AP Photo/Bob Levey
Roy Oswalt's pitching is one reason why the Astros are back in playoff contention.
No, not Halladay; the other one. Guy by the name of Oswalt.
Not sure if you remember him. He's the perennial ace who stunk up the joint until about mid-June, then battled back and hip problems that eventually landed him on the disabled list.
Oswalt threw his second straight shutout Thursday against the Pirates, allowing three hits after giving up just one in Coors Field in his previous outing. It was his third straight start without allowing a run, as he pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings at Wrigley Field in his first start of September.
His ERA, which was over five as late as June 19, is now down to 3.54 for the season. He has a sizzling 1.14 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over his last eight starts.
What happened with Oswalt in the beginning of the season? It was just bad luck and a little bit of trying to pitch through some nagging aches and pains before they got worse and caused his trip to the DL, but mostly really bad luck.
Oswalt's homers-per-fly ball rate, which should normally be around 10 percent for most pitchers, was over 23 percent in the first two months of the season. For those new to the concept, studies have shown that pitchers for the most part do not have control over how many homers they give up on fly balls. Fluctuations from the 10 percent mark are usually credited to luck and park factors. Oswalt had the highest rate of homers per fly ball in the big leagues at that time. For a pitcher who has historically been around 8-9 percent, that was extraordinarily bad luck, inflating the rest of his numbers.
That 23 percent number has corrected down to 13 percent -- which would still be a career high for Oswalt -- but as it has normalized, so has his ERA.
Consider that his velocity is pretty much where it has always been, his ground-ball rate is the second-highest of his career at over 50 percent, his strikeout rate is as high as it's been in four seasons, and he's back healthy again, and you are now witnessing the power of a fully armed and operational Oswalt.
By the way, the Astros are now within three games of the wild-card spot in the National League.
Who'd a thunk it?
Past editions: 9/11: Slowey shines | 9/10: Phillips out for year | 9/9: Shuffling closers
BBTN Minute: NL Wild Card Race Heats Up
As you likely already know, Francisco Rodriguez tied the major league record for saves with his 57th. It's not exactly news to fantasy owners, who are aware he's been racking them up in bunches all season long, despite a sharp drop in the velocity of both his fastball and his slider while relying on a changeup more. I'm willing to bet he's going to be overvalued in many leagues next season. … A different Francisco will not be, as in Liriano, who allowed two runs in eight innings, and has a 1.87 ERA with a WHIP under one in eight starts since returning from the minor leagues. He's back to being money in the bank. … Jair Jurrjens allowed four runs in six innings, but struck out a career-high 10. He struggled mightily in August with a 5.73 ERA, but has righted the ship somewhat, and it doesn't appear he will be limping to the finish. … Brad Hawpe has ever-so-quietly been getting better as the season has progressed. He's batting .346 in the second half, and has brought his average up to .291 on the season with 25 homers. It's a perfect example of being patient with proven hitters, as many owners dropped Hawpe when he was hitting .231 with three homers after the first two months. … Melvin Mora's sore hamstring improved enough to get back in the lineup as the DH on Thursday, and he doubled and drove in two. He was perhaps the hottest hitter in baseball when he got hurt, so here's hoping he picks up where he left off at least a little bit. … Ben Sheets' streak of three straight scoreless outings came to an end in a key game against the Phillies, as he gave up five runs over six innings, getting beat by Jamie Moyer. By the way, Moyer has given up more than three runs in a start just once in his past 18 starts, believe it or not. Sometimes, especially in deep head-to-head leagues, you're just looking for a guy who might put together a decent start and not have a big chance of blowing up. … Prince Fielder ended a drought of 24 games without a homer. It was just his second extra-base hit in that time, and hopefully he can use it as a springboard to finish up strong. … Reggie Abercrombie had two hits to help back Oswalt, and has amazingly managed to post a .319 average in his limited at-bats. Before you think the natural order has gone completely out of whack, it's helpful to know he has just one walk and 20 strikeouts. … Shaun Marcum is showing that his recent elbow woes are behind him, as he allowed two runs and struck out six over 7 1/3 innings in his second straight good start to beat Gavin Floyd and the White Sox. His movement was back, and he had all five pitches working again. … Rich Harden, who had been skipped in the Cubs' rotation, returned from his short siesta and allowed two runs in six innings. He struck out only three and was pulled after 86 pitches. Not a dominant outing, but his owners will take it. We have to hedge our bets just slightly for his remaining starts. … Harden beat Todd Wellemeyer, who allowed a couple of unearned runs, but dropped his ERA to 3.01 since the All-Star break. … Brandon Morrow's second start was not quite as good as his first, and a problem we thought could happen showed up, as he ran up his pitch count early in this one, even against the Angels' "time to give the guys a rest" B-team. He did manage to get through five innings relatively unscathed, and I am going to try really hard not to draft him higher than I should next season, but who am I kidding, I probably will anyway. … Jered Weaver looked good with six shutout innings after getting his start pushed back due to cuts on his hand, but lots of pitchers have looked good against the Mariners' offense lately. Fear Luis Valbuena! … Josh Geer is having some short-term success with his sinker/changeup combo, as he's allowed just two runs in each of his first three big league starts. There's no out-pitch there, but he commands well and lets his defense do the work. He's a name to tuck away for potential use in deep NL-only leagues next season. … Matt Cain is known for getting white-hot and also ice-cold, and unfortunately he's now given up four runs or more in his last three outings, with just eight total strikeouts. … Adrian Gonzalez went yard twice for the Padres, a welcome sight for his owners, who had seen him hit 22 homers in the first half and just seven in the second half going into Thursday's game. … Dustin Nippert quietly had another decent outing again, striking out seven through five shutout innings before tiring a bit in the sixth and allowing a run. This was the third straight outing where he was commanding his mid-90s fastball. He may need to be on our radar screen for next season. … Josh Hamilton left the game early after fouling two balls off of his foot, but he's fine and expects to play Friday. … Adrian Beltre returned from a bruised thumb and went 1-for-4.
Ryan Howard, Phillies
He hit a homer for the third consecutive game to extend his major league-leading total to 43. Howard has six homers and 15 RBIs this month, and he's even hitting .368 to raise his average to .243.
Zach Duke, Pirates
While Oswalt was throwing his shutout, on the other side, Duke was struggling for the Pirates, allowing six runs (only two earned, though) and striking out one in just 4 2/3 innings. Since June 25, Duke is 1-10 in 14 starts.
Obviously, the postponement of the Cubs-Astros games this weekend means that in daily leagues you need to set lineups accordingly. … Milton Bradley hopes to return from his strained back Friday. … All the Blue Jays starters will work on three days' rest this weekend, as the Jays make a last-ditch effort to move past the Red Sox. This means that the red-hot Jesse Litsch picks up a start against the Sox instead of the Orioles. … Joe Crede will seek a second opinion on his back in hopes of returning at some point this season. … Yadier Molina was scratched due to a thigh bruise, and might miss another game or two. … Mark Ellis is done for the season after an MRI showed a torn labrum in his shoulder. Eric Patterson will continue to start at second for the A's. … Paul Konerko (knee) is not expected to play until next week at the earliest. … Gabe Kapler has a torn shoulder muscle and is likely done for the season, although he's gong to try to find a way to play. … Greg Reynolds will replace Livan Hernandez in the Rockies' rotation, but is not expected to have fantasy value. … B.J. Upton (quad) could possibly return this weekend. … Chone Figgins is expected to rest his sore elbow a bit now that the Angels have clinched. … Troy Glaus (shoulder) could play again this weekend. … Ty Wigginton (groin) had a setback while running in the outfield and is likely limited to pinch-hitting for the time being.
"The Jays almost certainly are not going to make the playoffs, but the big picture for the organization looks good. Toronto's most notable offseason transaction might be a loss -- the expectation within the industry is that A.J. Burnett is going to opt out of his contract after having a strong season. But Roy Halladay and a sturdy posse of young pitching will remain, and Toronto can reasonably expect its offense to be better over a full season next year as 20-year-old masher Travis Snider and young slugger Adam Lind become entrenched and the Jays' lineup deepens."
-- Buster Olney Blog 
"We think of Jamie Moyer as the ultimate finesse pitcher, and in many respects he's exactly that. But Moyer has struck out 107 batters in 173 innings, or roughly 5.6 per nine innings. That's a workable figure. [Kyle] Kendrick has struck out 4.0 batters per nine innings. That's non-workable unless you're throwing a super-sinker. In Chien-Ming Wang's two big years, he averaged roughly 10 home runs allowed and 32 double plays per season. Do that, and strikeouts don't matter much. This year, Kendrick has given up 21 homers and induced eight double plays. The home runs, the double plays, the strikeouts … add them all up and you've got a pitcher who just shouldn't be pitching every fifth day for a contending team."
-- Rob Neyer Blog
• The Orioles activated George Sherrill from the disabled list, after he missed three weeks due to shoulder inflammation. He didn't pick up the save chance Thursday because manager Dave Trembley didn't want to throw him back in right away, but will put him back in the ninth inning in a save situation as early as Friday. Jim Miller picked up the save instead, the first of his major league career. Miller, once a dark-horse closer prospect in the Rockies system, will split setup duties with Rocky Cherry.
• Rays prospect Jeff Niemann struck out eight and allowed one over 6 2/3 innings, earning a no-decision in a game his Durham club eventually won to stave off elimination in their playoff series, and keep David Price at Triple-A. Niemann is likely trade bait who could have a chance at starting with another organization next season, or work his way into the Tampa Bay bullpen, a role in which he might thrive.
• Sleeper first base prospect Gaby Sanchez hit his second homer for the Marlins' Double-A club in their playoff series, and had three hits overall. A late bloomer of sorts, the 25-year-old hit .314 and slugged .513 this season, with almost as many walks as strikeouts, plus he stole 17 bases.