O's-Astros, Dig Out Those Brooms

The past six times the O's were in a position to sweep a series they have been unable to follow through. Well that changed against the Astros. Brian Burres fell behind early, giving up single runs in the first and second innings (the latter on a Hunter Pence home run). He settled down after that - retiring 11 of 13 at one point, with a Miguel Tejada homering as the 14th batter - and ended up going 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Matt Albers and Jim Johnson both kept Houston off the board, and Dennis Sarfate was brought in for the ninth. His control wasn't good, as he walked two, but he could have gotten out of the inning if Alex Cintron hadn't misplayed a couple of balls (one for an error). George Sherrill came in with the bases loaded - and let a couple of the runners score - but retired Lance Berkman as the potential go-ahead run to seal the victory and move the O's to 37-34. Though the ninth didn't look good, Cintron was better at the plate going 3-4 with a home run (the first by an O's shortstop this year). Aubrey Huff also homered as part of his 2-3 day - it was his 12th, which ties him with Nick Markakis and Luke Scott for the team lead. Ramon Hernandez only had one hit, but it to was a round-tripper, and he added a walk, while Jay Payton and Kevin Millar each drove in a pair. The O's won another close one, 7-5.