"It's really impressive, but the game in some ways doesn't reward that," Kotsay said. "I love it, personally.
I think that is pitching. It's an art.
It's a craft that in some ways is lost because everybody wants strikeouts, but when you go out and give your team 6 1/3 scoreless innings, the soft contact I think is just as valuable."
The manager also highlighted the performance of Rooker, who went 4-for-11 during the series and has hit four of his 10 home runs this year against Houston.
"Rooker's day, let's talk about that," Kotsay said. "This guy has been grinding.
He's had some bad luck. He's one of our guys.
To see a good day from him, it's really encouraging.
Hopefully, we can continue this, but our offense is generally built around home runs, and today we hit a couple that really helped us win the game."
Kotsay noted that bouncing back from a late blown lead against Chicago on Thursday showed resilience from his roster.
"The Cubs loss late, any time you lose a game like that, there could be some lingering effects," Kotsay said.
"Obviously, the last two days we got beat. Today to come back, rebound and have a .
500 road trip says a lot about the club."
Rooker expressed optimism about his recent offensive adjustments after contributing the RBI double and the solo home run.
"Productive day," said Rooker.
"I've been working hard, so hopefully, taking a few steps in the right direction and getting back to being productive."
