GAME 52: Astros 9, Royals 2
GAME 53: Astros 3, Royals 0
GAME 54: Astros 9, Royals 3
The Royals must have had a bad surprise when they saw how much the Astros have changed since their sweep in Houston last month. This time the Astros returned the favor in Kansas City, with their first sweep of the season! Admittedly, by the standings, we are still in the AL cellar, but with a 5 game winning streak, the Astros sure don't look like the worst team in baseball. And they aren't! Today's win puts the Astros over .400, and ahead of the Cubs and the Diamondbacks. That's a 6-4 road trip -- definitely a change from just a month ago!
The Royals flushing wasn't just some cheap close games either. The Astros really pummeled Kansas City in the first and third games and shut them out in the middle game of the series. They looked like real WINNERS. And they are -- that's 5 wins in a row. They guys are definitely heading home with big smiles!
Game 1 on Memorial Day looked like a tribute to our new favorite rookie, George Springer. His perfect night at the plate included a home run, two doubles, a single, and a walk. He knocked in 3 runs and scored 5 times, and made a terrific running catch in right field. All of Springer's famous tools were on display -- batting, running, fielding -- and hopefully this outstanding performance gave him some much deserved attention from the baseball press. But although Springer was the obvious star of the game, this 9-2 win wasn't just his doing. The bottom two guys in the lineup, Presley and Gonzalez, got 3 and 4 hits respectively, and Fowler and Castro each had a pair of hits. Feldman had a good start, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings. Sipp did his usual 1-2-3 inning, then Fields and Williams each pitched scoreless innings. This was a great team effort, along with our rising potential superstar. The Astros scored a bunch of runs (5) in the first 2 innings, and then continued to pick at the Royals, adding a run in 4 other innings. One stat from this game that I really love: Ten of the 16 hits came when the Astros had 2 outs. Like I'm always saying, "There's ONLY 2 outs!" so go for it! They went for it!
I'm going to jump to today's Game 3 win, since it was very similar, but with the wealth spread around a bit more. Yes, Springer did get his dinger, with a 2 run homer in his first at-bat to give the Astros a lead right away. He didn't really have much opportunity to get more hits today though, since he ended up walking twice and was hit by a pitch smack in the middle of his back. So he ended up scoring twice, with 2 RBI. But the home run hero of this game was Chris Carter, who knocked out two long balls, one solo and one 3-run homer. (Going 2 for 4 in this game finally nudged Carter's BA to .200.) Down towards the bottom of the lineup, Corporan went 3 for 4, with an RBI and a run. And Fowler hit a bases-loaded two-out single in the second inning. CLUTCH! Robbie (or as he's now known, "Mike") Grossman, just up from the minors, had a good day, with a single, a pair of walks, and a couple of outstanding plays in left field. On the pitching side, Cosart only lasted 5 innings, but it was because of pitch count not poor performance. He gave up 2 runs (one earned) on 4 hits and a pair of walks. Williams followed up, giving up 1 run over 2 innings, before Downs and Farnsworth finished up with a scoreless inning each. So, all in all, the Astros spread the fun around, with something for everyone - except perhaps Villar. He went 0 for 4 with a throwing error. Altuve only got one hit, an infield single, to keep alive his hitting streak, but he broke another streak today -- with the sun in his eyes, he dropped the ball on a catch, for his first error in 88 games.
Sandwiched between these two decisive wins was a low-scoring shutout. This game was Collin McHugh's baby, another example of the good work that he's been doing for the Astros this season. Yesterday he threw 7 shutout innings, allowing just 5 singles and NO walks, while striking out 9. The Astros offense generated plenty of base runners -- 12 hits and 4 walks -- but had a bit of a hard time materializing runs from them. (That's what happens when Springer doesn't Dinger!) The first run scored in the 4th inning on MattyD's RBI single following a pair of walks. But that was it up to the 8th inning, when the Astros got a pair of insurance runs. Castro led off with a double, then pinch hitter Guzman walked. With runners on the corners and one out, Grossman was at the plate when a wild pitch allowed Castro to score. Grossman singled, to put runners on the corners again, and Presley hit a nice sac fly to score Guzman. As it turned out, the insurance runs weren't actually needed. Sipp pitched yet another perfect frame, plus one in the 9th, keeping his 0.00 ERA intact over almost 10 innings in his 8 appearances this season. The 4 outs only took Sipp 12 pitches, but apparently Porter wanted Qualls to earn his keep, so he came in to close. With such good Astros pitching, the biggest offensive performance for the Royals was their manager. A furious Ned Yost came out to argue balls and strikes and was promptly ejected by the home plate ump.
With all this good starting pitching going on, the Astros have a bit of a dilemma: They've got 6 healthy starters right now. Who gets sent down? McHugh had been brought up for a fill-in start, but
he's been throwing so well, it's crazy not to keep him in the bigs. (Who knows why he didn't have big league success with the Mets and the Rockies? He's doing great for us!) Keuchel was the AL player of the week for his outstanding pair of starts last week. Feldman's an obvious keeper. Ever since his disastrous 1/3 inning with 7 ERs in April, Cosart's been throwing quality starts. Oberholzer, the last guy to get sent down when McHugh got kept, is back and had a great start in Seattle. And Peacock has been doing well too. So the decision is (drum roll): No decision. The Astros are going to keep 6 starters with them, at least for the time being. What a good problem to have! (But my bet is that they'll send down Peacock.)
Home again, home again, jiggety jig. Having won 9 of their last 14 games, the team is in a nice frame of mind to take on Baltimore in MMP, which is just perfect for some Springer Dingers right into the Crawford Boxes. Sadly for me, mlb.tv will black me out of these games because I'm considered to be in the Baltimore viewing area. So cheer loud on my behalf.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
A Few Fun Goals for this Astros Season
As long as we intrepid Astros fans are plodding along, enjoying the view of fresh talent, with low expectations for this season's outcome, maybe we should add a few modest goals. After watching some very fine Astros baseball over the Memorial Day weekend, I have a few to suggest. Note: These are not predictions per se -- just a few possibilities that would add some fun to a year when the Astros aren't on track to be contenders.
1. George Springer for Rookie of the Year: I don't want to jinx him, now that Springer seems to have put his rough season start behind him. But I'm thinking that it's about time for ESPN and Sports Illustrated and all the other sports news guys to notice George Springer. SI came out with its predictions for ROY honors this week and Springer didn't get a mention. But that list was posted on May 22, before Springer hit 5 homers in 4 games over the holiday weekend. Before Springer went 4-4 on Memorial Day, with a homer, two doubles, a single, and a walk, knocking in 3 RBIs, and scoring 4 runs. And oh, did I mention the awesome catch up against the wall? Maybe Springer's just having a good week. Or maybe he really did figure it out, after his humbling beginning (BA of .182 in April, .325 in May, .340 batting in his current #2 position in the lineup). Whichever it is, he doesn't look like the ball player we saw wildly strike out in Camden Yards just 2 weeks ago. He looks like a guy who's having some fun playing Major League ball. I'm not predicting that he'll keep up the weekend's crazy pace of run production. But he's shown all of us the power, speed, and fielding skills that he's capable of. ESPN, SI, Fox Sports -- take note: There's someone missing from your short list for ROY!
3. A No-Hitter for Dallas Keuchel: With 26 2/3 innings pitched in his last 3 starts, Keuchel has shown his ability to stay on the mound deep in the game. In his last start, a complete game, he gave up only 4 hits, with one unearned run. In the previous one, he got down to his last out in the ninth in a scoreless game before he was pulled with two runners on base - both of whom the reliever allowed to score. Three games back was a CG shutout against the Rangers. Keuchel doesn't have the blazing hot stuff that gets all the attention, but he's got something else that's earning him wins -- the league's best ground-to-fly ball ration. This is a pitcher who can finish games, and if anyone on the team has a no-no in him this season, it's Keuchel.
4. Beat the Red Sox: I'm not predicting, 2005-style, that this Astros team is going to the World Series, despite a gruesome season start. I'm not even predicting that this Astros team will come out with an overall winning record. But, despite their current position in the AL (and MLB) cellar, I think that this Astros team just might not end up the worst team in baseball this year. Hey, I'm not knocking that first pick in the draft; after 3 years of being the very worst team, those first draft picks are going to be part of our championship team in the future. But I don't think we have to be the worst this year. That honor might go to the Cubs or Diamondbacks in the NL. Or (sorry, Mom and Dad!) the Mariners in the AL. But the goal I'd like to propose is to come out ahead of the Red Sox. That's right, the same Red Sox that won the World Series last fall. For whatever reason, they are down in the dumps this season, just coming off a 10 game losing streak, and with only a .420 record at the moment. The Astros at .385 still have a ways to go to get there, but the trend is positive. Our W/L rate has gone up more than 70 points over the past few weeks. Beating the Mariners would be fine, but beating the Red Sox would be a much more fun goal for the season!
So four modest goals for the 2014 Astros. Okay, four pretty challenging goals, but going after any of them would add some fun to the season. Hey Astros fans, anyone have any other fun goals to add?
1. George Springer for Rookie of the Year: I don't want to jinx him, now that Springer seems to have put his rough season start behind him. But I'm thinking that it's about time for ESPN and Sports Illustrated and all the other sports news guys to notice George Springer. SI came out with its predictions for ROY honors this week and Springer didn't get a mention. But that list was posted on May 22, before Springer hit 5 homers in 4 games over the holiday weekend. Before Springer went 4-4 on Memorial Day, with a homer, two doubles, a single, and a walk, knocking in 3 RBIs, and scoring 4 runs. And oh, did I mention the awesome catch up against the wall? Maybe Springer's just having a good week. Or maybe he really did figure it out, after his humbling beginning (BA of .182 in April, .325 in May, .340 batting in his current #2 position in the lineup). Whichever it is, he doesn't look like the ball player we saw wildly strike out in Camden Yards just 2 weeks ago. He looks like a guy who's having some fun playing Major League ball. I'm not predicting that he'll keep up the weekend's crazy pace of run production. But he's shown all of us the power, speed, and fielding skills that he's capable of. ESPN, SI, Fox Sports -- take note: There's someone missing from your short list for ROY!
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| Springer may be faceless to (non-Astro) baseball fans now, but he'll soon be in the spotlight! |
2. Jose Altuve for AL Batting Title: Altuve must be one of the most underrated great players in the Major Leagues. If he were a big guy, or even a small guy playing for a big box team, he'd be in the news all the time. Instead he's our Dark Horse (Dark Pony?) candidate for the league batting title. Right now he's only got the 4th highest batting average among AL qualifiers, but he leads the league in hits, with 20+ more at-bats than the others ahead of him in BA. And look at how he's trending: In April he hit .276; his BA for May is 100 points higher at .375. Altuve is likely to be the Astros' All Star player this year (every team gets at least one), but isn't likely to win the second base slot on his own merit. Two of the three players ahead of him right now in BA are also second basemen (Cano and Kinsler), both of whom are much better known players, which kind of squashes Altuve's votes. But neither of them come close to Altuve's league leading 17 stolen bases. Altuve's still young and his day will come, but it sure would be fun for him to hit for the record this season.
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Altuve might have a small frame, but he's got a big bat and an even bigger heart! |
4. Beat the Red Sox: I'm not predicting, 2005-style, that this Astros team is going to the World Series, despite a gruesome season start. I'm not even predicting that this Astros team will come out with an overall winning record. But, despite their current position in the AL (and MLB) cellar, I think that this Astros team just might not end up the worst team in baseball this year. Hey, I'm not knocking that first pick in the draft; after 3 years of being the very worst team, those first draft picks are going to be part of our championship team in the future. But I don't think we have to be the worst this year. That honor might go to the Cubs or Diamondbacks in the NL. Or (sorry, Mom and Dad!) the Mariners in the AL. But the goal I'd like to propose is to come out ahead of the Red Sox. That's right, the same Red Sox that won the World Series last fall. For whatever reason, they are down in the dumps this season, just coming off a 10 game losing streak, and with only a .420 record at the moment. The Astros at .385 still have a ways to go to get there, but the trend is positive. Our W/L rate has gone up more than 70 points over the past few weeks. Beating the Mariners would be fine, but beating the Red Sox would be a much more fun goal for the season!
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| Enjoy those High Fives at the end of a game -- there will be lot more to come in the future! |
Monday, May 26, 2014
We're Getting BETTER All the Time!
GAME 48: Mariners 3, Astros 1
GAME 49: Mariners 6, Astros 1
GAME 50: Astros 9, Mariners 4
GAME 51: Astros 4, Mariners 1
I'm starting to love watching Astros baseball this year!
While the Astros are by no means what you'd call a "winning" ball club, they are winning me over game by game. Yes, we're still in last place in the AL - but we're 5-5 in our last 10 games. Yes, there are still the occasional awful losses, but there seem to be more and more close ones, and we are better than on track to beat last year's record low win-loss results. But forget about wins and losses for a minute, and just look at our young players. They're getting better all the time!
The starting pitching isn't bad at all, and there have been some unexpected surprises (like McHugh) in our evolving rotation. Feldman, the veteran, has slowed down a bit after his awesome season start, but Keuchel has been scary good. Leading the league in groundout rate, Keuchel has pitched into the 9th inning in his last 3 starts, and 2 of these were CG wins with no ERs. Cosart is showing some real promise too. Oberholzer, who was sent down in favor of McHugh, finally got his first W in Saturday night's nice start. And how about that Tony Sipp! In six Astros appearances, he's only allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out 11! With veterans like Qualls and Farnsworth in the bullpen to help season the youngsters, that area will hopefully continue to improve -- well, it would probably be hard to be worse than last year!
Altuve continues to be a true All Star caliber second baseman, leading the league in both hits and stolen bases, with daily replay-worthy fielding plays - and no errors in 85 consecutive games. If any teams consider discounting him because of his diminutive size, they'd better think again. Meanwhile, Springer has come around amazingly. He looks much more focused at the plate than he did just a couple of weeks ago on Mothers Day, when we saw him strike out 4 times in Baltimore. His 4 Springer Dingers in 3 games this weekend helped power the two wins in this series. Despite some fielding errors, Springer is starting to be the guy that's making catches and throws for the replay reel. The Astros broadcasters can't go two sentences about Springer without throwing in the word "tools." The guy's just loaded with them.
What I love the most, watching Astros games lately, is to see the smiles on the players' faces. The camera constantly finds Altuve in the infield with a big grin. Same with Carter. These guys are loving being out there on the field. After a Springer homer, the dugout is full of slapping and slamming and little dance routines. These Astros are not a bunch of old veterans, pulled together to eke out yet another losing year for a team that's not going anywhere in October. It's a bunch of kids who came up through the minors together, happy to be playing in the big leagues, and knowing they're going to be kicking some butt in the playoffs just a few years from now.
Meanwhile, off to Seattle! The Mariners pitchers had the Astros number Thursday and Friday, only allowing one Houston run each game. Cosart had a fair start in Game 1, lasting into the 7th inning, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits - but also 4 walks. But the Astros batters didn't do much to help him out. After Altuve's first-pitch-of-the-game home run, they were finished scoring for the night. Friday night was Rudy Owens' major league debut - and also his ticket back to Oklahoma. Owens, who has been pitching at the Triple-A level for more than 3 years already, was called up to fill in for an injured Peacock. He was very excited for the chance to play in the big leagues, and his whole family drove all the way from Phoenix to Seattle to watch. But in less than 6 innings of big-league action, he gave up 5 ER's on 9 hits, 2 walks, striking out only 1. After the game, Porter told him he was headed back to the minors.
After two nights of offensive shutdown, the Astros got off to a quick start Saturday night. Springer, who had been out for the first two games nursing a hip injury, was back! He knocked the first pitch he saw over the right field wall, scoring Altuve. The Astros gave up their instant lead in the bottom of the inning, on a throwing error by Krauss that scored two Mariners' runners. The Astros failed to score for the next few innings, and it looked like another bad news night for poor Oberholzer, who already had 6 losses this season. But the fifth inning was a BIG one: Carter doubled and Presley singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Villar grounded out, scoring Carter. Then Villar scored on Altuve's single. Springer then hit his second homer of the game, this time to left field. A pair of walks, and then Krauss singled in the 5th run of the inning. In the next inning, Springer was at bat with the bases loaded and no outs. Could it be? A grand slam? A three homer game? Well, no. One runner scored on a wild pitch during his at-bat, then Springer got his 5th RBI of the game on a ground out. With all this offensive support, Oberholzer finally got his first win of the season, with 6 innings on the mound, allowing 3 runs (2 ER) on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 8 Ks.
Sartorial side note: Saturday night was throwback night, and the Astros appeared in their 1979 rainbow unis. While the broadcasters gushed about how much they loved them, I think that the players looked like they were dressed up as the original Southwest airlines planes. See the resemblance?
Dallas Keuchel, the starter in Sunday's Game 4, has come to be synonymous with Bullpen's Night Off. In his past 3 starts, Porter's only had to go to the relievers once -- for 1/3 inning. In the other two complete games, he hasn't given up any ERs. The single unearned run in Sunday's game was scored after a throwing error in the second inning -- by Keuchel, so he only has himself to blame. The rest of the game he was a pitching machine - allowing just 4 hits, no walks, and striking out 6.
At first, it didn't look like Keuchel's excellent start would amount to much. The Astros loaded up the bases with one out in the second inning, and then failed to score a run. By the sixth inning the Astros were still scoreless. But then, a Springer Dinger to the rescue! Another two-run homer to put the Astros ahead 2-1. Krauss hit another two-run long ball to give Keuchel a little breathing room, but he really didn't need it. He finished the nine innings with just 106 pitches for his sixth win of the season. Keuchel is looking more like our ace than Feldman at this point.
So a series split in Seattle, and on to KC -- where, happily, the games will start at something closer to to evening, not after 10 PM!
GAME 49: Mariners 6, Astros 1
GAME 50: Astros 9, Mariners 4
GAME 51: Astros 4, Mariners 1
I'm starting to love watching Astros baseball this year!
The starting pitching isn't bad at all, and there have been some unexpected surprises (like McHugh) in our evolving rotation. Feldman, the veteran, has slowed down a bit after his awesome season start, but Keuchel has been scary good. Leading the league in groundout rate, Keuchel has pitched into the 9th inning in his last 3 starts, and 2 of these were CG wins with no ERs. Cosart is showing some real promise too. Oberholzer, who was sent down in favor of McHugh, finally got his first W in Saturday night's nice start. And how about that Tony Sipp! In six Astros appearances, he's only allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out 11! With veterans like Qualls and Farnsworth in the bullpen to help season the youngsters, that area will hopefully continue to improve -- well, it would probably be hard to be worse than last year!
Altuve continues to be a true All Star caliber second baseman, leading the league in both hits and stolen bases, with daily replay-worthy fielding plays - and no errors in 85 consecutive games. If any teams consider discounting him because of his diminutive size, they'd better think again. Meanwhile, Springer has come around amazingly. He looks much more focused at the plate than he did just a couple of weeks ago on Mothers Day, when we saw him strike out 4 times in Baltimore. His 4 Springer Dingers in 3 games this weekend helped power the two wins in this series. Despite some fielding errors, Springer is starting to be the guy that's making catches and throws for the replay reel. The Astros broadcasters can't go two sentences about Springer without throwing in the word "tools." The guy's just loaded with them.
What I love the most, watching Astros games lately, is to see the smiles on the players' faces. The camera constantly finds Altuve in the infield with a big grin. Same with Carter. These guys are loving being out there on the field. After a Springer homer, the dugout is full of slapping and slamming and little dance routines. These Astros are not a bunch of old veterans, pulled together to eke out yet another losing year for a team that's not going anywhere in October. It's a bunch of kids who came up through the minors together, happy to be playing in the big leagues, and knowing they're going to be kicking some butt in the playoffs just a few years from now.
Meanwhile, off to Seattle! The Mariners pitchers had the Astros number Thursday and Friday, only allowing one Houston run each game. Cosart had a fair start in Game 1, lasting into the 7th inning, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits - but also 4 walks. But the Astros batters didn't do much to help him out. After Altuve's first-pitch-of-the-game home run, they were finished scoring for the night. Friday night was Rudy Owens' major league debut - and also his ticket back to Oklahoma. Owens, who has been pitching at the Triple-A level for more than 3 years already, was called up to fill in for an injured Peacock. He was very excited for the chance to play in the big leagues, and his whole family drove all the way from Phoenix to Seattle to watch. But in less than 6 innings of big-league action, he gave up 5 ER's on 9 hits, 2 walks, striking out only 1. After the game, Porter told him he was headed back to the minors.
After two nights of offensive shutdown, the Astros got off to a quick start Saturday night. Springer, who had been out for the first two games nursing a hip injury, was back! He knocked the first pitch he saw over the right field wall, scoring Altuve. The Astros gave up their instant lead in the bottom of the inning, on a throwing error by Krauss that scored two Mariners' runners. The Astros failed to score for the next few innings, and it looked like another bad news night for poor Oberholzer, who already had 6 losses this season. But the fifth inning was a BIG one: Carter doubled and Presley singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Villar grounded out, scoring Carter. Then Villar scored on Altuve's single. Springer then hit his second homer of the game, this time to left field. A pair of walks, and then Krauss singled in the 5th run of the inning. In the next inning, Springer was at bat with the bases loaded and no outs. Could it be? A grand slam? A three homer game? Well, no. One runner scored on a wild pitch during his at-bat, then Springer got his 5th RBI of the game on a ground out. With all this offensive support, Oberholzer finally got his first win of the season, with 6 innings on the mound, allowing 3 runs (2 ER) on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 8 Ks.
Sartorial side note: Saturday night was throwback night, and the Astros appeared in their 1979 rainbow unis. While the broadcasters gushed about how much they loved them, I think that the players looked like they were dressed up as the original Southwest airlines planes. See the resemblance?
But wait! Maybe we should have had cheerleaders for the game. The original Southwest stewardess (NOT "flight attendants" back then) hot pants would be perfect!
Of course, after the big Saturday night win, the Astros broadcasters had already started a campaign to wear these dreadful uniforms for the rest of the season. However, I still remember the 2004 Independence Day game, when the Astros lost 18-3 to the Rangers, while wearing their ugly rainbow costumes. Just saying'...
At first, it didn't look like Keuchel's excellent start would amount to much. The Astros loaded up the bases with one out in the second inning, and then failed to score a run. By the sixth inning the Astros were still scoreless. But then, a Springer Dinger to the rescue! Another two-run homer to put the Astros ahead 2-1. Krauss hit another two-run long ball to give Keuchel a little breathing room, but he really didn't need it. He finished the nine innings with just 106 pitches for his sixth win of the season. Keuchel is looking more like our ace than Feldman at this point.
So a series split in Seattle, and on to KC -- where, happily, the games will start at something closer to to evening, not after 10 PM!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Back on Track in Anaheim
GAME 45: Astros 5, Angels 2
GAME 46: Angels 9, Astros 3
GAME 47: Angels 2, Astros 1
After the excitement of winning back-to-back series, the Astros have moved back on track to win one game per series. In the first three nights of the current West Coast road trek, the Astros got their one win on Monday night, coming within a few steps of another compete game shutout for Dallas Keuchel. As a fan, the most excruciating aspect of this series (and the one in Seattle to follow) is having to stay up half the night to watch the games on live TV. We knew this when the Astros got shoved into the AL West - with so many of the games in-division, starting after 10 PM Eastern time, it makes for an awful lot of very late nights.
Back to Keuchel... He pitched another fantastic game - running a shutout into the ninth inning, allowing only 5 singles, while striking out 8 and only walking 1. In the bottom of the ninth, Keuchel got two quick ground ball outs. Then Mike Trout hit what appeared to be a routine ground ball to second, which Altuve fielded and tossed to first. But Trout beat out the throw and it was called a single. It seemed that Altuve could have made the play a little more quickly, but no one can really fault him for not fielding well. He hasn't made an error all season, and had already made a couple of amazing plays in this game. But Keuchel seemed upset, and after he gave up a single to Pujols, Porter brought in Josh Zeid to finish up. Zeid unfortunately gave up a triple, allowing Keuchel's two runners to score, before getting a ground ball out to end the game. So too bad for Keuchel, who was tagged for a pair of ERs instead of a CG shutout, but a win is a win!
The Astros offense got off to a quick start against a hot Angels starter, Garrett Richards. Altuve led off with a double, then Springer walked (good eye!), with Altuve advancing to third on the ball 4 wild pitch. Altuve scored on an errant pickoff attempt to give the Astros the lead. Fowler walked to load the bases. Back to back singles by Castro and Dominguez brought in 2 more runs. In the second inning, three consecutive 2-out singles brought in another run. And a double-single combo by Castro and Carter scored the 5th run in the third. That was it for Astros scoring, but due to Keuchel's awesome pitching, it was plenty.
The Angels seemed a bit miffed about it, and beat the Astros up on Tuesday night. The Astros kind of let them do it, with a pair of errors and a less-than lights-out start by our ace Scott Feldman. This time it was the Angels that took advantage in the first inning, scoring 3 runs after a 2-out error by Chris Carter. Due to errors, Feldman's line for the game doesn't look as bad as his pitching really looked --of the 9 runs he gave up, only 3 were earned. But he only eked out 4 innings, plus 3 batters in the 5th, giving up 8 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. Didn't really look like an ace. He hasn't really been that hot since returning from the DL, raising his ERA from 1.69 before the DL to 3.02 after. To find something to like about this thrashing, Altuve got 3 hits, raising his BA to .313, and extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
There was much more to like much about last night's 2-1 loss. Collin McHugh threw another very nice start, with 7 strong innings, giving up 2 runs on only 4 hits and a pair of walks, striking out 7. However, the Astros defense couldn't do much at all against Jered Weaver, who allowed only 2 hits in his complete game win. The Astros only run was a Springer Dinger in the 4th inning. Altuve hit what appeared to be a single to center to lead off the game, but was robbed by a Collin Cowgill's great catch. That was Altuve's best chance to keep his hitting streak going; it ended at 12 games. (Start again tonight in Seattle!) The bad news was that Springer injured his hip flexor on a (successful) pickoff play in the ninth inning. (Status TBD.) At least there were no errors. And Farnsworth, whose initial outing as an Astro was pretty lame, threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Another close loss - they all look like L's in the win-loss record, but the Astros stayed in this one till the end. There's a lot to be said for that!
So we got our one win in Anaheim, and while we are still the worst team in the AL, at .362 we're still 50 points better than last year. So far...
On to Seattle!!! I'm going out to Virginia to a goodbye happy hour for a former coworker tonight, but I'll still be home with plenty of time to catch tonight's Midnight Madness game on the West Coast! My mom and dad will be sitting in their living room, watching their Mariners host the Astros at a much more reasonable time. See you online!
GAME 46: Angels 9, Astros 3
GAME 47: Angels 2, Astros 1
After the excitement of winning back-to-back series, the Astros have moved back on track to win one game per series. In the first three nights of the current West Coast road trek, the Astros got their one win on Monday night, coming within a few steps of another compete game shutout for Dallas Keuchel. As a fan, the most excruciating aspect of this series (and the one in Seattle to follow) is having to stay up half the night to watch the games on live TV. We knew this when the Astros got shoved into the AL West - with so many of the games in-division, starting after 10 PM Eastern time, it makes for an awful lot of very late nights.
Back to Keuchel... He pitched another fantastic game - running a shutout into the ninth inning, allowing only 5 singles, while striking out 8 and only walking 1. In the bottom of the ninth, Keuchel got two quick ground ball outs. Then Mike Trout hit what appeared to be a routine ground ball to second, which Altuve fielded and tossed to first. But Trout beat out the throw and it was called a single. It seemed that Altuve could have made the play a little more quickly, but no one can really fault him for not fielding well. He hasn't made an error all season, and had already made a couple of amazing plays in this game. But Keuchel seemed upset, and after he gave up a single to Pujols, Porter brought in Josh Zeid to finish up. Zeid unfortunately gave up a triple, allowing Keuchel's two runners to score, before getting a ground ball out to end the game. So too bad for Keuchel, who was tagged for a pair of ERs instead of a CG shutout, but a win is a win!
The Astros offense got off to a quick start against a hot Angels starter, Garrett Richards. Altuve led off with a double, then Springer walked (good eye!), with Altuve advancing to third on the ball 4 wild pitch. Altuve scored on an errant pickoff attempt to give the Astros the lead. Fowler walked to load the bases. Back to back singles by Castro and Dominguez brought in 2 more runs. In the second inning, three consecutive 2-out singles brought in another run. And a double-single combo by Castro and Carter scored the 5th run in the third. That was it for Astros scoring, but due to Keuchel's awesome pitching, it was plenty.
The Angels seemed a bit miffed about it, and beat the Astros up on Tuesday night. The Astros kind of let them do it, with a pair of errors and a less-than lights-out start by our ace Scott Feldman. This time it was the Angels that took advantage in the first inning, scoring 3 runs after a 2-out error by Chris Carter. Due to errors, Feldman's line for the game doesn't look as bad as his pitching really looked --of the 9 runs he gave up, only 3 were earned. But he only eked out 4 innings, plus 3 batters in the 5th, giving up 8 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. Didn't really look like an ace. He hasn't really been that hot since returning from the DL, raising his ERA from 1.69 before the DL to 3.02 after. To find something to like about this thrashing, Altuve got 3 hits, raising his BA to .313, and extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
There was much more to like much about last night's 2-1 loss. Collin McHugh threw another very nice start, with 7 strong innings, giving up 2 runs on only 4 hits and a pair of walks, striking out 7. However, the Astros defense couldn't do much at all against Jered Weaver, who allowed only 2 hits in his complete game win. The Astros only run was a Springer Dinger in the 4th inning. Altuve hit what appeared to be a single to center to lead off the game, but was robbed by a Collin Cowgill's great catch. That was Altuve's best chance to keep his hitting streak going; it ended at 12 games. (Start again tonight in Seattle!) The bad news was that Springer injured his hip flexor on a (successful) pickoff play in the ninth inning. (Status TBD.) At least there were no errors. And Farnsworth, whose initial outing as an Astro was pretty lame, threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Another close loss - they all look like L's in the win-loss record, but the Astros stayed in this one till the end. There's a lot to be said for that!
So we got our one win in Anaheim, and while we are still the worst team in the AL, at .362 we're still 50 points better than last year. So far...
On to Seattle!!! I'm going out to Virginia to a goodbye happy hour for a former coworker tonight, but I'll still be home with plenty of time to catch tonight's Midnight Madness game on the West Coast! My mom and dad will be sitting in their living room, watching their Mariners host the Astros at a much more reasonable time. See you online!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Wish We Could Have Done THIS in October 2005!
GAME 42: White Sox 7, Astros 2
GAME 43: Astros 6, White Sox 5
GAME 44: Astros 8, White Sox 2
Back to back series wins! This time it was against the White Sox -- the team that shut us out in the World Series 9 years ago. WOO HOO! A winning homestand!
Disclaimer: I only got to watch a couple of innings at the end of today's game. The first two games of the series were played on the Sabbath, and I was at a special synagogue event today. There is only a tenuous connection between the event and the Astros, but it was very exciting, so I'll describe it on the blog.
One of the members of our community just completed the writing -- by hand -- of a Torah scroll, and today we celebrated its new home in the synagogue with a parade, dancing and singing, and of course food. Carried in the arms of the scribe, Dr Richard Epstein, the Torah led the parade down Seven Locks Road to another neighborhood synagogue, whose members brought out their Torah scrolls to dance. Then we all marched back to the third synagogue (the one next door to my house) and danced with their Torah scrolls. Then back across the street to Chabad synagogue, for more celebration, special prayers and a reception. Mazel tov to Richard, who has worked on this major accomplishment for the past 8 years, and mazel tov to his wife Judy, who gets her husband's free time back! Oh yeah, what's the tenuous connection to the Astros? Judy is from Texas. Okay, it's San Antonio, but close enough. I said it was tenuous!
I skipped out on the lox and bagels to rush home to watch the end of today's tie breaker, hoping to get to see the Astros pull off another series win. And I was rewarded with an easy win. By the time I got home, the Astros were leading, with 8 runs scored - again largely on home runs. Two by Dominguez (way to go, MattyD!) and one by Chris Carter. Buoyed by all the defensive support, the Astros' starter, Brad Peacock, was still throwing when I got back. It's another solid start by our rotation -- we have to feel good about that!
Today's fun and games comes on the heels of another good offensive game yesterday. Multi-hit games for Altuve, Springer, Fowler, and Presley. The fun started in the first inning, with a leadoff hit by Altuve, followed by Springer's first triple of the season. The after a walk to Fowler, Castro hit a 2-run homer to put the Astros up 4-0. Fowler added another run on a solo homer in the fifth. All these runs were a good thing too, since the starter Cosart was not at his best, reaching 100 pitches in only 5 innings. He left with tenuous 5-2 lead. The bullpen managed to hold to eke out the win for Cosart though, although not without some tense moments for those fans who were watching the game live. Fields and Sipp each pitched a scoreless frame, and then the new setup guy came to the mound in the 8th.
Who? What new setup guy? Apparently Qualls wasn't enough for Throwback Time; the Astros have acquired Kyle Farnsworth. We all remember him, of course. He was the Braves pitcher who blew a 5 run lead in the 2005 playoff game that went 18 innings before the Astros won, sending them to the NLC, and on to the pennant. One of the greatest games in Astros history! Coming in with a 6-1 lead, Farnsworth gave up an eighth inning grand slam to Lance Berkman, and then a two-out home run in the ninth -- to Brad Ausmus. The game didn't end for another 9 innings, on Chris Burke's walk off homer, with Roger Clemens earning the save for his three innings of relief pitching. It was certainly the highlight of Chris Burke's not-so-stellar baseball career, and one of Clemen's few times to pitch in relief.
But Farnsworth? Oh good grief! I'm not being fair, of course. Farnsworth has had a good career, and he and Qualls will likely be good veterans for grooming our bullpen youngsters. However, getting back to yesterday's game, Farnsworth came in with that 5-3 lead intact and proceeded to give up a walk, a double, an RBI sac fly, another walk and a single, to knock the lead down to one run. Nail biting time for poor Cosart. Been there, done that; he's left with leads three times already this year, only to have the bullpen present him with a no-D. In this case, Downs came in with 2 on in the eighth and got his guy, then Qualls (who's now graduated to closer, in place of the end-game rotation) threw a 1-2-3 to get the save. Whew! Good game, guys!
Moving backwards to Friday night's series opener, Colin McHugh got off to a good start through the first 5 scoreless innings, while the Astros put on a couple of runs on 4 singles in the bottom of the fifth. But the wheels came off for McHugh in the 6th, and he was beat up for 4 ERs. Three came on a walk-HBP-homer trio, then he gave up a double before he was yanked from the game. Zeid in relief allowed that runner to score, the 4th ER on McHugh's line. Clemens gave up 3 more runs in the eighth inning, but it didn't matter -- the Astros didn't score again in the game. Win some, lose some. For McHugh, it was a good start with a bad ending, and now his record is 2-2. It will be interesting to see if he can capitalize on his earlier success and stay in the Houston rotation, or whether he'll go back down while the Astros give Oberholzer another try.
All in all, a very successful 4-2 homestand! Our record is now .364 - almost 50 points higher than last season's total. Too bad I'm not on my West Coast trip now, as the Astros are off to Anaheim and then Seattle this week! See you online...
GAME 43: Astros 6, White Sox 5
GAME 44: Astros 8, White Sox 2
Back to back series wins! This time it was against the White Sox -- the team that shut us out in the World Series 9 years ago. WOO HOO! A winning homestand!
Disclaimer: I only got to watch a couple of innings at the end of today's game. The first two games of the series were played on the Sabbath, and I was at a special synagogue event today. There is only a tenuous connection between the event and the Astros, but it was very exciting, so I'll describe it on the blog.
One of the members of our community just completed the writing -- by hand -- of a Torah scroll, and today we celebrated its new home in the synagogue with a parade, dancing and singing, and of course food. Carried in the arms of the scribe, Dr Richard Epstein, the Torah led the parade down Seven Locks Road to another neighborhood synagogue, whose members brought out their Torah scrolls to dance. Then we all marched back to the third synagogue (the one next door to my house) and danced with their Torah scrolls. Then back across the street to Chabad synagogue, for more celebration, special prayers and a reception. Mazel tov to Richard, who has worked on this major accomplishment for the past 8 years, and mazel tov to his wife Judy, who gets her husband's free time back! Oh yeah, what's the tenuous connection to the Astros? Judy is from Texas. Okay, it's San Antonio, but close enough. I said it was tenuous!
I skipped out on the lox and bagels to rush home to watch the end of today's tie breaker, hoping to get to see the Astros pull off another series win. And I was rewarded with an easy win. By the time I got home, the Astros were leading, with 8 runs scored - again largely on home runs. Two by Dominguez (way to go, MattyD!) and one by Chris Carter. Buoyed by all the defensive support, the Astros' starter, Brad Peacock, was still throwing when I got back. It's another solid start by our rotation -- we have to feel good about that!
Today's fun and games comes on the heels of another good offensive game yesterday. Multi-hit games for Altuve, Springer, Fowler, and Presley. The fun started in the first inning, with a leadoff hit by Altuve, followed by Springer's first triple of the season. The after a walk to Fowler, Castro hit a 2-run homer to put the Astros up 4-0. Fowler added another run on a solo homer in the fifth. All these runs were a good thing too, since the starter Cosart was not at his best, reaching 100 pitches in only 5 innings. He left with tenuous 5-2 lead. The bullpen managed to hold to eke out the win for Cosart though, although not without some tense moments for those fans who were watching the game live. Fields and Sipp each pitched a scoreless frame, and then the new setup guy came to the mound in the 8th.
Who? What new setup guy? Apparently Qualls wasn't enough for Throwback Time; the Astros have acquired Kyle Farnsworth. We all remember him, of course. He was the Braves pitcher who blew a 5 run lead in the 2005 playoff game that went 18 innings before the Astros won, sending them to the NLC, and on to the pennant. One of the greatest games in Astros history! Coming in with a 6-1 lead, Farnsworth gave up an eighth inning grand slam to Lance Berkman, and then a two-out home run in the ninth -- to Brad Ausmus. The game didn't end for another 9 innings, on Chris Burke's walk off homer, with Roger Clemens earning the save for his three innings of relief pitching. It was certainly the highlight of Chris Burke's not-so-stellar baseball career, and one of Clemen's few times to pitch in relief.
But Farnsworth? Oh good grief! I'm not being fair, of course. Farnsworth has had a good career, and he and Qualls will likely be good veterans for grooming our bullpen youngsters. However, getting back to yesterday's game, Farnsworth came in with that 5-3 lead intact and proceeded to give up a walk, a double, an RBI sac fly, another walk and a single, to knock the lead down to one run. Nail biting time for poor Cosart. Been there, done that; he's left with leads three times already this year, only to have the bullpen present him with a no-D. In this case, Downs came in with 2 on in the eighth and got his guy, then Qualls (who's now graduated to closer, in place of the end-game rotation) threw a 1-2-3 to get the save. Whew! Good game, guys!
Moving backwards to Friday night's series opener, Colin McHugh got off to a good start through the first 5 scoreless innings, while the Astros put on a couple of runs on 4 singles in the bottom of the fifth. But the wheels came off for McHugh in the 6th, and he was beat up for 4 ERs. Three came on a walk-HBP-homer trio, then he gave up a double before he was yanked from the game. Zeid in relief allowed that runner to score, the 4th ER on McHugh's line. Clemens gave up 3 more runs in the eighth inning, but it didn't matter -- the Astros didn't score again in the game. Win some, lose some. For McHugh, it was a good start with a bad ending, and now his record is 2-2. It will be interesting to see if he can capitalize on his earlier success and stay in the Houston rotation, or whether he'll go back down while the Astros give Oberholzer another try.
All in all, a very successful 4-2 homestand! Our record is now .364 - almost 50 points higher than last season's total. Too bad I'm not on my West Coast trip now, as the Astros are off to Anaheim and then Seattle this week! See you online...
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Kicked Some Butt with a Silver Boot!
GAME 39: Rangers 4, Astros 0
GAME 40: Astros 8, Rangers 0
GAME 41: Astros 5, Rangers 4
Can you believe it? For the first time in almost 6 years, the Astros won a series against the mighty Rangers! The Rangers had won the last fifteen Lone Star series in a row! But they have been humbled by the lowly Baby Astros!
Monday night it looked like it was going to be more of the usual. The Astros got 11 hits, but couldn't manage to score even one run. It was the third time that the Rangers had shut us down this season. But there's always something to like - this time it was Brad Peacock's personal best strikeout performance, whiffing 11 in his six innings. Altuve had a 3-hit game, and Springer got a pair of hits (along with two more Ks to add to his quickly growing collection). Unfortunately for them and for the other Astros baserunner, home plate was only a starting point, not a destination. The best moment of this game for me was when Matt Dominguez reached base on a wardrobe malfunction. The Rangers' unfortunately named second baseman, Rougned Odor, leaned down to field a ground ball, and the pesky ball jumped right into his jersey. It took Odor long enough to fish out the ball from between his buttons that MattyD was able to safely reach base. As offensive power goes, that was kind of a low-key thrill.
But the next night, things took a dramatic turn. Dallas Keuchel threw what was probably the best game of his career - a complete game shutout - with 7 K's and no walks. It was the first time this season that the Astros had been on the right side of a shutout. Meanwhile, Keuchel's teammates helped out with a whole slew of runs, most of them scored on homers. Hoes hit a 2-run homer in the second inning, giving the Astros an early lead, and Corporan knocked one out with two on in the Astros' 4-run fifth inning. Carter got 3 hits, and Altuve and Hoes each had 2. Springer looked totally different than he did on Sunday, when he struck out 4 times. In this game he seemed to have converted to a religion of patience, walking 3 times and hitting an RBI single on a 3-2 count. On the fielding side, the Astros turned 4 double plays, and Hoes got a nice outfield assist in a play on Prince Fielder at second base that was initially called a double and overturned on review. All in all a very satisfying win for the Astros!
But the big question remained: Could they win two in a row? The last time that the Astros even won two consecutive games against the Rangers, the only guy on the team who was there was Feldman - and he was in the other dugout. The Astros took the challenge, this time with Feldman on the mound for us. It wasn't Feldman's best outing though. He gave up 4 runs scattered over 4 innings, walking 1 and striking out only 3. Meanwhile, the Astros batters couldn't do much to help him out; the Rangers' pitcher Nick Tepesch, just up from Triple A, didn't allow a run in the first 5 innings. Things turned around in the sixth, though. With one out, Fowler and Castro walked, then MattyD singled to load the bases. This is where the OLD Astros would have hit into a double play to end the fun. But, perhaps energized by the previous night's win, pinch-hitter Guzman singled to score the Astros' first run, then Carter singled to knock in another. Gonzales and Villar K'ed to end the inning, but the Astros were on the board.
Altuve led off the 7th inning with a single, and Springer picked a good time for his third long ball of the season to tie the game at 4-4. Fowler and Castro singled, putting two on with no outs. It looked like this was going to be a Big Inning - but no, the next three batters went down quietly. The score stayed tied until the bottom of the ninth, when MattyD hit a massive fly ball into right field, scoring Fowler from second base, to win the game. There was much leaping and head bashing after that - the usual thing when young men get excited over winning sports competitions. They really don't have much sense that they will need all of their IQ points in the future when they can no longer play ball for a living. But let them have their fun - who knows when the Astros will win another series this year?
The Astros relievers, having had the day off on Tuesday, were excellent in this game. Downs and Clemens had scoreless outings, and Sipp, who fanned 5 of his 6 batters on Sunday, struck out 3 of his 4 batters. Qualls took over for him in the top of the ninth, getting out the last two Rangers batters. Since the score was still tied at that point, Q got pitching credit for the walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth.
The Astros have a day off to finish celebrating the series win, before taking on the White Sox this weekend. After close games against division leading Tigers and Orioles teams, and then the win against their arch-rival Rangers, perhaps the Astros will have a winning weekend against Chicago, a team with a losing record. It doesn't really matter -- we're going to have a relaxing October, watching Ausmus lead the Tigers to a pennant. But meantime, I'm enjoying seeing Springer improve at the plate, the pitching rotation looking better all the time, Villar turning great plays at short, Altuve's multi-hit games. And soon, the promotion of more new players up from the farm. Singleton, they say, is "on deck." The future is exciting.
GAME 40: Astros 8, Rangers 0
GAME 41: Astros 5, Rangers 4
Can you believe it? For the first time in almost 6 years, the Astros won a series against the mighty Rangers! The Rangers had won the last fifteen Lone Star series in a row! But they have been humbled by the lowly Baby Astros!
Monday night it looked like it was going to be more of the usual. The Astros got 11 hits, but couldn't manage to score even one run. It was the third time that the Rangers had shut us down this season. But there's always something to like - this time it was Brad Peacock's personal best strikeout performance, whiffing 11 in his six innings. Altuve had a 3-hit game, and Springer got a pair of hits (along with two more Ks to add to his quickly growing collection). Unfortunately for them and for the other Astros baserunner, home plate was only a starting point, not a destination. The best moment of this game for me was when Matt Dominguez reached base on a wardrobe malfunction. The Rangers' unfortunately named second baseman, Rougned Odor, leaned down to field a ground ball, and the pesky ball jumped right into his jersey. It took Odor long enough to fish out the ball from between his buttons that MattyD was able to safely reach base. As offensive power goes, that was kind of a low-key thrill.
But the next night, things took a dramatic turn. Dallas Keuchel threw what was probably the best game of his career - a complete game shutout - with 7 K's and no walks. It was the first time this season that the Astros had been on the right side of a shutout. Meanwhile, Keuchel's teammates helped out with a whole slew of runs, most of them scored on homers. Hoes hit a 2-run homer in the second inning, giving the Astros an early lead, and Corporan knocked one out with two on in the Astros' 4-run fifth inning. Carter got 3 hits, and Altuve and Hoes each had 2. Springer looked totally different than he did on Sunday, when he struck out 4 times. In this game he seemed to have converted to a religion of patience, walking 3 times and hitting an RBI single on a 3-2 count. On the fielding side, the Astros turned 4 double plays, and Hoes got a nice outfield assist in a play on Prince Fielder at second base that was initially called a double and overturned on review. All in all a very satisfying win for the Astros!
But the big question remained: Could they win two in a row? The last time that the Astros even won two consecutive games against the Rangers, the only guy on the team who was there was Feldman - and he was in the other dugout. The Astros took the challenge, this time with Feldman on the mound for us. It wasn't Feldman's best outing though. He gave up 4 runs scattered over 4 innings, walking 1 and striking out only 3. Meanwhile, the Astros batters couldn't do much to help him out; the Rangers' pitcher Nick Tepesch, just up from Triple A, didn't allow a run in the first 5 innings. Things turned around in the sixth, though. With one out, Fowler and Castro walked, then MattyD singled to load the bases. This is where the OLD Astros would have hit into a double play to end the fun. But, perhaps energized by the previous night's win, pinch-hitter Guzman singled to score the Astros' first run, then Carter singled to knock in another. Gonzales and Villar K'ed to end the inning, but the Astros were on the board.
Altuve led off the 7th inning with a single, and Springer picked a good time for his third long ball of the season to tie the game at 4-4. Fowler and Castro singled, putting two on with no outs. It looked like this was going to be a Big Inning - but no, the next three batters went down quietly. The score stayed tied until the bottom of the ninth, when MattyD hit a massive fly ball into right field, scoring Fowler from second base, to win the game. There was much leaping and head bashing after that - the usual thing when young men get excited over winning sports competitions. They really don't have much sense that they will need all of their IQ points in the future when they can no longer play ball for a living. But let them have their fun - who knows when the Astros will win another series this year?
The Astros relievers, having had the day off on Tuesday, were excellent in this game. Downs and Clemens had scoreless outings, and Sipp, who fanned 5 of his 6 batters on Sunday, struck out 3 of his 4 batters. Qualls took over for him in the top of the ninth, getting out the last two Rangers batters. Since the score was still tied at that point, Q got pitching credit for the walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth.
The Astros have a day off to finish celebrating the series win, before taking on the White Sox this weekend. After close games against division leading Tigers and Orioles teams, and then the win against their arch-rival Rangers, perhaps the Astros will have a winning weekend against Chicago, a team with a losing record. It doesn't really matter -- we're going to have a relaxing October, watching Ausmus lead the Tigers to a pennant. But meantime, I'm enjoying seeing Springer improve at the plate, the pitching rotation looking better all the time, Villar turning great plays at short, Altuve's multi-hit games. And soon, the promotion of more new players up from the farm. Singleton, they say, is "on deck." The future is exciting.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Smack Down Those Angry Birds!
GAME 36: Orioles 4, Astros 3
GAME 37: Orioles 5, Astros 4
GAME 38: Astros 5, Orioles 2
I missed the Friday night game, due to the Sabbath, but the play-by-play shows a ninth inning rally that put runners on the corners with no outs, and the Astros coming within a run of tying it up. Saturday night's game was a heart-breaker: With Houston trailing 3-2, two on and two outs in the ninth, Altuve hit a two-run single to put the Astros ahead. They went to the bottom of the ninth leading... and then the rain delay came. Almost an hour later, when the game resumed, Bass blew the save, allowing a pinch-hit run to tie the game, and then Clemens gave up the walk-off double in the bottom of the tenth for the Astros loss. On a cheerier note, both of these games had good starting pitching. Feldman threw 6 innings in his return from the DL Friday night, giving up 2 runs on solo homers, striking out 6 and walking none. On Saturday night, McHugh pitched into the 7th inning, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, still keeping his ERA under 3. (Looks like he'd like to maintain that spot on the big league rotation!) So, two losses - but like the Tiger series before, the games were close ones against division-leading teams. With a season like this, you've got to be happy with small signs of improvement!
On to Sunday's day game, which Robert and I attended. I bought tickets on the third base line, 4 rows back - about where I normally like to sit at Spring Training, but without the bullpen right in front of us. I figured that would keep Robert from getting too bored (he's not a baseball fan), just watching out for foul balls. In lieu of batting practice, there was a long parade of little league teams, marching around the stadium. Many had team jerseys with major league team names - I felt sorry for the few poor kids who had to show up at a Baltimore game wearing Astros jerseys! Meanwhile, a number of the Astros were sporting pink armbands, bats, cleats, etc, in honor of Mother's Day.
The game got off to a great start for the Astros - a pair of walks, followed by a 3-run homer to deep center field for our DH, Jason Castro. (Check out the pink cleats!) Orioles starter, Chris Tillman, must have beat himself up a bit over that -- those quick 3 runs turned out to be the difference in the game.
Like the other starting pitchers in this series, Jarred Cosart had a good game, throwing 6 innings of 2 run ball. Both runs came in a series of 4 consecutive singles in the third inning.
Marc Krauss gave Cosart a bit of breathing room with a 2-run homer in the top of the 7th, putting the Astros ahead by 3.
After that, it was a question of whether our beleaguered bullpen could hold onto the 5-2 lead. The new guy on the team, Tony Sipp, made it look pretty easy - he pitched 1-2-3 7th and 8th innings, shutting down his 6 batters with 5 Ks and a ground ball.
Other game notes: Altuve had another multi-hit game - two singles and a double. Was hoping to catch a photo of him stealing base, but there wasn't any theft going on in this game. Says something about a team when the only guy in the lineup with a batting average over .250 is the 5'6" second baseman! Altuve's a really fun player to watch and to photograph. (Unfortunately, I don't have ANY pictures of him batting - every time he was up to the plate, the third base coach blocked my view.)
It was exciting to get to see George Springer play, although I was disappointed that I wasn't treated to a Springer Dinger. Although he got a nice pair of hits the night before (double and homer #2), he was 0 for 5 in this game, with 4 strikeouts. In all he had 8 Ks over the weekend - still some work to do to get used to that major league pitching!
Oh yeah - did I mention that we won the game!?! That's our one win for this series.
I was sorry that there weren't more Astros fans at the game. Besides Robert and myself, I only saw one other guy in the stands with an Astros jersey. (Maybe I should have splurged and bought tickets right over the Astros dugout!) But after the game, I came across Rob Witt (AKA #1 Santa), a fellow Astros Tweeter, and we exchanged some nice memories of Astros games past! Follow Rob on Twitter here. And follow ME on Twitter here!
Back home to continue the Sh*t-Kickin' Boot competition with the Rangers. See y'all on Twitter during the game tonight!
GAME 37: Orioles 5, Astros 4
GAME 38: Astros 5, Orioles 2
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE PHOTOS!!!
For a team that's playing .316 ball (alas, that's the win-loss record, not the team BA), the Astros don't really look that bad. True, they only took their requisite single win in the Baltimore series this weekend, but the losses were close ones. And the win... well, just wait - I've got new photos! Robert and I were at the Mother's Day game yesterday.
I missed the Friday night game, due to the Sabbath, but the play-by-play shows a ninth inning rally that put runners on the corners with no outs, and the Astros coming within a run of tying it up. Saturday night's game was a heart-breaker: With Houston trailing 3-2, two on and two outs in the ninth, Altuve hit a two-run single to put the Astros ahead. They went to the bottom of the ninth leading... and then the rain delay came. Almost an hour later, when the game resumed, Bass blew the save, allowing a pinch-hit run to tie the game, and then Clemens gave up the walk-off double in the bottom of the tenth for the Astros loss. On a cheerier note, both of these games had good starting pitching. Feldman threw 6 innings in his return from the DL Friday night, giving up 2 runs on solo homers, striking out 6 and walking none. On Saturday night, McHugh pitched into the 7th inning, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, still keeping his ERA under 3. (Looks like he'd like to maintain that spot on the big league rotation!) So, two losses - but like the Tiger series before, the games were close ones against division-leading teams. With a season like this, you've got to be happy with small signs of improvement!
On to Sunday's day game, which Robert and I attended. I bought tickets on the third base line, 4 rows back - about where I normally like to sit at Spring Training, but without the bullpen right in front of us. I figured that would keep Robert from getting too bored (he's not a baseball fan), just watching out for foul balls. In lieu of batting practice, there was a long parade of little league teams, marching around the stadium. Many had team jerseys with major league team names - I felt sorry for the few poor kids who had to show up at a Baltimore game wearing Astros jerseys! Meanwhile, a number of the Astros were sporting pink armbands, bats, cleats, etc, in honor of Mother's Day.
The game got off to a great start for the Astros - a pair of walks, followed by a 3-run homer to deep center field for our DH, Jason Castro. (Check out the pink cleats!) Orioles starter, Chris Tillman, must have beat himself up a bit over that -- those quick 3 runs turned out to be the difference in the game.
Like the other starting pitchers in this series, Jarred Cosart had a good game, throwing 6 innings of 2 run ball. Both runs came in a series of 4 consecutive singles in the third inning.
Marc Krauss gave Cosart a bit of breathing room with a 2-run homer in the top of the 7th, putting the Astros ahead by 3.
After that, it was a question of whether our beleaguered bullpen could hold onto the 5-2 lead. The new guy on the team, Tony Sipp, made it look pretty easy - he pitched 1-2-3 7th and 8th innings, shutting down his 6 batters with 5 Ks and a ground ball.
In a deja vu, 2005 kind of moment, Chad Qualls came in to close. Other than a hit batter, he pitched an uneventful ninth for the save.
It was exciting to get to see George Springer play, although I was disappointed that I wasn't treated to a Springer Dinger. Although he got a nice pair of hits the night before (double and homer #2), he was 0 for 5 in this game, with 4 strikeouts. In all he had 8 Ks over the weekend - still some work to do to get used to that major league pitching!
Oh yeah - did I mention that we won the game!?! That's our one win for this series.
I was sorry that there weren't more Astros fans at the game. Besides Robert and myself, I only saw one other guy in the stands with an Astros jersey. (Maybe I should have splurged and bought tickets right over the Astros dugout!) But after the game, I came across Rob Witt (AKA #1 Santa), a fellow Astros Tweeter, and we exchanged some nice memories of Astros games past! Follow Rob on Twitter here. And follow ME on Twitter here!
Back home to continue the Sh*t-Kickin' Boot competition with the Rangers. See y'all on Twitter during the game tonight!
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Proud to Lose to Brad Ausmus!
GAME 32: Tigers 2, Astros 0
GAME 33: Tigers 11, Astros 4
GAME 34: Tigers 3, Astros 2
GAME 35: Astros 6, Tigers 2
SPECIAL FEATURE:
There's an Ausmus photo album with a never-before-seen VIDEO at the end of this post!
There's an Ausmus photo album with a never-before-seen VIDEO at the end of this post!
You won't hear me complaining about the Astros losing this series to the Tigers. Since the Astros aren't going anywhere interesting in October, I'm cheering for Detroit to win it all this year. With Brad Ausmus in his first year of managing a big league team, I don't mind losing a few games for a good cause. We always knew that Ausmus should be running a team - with all of his baseball smarts and experience, it was an obvious move. Just sorry that he's not managing the Astros' journey back to being a contender a couple of years from now! Meanwhile, let's hope that Ausmus is the AL Manager of the Year when the Tigers win the pennant!
Since the Tigers have the best record this season, and the Astros have the worst, this series wasn't anywhere as bad as it could have been. Only one game was a blowout loss, after Oberholzer, Cisneros, and Fields teamed up to give up 11 runs in Game 2. (Fields' 5 ERs in 2/3 inning got him a free trip to OKC.) But Cosart and Oberholzer had very nice starts, and the Astros made the Tigers bring out their closer twice. They even came within 90 feet of tying it up in the ninth in Game 3.
And, oh, did I mention that they WON a game? Dallas Keuchel threw a beauty this afternoon, pitching into the 8th inning, giving up 2 runs, with 7 Ks and no walks. Three Astros homers in this game, including George Springer's first big league dinger. And Altuve hit a 2-out, 2-run double to give the Astros their first lead in about a week. Unfortunately, given that this was a 4-game series, the single win doesn't keep the Astros on track to improve on last year's dreadful loss record.
It's not a surprise that I have so many old pictures of Ausmus from Spring Training and the Astros' yearly jaunts up to DC to play the Nats. He was one of the best looking guys in baseball! So here's a little photo tribute to Brad Ausmus. ENJOY!
And, last but not least, a never before seen video of Brad Ausmus PITCHING - batting practice to his 2 daughters at Spring Training. (I told him I wasn't filming the kids.)
Monday, May 5, 2014
Win a Few, Lose a Few More...
GAME 23: Athletics 10, Astros 1
GAME 24: Athletics 12, Astros 5
GAME 24: Athletics 12, Astros 5
GAME 25: Astros 7, Athletics 6
GAME 26: Astros 5, Athletics 1
GAME 27: Nationals 4, Astros 3
GAME 28: Nationals 7, Astros 0
GAME 29: Astros 5, Mariners 4
GAME 30: Mariners 9, Astros 8
GAME 31: Mariners 8, Astros 7
The Astros were at home, but I was on the road for much of last week. Watched a game or two, a few innings, here and there, in between focusing on a more personally important team -- the TWINS -- my two pairs of 3 year old twin grandkids. But I didn't have time to think too much about the games or to write about them.
The first month of the season has come and gone. A few games into May now, the Astros are keeping up a pattern of winning approximately one game per series, with a 10-21 (.323) record. That's good for worst place in the AL - there aren't any other teams under .433 - and tied with Arizona for worst in MLB. A few hundredths percentage points better than last year. Doesn't matter whether the Astros are at home or on the road; their record is about the same for both.
There's not much good news that can be said about our young Astros offense - they're worst in the league in getting hits, scoring runs, striking out, overall BA, OPS. To add a bit of spice to the mix, they're 4th in the league for homers. That's fun for fans, but it isn't winning games. And they're fifth in the league for stealing bases - and one would assume that would be higher if they could get more guys to first base. But when it comes to basics, they're just awful at scoring RISP. On the pitching side, the Astros have the highest ERA in the league at 4.88, and are in the lower quarter of teams in giving up walks, achieving strikeouts, and overall WHIP.
All in all... the Astros are not surprising anyone - they are playing just like fans should be expecting this year. Following the team this year is the chance to get a look at our future players as they have their great moments and fumbles through this rebuilding season. I'm still hoping that we won't be last in the Major Leagues again this year. On the other hand, if you're going to be bad, might as well be BAD. It's nice to get that first pick in the draft. It's become kind of a Houston tradition.
GAME 31: Mariners 8, Astros 7
The Astros were at home, but I was on the road for much of last week. Watched a game or two, a few innings, here and there, in between focusing on a more personally important team -- the TWINS -- my two pairs of 3 year old twin grandkids. But I didn't have time to think too much about the games or to write about them.
The first month of the season has come and gone. A few games into May now, the Astros are keeping up a pattern of winning approximately one game per series, with a 10-21 (.323) record. That's good for worst place in the AL - there aren't any other teams under .433 - and tied with Arizona for worst in MLB. A few hundredths percentage points better than last year. Doesn't matter whether the Astros are at home or on the road; their record is about the same for both.
There's not much good news that can be said about our young Astros offense - they're worst in the league in getting hits, scoring runs, striking out, overall BA, OPS. To add a bit of spice to the mix, they're 4th in the league for homers. That's fun for fans, but it isn't winning games. And they're fifth in the league for stealing bases - and one would assume that would be higher if they could get more guys to first base. But when it comes to basics, they're just awful at scoring RISP. On the pitching side, the Astros have the highest ERA in the league at 4.88, and are in the lower quarter of teams in giving up walks, achieving strikeouts, and overall WHIP.
All in all... the Astros are not surprising anyone - they are playing just like fans should be expecting this year. Following the team this year is the chance to get a look at our future players as they have their great moments and fumbles through this rebuilding season. I'm still hoping that we won't be last in the Major Leagues again this year. On the other hand, if you're going to be bad, might as well be BAD. It's nice to get that first pick in the draft. It's become kind of a Houston tradition.
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