With the New York Yankees missing out on two starting pitchers — Ubaldo Jimenez and Hiroki Kuroda — and a top-notch closer (setup man) Heath Bell, who has yet to be traded but probably wont be headed to New York, the next-best option is the Houston Astros’ left-handed starter Wandy Rodriguez.

---

---

Now, Rodriguez is a nice viable option for the Yankees if the price is, again, right. Currently, the Astros are looking to trade every valuable player on their roster — they’ve already shipped former franchise outfielder, Hunter Pence, to the Philadelphia Phillies and leadoff hitter, base-stealing extraordinary, Michael Bourn, to the Atlanta Braves. So, Rodriguez is available if somebody gives the Astros the right prospects and will pay the remainder of his contract.

According to the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice, Houston is shopping hard for suitors for Rodriguez, but it seems the Astros might need to absorb more of the lefty’s $40-million contract then they want. If the Yankees and Astros can maybe, some how, meet halfway then this would be a very good pickup for New York. Of course, it all depends on who the Yankees will need to give up to get him.

As the day progress, check back to SB Nation New York for all your Yankee trade rumors news. For more reaction and insight on Yankees Trade Rumors visit SB Nation’s Pinstripe Alley.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hunter Pence got misty-eyed while saying goodbye to his teammates in the Houston Astros’ dugout.

Those may be tears of joy in October.

Pence went from last place to a pennant race, joining the Philadelphia Phillies and ending their season-long search for a right-handed hitting outfielder.

“I think every competitor at the highest level wants to be in a pennant race, wants to be in a World Series,” Pence said. “I’m pretty lucky now I get to jump on board with one of the best teams, and hopefully have an opportunity to do that.”

The Phillies sent three minor leaguers, including their two top prospects, and a player to be named to Houston for Pence and cash on Friday.

Pence, a two-time All-Star, is the latest big-name player the Phillies have acquired from the Astros. They’re hoping for similar results.

The Phillies got closer Brad Lidge in Nov. 2007 and Roy Oswalt last year. Lidge was 48 for 48 in save chances in 2008, leading the Phillies to their second World Series title. Oswalt was 7-1 down the stretch last season, helping the Phillies overcome a seven-game deficit to win their fourth straight NL East crown.

General manager Ed Wade made all three deals. He once served as the Phillies’ GM, and fans joke that he deserves a World Series ring for sending Lidge here.

“The goal remains the same,” Wade said. “It’s to get good and stay good, and in order for us to do that it may entail some short-term sacrifices here.”

Pence is expected to start in right field and bat fifth against Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The Phillies have been trying to find someone to hit behind Ryan Howard since letting Jayson Werth walk away in free agency.

Pence is hitting .308 with 11 homers and 62 RBIs this season. He batted .278 over the past three seasons, hit 25 homers each year and averaged 82 RBIs.

“He’s a .300 hitter,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “He’s got some power. He’s a good player. I like him. Yes, I like him quite a bit.”

The Phillies already had the best record in the majors without Pence. But this season won’t be considered a success unless they win the World Series.

That’s why GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. was willing to part with some elite prospects. The Astros got first baseman Jonathan Singleton and right-hander Jarred Cosart. But the Phillies kept talented outfielder Domonic Brown, who will lose his starting job to Pence, and rookie righty Vance Worley.

The 19-year-old Singleton was batting .282 with nine homers and 47 RBIs for Class-A Clearwater. He was selected by the Phillies in the eighth round of the 2009 draft.

The 21-year-old Cosart was 9-8 with a 3.92 ERA in 20 games, 19 starts, for Clearwater.

Houston also receives 25-year-old righty Josh Zeid, who was 2-3 with two saves and a 5.65 ERA in 21 games, 11 starts, for Double-A Reading.

“We believe Domonic Brown is going to be an outstanding player, but he’s learning on the job,” Amaro said. “This (acquisition) is not a knock on Domonic. We believe he’ll be a Phillie for a long time. For us, this was a move for the present and the future.”

Amaro has a knack for making bold moves at the trade deadline. In his three years since replacing Hall of Famer Pat Gillick as the GM, Amaro has acquired Cliff Lee, Oswalt and Pence — all on July 29.

He also traded for Roy Halladay in December 2009, and then shocked the baseball world by signing Lee to a free-agent deal last winter.

“We always try to address our needs,” Amaro said. “We feel this was the missing piece.”

Pence adds balance to a lefty-heavy lineup. Manuel now can move Shane Victorino up from fifth to No. 2 until Placido Polanco returns from the disabled list.

Pence led the Astros, who have the worst record in the majors, in homers. On the Phillies, he’s fourth behind Howard (20), Raul Ibanez (14) and leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins (12).

“I’m really looking forward to just trying to be a part,” Pence said. “Give it my heart and soul like I always do. One thing I try to take pride in is hustle, grind and preparation. It’s really cool to be wanted like that.”

Amaro said the Phillies were able to stay under the luxury tax despite adding Pence’s salary. He’s earning $6.9 million this season. Amaro didn’t rule out making more deals before Sunday’s deadline.

“Right now, I’m very comfortable with our ballclub,” he said.

The 28-year-old Pence was Philadelphia’s target all along because of his age, skills and a favorable contract situation. He can’t become a free agent until 2014.

The Phillies had some interest in Carlos Beltran, traded Thursday from the New York Mets to the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Beltran is a free agent at the end of this season with no compensation.

“I don’t like rentals,” Amaro said. “I don’t believe in those.”

Pence isn’t going anywhere anytime soon — except the postseason if the Phillies keep winning.

July 29, 2011

Houston Astros’ Hunter Pence Traded To Philadelphia Phillies for Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart and Two Others

Pence is headed to the City of Brotherly love for two Top 50 prospects and two players to be named later.

David Coleman

The Port Arthur News
The Port Arthur News

Fri Jul 29, 2011, 10:02 PM CDT

Copyright
2011
PAnews.com, Port Arthur, Texas. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.

Read More: Hunter Pence (RF – HOU), Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros

Long rumored to be on the market, off the market, and back on again, Hunter Pence finally knows where he will continue playing baseball as the Philadelphia Phillies picked up Pence in a trade Friday evening with the Houston Astros.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of Fox Sports had been working on the potential trade all afternoon, but Morosi finally started tweeting details around 9 pm eastern time.

In picking up Pence, Philadelphia acquires a 28-year old former second round draft pick of the Astros. Currently hitting .309/.356/.472 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI, Pence is a career .290/.339/.480 batter. His career offensive season came last year when Pence hit 25 home runs and 91 RBI to go with a .282 average. Pence has hit 25 home runs each of the last three seasons.

Houston will be receiving Johnathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart, and two players to be named later. According to Baseball America, Singleton was ranked second in the Phillies system while Cosart was fourth. Singleton was ranked the 39th best prospect prior to the season, Cosart came in at 70th.

Singleton, 19, is already 6’2″ 215 lbs and was hitting .282/.386/.411 with 9 home runs and 47 RBI for Clearwater (A+), while Cosart , 21, was 9-8 with a 3.92 ERA for Clearwater. The right-hander has 79 strikeouts against 43 walks.

Astros fans should be happy as Baseball America’s Ben Badler seems to love Singleton (via twitter)-

 don’t know that Jared Cosart can stay healthy, but man oh man do I like Jonathan Singleton’s bat

Make sure to check out more Astros coverage at The Crawfish Boxes and Phillies coverage at The Good Phight.

Read More: Hunter Pence (RF – HOU), Pittsburgh Pirates

We don’t know who the third team is yet and we don’t know if this is going down, but now Jayson Stark and Ken Rosenthal are talking like the Astros and Phillies want to make this a three team trade.

Right now, it sounds like Hunter Pence would head to Philly with some package coming back to Houston containing Domonic Brown. I’m assuming that the package would not include Jonathan Singleton and Jarred Cosart (but may include one of them).

But, the Astros wouldn’t be happy with just the No. 4 prospect in all baseball and want to spin him off to a third team. If that team is Atlanta and Houston gets Mike Minor in return, that’s a good return. If they spin him to Pittsburgh, the only good return there might be something involving Jameson Taillon (who the Pirates probably won’t move).

So, as the trade market turns, so do the Astros. It’s going to be a crazy ride for the next two days people. Buckle up.

Read More: mlb trade rumors, mlb rumors, baseball rumors, baseball trade rumors, mlb trade deadline, mlb trade deadline 2011, baseball trade deadline, trade deadline mlb, Hunter Pence (RF – HOU), Wandy Rodriguez (P – HOU), Lucas Harrell (P – HOU), Houston Astros

With a large list of teams still in for Hunter Pence, Ed Wade and the Astros have set the Phillies a Friday deadline to trade for the outfielder. 

Jim Bowden is saying that a rumor is floating about that the Astros are asking for Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton and Trevor May. That is a hefty asking price, and May would be a huge asking price for a third piece. Its not like a chuck it in third piece to get the deal done. Get those three prospects and they could instantly become the Astros three best prospects. It would be an insane return on Pence.

I’m now reading by rote from Astros County, so make sure you bookmark it over the next day or two and keep refreshing: Jayson Stark says that the Astros want Singleton, Cosart and two more high-end prospects for Pence. I already think the above asking price is too high, but this might be foolishly optimistic for Wade.

Meanwhile the Braves might not be out of it, but they seem to be eyeing up Carlos Quentin and Ryan Ludwick. If the Phillies-Pence talks do not work, the Braves might have a package ready, but don’t expect Julio Teheran or Arodys Vizcaino to be moved in any deal. 

Also, almost every contending team had scouts to watch Wandy Rodriguez’s start last night, where he beat the Cardinals to improve to 7-7, no mean feat on a team as bad as this one. It could be his last start as an Astro, with ex-Chicago White Sox farmhand Lucas Harrell ready at Oklahoma City to slot into the rotation if Wandy is traded (h/t to native_astro). 

It all fell apart for the Houston Astros on … well, on Opening Day.

Brett Myers had pitched seven strong innings against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Astros took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Closer Brandon Lyon entered, faced seven batters, allowed six line-drive singles and the Phillies danced away with a 5-4 victory.

We can skip the other lowlights since then. Fast-forward to late July and the Astros are 35-70, a .333 winning percentage that puts them on pace for a final record of 54-108. What’s remarkable about that winning percentage is no other team in the majors is playing less than .400 ball (although the Cubs are sitting right at .400). In a sea of parity, the Astros are in need of a lifeboat, as they are sinking to a lonely state of putridity.

This has led to speculation that the club is shopping around two of its three best players, All-Star right fielder Hunter Pence and lefty starter Wandy Rodriguez. The Astros, after all, have little talent on the big-league roster and a farm system widely considered one of the most barren in the majors. They may as well trade a couple of their few valuable assets, get a slew of prospects and start over under new owner Jim Crane, who will soon take over the club. (By the way, for those who think baseball is struggling, Crane purchased the Astros for $680 million, the second-largest sale in major league history.)

The thinking goes like this: Pence is a good player, albeit short of a superstar. He’s hitting .309/.356/.472, plays hard (he hit a one- hopper over the third baseman’s head on Thursday and hustled in a double), is durable, popular and the face of the franchise — but he’s also 28 years old already and starts to get expensive next year.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, is one of the few good starters potentially available at the trade deadline. He’s 7-7 with a 3.47 ERA, 106 strikeouts in 122 innings, good control and a crafty knowledge of getting hitters out. He’s also 32 and due at least $25.5 million for 2012 and 2013.

So what should general manager Ed Wade do?

I think he should hold his cards.

First off … it’s Ed Wade! I think the last thing Crane wants is Wade pulling the trigger on these deals. I don’t know if Crane has veto power since he’s not officially running the team, but Wade is dead man walking as the club’s GM. The first move Crane will make will probably be to fire Wade. It’s the logical move to make. This is Wade’s 12th season as major league GM and it will be his 12th without making the playoffs. While you can credit him for helping build the Phillies’ 2008 World Series winners (he was fired after the 2005 season), he hasn’t won in Houston and he hasn’t done much to rebuild the farm system. Wade knows he’ll get fired; he’s been in the baseball business long enough to know his fate. Don’t he think he owes the new regime to let them make the key decisions that will affect the future of the franchise?

The other reason not to trade Pence or Rodriguez: I think the Astros could get more for both guys in the offseason. Right now, the Astros would be dealing with a limited number of trade partners. In Rodriguez’s case, the Phillies, Braves, Giants, Pirates and Brewers don’t need starting pitching. The Cardinals already dealt for Edwin Jackson. That leaves only the Reds and possibly the Diamondbacks as suitors among National League teams. American League teams are going to be less likely to make a push for Rodriguez, a guy with a fringy fastball that may not translate as well when facing the deeper lineups in the AL. Rodriguez becomes more valuable in the winter as teams lose free agents and fail to sign others (plus, it’s a weak crop of free agents to begin with).

As for Pence, considering he still has three seasons of team control after 2011, and plays the style of game that GMs and managers love, a lot of teams would covet him. But many of those teams are already out of the playoff hunt. Wait until the offseason and the Astros double their number of potential trade partners.

It’s sad watching a team in this situation. I watched the Astros’ win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Rodriguez gave up three early runs but settled down and pitched seven solid innings. He never wows, throwing 89-90, but he works up and down the zone and changes speeds. Nothing fancy, just effective. The Astros announcers, Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies, kept mentioning Rodriguez’s rank among all-time Astros pitchers in different categories, almost mourning a trade before it happened. (“He finished just two short of Bob Knepper for most strikeouts ever by an Astros left-hander!”) They talked about Pence saying about the trade rumors, “I haven’t been able to keep it completely out of mind.”

Right now, the Astros are a joke. Only two teams in 40 years have lost 110 games — the 2004 Diamondbacks lost 111 and the infamous 2003 Tigers lost 119 — and the Astros have a chance to reach that dubious number. They have a tough rebuild ahead. But I think it should begin in the offseason, with Crane and a new GM pulling the strings.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

ST. LOUIS – Wandy Rodriguez took a while to find a groove.

When the Houston Astros left-hander finally did, he was unstoppable.

Rodriguez retired the last 13 batters he faced and Jason Bourgeois hit a tiebreaking double in the fifth inning to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.

Rodriguez (7-7) allowed just one earned run and five hits. He walked Matt Holliday with one out in the fourth before settling in. He got David Freese to hit into a double play to end the fourth, then pitched four perfect innings before Sergio Escalona and Mark Melancon finished up. Melancon got his tenth save in 13 opportunities.

“The first two or three innings, I didn’t feel very comfortable on the mound,” Rodriguez said. “Then I started to focus. When I focus on my game, I know what can happen.”

Rodriguez threw first-pitch strikes to 22 of the 26 batters he faced. The Astros committed two errors allowing a pair of unearned runs in the second inning. But Rodriguez just appeared to get stronger as the game went along. He threw 116 pitches on a hot night. The temperature at the start of the game was 95 degrees.

“When they got a couple unearned runs against us, he didn’t let that bother him,” Houston manager Brad Mills said.. “He kept coming. He worked through it. The last few starts, he’s been right on.”

St. Louis lefty Jaime Garcia (10-5), who entered the game with an NL-best home record of 6-1, gave up four earned runs in six innings.

“It was just a tough game,” Garcia said. “I was battling. That fourth and fifth inning, they were kind of long. Things just didn’t go my way.”

Carlos Lee hit his tenth homer of the season in the sixth to give his team a 5-3 lead..

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Lee said. “We’re finally coming through at the plate.”

Lee has three homers and nine RBI in his last seven games.

Michael Bourn extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games with two hits. He also walked twice.

Hunter Pence hit two doubles. Pence has been the subject of trade rumors and he reiterated after the game that he would like to stay with the Astros.

“I love these guys and I love Houston,” Pence said. “That’s all I know. I’m not really in control.”

St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols, who went 2 for 4, moved to within two hits of 2,000. He is aiming to become the 263rd player in history to hit that mark and the fifth St. Louis player to do so.

Wandy Rodriguez pitched seven innings and retired the last 13 batters he faced and Jason Bourgeois hit a tiebreaking double in the fifth inning to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.  

Rodriguez (7-7) allowed just one earned run and five hits. He walked Matt Holliday with one out in the fourth before settling into a groove. He got David Freese to hit into a double play to end the fourth, then pitched four perfect innings before Sergio Escalona and Mark Melancon finished up. Melancon got his tenth save in 13 opportunities.

Jaime Garcia (10-5), who entered the game with an NL-best home record of 6-1, gave up four earned runs in six innings.  

Carlos Lee hit his tenth homer of the season and third in the last seven games for the Astros.  

Michael Bourn extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games with two hits. He also walked twice. Hunter Pence hit two doubles.  

Albert Pujols, who went 2 for 4, moved to within two hits of 2,000. He is aiming to become the 263rd player in history to hit that mark and the fifth St. Louis player to do so.  

Houston scored twice in the fourth and once in the fifth to erase a 3-1 deficit. Lee doubled in Pence to cut the deficit to 3-2. Lee advanced to second and third on a wild pitch by Garcia and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Chris Johnson.  

The Astros capitalized on a throwing error by Freese at third to take the lead for good 4-3 in the sixth. Wandy Rodriguez reached on the error and scored on Bourgeois’ two-out double that bounced off the bag at third.  

Lee added a solo homer in the sixth to push the lead to 5-3.  

St. Louis, which lost for the third time in eight games, took a 3-1 lead in the third on back-to-back doubles by Jon Jay and Pujols.  

Houston rookie second baseman Jose Altuve, who had hit safely in his first seven games, went 0 for 4, but drove in Bourn with a first-inning sacrifice fly.  

St. Louis starters Gerald Laird and Nick Punto, along with Tony Cruz who entered for Laird, all left the game early. Laird, the starting catcher, had a mild strain of the ring finger on his left hand while sliding at the plate in the second inning. Punto, who started at second base, strained his left oblique during his third-inning at-bat. Cruz got hit by a foul tip off the bat of Johnson in eighth.  

NOTES: The Astros are 2-5 in a season-longest 10-game road trip that concludes with three games this weekend in Milwaukee. … St. Louis OF Lance Berkman, who leads the NL with 27 home runs, missed his second game since straining his right shoulder on Tuesday. … Punto batted in the leadoff spot for the eighth time this season. …Ryan Theriot, who has led off 81 times, was moved to the No. 7 spot and is in an 0 for 14 skid.  

 

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) – Carlos Lee went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, helping the Houston Astros defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3.

The top five hitters in the Astros’ lineup combined for eight hits and four RBI, and Wandy Rodriguez (7-7) and the Houston bullpen set down the final 19 hitters they faced to earn a four-game series split.

Rodriguez was charged with three runs — one earned — on five hits to go with six strikeouts.

Albert Pujols doubled twice and knocked in a run for the Cardinals, who had won five of six before dropping the final two games of the set.

Jaime Garcia (10-5) was saddled with the loss after allowing five runs — four earned — on eight hits over six frames.

 

The Sports Network

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jose Altuve tied a Houston Astros record by hitting safely in his first seven games. It took a little while to get his first RBI, but it was huge.

The 21-year-old rookie drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning with his third hit as the Astros snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

“I feel really good, not just at home plate,” Altuve said. “Like I’ve said before, I want to prove I can play here and play hard.”

Jason Bourgeois also had three hits and perhaps unintentionally helped the Astros score an insurance run on Altuve’s hit when center fielder Jon Jay’s off-line throw to the plate glanced off his leg. Bourgeois jumped at the last instant before the ball struck his leg and changed course en route to the backstop.

“I honestly could not see the ball coming. I was so busy trying to tell (the runner) to get down, by the time I lifted my foot up it hit one of my toes,” Bourgeois said. “It’s one of those things where I’m just going to kind of be quiet and hope it goes our way and it did.”

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made an unsuccessful protest that Bourgeois didn’t try hard enough.

“I didn’t see him do a real good job of it. You just can’t stand there and let the ball hit you, you’ve got to let the defense make its plays,” La Russa said.

Chris Carpenter worked seven strong innings for the Cardinals, who fell a half-game behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead hours after acquiring pitcher Edwin Jackson in a three-team deal with the Blue Jays and White Sox that cost them outfielder Colby Rasmus.

Matt Holliday doubled twice one day after missing Tuesday’s game with a stomach virus but the Cardinals were 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros loaded the bases with one out in the eighth against Mitchell Boggs before Hunter Pence, making his first pinch-hit appearance of the season, grounded into a double play. Boggs (0-3) gave up five hits and two runs in 1 2-3 innings.

Altuve, a second baseman, is 11 for 26 (.423) since being called up from Double-A Corpus Christi and matched Russ Johnson’s seven-game streak as a rookie in 1997. Altuve had been leading all minor leaguers with a .389 average.

“I don’t know exactly how many hits it is but it’s not seven hits, it’s a lot more,” Houston manager Brad Mills said. “He’s getting them in bunches and he’s doing a great job at second, and that’s just great to see.”

Fernando Rodriguez (2-0) allowed a hit and two walks over two innings in relief of Bud Norris. Albert Pujols struck out with runners on second and third against Mark Melancon, who earned his ninth save in 12 chances.

Clint Barmes had been a career .111 hitter against St. Louis (3 for 27) before putting the Astros ahead with a two-run homer in the second. Carpenter said he was happy with the 0-2 pitch low and a bit inside.

“I don’t second-guess that pitch at all,” Carpenter said. “It was a good pitch.”

Consecutive two-out doubles by Holliday and Jay off Norris cut the gap to one in the fourth and Yadier Molina’s two-out RBI single tied it in the sixth. Michael Bourn’s throw from center field to the plate was in plenty of time to catch Pujols trying to score from second, but rookie catcher Carlos Corporan couldn’t handle a high bounce and went to make the tag without the ball.

Third baseman Chris Johnson started the St. Louis rally with fielding and throwing errors on Pujols’ one-out bouncer.

Norris gave up one earned run in six innings, another strong start against a team he’s 6-2 against for his career.

Carpenter matched his season high with eight strikeouts, allowing two runs in seven innings. He’s 5-0 in his last seven starts, working seven or more innings in six of them, and needs three strikeouts for 1,000 with St. Louis.

Notes: Cardinals leadoff man Ryan Theriot, who entered in a 2-for-35 slump the previous nine games, batted second for the first time this season and was 0 for 4 with a walk. Replacement leadoff man Daniel Descalso struck out three times. … Molina reached above the netting behind the plate to snare Norris’ foul pop to end the second. … Bourn singled twice and walked and is batting .411 (23 for 56) during a 12-game hitting streak. … Bourn was caught stealing for the sixth time in the second, most of any active player against the Cardinals.

The Houston Astros have beaten the Cardinals only three times in
11 meetings this season. Not surprisingly, all those games have
been started for Houston by the redoubtable Bud Norris.

Norris, who has held the Cardinals to two earned runs over 20
innings in those three games, didn’t receive credit for the Astros’
4-2 victory over a reshuffled Cardinals team at Busch Stadium on
Wednesday night before a paid house of 35,679. But now the local
nine has found a new young Astros tormentor.

Five-foot-seven second baseman Jose Altuve, who had been hitting
.389 in the minor leagues before being summoned from Class AA, has
had seven hits in the first three games of the series here. He has
hit safely in all seven of his major league games.

Altuve’s third hit Wednesday off Mitchell Boggs drove home the
go-ahead run in the ninth inning, and a second run scored on the
play as Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay’s off-line throw home
caromed off the foot of Houston on-deck hitter Jason Bourgeois, who
was off to the first-base side of the plate, ostensibly guiding the
Astros runner home.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa protested that he didn’t think
Bourgeois tried to get out of the way, but the umpires’ call stood
and the important insurance run scored. “I didn’t see him do a very
good job of it,” La Russa said. “You just can’t stand there and let
the ball hit you.”

The Astros’ victory knocked the Cardinals out of first place
again in the National League Central Division, with the Milwaukee
Brewers the new leaders by half a game.

Boggs (0-3) said he made a mistake to Altuve. “I just left a
breaking ball up to a kid who’s been hitting everything,” said
Boggs.

“He took the ball up the middle, which is what you’re supposed
to do with those. Bad pitch by me.”

The Cardinals threatened in the ninth when Nick Punto walked for
the third time, pinch-hitter David Freese singled and Daniel
Descalso sacrificed.

But Ryan Theriot, two for his last 38, struck out and Albert
Pujols did the same against Mark Melancon. Pujols, who flied out
with two on to end the seventh, said, “(Melancon) made a great
pitch, that last pitch – a filthy cutter. The last two at-bats, I
had two great opportunities to come through for the team.”

Both Norris, who worked six innings, and Cardinals starter Chris
Carpenter, who fanned eight in seven innings, were good enough to
garner a positive decision. Norris is 14-18 against other major
league teams but 6-2 against the Cardinals.

“He’s got a great arm. There’s no doubt about that,” said
Carpenter. “I’m not sure why he doesn’t beat anybody else. With his
stuff and his arm, it’s surprising.”

Carpenter served up a two-run homer in the second on an 0-2
pitch to Clint Barmes, who had been two for 14 against Carpenter.
It was a pitch Carpenter said he watched on replay several times
afterward and one he said he would throw again.

“It was a really good pitch. That ball was off the plate inside
and below his knees,” said Carpenter. “I don’t second-guess that
pitch at all.”

Matt Holliday, back in the lineup after missing a game when he
was sick, doubled with two out in the Cardinals’ fourth. Jay, the
new everyday center fielder with the trade of Colby Rasmus, doubled
to score Holliday, who also doubled later in the game.

“He was moving a little slowly,’ said La Russa. “You could tell
he was gutting it out.”

Some slipshod fielding by the Astros helped the Cardinals tie
the score in the sixth. With one out, third baseman Chris Johnson
booted Pujols’ grounder and then, in haste, threw wide of first and
was charged with two errors.

On Yadier Molina’s two-out single to center, Pujols, waved home
by coach Jose Oquendo – as if Pujols would stop – looked out by
several feet but catcher Humberto Quintero couldn’t handle center
fielder Michael Bourn’s one-hop throw, and Pujols slid in
safely.

After Carpenter had reached 102 pitches, a low total for him
lately, he was lifted for Boggs in the eighth. Sending Carpenter
back out, La Russa said, “wouldn’t have been a good move. He was
out of gas. Out of bullets.”

Carpenter said, “I felt good. But I’ve never second-guessed him.
Never will. It’s his call and that’s fine with me.”

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Winning a game for the Houston Astros is not easy these days.

Just ask Houston starter Brett Myers.

Myers pitched his second straight quality start Tuesday in St. Louis, holding the Cardinals to three runs in eight innings of work. But his teammates only managed to score once, and all Myers (3-11) had to show for his effort was another loss as the Astros fell by a 3-1 count.

“He did a great job,” said Houston manager Brad Mills. “He made his pitches the whole game. He moved his pitches around the zone well and changed speeds.”

In his last outing on July 20 against Washington, Myers allowed two runs on eight hits over seven innings. He did not get a decision in that contest.

Myers put himself behind the eight-ball Tuesday before he had retired his second batter. With one out and a runner on first, Albert Pujols belted Myers first pitch to him on a line to deep left center. The ball appeared to hit the top of the fence, but was ruled a home run by third base umpire Mike DiMuro. The call was upheld after a replay review and gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

“I heard it hit the wall,” Myers said. “He hit it good, there’s no doubt about that. I don’t know how they (would have) missed it unless they just looked at one angle.”

Crew chief Jim Reynolds said the replay convinced the crew the right call was made.

“Once the replay that we looked at showed that it hit the concrete behind it, then it’s a home run,”” Reynolds said.

Undaunted, Myers settled down and pitched all eight innings for the Astros. He went on to allow 11 hits, but just the three runs, the other coming on a solo shot by David Freese with two out in the sixth. Myers did not walk a man and struck out four.

Houston fell to 0-5 on its season-long, 10-game road trip and 0-4 at Busch Stadium.

Mills said the Pujols homer was an example of the team’s luck these days.

“You don’t want excuses or to use those things like slipping on the turf last night or the home-run call tonight,” Mills said. “We want to be able to overcome those things.”

Carlos Lee had an RBI single in the third for Houston’s only run. He drove in Michael Bourn, who had doubled to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Houston had plenty of chances against St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook (9-4), who allowed seven hits and a walk in his six innings. But the Astros went 2-for-17 with runners on base and 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

“I’m just trying to be as consistent as I can possibly be and that’s something I haven’t been all year,” Westbrook said. “I just want to keep putting together good start after good start and hopefully I can keep it rolling.”

Fernando Salas struck out the side in the ninth for his 19th save in 22 opportunities.

Myers settled down after the Pujols’ blast, allowing just Freese’s solo shot with two-out in the sixth. He gave up 11 hits but just the three runs with no walks and four strikeouts in eight innings of work while falling to 0-4 in the month of July.

Notes: Cardinals second baseman Skip Schumaker is batting .368 in July (21-for-57). … Houston’s Jose Altuve reached on an infield single in the first. Altuve has now hit safely in his first six Major League games, one shy of Russ Johnson’s team record of seven games to start a career set in 1997. … Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman was back in the lineup after missing a game to rest a sore shoulder, but left before the start of the fifth inning after going 0-for-2 to snap an eight-game hitting streak. … Bourn has been one bright spot on the trip. He stole his Major League leading 38th base Tuesday and is 10-for-23 in his last five games (.476).

Read More: Hunter Pence (RF – HOU)

Okay, so in the past day, Hunter Pence has been reportedly pulled off the trade market and put back on. We’re officially in the realm of the NFL draft smoke screens, where you can’t trust anything said about any player. Hunter Pence may or may not be traded, but we can’t know what’s going on until a trade comes out.

We do know that the Phillies are willing to pay the luxury tax, so they should be willing to pick up Pence in a deal. Does Philadelphia have enough to make a trade happen? OremLK over at The Crawfish Boxes made a great case why Houston probably will not get Domonic Brown for Pence and may be lucky to get Jonathan Singleton. Tim Dierkes also touches on the reasons why top prospects do not get traded.

On the Wandy front, there are these persistent connections to the Diamondbacks, as that report broke on Sunday and then we hear that Houston was scouting the Arizona Triple-A team yesterday as well as the Braves’ Triple-A players. We talked about this on the podcast Sunday over at TCB, but Kevin Towers and Ed Wade have solid history, which has to help the possibility of a trade.

Oh, yeah, the Braves just may still be interested in Hunter, too. As we’ve talked about before, there’s so much talent in the Atlanta system, it’s easily the most attractive for trade purposes. If Pence does go there, the Astros could get a really good package with picks outside the Top 100. It’s still more likely that a guy like Michael Bourn is actually the one headed to the ATL.

We’ll update you as we find out more…

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Houston Astros’ cleanup hitter is starting to act the part.

Carlos Lee made things interesting with his 16th career grand slam, homering for the second straight game in a 10-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. Lee has a dozen seasons with 24 or more homers but has only nine this year, but is 10-for-25 with nine RBIs the last seven games.

“I’m feeling good at the plate, hitting the ball hard,” Lee said. “I hope I’m coming around and can keep driving the ball.”

The Astros trailed 8-1 before Lee connected in the eighth off P.J. Walters, cutting the gap to three runs before St. Louis answered with two runs. He’s tied for ninth on the career list with Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Dave Kingman and second on the active list, trailing only Alex Rodriguez’ 21.

Since hitting .194 in April, Lee is batting .313 with seven homers and 42 RBIs in 70 games.

“It was great to see it,” manager Brad Mills said. “He kept battling the whole at-bat.”

Lee is 2-for-2 against Walters, both grand slams, also connecting on July 21, 2009 in Houston.

“I didn’t know that. For real?” Lee said. “That’s crazy, but that’s the game.”

Slow-footed catcher Yadier Molina was a triple shy of the cycle for the second time in three games and Kyle McClellan ended an eight-game victory drought for the Cardinals.

The Astros’ Hunter Pence suffered his second fielding gaffe in as many games, handing Nick Punto a gift RBI triple in the second after misjudging a routine fly, appearing to lose the ball in lights and then stumbling. It wasn’t clear whether new turf, replaced after a U2 concert eight days earlier, played a role.

“We’ll deal with it,” Mills said. “We’re not thrilled with it. You want the sure footing and so forth, but it wasn’t there. And it cost us a little bit.”

Pence said he wasn’t worried about footing “until I fell down and then I was rather uncomfortable.”

He ran several steps after making a running catch for the second out in the eighth, leading some to believe he had thought the inning was over.

“I didn’t want to stop very quickly,” Pence said.

Colby Rasmus, the Cardinals’ player mentioned most in rumors heading into the trade deadline, homered for the second straight day with three RBIs.

Molina has three career triples in 897 career at-bats and missed his only shot for the cycle when he took a called third strike from Mark Melancon in the eighth. He’s 6-for-12 with two homers and five RBIs his last three games and his eighth homer, matching his career single-season best from 2005, came in the fourth off J.A. Happ (4-12).

McClellan (7-6) was the first National League pitcher to get to six victories after working eight strong innings in a 4-2 victory over the Astros at home on May 19 and finally made it to No. 7 after working seven strong innings. The right-hander had been 0-4 with a 5.48 ERA the previous seven starts, all St. Louis losses.

The first-year starter allowed one run on six hits and walked none and has won all three of his outings against the Astros.

Happ surrendered five or more runs for the sixth straight start, and has given up five or more runs in half of his eight career starts against the Cardinals. He’s also 1-7 with a 8.02 ERA on the road this season.

Pence leads the National League with nine assists and was the Astros’ lone All-Star, but has struggled lately.

On Sunday, Pence said he was blinded by the sun on Marlon Byrd’s leadoff triple, which should have been a routine play, in the 10th inning of the Cubs’ 5-4 victory. He came in on Punto’s fly ball, then appeared blinded by lights on a hit that put St. Louis up 2-1.

In the eighth, Pence apparently believed he had caught Ryan Theriot’s fly ball for the third out, running several steps before finally throwing late to third as Punto took the extra base.

Punto scored on what appeared to be a busted squeeze play, and was halfway down the line when McClellan swung away and grounded out to second for an RBI that made it 3-1.

The Astros have lost four in a row and are a major-league worst 33-69, going 10-35 since June 2. A bright spot was rookie Jose Altuve, who had three hits and has hit safely in all five career starters.

The 21-year-old Altuve began the year at Class A Lancaster and at the time of his callup led all minor leaguers with a .389 average.

Notes: Walters had not allowed a hit in 3 2/3 innings before Monday, when he gave up three hits and four runs in one-third of an inning. … Cardinals 3B David Freese, who has complained of leg tightness in recent games, was removed for a pinch runner after walking in the fifth. … Bourn singled in the eighth and is 19-for-47 during a 10-game hitting streak. He entered with 64 hits since June 1, most in the majors over that span. … Lee hit his first grand slam since June 9, 2010 at Colorado and it was the Astros’ first since Jason Michaels connected against the Brewers Aug. 1, 2010. … Pence, Lee and Brett Wallace are a combined 25-for-41 (.609) against Jake Westbrook, the Cardinals’ starter Tuesday.

Read More: Randy Wells (P – CHC), Jordan Lyles (P – HOU), Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs

(Sports Network) – Aiming for their very first three-game win streak of the season, the Chicago Cubs try to make it a clean sweep against the disappointing Houston Astros in a National League Central showdown at Wrigley Field this afternoon.

The Cubs last celebrated three consecutive victories near the end of the 2010 campaign when they closed out a four-game set against the San Diego Padres on the road at the end of September and then took the first two games versus these same Astros before losing the final game of the season.

On Saturday the Cubs held the visitors to just a single run on nine hits, en route to the 5-1 triumph. Starting pitcher Randy Wells earned his first victory in nearly four months, allowing five hits and one run, striking out four and walking two over six innings for his first positive outcome since an April 4 win over Arizona.

“I thought he started to get the ball up a bit later in the outing, but it’s understandable,” said Cubs manager Mike Quade. “He made a lot of pitches, but I made the decision for a lot of reasons. If we get him through six, with a chance to win, with the bullpen throwing as good as they did, it seemed the right thing to do. If he can build on that, that’s fantastic.”

Geovany Soto homered and drove in two runs for the hosts to help carry the offense. Marlon Byrd also hit a solo home run and Starlin Castro plated a run for the Cubs as they generated five runs on just six hits on the day.

Carlos Lee finished 3-for-4 and drove in the lone run for the Astros, who have dropped four of their last six and remain the weakest team in all of baseball with a mere 33 wins in 100 opportunities. The team’s run differential (minus-117) is by far the worst in the majors as only one other team falls into triple digits in that category.

Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez suffered the loss despite yielding only two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts in seven full innings of action.

Just 20 years of age, Jordan Lyles has been tabbed as the starter for the Astros this afternoon, searching for his first major league win in the process.

Lyles, a native of North Carolina, has been up with the big club only since the end of May, but has yet to taste any measure of success. On Monday he lasted 8 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits — two home runs — while striking out six, but still he was charged with his fifth loss of the campaign.

As for the Cubs, they plan on following the lead set but Matt Garza when he takes the mound for the hosts today. The right-hander, 0-2 in his career against Houston after spending the first five years of his tenure in the American League, is winless in the month of July and has just one decision to show for his efforts through those four outings.

On Tuesday the Fresno State product sized up the Philadelphia Phillies at home and allowed just a single run on four hits, walking three and striking out five over the course of seven innings, but he still failed to factor into the decision which turned into a 4-2 victory for the visitors.

Houston, which continues a 10-game road trip this coming week with stops in St. Louis and Milwaukee, is actually tied with the Cubs as the third-best hitting team in the NL at the moment, the clubs both batting a collective .261. Ironically, both pitching staffs enter play on Sunday with the very same ERA (4.62), but that has them tied for last in the league at this juncture.

Randy Wells finally overcame a first inning jam to win his first game in over three months.

Wells pitched six strong innings to earn his first victory since April 4 and Geovany Soto added a solo shot and an RBI single in the eighth to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the major league-worst Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon.

Marlon Byrd also homered for the Cubs, who will try to win three in a row on Sunday for the first time this season.

Wells (2-3) allowed one run on five hits. He struck out four and pitched around two walks.

Wells, who gave up a combined 12 runs in the first innings of his previous five outings, allowed a leadoff single to Michael Bourn and walked Angel Sanchez to start the game. After Hunter Pence popped out, the right-hander ended the inning by getting Carlos Lee swinging and Chris Johnson looking.

“For a second there, I thought here we go again. I just tried to stay calm and make pitches. I was able to make some key pitches there and get some big outs and I was able to escape it. It was good. It got me a little fired up and ready to go then I tried to take it through each inning,” said Wells.

Chicago’s bullpen backed up Wells. Marshall struck out pinch-hitter Matt Downs to end the eighth, leaving runners at first and second. Cubs closer Carlos Marmol was back in his normal role after struggling with control issues.

Cubs manager Mike Quade temporarily removed Marmol as the closer earlier in the week. In his five previous appearances, Marmol allowed eight walks, but in a non-save situation on Saturday, Marmol was just as wild. After allowing a leadoff single, he hit Carlos Corporan, but then rebounded by retiring the next three batters.

Soto said winning three in a row isn’t important mentally for the Cubs, who won two straight for the first time since June 29-30.

“Not really. Three in a row hasn’t happened yet, but we don’t look at it that way. We’re not really concern. We just want to have (good) ballgames and try to get into a rhythm. We’ve been on and off the whole year and we just want to have a mental breather to just get into rhythm, get everything to click and have everything go our way for a little bit,” said Soto.

Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez (6-7) pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out seven and walked one.

“Wandy did an absolutely outstanding job, threw the ball really well. Usually the solo shots don’t hurt you. Today, it got him behind and we were having problems knocking in runners in scoring position,” said Astros manager Brad Mills.

The Astros have lost 14 of its last 18 road games and six straight overall. Houston has gone 27 straight hits without an extra base hit.

“It’s tough. Myself, I’m making good contact, but I can’t get any elevation on the ball. I don’t know why. My swing seems like it’s pretty good, I just can’t get any elevation. I’m hitting hard line drives, but on the ground. I don’t know how to explain it. We had opportunities to score a lot of runs in these two games but we never come up with the big hits. We need to score runs,” said Lee.

After winning in his season debut against the Diamondbacks, Wells went nine straight outings without picking up win. The right-hander was 0-3 with a 7.38 ERA in his nine previous starts and gave up at least four runs in five consecutive starts.

After his first start of the season, Wells missed nearly two months with a right forearm strain.

“Obviously it was disappointing to come in after having the spring I had to have to go on the shelf that early. It’s been a process trying to get back to where you want to be, battling aches and pains, stuff like that trying to get healthy,” said Wells.

In the second inning, Byrd gave the Cubs a lead with a home run to center field on a 2-2 pitch from Rodriguez. It was Byrd’s fifth of the season.

Soto led off the fifth with a solo shot on an 0-2 pitch. It was Soto’s ninth of the season.

Lee cut the Cubs’ lead with an RBI single in the sixth inning. Sanchez scored from second, just beating Byrd’s throw from center.

The Cubs added insurance runs in the eighth. Kosuke Fukudome, who came in as a defensive replacement hit a triple off Astros reliever Sergio Escalona. Fukudome ended up scoring on Starlin Castro’s infield single off reliever Fernando Rodriguez. With the bases loaded, Soto hit a hard grounder at third baseman Chris Johnson. Johnson made a diving stop, but made an errant throw to first allowing two runs to score to make it 5-1.

NOTES: Astros third base coach Dave Clark missed the game to attend a funeral. Bench coach Al Pedrique filled in for Clark. … The announced attendance was 40,486 putting the Cubs over the 2 million mark for the 2011 season. … Corporan left the game after getting hit on the right foot. Mills said he expects him to be fine.

Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano hit fifth-inning homers and the Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Friday.

Ramirez’s 18th homer, a two-run shot, capped Chicago’s four-run rally in the inning. Ramirez’s 13 homers since June 24 are the most in the majors.

Soriano started the inning with his 15th of the season.

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano (7-5) won for just the second time since May 26 and improved to 16-8 against Houston, the most wins against the Astros by an active pitcher.

Zambrano went six innings, allowing nine hits and two runs, striking out three and walking one.

Houston’s Bud Norris (5-7) took the loss in his first career start at Wrigley Field. He gave up nine hits in 6 1-3 innings, allowing four runs and striking out five.

Michael Bourn had three hits and two stolen bases.

Five Cubs relievers combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief.

Sean Marshall pitched the ninth for his third save. Carlos Marmol, the Cubs’ closer for most of the season, struck out the only two batters he faced in the eighth inning.

However, the Astros failed to capitalize on some early opportunities and stranded eight runners in the game.

The Astros loaded the bases with nobody out in the second on a Carlos Lee walk and back-to-back singles by Brett Wallace and Chris Johnson.

Zambrano fell behind Clint Barmes 3-0, but induced a double-play grounder to short, scoring Lee with the game’s first run. Zambrano escaped further damage by getting Humberto Quintero on a bouncer to second.

The Astros again loaded the bases with no outs in the third.

Norris and Bourn singled and Zambrano hit Jose Altuve in the shoulder with a pitch.

Zambrano fell behind Hunter Pence 3-0, but Pence lined sharply to shallow left and Carlos Lee flew out to about the same spot, leaving the bases loaded with two outs for Wallace. Wallace flew out to right to end the inning.

The Cubs also struggled in the early going. Soriano led off the third with a double into the left-field corner. With one out, he was caught in a rundown on a comebacker hit by Zambrano. Chicago also squandered Ramirez’s leadoff double in the fourth.

Houston went ahead 2-0 in the fourth when Bourn singled home Barmes.

The Astros’ early failings cost them when the Cubs finally got to Norris with a four-run rally in the fifth.

Soriano cut Houston’s lead to 2-1 with a leadoff homer. Chicago tied the game when Darwin Barney singled, went to second on Zambrano’s bunt hit, stole third and scored on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly.

Ramirez then hit a two-run homer into the left-field bleachers, putting the Cubs up 4-2.

NOTES: Houston reinstated outfielder Jason Bourgeois from the 15-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Brian Bogusevic to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Bourgeois had been on the disabled list since June 29 because of a strained right quad. Bourgeois struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. … Henry Sosa, acquired by the Astros from the San Francisco Giants for infielder Jeff Keppinger on Tuesday, threw seven shutout innings in his debut with Double-A Corpus Christi on Thursday night. He allowed four hits and struck out five. … Cubs manager Mike Quade declined to pick a starter for Tuesday’s game at Milwaukee, saying he wanted to see how the weekend series with Houston unfolded. Rodrigo Lopez, who has three straight quality starts, is the most likely candidate to take the turn. … Aramis Ramirez hit his 231st homer as a member of the Cubs, tying him with Gabby Hartnett for sixth on the club’s career list. … The Cubs snapped a nine-game streak with at least one error, their longest since June 4-13, 1987. The Cubs entered the game with 87 errors on the season, 15 more than the Astros, who had the second-most in the National League.