Tacker falls off a bit to the right side of the mound as he pitches, so he was somewhat out of position when Felix Fanaselle chopped a 1-1 pitch back toward the mound. But Tacker showed his athleticism (he was a three-year letterwinner in both football and basketball in high school, and he did well as a designated hitter--after not hitting in years--last summer in the Texas Collegiate League) when he leapt into the air and stabbed the ball with his left (glove) hand and threw to first for the second out of the inning.

Rice's bats appear to have woken up, as Houston's John Touchton was lucky to escape the first inning with just two runs allowed. He got some help from catcher Luis Flores (who has been relatively easy to run against so far this year) when he threw out Tyler Henley, who had drawn a leadoff walk, attempting to steal second. Another out came on a liner Jess Buenger crushed to right-center when Zak Presley made a nice running grab.

Touchton is struggling again in the second, with runners on second and third with one out.