Star Performer of the Week June 20 – 26

First of all let me apologize for failing to hand out my award last week while vacationing with the family. Although I was able to squeeze in a couple of games at Dodger stadium early on, I was out of the loop for the rest of the week. Astros pitchers made me proud in L.A. but last week’s American League foes fared quite a bit better. The Astros won only one of six games against their opponents from the junior circuit. While vacationing in California, I was unable to watch all of the games on television like I can at home. I did however catch a timely “live look-in” courtesy of MLB Network.

It was Wednesday evening and the Astros looked like they were going to lose another game to their in-state rivals. The Rangers held a 3-1 lead entering the ninth inning and Neftali Feliz was called in from the bullpen. But the Rangers closer was unable to seal the deal and Matt Downs clubbed a pinch-hit homer to give Houston the lead. The Astros would hang on for their only win of the week. Downs added another pinch-homer late in Sunday’s slugfest against the Rays, making him this week’s recipient of the Star Performer of the Week Award.