This game was blown. Courtesy of astute contributor El Lay Dave, here are the splits of one Big Puma:
-Lance Berkman, career as RHB: .269/.377/.425
-Lance Berkman, career as LHB: .311/.424/.601
Among the pitchers available to pitch in the 8th inning tonight:
-RHP Ronald Belisario
-LHP Hong Chih-Kuo
-LHP Will Ohman
The Dodgers opted with the righty Belisario to face Berkman, the second batter of the inning, who tied the game with an opposite field shot to left field. The Astros continued to rally against the suddenly shaky Belisario, pushing across the eventual winning run later in the inning.
James Loney snapped out of his slump in the top of the eighth with a go-ahead RBI double with nobody out, but he was stranded on the bases as the Dodgers failed to widen their lead.
Matt Kemp's 14-game hitting streak was snapped with an 0-for-4.
The first two games of Eric Collins' broadcast career have not been kind to the Dodgers, as they have dropped both in Houston, in maddening fashion.
On the positive side, the club is still 10-5. So there's that.
In Chad We Trust Wednesday Thursday.