No relief

Though David Aardsma has been outstanding of late -- eight of his last nine outs have been via strikeout -- he couldn't get through a second inning tonight. He got a 1-2-3 sixth, with two Ks, but gave up a walk and a single to start the seventh.

So with men on first and third, Craig Hansen came in to pitch. He promptly gave up a single to Lance Berkman, then threw a pitch to Jason Varitek that was clearly off the mark. It was ruled a passed ball, but could easily have been a wild pitch. That scored a second run for the Astros, bringing the score to 9-8.