Star Performer of the Week 4/25 – 5/1

The Astros had a handful of players with performances worth mentioning in this week’s 3-3 homestand. Last week’s honoree Brett Wallace continued to swing a hot bat, going 11 for 18 on the week. Wallace extended his hitting streak to ten games and is now hitting .382/.450/.517 for the year.
Wandy Rodriguez had a stellar outing yesterday against the hot hitting Brewers. Rodriguez fanned six without walking a batter in eight scoreless innings. Unfortunately Wandy was saddled with a no-decision due to a lack of run support and Prince Fielder’s ninth inning homer off Brandon Lyon. The good news is the Astros came back to win in the bottom of the ninth.
Yes both Wallace and Wandy had a very good week. But one Astro had an even more impressive performance. This week’s Star Performer is…

… Bud Norris

The Astros big right-hander  did not allow an earned run in thirteen & 2/3 innings over two starts. Bud continued his mastery over the Cardinals on Tuesday but didn’t get the win due to some defensive lapses and a bullpen letdown. Norris followed up with a dominant performance Sunday against the Brewers. Bud fanned eleven in 7 & 2/3 scoreless innings. Norris repeatedly made Milwaukee hitters look silly with his slider. The pitch was really nasty today and Bud was able to locate it nicely. The run support was there today too and Norris picked up the win to go to 2-1 for the year. It looked like Norris might be able to give the bullpen a day off. But he seemed to run out of gas shortly after being hit on the back of the shoulder with a batted ball. Bud shook it off and stayed in the game but struggled a bit with his control in the late going.

Congratulations to Bud Norris, this week’s Star Performer.