In a stunning turn of events, the Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. This heartbreaking loss gave the team some unneeded confidence heading into tomorrow's game against the laughable loser Chicago Cubs.
The Quest for Perfection! 0-162! is over. The Astros failed to match the 1983 Astros for worst start at 0-9. Not only were they looking to tie the record but also looking forward to setting a new record at 0-10.
The Astros took an early 2-0 lead. Houston outfielder Carlos Lee tried to let the Cards back into the game when he dropped a two out fly ball. Unfortunately the Cardinals were unable to capitalize on the golden opportunity and managed only one run from the error.
A series of events conspired to bring the dream to an end. First the Astros uncharacteristically jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held it. They dug an even deeper hole when they scored three more runs in the 8th inning. Adding insult to injury, starting pitcher Bud Norris struck out nine Cardinals and allowed only an unearned run. Despite Lee's heroics in dropping the fly ball, the team moves to a disappointing 1-8 record.
The Astros can take heart that this is a long season and several records are attainable. I can't find an official team losing streak. The longest one I find is a ten game losing streak. The Astros can gun for that. They can also gun for longest streak of 24 set by the Cleveland Spiders (more about the Spiders in a future blog). The modern record (from 1900 on) is 23 games lost by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961.
As the season progress, more record breaking attempts will become evident. So Astros fans, enjoy. While the dream of a perfect season is over, the dream of a record setting season is still within reach.
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