Freaking Hunter Pence.

0 Wins, 4 Losses.

That's my record for watching my Cubs play the Astros live. 2 losses in Wrigley, 2 losses in Minute Maid.

In the losses, I have seen Zambrano pitch twice, Maddux pitch once, and Ryan Dempster (who was 5-1 going into last night's game) pitch once.

I'm not superstitious about anything...except baseball. I can't explain it, but it's true. I worry about what I wear to the game, down to which ball cap I wear. (Actual thought last night: "Should I wear the away cap to the away game, or should I wear the Central Division Champs hat?" I went with the NLDS cap because I was 0-2 with the away cap) And now, after 4 losses, I'm now afraid to attend Cubs/Astros games now. It's incredibly frustrating, as a Cubs fan living in Houston, to feel like you're a jinx to your own team when they come to your hometown.

Anyway. The game last night.

We sat behind the Astros bullpen in right-center field. Got a lot of good pictures from that perspective, which I hope to upload by Friday.

Soriano went oh-fer on the night, but DLee was strong. Aramis got the early lead in the third, with a two-run shot that bounced high off the wall in left-center. For a moment, I felt like we had a good shot of taking one from the Astros, as Ramirez rounded the bases.

Dempster looked strong through the first three innings, but after a double and two walks in the fourth, he had bases loaded and Hunter Pence at the plate. The count reached 3 balls, and Demp, obviously scared to walk in a run and cut the lead in half, tossed a meatball that Pence parked in the middle of the right field seats. That was the end of scoring. Five innings later, 4-2 would end up being the final score.

The Cubs had some good chances later in the game, but the wind had been let out of the sails. The best chance came with men on and Soriano at the plate in the seventh (I think). I knew at that moment that if they didn't score, they wouldn't have the steam to overcome the paltry two-run deficit.

On the way out of the stadium, the Astros fans were as classy as ever, heh. Loud chants of "Go Home, Cubs!" and "Cubs suck!" I turned to the obnoxious guy on my right and said, "Yeah, ten games over .500 and still in first place. Right, we suck." The guy's buddy was like, "Hey, cool it, man, they're everywhere around here!" The loud guy was a little startled that I was right there looming over him. The rest of the rowdy crowd was less cowed. Whatever. Stay classy, Astros fans.

So there you go. Oh-and-four watching my boys play the Lastros. Heart-breaking.

Freaking Hunter Pence.