Game #25: Astros 8, Mets 1

Chris Schwinden struggles in four innings on Wednesday, allowing five runs on six hits. (NYDailyNews.com)

Cue Charlie Brown walk, all the way back to Queens.

Chris Schwinden couldn't buy a break on the mound and Wandy Rodriguez had the New York bats guessing all afternoon as the Mets suffered a sweep at the hands of the Astros, 8-1.

The Bad Stuff:

• With the lower altitude in Houston than in Denver, Chris Schwinden had a better chance to improve his chances of staying in the rotation. Consider that chance gone with the 5 runs on 6 hits in 4 innings, including 2 home runs and 5 RBIs to Chris Johnson.
• Manny Acosta didn't fare much better with the thicker air either, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits in 2 innings.
• Conversely, Wandy Rodriguez continued his home mastery by allowing 1 run on 6 hits in 7 innings, walking 2, striking out 5, and bring his ERA down to a stellar 1.79.

The Good Stuff:

• Ruben Tejada was one of the few bright spots for the Mets offense, going 3-4 with 2 doubles (bringing his total up to a league-leading 10 two-baggers). He didn't score at all, getting thrown out trying to stretch the 1st inning's double into a triple and being stranded on base in the 5th.
• David Wright went 1-3 with a walk, his first triple of the year, and scored the Mets' lone run in the 4th on Andres Torres's single.
• Tim Byrdak and Frank Francisco kept Houston from going double-digits, combining for 2 scoreless innings but allowing 3 hits between them.

Final Analysis:
Well...that sucked. Every loss was worse than the last, and today's was just plain awful. Houston isn't supposed to be good, but as has so often been the case these last 50 years, Space City became a house of horrors for the New York Mets.

They'll now spend the off-day licking their wounds and preparing for an Arizona Diamondbacks team that on paper is much better than the Houston Astros squad that just swept them all over Minute Maid Park.

MM