Astros Swept by O’s. Lose fourth straight 5-2

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesI’m a former umpire. I’m not one to complain about umpires. I know how hard it is. And anyway, bad calls are just part of the game, like bad hops and fan interference.

But CB Buckner put the Astros in a hole right away that, in their current state of batting ineptitude, they had no chance of leaving. Pitch after pitch by Astros starter Luis Garcia that were clearly strikes on the corner, or even entirely in the zone, were called balls.

Garcia walked the first two batters, and was forced to groove fastballs down the middle the rest of the inning, resulting in four Oriole runs. That was all they would need against an Astro squad that could only manage two…