season winds down.

The Stros go for two in a row tonight and try to continue burying a struggling Pittsburgh club.