Summary One of the most anticipated events for the Houston Astros during the 2007 season was the inevitable
3,000th hit of
Craig Biggio's career. Biggio concluded the
2006 campaign with 2,930 total
hits. In his 20th season, he had played longer for the club than anyone and accumulated numerous team records.
April , Opening Day, 2007 The Astros hosted the
Pittsburgh Pirates for
Opening Day, which took place on April 2. Astros starter
Roy Oswalt and Pirates starter
Zach Duke exchanged shutout ball for the first four innings. Oswalt went innings, diffusing five hits and one
base on balls with one run surrendered. During the bottom of the fifth,
Luke Scott deposited a Duke offering for
home run and open a 2–0 lead. Craig Biggio lined a
single off
Jonah Bayliss during the bottom of the eighth inning to obtain his first safety of the season, and he concluded the day 1-for-4. In the top of the ninth,
Xavier Nady took
Brad Lidge offering deep to left to tie the contest, 2–2. In the top of the tenth inning,
Jason Bay homered off
Chad Qualls as Pittsburgh took the lead, 4–2. Reliever
Salomón Torres retired the Astros in order in the bottom of the tenth to seal the Pirates' victory and earn the
save, while Qualls was the
losing pitcher. Biggio extended his club-record 19th
Opening Day starts, including a 14th at second base, also a club record. His first three were at catcher, while he also made two as the center fielder. Meanwhile, Oswalt, who made his fifth consecutive Opening Day start, tied
J. R. Richard,
Mike Scott, and
Shane Reynolds for the club record among starting pitchers. Shortstop
Adam Everett connected for a go-ahead
home run on April 9 in the eighth inning off
Bob Howry of the
Chicago Cubs and set up an eventual 5–3 Astros' win. The drive was the 34th of Everett's career, which set a franchise record for the position, surpassing
Dickie Thon, who was the club's shortstop from
1981–
1987. Biggio
doubled twice, and
Chris Burke,
Morgan Ensberg,
Carlos Lee and
Luke Scott each also doubled.
Lance Berkman drew a
base on balls and clipped a
sacrifice fly.
Chad Qualls was charged a blown
save off an
unearned run in the bottom of the seventh, but Everett's deep drive helped convert that to a
victory.
Rick White followed with a scoreless eighth for the
hold, and
Dan Wheeler earned his first save with a perfect ninth. Imitated April 9, Berkman generated a 28-game
on-base scintilla that represented a season high for the club, spanning until May 10. Berkman attained 25 hits, 31 walks, one
hit by pitch during this stretch,
slashing .319 / .484 / .457 / .942, four home runs and 18 RBI. The Astros realized a number of milestones April 13 versus the
Philadelphia Phillies. New outfielder
Carlos Lee made an early impact with Houston, connecting for the only three-home run game of his major league career. A prolific
grand slam artist, he also hit his first in an Astros uniform, and 10th of his career. The drive came in the top of the third inning, putting Houston ahead, 5–3. Lee collected six
runs batted in (RBI), the fourth such output of his career, and was the most for Lee during his Astros tenure, leading a 9–6 Astros victory.
Morgan Ensberg added a three-run blast in the fourth inning for his first of year to combine with Lee to induce all of Houston's damage.
Craig Biggio roped his 641st
double to take over eighth place from
Honus Wagner on baseball's all-time list. The Astros collected eight hits and drew eight
bases on balls. Though he surrendered six walks and all six runs,
Roy Oswalt picked up his second win of the season, and the 100th of his career. However, this just the start of what resulted in a wild ninth inning. During the bottom of the ninth,
Brad Lidge surrendered a three-run bomb to
Prince Fielder to cut Houston's lead to 6–5. After
Johnny Estrada doubled,
Trever Miller replaced Lidge, and issued an
intentional base on balls to
Corey Hart.
Chad Qualls then entered and induced a ground out from
Gabe Gross to end the contest and Astros victory.
Rick White (1–0) tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth to pick up the victory and Qualls earned his first
save. Starting April 23, Biggio forged a 14-game on-base streak, representing a personal season-high, and tied for fifth on the club for the season. Biggio slashed .305 / .364 / .525 / .899, collected 18 hits and 6 walks. He swatted four doubles, three
triples, one home run and 7 RBI. On April 28, the Astros purchased the contract of
Hunter Pence, the organization's top prospect from Triple-A affiliate, and made his debut that night where he got his first career hit and run scored.
May Pence connected for a grand slam on May 5 for his first MLB home run, off a
Dennis Dove offering, with the blast at
Busch Stadium. Hit in the top of the eight inning, it scored
Chris Burke,
Orlando Palmeiro and
Luke Scott. The Astros' lead swelled to 13–0 over the
St. Louis Cardinals. On May 9, 40-year-old Houston native
Woody Williams got his first win in his eighth appearance in an Astros uniform. He had carved out a 14-year career with three different clubs prior to signing with the Astros during the offseason. Williams assisted his own cause by blooping a single into right field for the game-winning
run batted in (RBI) to decide a 3–2 score over the
Cincinnati Reds. In backing up
Roy Oswalt on May 12,
Craig Biggio smashed his 647th
double to pass
Carl Yastrzemski into seventh place all-time in major league history. Meanwhile, Houston cruised to a 10–4 victory over the
Arizona Diamondbacks. Carlos Lee walloped his first
walk-off home run as a member of the Astros on May 15, and third of his career, going deep against
Jonathan Sánchez and clinching the Astros' 6–5 win. For the just the third time in his career, on May 17, Biggio struck out four times in a game. It was his first
golden sombrero since August 20,
1999. However, on May 26, just nine days following his third career four-strikeout game, Biggio attained his fourth career golden sombrero. Thus, Pence received NL
Rookie of the Month accolades, the third player in club history, and first since
Kirk Saarloos in May
2002.
June Commending June 6,
Mark Loretta formulated an on-base streak of 18 contests, second-highest the club for the season to Berkman's 28 started April 9. Loretta slashed .305 / .364 / .525 / .899, accumulating 24 hits, 14 bases on balls and a hit by pitch. The streak lasted until June 24. Loretta swatted eight doubles and 11 RBI. Having completing a 2–7 road trip, the Astros returned to Minute Maid Park to commence an 11-game homestand on June 28. The first team they would host was the
Colorado Rockies. Though his
batting average stood at .238 for the season, Biggio's career hit count was at 2,997. Number 3,000 was a single off
Aaron Cooke that drove in
Brad Ausmus for one of eight runs in an 8–5 Astros win. In the seventh, Biggio drilled Cooke's 2–0 offering into right field to the right-center field gap. Having accumulated more than 600 doubles, Biggio kept going after the
single, and was
gunned down attempting to take second Moreover, Biggio's milestone safety occurred one day before the 19th anniversary of his first major league hit—also a single—off
Orel Hershiser on June 29,
1988. During regulation, Biggio also plugged singles in each of the third, fifth, and ninth innings. The slam, Lee's second of the season, was the second of extra-innings walk-off grand slam of his career.
Rest of June Inserted to protect the Rockies' lead on June 29 for a second consecutive evening, Fuentes entered for the bottom of ninth with the Rockies ahead, 8–7. Fuentes retired Houston's first two batters. Next, Fuentes walked Lee, the previous game's walk-off hero, on four pitches. However,
Mark Loretta indicated
checkmate by punching a
walk-off home run deep to left for a 9–8 Houston victory. Earlier, Berkman tripled, homered and dove in three to provide major platform for the win. Catcher
Eric Munson picked up 2 RBI.
Dave Borkowski (2–3) hurled the final inning to pick up the victory. The walk-off home run was the second of Loretta's career, and first since April 17,
2006. For the first time in franchise history, the Houston capped successive contests with walk-off home runs.
July—August With a leadoff double on July 2, Craig Biggio attained the 1,000th
extra-base hit of his career, during a 7–5 triumph over Philadelphia. Woody Williams (4–10) delivered a
quality start (6 IP, 3 ER) to earn the victory. Hunter Pence homered in the bottom of the fifth inning. Biggio became the 25th Major Leaguer to attain 1,000 extra-base hits, with
Rafael Palmeiro having been the most recent entrant. Pence slugged his first career
walk-off home run on July 3, a fly ball to deep center field. The drive was off a
José Mesa offering to seal a 5–4 triumph over Philadelphia in the bottom of the 13th inning. On July 24, Biggio announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2007 season, his 20th season with the club (and a franchise record). He hit a grand slam in that night's game which broke a 3–3 tie and sparked an Astros' 7–4 triumph over the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Biggio's fourth career slam—and second of the campaign—it arrived
thirteen years to the day of his most recent prior to 2007. It was Biggio's third bout of the season having picked up four RBI, establishing career high. The fourth National League player to be unanimously voted as MVP, in 1994, Bagwell produced single-season team records of a .368
batting average and .750
slugging percentage. Other single-season records followed, including a .454
on-base percentage and 149 walks in
1999, and 47 home runs, 152 runs scored and 363
total bases in
2000. Bagwell retired as the all-time team leader in home runs (449), runs batted in (1,529), walks (1,401),
intentional base on balls (155), and
sacrifice flies (102). On July 18,
2001, Bagwell became the fourth different Astro to complete the
cycle.
Rest of August On August 27, manager
Phil Garner and General Manager
Tim Purpura were relieved of their duties. Bench
coach Cecil Cooper and Houston's former general,
Tal Smith, were named as temporary replacements, respectively. First base coach
José Cruz assumed the role as bench coach in Cooper's stead for the remainder of the campaign.
September Outfielder
Josh Anderson made his major league debut on September 2 at
Wrigley Field during the sixth inning. He struck out in his only at bat against the Cubs. Beginning September 7,
Mark Loretta authored the Astros' season-high 15-game
hitting streak, during which he hit .420 (21-for-50). Loretta's hitting streak extended through the final day of the season. This was the longest on the team since
Willy Taveras strung together a club-record 30 from July 27–August 27,
2006, On September 7, Loretta led a cadre of five Astros each with a multi-hit effort (Pence, Berkman,
Luke Scott and
Ty Wigginton). The
New York Mets routed the Astros, 11–3, in spite of the Houston outhitting New York, 13–12. Former Astro
Carlos Beltrán (28) took
Wandy Rodríguez (8–13) deep. Anderson logged his first major league hit on September 14 in a 4–3 defeat to the Pirates, This was the premier of four successive multiple-hit contests, which also spearheaded a nine-game hitting streak. Anderson led the Astros to 15–3 triumph over Pittsburgh.
Chris Burke went deep (6), collected three hits and four RBI. Cody Ransom (1) and Wigginton (22) also went deep. Starter
Brandon Backe (1–1) earned his first win of the year and swatted two hits. Anderson also showcased his first 3-RBI game. This margin of victory also represented the largest in club history. These streaks were second to the franchise records of 43 plate appearances and 41 at bats established by infielder
Alex Taveras on September 29,
1976. During the regular season finale on September 30 at Minute Maid Park, Craig Biggio retired, ending a 20-year playing career with the Astros, also his final game on the field. He was 1-for-4. During the bottom of the first inning, Biggio doubled off
Buddy Carlyle (8–7) as the each of Houston first five batters reached base.
Carlos Lee hit a two-run single that scored Biggio, and
Hunter Pence doubled to deep left center field, scoring
Lance Berkman to give the Astros a 3–0 advantage. This remained as the margin in a 3–0 victory over the
Atlanta Braves.
Felipe Paulino (2–1) tossed six scoreless innings to pick up the win, while
Dave Borkowski struck out the side in the top of the ninth to earn his only major league save. Anderson appeared in 15 of the Astros' final 16 games. In 14 of those, he logged at least one base hit, and ended the season with a five-game hitting streak. Having produced a home record of 42–39, it was the seventh consecutive season the club concluded with a winning record at Minute Maid Park. Following the season, Biggio became the first repeat winner of the
Heart & Hustle Award and the first Astro to receive recognition with the
Roberto Clemente. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the issuance of the
Gold Glove Award, former Colt .45s/Astros second baseman
Joe Morgan recognized for his career defensive performance as part of the
All-time Gold Glove Team. Outfielder
Carlos Lee won his second career
Silver Slugger Award and first as a Houston Astro. Lee became the third outfielder to be recognized as a member of the Astros, joining
José Cruz (
1983 and
1984) and
Moisés Alou (
1998). The most recent winner at any position for the club was
Morgan Ensberg in
2005. For the first time since
2002, the Astros had two sluggers reach the 30-home run mark (Berkman, Lee). During his first year as an Astro of six after having signed as a free agent over the offseason, Lee also drove in a career-best 119 runs. Rookie Hunter Pence added 17 home runs, at the time, the third-highest for a rookie in club history, following Berkman (21 in
2000) and
Glenn Davis (20 in
1985).
Season standings National League Central Record vs. opponents Roster == Game log ==