It's Official: We're Better than Last Year!

GAME 119: Twins 4, Astros 2
GAME 120: Astros 10, Twins 4
GAME 121: Twins 3, Astros 1

GAME 122: Red Sox 9, Astros 4
GAME 123: Astros 5, Red Sox 3 (10 innings)
GAME 124: Red Sox 10, Astros 7
GAME 125: Astros 8, Red Sox 1

Well, it's official: The 2014 Astros are better than the 2013 record breaking loser team. With Sunday's trouncing of the 2013 Champion Red Sox, the Astros are 52-73, one game over their win total for all of last season. And it's still only mid-August. There are almost 40 games left to play. So for all those who are grumpy about how bad the Astros are this year, just remember that we're getting better all the time.

That point of view might have been a hard sell over the past week, as the Astros managed to drop some close games, and to lose some leads in big innings for the wrong team. The Astros 3 wins last week came for the most part by hot offense. The losses came for the most part by fails, mid game, by the starters, with weak relief by the bullpen. Take a look at the Red Sox series: On Thursday, the Astros carried a 4-1 lead to the bottom of the 6th inning, with what looked like a nice start for Scott Feldman. Then, Feldman melted down, allowing the Sox to tie it up on a double, 4 singles, and a walk. He left the game with the score tied 4-4 and one out. Then the bullpen (Downs and Folty) allowed all of Feldman's runners, plus one, to score before the inning ended with 12 Boston batters coming to the plate.

Saturday's game was much the same. Houston took an early lead with 6 runs scoring in the first 4 innings, and went into the bottom of the 5th leading 6-3. Peacock's recent games considered, 3 runs in 4 innings would have to be counted as a quality start for our weakest link in the rotation. But in the 5th inning Peacock gave up his second homer of the night to David Ortiz, for 2 more runs. Then Fields allowed a single, pair of walks, and sac fly to give up the lead for good. Chapman came in to pitch long relief, and had two good innings, then gave up 3 runs in the 8th, for a little Red Sox icing on the cake.

The Astros two losses to the Twins both came after nice starts in tight games (relatively nice for Peacock, very nice for Oberholtzer), followed by Fields giving up runs in his relief inning. Unfortunately for Obie, who only gave up 1 run in 7 innings, the Astros didn't score on his watch and he ended up with the loss.

Unfortunately, I missed seeing Friday night's 5-3 win, due to Sabbath observance, but it appears to have been quite crazy. With the Astros behind 3-2 in the 8th, 2 on and 2 outs, the Red Sox misplayed a simple ground ball, throwing late to second base (rather than the easy out at first). Then pinch-runner Petit came around trying to score from second base, dodging Red Sox players right and left and managed to score. You have to just go watch the replay. Words do not suffice to describe such a crazy play. The Sox challenged both plays, of course, and lost on review. That run tied the game, and it stayed tied until Marisnick hit in the winning runs in the tenth inning. The win Friday night was notable for two reasons: It was Houston's 51st win, tying last season's total. And it was the Astros' first win in Fenway Park.  What a game! What a game!

The other 2 of the Astros' 3 wins last week came in big offensive games, scoring 10 and 8 runs against the Twins and Red Sox, respectively. The highlights of these bursts included more of the same wonderful batting by Altuve, and a continuation of Carter's recent power burst. Look at Altuve's game on Sunday: He went 4 for 5 with a grand slam, putting his BA at .339 (7 points over next best Cano) and his hit total at a crazy 173 (13 hits over next best Cabrera). Carter's home run total is up to 29 -- just 2 behind the AL leaders Abreu and Cruz. For everyone who has badmouthed Carter, it's time to give him some credit. He's really coming into his own.

So on to the last 6 weeks of the season. It's all gravy from here on, assuming they don't lose all the rest of the games. Every win is one better than the worst year ever, one step towards being a winning team with dreams of October.

Thank Heavens for the Rangers!

GAME 113: Phillies 2, Astros 1 (15 innings)
GAME 114: Phillies 10, Astros 3

GAME 115: Phillies 6, Astros 5 

GAME 116: Astros 4, Rangers 3
GAME 117: Astros 8, Rangers 3
GAME 118: Rangers 6, Astros 2

It's always a bit of a challenge to find good things to say when your team gets swept. But the Astros' series sweep by the Phillies was not all bad -- if you ignore losing all the games. First of all, two of our starters, Keuchel and McHugh, had very good starts, although it was ultimately in a losing effort. The losses did not occur on their watches, at least. So that's a plus for the future Astros team.

On the other hand, Brad Peacock continued in his effort to convince the Astros that he's not Major League material, with yet another horrid start. He gave up 5 runs in the first inning alone, and ultimately 8 runs in 5. Given the known outcome of this season, the Astros can keep running Peacock out there and let him try to fix his pitching problems in front of the fans. But expect an outcry from the fan base that they want to see another deserving young pitcher get a chance. That would be the fan version of the "F" word - Foltynewicz! A starter who can throw 100 MPH fast balls seems wasted, when he is relegated to an occasional inning of relief pitching. The Astros' Powers That Be want to give him a taste of the big leagues, late this season, before letting him try for a rotation spot next spring. But I'd bet that he gets a chance at a start before the end of this season. 

Meanwhile, thank Heavens for the Rangers, without whom the Astros would not have any dust eaters. Not getting a sweep over the Rangers was the biggest disappointment of this weekend's continuation of the cross-state rivalry. After I missed watching Friday's game and half of Saturday's game, due to Sabbath observance, I was really psyched up to watch Sunday's series conclusion with our best pitcher on the mound. For three innings, I was hoping that it would be more than a sweep -- it would be that no-hitter that I'd been waiting for Keuchel to throw. He only gave up a walk in his first pass through the Rangers' lineup, while the Astros eked out a couple of runs for a 2-0 lead. But then the wheels came off, and it turned out to be one of Keuchel's rare poor (and relatively short) starts -- 5 runs in 6 innings on 6 hits ad 3 walks. Meanwhile, with little additional Astros offense to make up for it, it turned out to be an 8th loss for Keuchel. Bummer. 

However, the Astro did get a series win off the Rangers. Oberholtzer had a shaky start on Friday, giving up 2 runs in the first inning, before settling in and throwing 6 more scoreless innings. But he missed figuring for the decision, as the Astros waited until an 8th inning homer by Robbie Grossman to take the lead. Veras got the win, and Qualls earned the save, despite attempting to blow it, giving up another 9th inning run.

On Saturday night, I tuned in when the Sabbath ended, about halfway through the game, just in time for the Astros to take a decisive lead with a 4 run fifth. Despite the 8 runs, the Astros scored on the littler stuff in this game - no homers, 2 doubles, 10 singles, and 6 walks. Lots of little stuff. Feldman had another quality start, giving up 3 runs in 6 1/3 innings. Folty threw a scoreless ninth inning, mostly on his blazing fastball, including a few pitches that hit the 100 mark. This time, however, he did mix in a few curve balls to show the fans that he's not just a one pitch wonder. 

The Astros are still battling their DL, with the trio of center fielders still out. Altuve gave a scare with a sore neck that kept him out for a couple of games, but he was back in Sunday's game with a pair of hits and a stolen base. Altuve's still leading the league in BA, hits, and stolen bases. 

DUST EATERS COUNT: UP TO 2! 

The Astros record is now 49-69 (.415) - that's about 100 points better than where they ended up last year. That series win over the Rangers helped keep them eating our dust at .393. Over in the NL, there's an equally awful team playing in Colorado. 

The Jays are Blue

GAME 109: Blue Jays 6, Astros 5
GAME 110: Astros 3, Blue Jays 1
GAME 111: Astros 8, Blue Jays 2
GAME 112: Astros 6, Blue Jays 1

After the fun of winning a series from the A's, the Astros took on another strong playoff contender, the Toronto Blue Jays -- and won again! In fact, like in the A's series, the Astros came pretty close to a sweep.

Let's get that disappointment in game 1 of the series out of the way first. This was not quite the failure of the loss in the A's series; it had been back and forth over the whole game. Starting pitcher Jake Buchanan was called up to fill in for the traded Cosart, and held the Blue Jays to 3 runs over his 5 innings. The Astros gave him just enough run support - 4 runs. Veras gave up a tying homer in the sixth, but the Astros came back to go ahead by one in the bottom of the inning. The Astros were still leading 5-4 in the 8th, when the Blue Jays tied on a pair of singles and sac fly off of Josh Fields. Then Chad Qualls gave up a game winning homer to garner his second consecutive loss. What more could we expect in a game that Altuve doesn't get even a single hit in? Enough said.

Let's move on to better things! The rest of the series was much more fun. Here are a few highlights.

As usual, I missed the Friday night game, and most of the Saturday evening game, due to Sabbath observance. Friday night's game featured a solid start for McHugh -- he gave up only one run in 6 1/3 innings, and the bullpen held on to shut out the Jays for the rest of the game. However, Astros batters didn't get around to scoring a run to take the lead until well after his watch. The game winning runs came in the bottom of the eighth on Petit's first major league homer.  (Alas, it was on a night that his wife had a headache and didn't go to the game!)

I tuned in after the Sabbath just in time for fun and games! After Oberholtzer had pitched 7 innings, nursing a 4-2 lead, the Astros brought in Mike Foltynewicz for his major league debut. FOLTY!!! It was only 3 batters in relief, but it gave fans a chance to see what we have in store. He pitched all fastballs -- ranging from 94 to 99 -- to the heart of the Jays' order.  Cabrera popped out, then the mighty Bautista struck out on four consecutive 99 MPH fast balls, then pinch-hitter Rasmus walked on a full count. Porter then brought in Sipp to pitch to next Jays' batter -- no one throws to left-handed batters better than Sipp! But uh-oh -- Sipp gave up a LONNNNG fly ball that was clearly headed over the wall to tie the game. The Robbie Grossman took a leap into the air and grabbed the ball for the third out.  

In the bottom of the inning, the Astros doubled down. Carter led off with a single, and Castro hit a homer to make it 6-2.  After Hoes singled,  Singleton hit a sharp bounce-off-the-wall fly ball and started running. Hoes scored, but Singleton was called out sliding into home plate. But hooray for the new review process!!! The out call was overturned on review and Singleton was awarded the inside the park home run! For a big guy, he can leg it! The final score was 8-2, after Clemens pitched a hitless ninth. What a great game for the Astros offense! Although Altuve "only" got 2 hits, Carter, Castro, and Singleton were each 3 for 4 -- each with a homer.

With at least a tie guaranteed for the series, it was Feldman's turn to pitch. He's pitched well lately, but the bullpen hasn't helped him get a win for his efforts.  Sunday afternoon he didn't take any chances with the bullpen: He pitched a complete game, giving up only one run in the second inning before dominating the Blue Jays for the rest of the game. The Astros scored their six runs, uncharacteristically, without a homer - just lots of singles, doubles, walks, and sacs. But they managed to score their runs early in the game, giving Feldman plenty of support for the win.

In other good news, Springer is going to Quad Cities for a rehab stint. Hopefully our star rookie will be back soon! Meanwhile, Santana is getting a second chance, after his dreadful series of Ks in his debut earlier this season. He's been called up to replace Guzman, who's out on DL.

The Astros have a night off -- for Tishe B'av? -- before taking on the Phillies Tuesday night.

Mopping Up (But Not Sweeping) the A's

GAME 106: Astros 7, Athletics 3
GAME 107: Athletics 7, Astros 4

GAME 108: Astros 8, Athletics 1

Before I get into how the cellar-headed Astros came within one out of sweeping the Major League best Athletics, let's stop for a moment and look at what might be a much bigger deal, longer term -- the last minute trade between the Astros and the Marlins. I'm sure that many fans are sad to see Jarred Cosart leave the team, along with the very impressive newbie, Kike Hernandez, and one of our minor league prospects. But you can't get the goods without giving up something, and Houston did get some interesting goods in the trade, as well as a compensatory draft pick. The three players coming to the Astros are Marlins outfielder Jake Marisnick, and two minor league players, Francis Martes (RHP) and Colin Moran (3B). Marisnick is a young player who spent most of the season in Triple A; he will immediately fill in at center field for Fowler, who is still on the DL. Moran, who was the 6th overall pick in the 2013 draft, was one of the players the Astros considered for their first pick. He's been hitting well in the minors and will go to Corpus Christi. He may be ready to compete with MattyD for the Astro's third base spot next spring. Martes is just 18, and has a high 90's fastball in rookie ball - he's described as a "lottery ticket" thrown into the deal. Bleacher Report gave the Astros an A- on the deal. Only time will tell... 

In my last blog post, I didn't show much enthusiasms for the Astros chances against the league leading Oakland A's, but this team never ceases to surprise and amaze. Surprised that they could nearly sweep, let alone win the series, against such a formidable team. Amazed that they managed to let the one game they lost get away, with Qualls on the mound and a 3-run lead in the ninth. Let's get the bad news over with first. In Tuesday night's game, the Astros went into the ninth inning leading 4-1. Feldman had a really nice start, going 7 innings and giving up 1 run on 5 hits. Fields kept up his good recent pitching with a 1-2-3 eighth. Then came the ninth inning. Qualls has been pitching very well as our closer, and struck out the first batter he faced. So it came as a big bad shock when he gave up a single, double, RBI single, ground out, wild pitch, walk and then another single, allowing the A's to tie it up 4-4. Finally, Qualls got yanked (one batter too late in my opinion - should have taken him out after the walk) and Sipp came in. Sipp's been Mr Reliable at getting outs, but he gave up the go-ahead run on a single. Veras took the mound next and gave up 2 more runs before ending the inning. But that was all gravy -- the A's 6 runs were 2 more than they needed to win the game. The Astros went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.

On to happier outcomes... Monday night's 7-3 win featured 4 home runs, accounting for all of the Astros' runs. Carter hit a three-run homer in the 3rd, his 21st of the season. Then Castro, Krauss, and Dominguez all hit long balls in the 6th inning, scoring the other 4 runs of the game. Oberholtzer pitched into the 7th for the win, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits.

After Tuesday night's ninth-inning letdown, the Astros came back with a vengeance Wednesday afternoon. They scored 6 runs in the first inning, 5 of them coming with "just" 2 outs. (Surprisingly, Altuve didn't figure in any of the runs - he led off with a flyable out, and closed the inning with a K.) But one homer (Grossman), one walk, and five singles added up to plenty of run support to the Astros' pitcher who barely needed any: Dallas Keuchel. I still haven't given up on my "goal" to see Keuchel throw a no-no this season. This game was his fourth complete game win of the season. He gave up only one run on a solo homer, with 3 other singles sprinkled in. After the previous day's sorry conclusion, just as well not to trust his nice lead to the bullpen! Nice start (and middle and end!) for Keuchel.

Last minute news: Folty's coming! More to say about that in the next blog!

DUST EATER'S COUNT

The Astros are still duking it out with the Rangers to be the worst team in the Major Leagues. But, based on this series, they're not afraid of the big guys and they're still having some fun. 

Something Fishy in Houston

GAME 103: Marlins 2, Astros 0
GAME 104: Marlins 7, Astros 3
GAME 105: Marlins 4, Astros 2

The Astros' homecoming against Florida was not quite welcoming -- they were swept in the three game weekend series. I may have to dig a bit to find my something-to-like about a sweep at home, but I'll try.

The two most notable Astros players in the series were game 1 starter Dallas Keuchel and our irrepressible infielder Jose Altuve. Keuchel had a terrific game -- he threw 7 innings, giving up 2 runs (0 ER) scored due to a fielding error. Sadly, Houston batters couldn't manage to eke out a couple of runs in support, so he ended up getting tagged with the loss. Still, it's great that he resumed the form that made him such a standout pitcher earlier this season. Unfortunately, both Cosart and McHugh were hit up for early-inning runs in their starts, and did not have such positive game stats or much offensive support -- a good recipe for a big fat "L."

On the offensive side, Altuve just kept doing what he does best -- hitting. Over the three games he went 7 for 13, including a leadoff homer in game 3. This barrage of hits has Altuve leading the Major Leagues in batting average (.344) and hits (148), while leading the AL in stolen bases (42) and second in the AL for doubles (30). How cool is this?

The Astros are still missing some of their key position players, due to injury. Most notably, our center field depth is significantly depleted, with Fowler, Springer, and Presley all on the DL. Springer and Presley might be back this week, but Fowler's not expected on the field until sometime in August. In the meantime, rookie Hernandez is getting a lot of playing time. He's acquitting himself well at the plate, and is learning to play  MMP's dreadful centerfield the hard way -- by experience. Unfortunately for him, that included Friday night's failed catch that resulted in the Marlins' only 2 (unearned) runs. Says a lot for Dallas Keuchel that he went up to Hernandez after the game -- not to blame him, but to check on how he was doing after that blunder cost the game.

Unfortunately for the Astros' W-L record, the next series is against the best team in the league -- a hometown rematch with Oakland. It's going to be a long week. Hell, it's a long season!

DUST EATERS COUNT: BACK DOWN TO 1! 

The Astros record is now 42-63 (.400). There's one team in either league that's worse -- the Rangers (.390). And they are pretty damn close. The Astros are due to get the second pick in next year's draft, because of not signing Aiken. If they come in last place again this year, do they get the first TWO picks?

Grandparent Camp

GAME 97: White Sox 3, Astros 2
GAME 98: White Sox 4, Astros 3
GAME 99: Astros 11, White Sox 7

GAME 100: Astros 3, Athletics 2
GAME 101: Athletics 9, Astros 7
GAME 102: Athletics 13, Astros 1

I barely had time to catch any baseball games this past week, as my husband and I were in New Jersey running Grandparent Camp -- spending long summer days doing activities of interest to 3-year old boys while their parents were busy with work and school.

We had a great time taking short hikes, going to the zoo, making picnics, riding trains, watching construction sites, reading books, going out for ice cream, and spraying shaving cream at each other. (Not to mention chasing crazed wet escapees from the shower.)

It's not that we were too busy babysitting to watch ball games. The kids go to bed by about 7. The grandparents stay up later, but after a day of playing with active twin boys, we were pretty zonked too! I did manage to catch an inning here and there, but this wasn't a week for baseball-watching immersion. (Especially those super late night games out on the West Coast!)

But I did manage to catch an inning here and there. Unfortunately, the day game on the day after I returned home from NY -- which I was looking forward to watching without interruption -- was arguably the worst game that the Astros have played all season. Wrong side of a 13-1 blowout against the division leading Athletics. Another poor start for Feldman (6 ER in less than 6 innings). At least it wasn't a shutout; Carter hit a solo homer for the Astros' single run.  And at least Altuve got his 2 hits.

On the good news side of the Astros' series losses to the White Sox and Athletics... yesterday's game was the only really lopsided loss. The two losses in Chicago were close games, and then the Astros scored double-digit runs in the game they won. They then won a close game for the Oakland opener. They had a big 5-run inning in the middle game against the Athletics, although their total of 7 runs was not enough to catch up. When you go into the 8th inning down 9-2, it's a pretty big hole to dig your way out of. That mess belonged to Brad Peacock, who gave up 7 runs in his 3 2/3 innings. (At least he got out of the first inning, unlike his previous start.) And then yesterday's crash and burn... Bottom line: We won one game in each series, right on schedule.

In other Astros news, mostly not good... Springer has joined Fowler on the DL, cutting into his opportunities to smack a few more homers in his rookie year. Maybe when he comes back he will be able to shake loose of his propensity for strikeouts. That 4 K game that we saw in Baltimore on Mothers' Day was, alas, part of an ongoing pattern -- his strikeout rate is around 40%! Fowler's traveling with the team, but isn't working out yet. Don't look for him in the lineup any time soon. With Fowler, Springer, and Presley all on the DL, there's a bit of a hole in center field. It's been nicely filled with an unexpectedly happy newbie story -- Kike (I wish he'd spell his nickname differently!) Hernandez is doing just fine at the plate and in the field.

More bad news: The Astros not only failed to sign Brady Aiken, their #1 draft pick; they managed to piss off the family, the agent, and the players' union. As far as I can tell, they did not actually do anything illegal by lowering their offer dollars in response to an issue discovered in the physical exam. But they gave the team a bit of a black eye. Worse, when the Aiken deal fell through, a couple of other signings fell through as well, for financial reasons. It's not 2007, but it's not too good either.

Our twin grandsons (and their parents) are coming to visit us in Maryland for a few days next month, and I'm already thinking about our plans. Definitely another shaving cream battle out in the back yard. And maybe I'll go buy one of those fat bat and ball sets to get them started on their baseball training!

DUST EATERS COUNT: 3! 

The Astros record is now 42-60 (.412). Not too much dust trailing that record; most of the dust is right in our face! There's one AL team that's worse -- the Rangers (.392). And over in the NL there are 2 bigger losers -- the Cubs (.410) and the Rockies (.406).

Baseball and Poker Highlights...

GAME 94: Red Sox 8, Astros 3
GAME 95: Astros 3, Red Sox 2
GAME 96: Red Sox 11, Astros 0

After the fun of the sweep in Dallas, the Astros came back home to Houston just in time to go into a bit of a slump against last years' World Series champs, the Red Sox. Let's just say that the good news is that the Astros got their one win to keep them ahead of last year's record. In today's close of the first "half" of the season, the Astros looked just like the team of kids that they actually are. The starting pitcher lasted 1/3 of an inning. The defense committed 3 errors. The batters only managed three hits, all singles, while striking out 12 times. Everyone in the starting line up struck out at least once except (ironically, last year's strikeout king) Carter. All around miserable game. But while some fans are booing and calling for Porter's ouster, I say, just take it in stride. This is who we are this season - sometimes high energy winners, sometimes can't-do-anything-right losers. Growing pains...

So let's talk about a couple of pretty cool things instead of series losses. First of all, one can't go too far wrong talking about Altuve, who's going to the All Star game with 130 hits and 41 stolen bases. That, sports fans, is a Major League record for the hits/SB combination going into the All Star Break. Altuve is also carrying .335 batting average (just barely edged out of leading the league by Adrian Beltre after today's 0 for 4 game), which positions him well for one of the four season goals I set back in May - winning the AL Batting Title. Hey, this could really happen! I just hope that Altuve's lack of stature  (and I don't mean that physically) with baseball fans outside of Houston doesn't result in his getting slighted in the All Star Game. Who doesn't remember Hunter Pence in 2009?

In other cool sports news, my to-be son-in-law, Aaron Kaiser (Tweeting as ManchildDC) is playing in Day 6 of the World Series of Poker Hold'em Main Event. Out of 6683 players who entered the tournament last week, as of this writing Aaron is still in the remaining 4 dozen. I'm not personally a big fan of poker or of gambling in general, but I'm a huge fan of Aaron! Very exciting for him!!! Will update this post later...

UPDATE: Aaron came in 36th place!!! 

The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good

GAME 78: Braves 3, Astros 2
GAME 79: Braves 4, Astros 0

GAME 80: Astros 6, Braves 1

GAME 81: Astros 4, Tigers 3
GAME 82: Tigers 4, Astros 3
GAME 83: Astros 6, Tigers 4

GAME 84: Mariners 10, Astros 4
GAME 85: Mariners 13, Astros 2

GAME 86: Mariners 5, Astros 2

GAME 87: Angels 5, Astros 2

GAME 88: Angels 7, Astros 6

GAME 89: Angels 11, Astros 5

GAME 90: Angels 6, Astros 1

GAME 91: Astros 12, Rangers 7
GAME 92: Astros 8, Rangers 3

GAME 93: Astros 8, Rangers 4

I went out of town and just look what happened: The Astros went on a serious losing binge, including being swept in two consecutive series. One of these series was the much anticipated matchup with my parents' team, the Mariners, while I was visiting in Seattle. The Astros were clobbered. But tomorrow is another day, and there's always another game (until October), and then of course, there's always next year. So let's just not talk about it...

I came home from my latest West Coast trip just in time to watch the Astros complete a sweep over the Rangers. Happily, that series resulted in pushing the Rangers one tenth of a percentage point below the Astros in the standings, so we're no longer the worst team in the Major Leagues -- just barely!

The most notable aspect of the Rangers series was the run production - the Astros scored 28 runs in 3 days, including 7 more home runs. At 100 homers so far this season, the Astros are third in the league for long balls. That's a fun change for a team that hasn't been noted for power hitting in a while. (But alas, we're in the cellar for Team BA - just .239 - and are leading the league in strikeouts.) Altuve went 5 for 13 with 3 steals, breaking the Astros' record for most hits before the All Star Game.

With all this offensive support, the Astros managed to win all three games quite decisively. The starting pitching, while not lights-out, managed to hold their own, and all three starters inked the wins. Cosart got his ninth season win, pitching 5 innings, giving up 6 runs (5 ER) on 9 hits. Peacock had a very nice start, earning his third win with 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings. Keuchel gave up 4 runs in the first 2 innings and then settled in for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, for his ninth win. One notable plus in the starting pitching was the dearth of walks - only 3 BB in the series. With somewhat short outings for the starters, the bullpen got quite a bit of action, and the relievers accounted very nicely for themselves. They gave up only 2 runs in 9 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, in other Astros news...

The Astros have been experimenting with some of the minor league prospects, with mixed results.  One game in Seattle featured the ML debuts of both Domingo Santana and Enrique Hernandez (with the unfortunate nickname "Kike," although it's pronounced "Kee-Kay"). The much anticipated Santana went on to go 0 for 13 with 11 strikeouts, many of them painfully ugly. That got him a ticket back to OKC, with Robby Grossman called back up to replace him. Meanwhile, after 9 games, Hernandez is still in the bigs, batting .345 with a homer, a triple, and a pair of doubles. 

Altuve was voted into the AL All Star Team by the players. It was kind of a "Duh!" choice, since he's leading the league in BA, total hits, and steals. That's only good enough for 4th place among fan voters, given the Astros' poor national visibility, but hopefully the ASG manager will have the sense to let him come in sometime during the game. Dallas Keuchel is still in the last round of voting for the final ASG position, but I don't hold out much hope that he'll get in.

In the bad news department, Fowler has been on the on the DL for the past 2 weeks, with a right intercostal strain. The good news is that Springer has been playing CF quite athletically. Take a look at this catch for a sample!

One more piece of not-so-good news: The Astros are still negotiating with Brady Aiken, their first draft pick from this year. The holdup seems to be a health issue - some problem with his elbow ligament. It would be a huge shame if they couldn't sign him, but a bigger shame if he never makes it to the big leagues because of a health problem.

DUST EATERS COUNT: 1! 

The Astros record is now 39-54 (.419). There is just 1 team worse than the Astros -- the Rangers (.418). There is also one NL team that is tied for our sad placement - the DBacks (.419). Unless we can get a boost off of that sweep in Dallas, we might start thinking about our next first pick in the draft...

2005-2014 ASTROS COMPS

I think it's about time to drop this feature, since the 2005 team is well on its way in its phenomenal ascent from the cellar to the pennant, while the 2014 team is pretty much treading water. But, as they say, "There's always next year..." 

2005 Game 93 W/L record: 47-46 (.505) (tied for 7th best in the NL); 13 1/2 games behind in NL Central

2014 Game 93 W/L record: 39-54 (.419) (2nd worst in the AL); 19 games behind in AL West

Growing Pains

GAME 74; Rays 5, Astros 0

GAME 75: Astros 3, Rays 1

GAME 76: Rays 8, Astros 0

GAME 77: Rays 5, Astros 2

Well, it was fun while it lasted. But the recent hot streak of wins has wound down, with 3 consecutive series losses. Most painfully, 2 of the 3 came against the team that has taken over the Astros' position as the Worst Team in the AL. That's right, we lost to the biggest losers in the league. And even worse (could it BE worse?), the formerly free swinging Astros hitters were outscored 19 to 5. That hurts.

The one win in this series, on Friday night, featured 8 shutout innings by Cosart, on 6 hits and 1 walk. Keuchel threw a complete game, but for his second consecutive loss, on Sunday. McHugh had a less than stellar start Friday nigh, with a dreadful inning in relief from Clemens. And Saturday's 8-0 pounding came at the expense of rookie Jake Buchanan, who was up for his debut filling in for Peacock. His line for the game -- 4 1/3 innings, 5 runs on 8 hits, 3 walks, and no strikeouts -- leaves him some room for improvement in his next try. But he didn't het much help from the rest of the team -- the Astros got only one hit in the game, and of course it was Altuve's.

Altuve's batting was one of the few bright spots in this series. Over the 4 games he went 7 for 15 with a pair of stolen bases. He now leads the league in batting average (.336), hits (105), and stolen bases (26). And for all that, he's only in fourth place among second basemen in the All Star voting. That's what happens when you play for the team that's been in the cellar for years. No respect. If he were playing in NY, our diminutive infielder would be an iconic hero. They'd call him the reincarnation of Peewee Reese. They'd nickname him Mighty Mouse. They'd sell millions of his jerseys. Well, I put the league batting title for Altuve on my wish list of 2014 Astros goals. Wouldn't that be something?!

So at the moment we are back to eking out a game per series, if that. That doesn't help much with either our Dust Eaters count or our comparisons to the 2005 Astros, who are about to make an Astro-nomical leap from league goat to winning the pennant. We always knew we'd be left eating that team's dust. But it's still fun to compare.

DUST EATERS COUNT: 3

The Astros record is now 33-44 (.429). There is only ONE team worse than the Astros in the AL -- the same Rays (.397) that just beat us in two series. There are only 2 teams worse than the Astros in the NL, and one tied with us: Cubs (.419), Dbacks (.405), and Padres (.429).

2005-2014 ASTROS COMPS

2005 Game 77 W/L record: 36-41 (.468) (tied for 5th worst in the NL); 13 games behind in NL Central

2014 Game 77 W/L record: 33-44 (.429) (2nd worst in the AL); 14 1/2 games behind in AL West

Disappointed in Steamy DC

GAME 72: Nationals 6, Astros 5
GAME 73: Nationals 6, Astros 5  

After weeks of looking forward to seeing the Astros in person in DC, all it took was a little heat to spoil the fun. A little heat, as in, heat index in the triple digits. I prudently decided to avoid being baked in the stands, and moved the game to my living room. A nice bottle of wine, a kosher meal that did not include hotdogs, and air conditioning made the games quite enjoyable.

Well, except for the outcome...

The Astros historically have a hard time with the Nationals. This year, with the Astros still in last place in their division and the Nats in first place in theirs, conditions weren't ideal for winning. Still, Houston's been playing well (the best record in the AL over the past few weeks) and the Nats were coming off a losing streak. So you never know.

Tuesday night's game was a huge disappointment. For one thing, before the game, I was thinking that by my not going in person, this would be the night that Dallas Keuchel would throw that no hitter that's on my list of goals for the 2014 Astros. As it turned out, Keuchel gave up a weak hit to the very first Nat he faced, so the pressure was off. It was mostly downhill from there. By the time that the Astros tried to make a serious rally in the 8th inning, Keuchel was long gone. He had an uncharacteristically weak start, giving up 4 ERs on 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 4. He hit his 100 pitches before 5 innings were done, and that was it for the night. Downs put a couple of runners on in the sixth, both of which scored when Farnsworth inherited them. Williams, Sipp, and Zeid combined for nearly perfect work for the remainder of the game. And no, Sipp did not play in the outfield, even though this was an NL game.

The Astros came into the eighth inning down 6-1, after some disappointing failures to capitalize on scoring opportunities. They loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning on consecutive singles by Altuve, Springer, and Singleton, and then only managed to eke out a single run on MattyD's infield single. Come on - this was supposed to be one of those Big Innings! In the top of the eights, Castro singled, and MattyD doubled to put runners on the corners, no outs. Villar got an RBI single. But then Carter and Presley struck out to mute the rally. Back to the top of the lineup. Fowler got an RBI single to make it 6-3. Then Altuve doubled, scoring two, to make it 6-5. Sadly, Springer lined out to end the fun. The Astros failed to score in the ninth, losing the first game of the series. All in all, a very disappointing loss, despite having our ace on the mound, and 14 hits (2 each for Fowler, Springer, Dominguez, Villar, and FOUR -- 2 singles, 2 doubles -- for Altuve).

Wednesday night's game was a slightly shuffled version of the same thing. Astros starter gave up early runs, Astros have a big inning, Astros lose by 1 with a runner on base in the ninth. In this game, the Astros went as far as taking a 2 run lead with a 4-run fourth inning, but only managed to score one more run (on a wild pitch). Meanwhile, the Nats chipped away at the bullpen until they went ahead in the seventh.

Another common feature of the two DC games: In both games, Farnsworth came in with 2 runners on base and allowed them to score for the 5th and 6th runs. He gave up the 5th and 6th runs in the first game of the Rays series too... Hmmm. See a pattern? You know, I know the guy has had a good pitching career, but I'm just not warming up to him. His ERA is a mediocre 4.13, and that doesn't count the runs scored by inherited runners, which were tagged to the previous pitcher. It just seems like if Farnsworth's on the mound, runners score. If the young guys do this, they swap them back down to Oklahoma City. Are veterans somehow exempt?

Anyway, more disappointment in DC. And with 3 consecutive losses, we're losing ground in the Dust Eaters count.

DUST EATERS COUNT: 4! 

The Astros record is now 32-41 (.438). The Red Sox, who won their last 3, have pulled ahead of us, as have the Phillies and Mets. There are just 4 teams worse than the Astros, including the Rays (.384), Cubs (.429), Padres (.408), and Diamondbacks (.405).

2005-2014 ASTROS COMPS

2005 Game 73 W/L record: 33-40 (.452) (4th worst in the NL); 13 games behind in NL Central
2014 Game 73 W/L record: 32-41 (.438) (2nd worst in the AL); 12 1/2 games behind in AL West

JINXED! DOUBLE JINXED!!!

GAME 69: Rays 6, Astros 1
GAME 70: Astros 7, Rays 3
GAME 71: Rays 4, Astros 3

All it took for me to jinx the Astros into losing their first series in almost a month was that post about not being able to lose, no matter how hard they tried to. So of course, they then lose this weekend's series against the Rays -- their replacement for the Worst Team in Baseball. That's irony for you. We were supposed to sweep this one. Three consecutive no hitters. That's what happens when you assume that the Worst Team in Baseball can't win any games. People thought that about the Astros, too, and we surprised them. And then the Rays surprised us. Bummer.

The bad news this weekend was the absence of Altuve in the starting lineup. They've been benching him until his hand gets better after his painful HBP last week. At the same time, Springer has gone back into a strikeout frenzy. In today's Fathers Day game -- like last month's Mothers Day game -- he struck out 4 times. Over this series, he struck out in 9 of his 11 at bats. I don't think that these bad things are entirely unrelated. There's something about having Altuve right before Springer that is beneficial to his hitting. Perhaps it's just having Altuve so often on first base, ready to steal second, that makes the opposing pitchers more likely to throw fastballs to Springer. I'm convinced that they are a dynamic duo when placed together in the lineup -- Mutt and Jeff. Mighty Mouse and Superman.

It's funny how fast fans can get used to winning. Players, too, I guess. Not too long ago, I would have been satisfied with this series, with the Astros getting their single win to beat last year's record. Now I'm comparing our record to our 2005 record, setting a bar that's totally unrealistic for this group of kids. Probably...

You can go to the Astros website and read the details of what happened in each game this weekend. I'll just point out a couple of interesting tidbits. In today's loss, Porter tried the Sipp-in-the-Outfield trick again. (Click here for a description of when he did it in Arizona.) But it backfired! Last time, in a NL stadium, moving Sipp from the mound to the outfield and then back to the mound didn't have any particular negative side effects. But this time, in Houston's AL stadium, the Astros ended up losing their DH position when they put a pitcher in a non-mound position. (Note to Porter: Read the fine print.) I don't actually understand why Porter does all this switcheroo stuff with Sipp -- the guy pitches really well to both left- and right-handed batters. Why not just leave him in?

Another interesting tidbit: You don't always get what you want. So when the Astros were down 4-3 today, with two outs and one on in the bottom of the ninth, and then Singleton came to the plate to pinch-hit -- and you just KNEW in your heart he was going to get that walk off homer... Well, he didn't, and there's a lesson there. Some games have dream endings, but some games just don't. This one had the dream start (2 homers in the first inning), and the bummer ending.

Here's a good thing from the past few games. MattyD is batting well - he went 5 for 11, with a few RBIs in the series. Here's a not-so-good thing from this weekend: Two of the three starting pitchers had mediocre starts, lasting only 4 and 5 innings, and putting the outcome on the backs of the bullpen. The bullpen's improved, except maybe for Farnsworth. (When the younger guys don't perform well, they just send them back to Triple A; they aren't going to do that with Farnsworth.) Well, happy to have a day off tomorrow. Let them all rest up for this week's bake-off (temps in the 90s) in DC.

Next up: The Nats. The good news: The Astros are coming up here to the DC area to play a pair of games against the Nats on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bad news: We're getting a heatwave and it will be close to 100 degrees (with a chance of thundershowers) for the games this week. I love the Astros, but I really, really hate the heat. I think I originally became an Astros fan because the Astrodome was air conditioned. But I'm still planning to go to both games anyway.

DUST EATERS COUNT: 7! The Astros record is now 32-39 (.451). There are still SEVEN teams worse than the Astros, including the 2013 Champion Red Sox (.449), Rays (.386), Phillies (.433), Freakin' Mets (.449), Cubs (.418), Padres (.420), and Diamondbacks (.417).

NEW BLOG FEATURE: 2005-2014 Astros Comps

Horrible, terrible, awful, dreadful season start. And then they got warm, and then they got hot, and then hotter, and HOTTER, and then they won the pennant. That was the 2005 Astros.

For those who haven't already heard this 1000 times: I had an epiphany in 2005 at Spring Training. In what can only be described as a miraculous vision, while watching Bagwell and Biggio tossing the ball back and forth before the game in Osceola County Stadium, I saw the Astros playing in the World Series. Yep, play the Twilight Zone theme here. I don't tend to have visions of this sort, so it was pretty convincing to me. I was sure that the Astros were going to win the NL Pennant. Then they started the season with that 15-30 record, and the Chronicle published a tombstone with "RIP Astros Season" on it on June 1. And I was still sure that the Astros were going to win the pennant. I was so sure that I started writing up a season game diary at Spring Training, and kept it up through the whole season. You remember that season -- it was the one when the Astros did win the NL Pennant and went on to the World Series, just like I saw in my vision. (We don't need to talk about what happened in the Series; I only had a vision about playing in the World Series, not winning it.)

This was all before free blogs, and my 2005 season diary lives in 2 thick binders, complete with printouts of my own write-ups of every game, best/worst things of the game, photos, daily box stores and daily standings.

Okay, I'm not going on record to say that the Astros are going to win the 2014 AL Pennant. That was a team that featured great big league star pitchers (Clemens! Pettitte! Oswalt!) and terrific batters. Conservatively speaking, we should be looking for a winning Astros record in 2015, making the playoffs in 2016, and the AL Pennant in 2017. By then all those Worst-Team-First-Draft-Picks will be big league players and the Astros will have more than one courtesy slot in the All Star lineup.

But we did lead off 2014 with a horrible, terrible, awful, dreadful season start. And then right around Mothers Day, they got warm, and then they got hot... So just for grins, I'm adding another occasional feature to the Astros Fan in Exile blog: A comparison to the 2005 Astros at the same point in the season. Here goes...

2005-2014 ASTROS COMPS

2005 Game 70 W/L record: 30-39 (.443) (4th worst in the NL); 13 1/2 games behind in NL Central
2014 Game 70 W/L record: 32-38 (.457) (3rd worst in the AL); 10 games behind in AL West

And just a stroll through memory lane:

2005 Game 70 lineup: Taveras (CF), Biggio (2B), Berkman (1B), Ensberg (3B), Lane (RF), Everett (SS), Burke (LF), Ausmus (C), Clemens (P)
2005 Game 70 pitching: Clemens (W, 6-3), Franco, Springer

2014 Game 70 lineup: Fowler (CF), Springer (RF), Singleton (1B), Castro (C), Dominguez (3B), Carter (DH), Presley (LF), Gonzales (2B), Villar (SS)
2014 Game 70 pitching: Cosart (W, 6-5), Sipp, Fields, Zeid

A 4-Game Mega-Series in 2 Cities (Part 2: Houston)

GAME 67: Astros 5, Diamondbacks 1
GAME 68: Astros 5, Diamondbacks 4 (10 innings)

What can I say? When you're hot, you're hot. When you're winning, you aren't losing, no matter how hard you try. 

And the Astros tried their damnedest last night. They loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs, and only scored one run. They loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs and didn't score at all. They loaded the bases in the ninth inning with one out -- and didn't score. MattyD hit into rally-killing double plays in the 7th and 9th innings, was out on runner interference, and struck out 3 times - truly the head goat of this apparent fiasco. Altuve made a fielding error (only his second of the year!) that led to a Dback run, and was later hit on the hand by a pitch and left the game injured.  Corporan committed a catcher interference error.  With a precarious one-run lead in the ninth, Qualls gave up a first-pitch home run to blow the save.

And despite all this, they won. I'm not sure that the young dugout dancers ever really considered losing. So by the bottom of the tenth inning, when Carter hit his walk-off homer, the happy dancing moved to the field to celebrate another win.

There were obviously some good things that happened in this game too; the Astros managed to score 5 runs despite going 0-for-6 with RISP. Fowler and Altuve both had multi-hit games, continuing a pattern of leadoff base runners that's been critical to recent success. Corporan joined them in the multi-hit club, hitting 3 for 4 with a 2-run homer and a pair of singles. Singleton hit his third home run, as well as an RBI sac fly. Springer only had one hit, but made two  highlight reel-worthy diving catches in right field. The one in the eighth inning was so obviously going to be a hit that Goldschmidt took off from second base. That left Springer plenty of time to get up and toss the ball to Villar at second to complete an inning-ending double play. Is this guy Superman?

And then there was Chris Carter's leadoff game-winning homer in the bottom of the tenth.

While not lights-out, Feldman had a better game than his last two. He pitched into the seventh inning, giving up 3 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits, walked none, and struck out 6. That's significantly better than his last outing, when he didn't finish the second inning, and the previous one when he gave up 9 ERs! The bullpen did a good job: Downs and Fields combined for 1 2/3 scoreless innings.  Qualls (after 17 2/3 scoreless innings and 7 consecutive save conversions) gave up a first-pitch homer to tie it up, before shutting down the Dbacks for the rest of the ninth. Sipp pitched a 1-2-3-4 tenth inning. Yep, he made 4 outs, a K and 3 ground ball outs. But the third out didn't count because of catcher interference. And this was against the top of the Dback lineup. Are we sure that Sipp is a lefty-specialist, not a closer?

All in all, some groaning, cheering, nail-biting, and ultimately happy dancing fun, as the Astros break .450 on their way up up up.

With all that drama Thursday night, Wednesday's 5-1 win seems practically ho-hum. Just another Dallas Keuchel All Star-quality start, his sixth in the past seven starts. Bo Porter remarked afterwards, "If he's not an All-Star, who is?" I'm not so sure about his chances. Houston's young players are still not really on the radar of All Star voters or even most other team players and managers. If we only end up with a single player in the ASG, like previous years, it will most likely to be Altuve, who's leading the AL in runs and stolen bases. But Keuchel doesn't seem too worried about that. He kind of reminds me of Oswalt - just goes out there and does his thing, and does it really well. This time it was 8 innings, giving up one run on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5. Just 101 pitches, and with a 4 run lead, he could have probably stayed in for another CG. But Porter brought in Qualls to throw a 1-2-3 ninth in the non-save situation.

The offensive star of the game was obviously Carter, who hit a pair of solo homers. The kid's batting average is still under .200 (well, it's .199), but he's been showing some serious muscle with 3 homers in the past 2 games, now leading the team with 13 long balls. That's including the grand slam he hit last weekend! It's amazing to see an Astros team that actually has real power hitting. Don't you love these strong, energetic, and happy-to-be-here kids!?!

The Astros will be playing 3 this weekend against the Rays, the new Worst Team in Baseball, since the Astros decided they didn't want to compete for those honors anymore. I don't want to say anything else and jinx it.

DUST EATERS COUNT: 7! The Astros record is now 31-37 (.456). There are now SEVEN teams worse than the Astros, including the 2013 Champion Red Sox (.455)! The others are the Rays (.373), Phillies (.438), Freakin' Mets (.439), Cubs (.406), Padres (.424), and Diamondbacks (.420).

Eat My Dust!

And the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed be you 

more than all the cattle and more than all the beasts of the field; you shall walk on your belly, 

and you shall eat dust all the days of your life." 

(Genesis 3:14)

Assuming that the Astros' star is ascending (and I don't just mean Springer!), I'm adding a new blog feature: The Dust Eaters count. As in "Eat My Dust!" That's the number of teams that are worse than the Astros. We may have been the worst team in the Major Leagues for years, but the times, they are a'changin'... So let's watch the Dust Eaters count rise, and see how high it can go this season. Because we all know, it's going to be 29 in the not-so-distant future.

DUST EATERS COUNT: 5! The Astros record is now 29-37 (.439). There are now FIVE teams worse than the Astros. Teams with worse records include the Rays (.364), Phillies (.419), Cubs (.419), Padres (.438), and Diamondbacks (.433). Still waiting for my season goal: To pass the Red Sox (.453).

A 4-Game Mega-Series in 2 Cities (Part 1: Arizona)

GAME 65: Astros 4, Diamondbacks 3  
GAME 66: Diamondbacks 4, Astros 1  

Talk about a split series. This week's games are kind of like a single four-game series, but split between two cities. Who schedules this stuff? But the juxtaposition of a pair of two-game series against the same two teams is good for one thing: It provides a mini-clinic in the difference between AL and NL style games. Remember when our pitchers used to bat? From their swings -- and even bunt attempts -- they don't seem to remember how!

But I'm actually not sure if I would really blame the unusual pitching-switching machinations in Game 1 on playing in a NL venue. In 50 years of NL play, I don't think that I've ever seen a relief pitcher throw to one batter, then be moved to a fielding position, before being brought back to the mound to pitch to another batter. But that's what Porter did to Sipp in the eighth inning of this game. It was the righty-lefty matchups that drove the moves, of course. Sipp came to the mound to pitch the seventh inning, replacing Cosart who was sitting on a 4-3 lead. He threw an uneventful inning, and then stayed in for the first batter of the eighth, lefty Parra. Strikeout! When Porter came out to the plate to make the pitching switch to Williams for right-handed slugger Paul Goldschmidt, he was carrying a fielder's glove. The glove was for Sipp, who was moved to right field for one batter. (Despite the wrong assumptions by the Astros' broadcasters, this was not Sipps' first experience in the outfield; Porter knew he had played center field in college.) But Sipp did not actually have to use his fielding skills; Williams walked his only batter on 5 pitches. Then Sipp was back on the mound to throw to lefty Montera. Strikeout! That was it for Sipp. Porter went to Farnsworth, a RHP, to pitch to lefty Prado. Strikeout! Click here to check out the video of this crazy inning. My dad would have hated this -- he can't stand all that righty-lefty pitching-switching. However, it all worked out to preserve the Astro's one-run lead another inning; then Qualls threw the ninth for the save.

The disappointing aspect of the Arizona half of this mega-series was the absence of George Springer, due to soreness in his right knee. I'm not saying that the recent Astros' success is all his doing, but there's a certain momentum that comes with having him in the lineup after Altuve. That momentum was really missing in Game 2. Brad Peacock pitched a very nice game, with only a first inning solo homer on his line over 6 innings. But the Astros barely eked out a single run, on MattyD's sixth inning RBI single, to tie it up. That left Peacock with a no-decision, and loser's rights went to Josh Fields, who gave up a pair of runs in the seventh. But it was truly a team event, with relief pitchers, fielders, and batters conspiring for the loss. Villar and Fowler both had fielding errors, contributing to Fields' run count. Farnsworth gave the DBacks a gratuitous insurance run in the ninth. Altuve was 0 for 4, stranding loaded bases to end the second inning. But as I often say, there's always something to like in a game. The brightest spot in this loss was Jon Singleton's line -- batting third, he went 3 for 4, with a double and two singles, scoring the Astros' only run. No big boomers in this game, but he seems to be settling in at the plate.

Now home to Houston for the second half of this Mega-Series against the Snakes...

Slammin'....!

GAME 62: Astros 5, Twins 4
GAME 63: Twins 8, Astros 0
GAME 64: Astros 14, Twins 5

Another series win!!! 

I was puzzled when I went to my neighbors' house on Saturday afternoon to check their newspaper for the Friday night game outcome -- although the game was only in Minnesota (not the West Coast), it was shown as a Late Game with no results. Extra innings? Nope --  the start was delayed almost an hour and a half due to rain. No matter, it took the Twins longer than that to get their first run off Astros pitching. Keuchel threw another beauty, although it took more pitches than some of his recent games. He pitched 6 scoreless innings, giving up 6 hits and two walks, for his seventh season win, a new personal record. Tony Sipp, relieving in the seventh, gave up runs for only the second time this  season -- 3 ERs on 3 hits. Following this season's fun new pattern, the Astros scored their runs on homers: Solo shots by Gonzales and Dominguez, in the third and fourth innings respectively, and a single-homer combo from our dynamic duo, Altuve and Springer in the sixth. The additional run came on Altuve's single, scoring Fowler, who had hit a triple to lead off the sixth inning.

The game I missed on Saturday was notable more for the Astros pitching than for the lack of hitting. Feldman has been pitching less and less like an ace recently, that role belonging now to Keuchel, with McHugh close behind (who would thunk it coming into the season!?). Feldman had a 1-2-3 first inning, but in the second, he hit a batter, walked 2, gave up a single, and thanks to a pair of fielding errors, allowed 3 runs, all unearned. After he had thrown 43 pitches in the inning,  Porter pulled him with 2 outs, saying that he wasn't going to allow Feldman to throw 50 pitches in one inning and risk his next start. Paul Clemens came in to relieve him, getting the third out, and then pitching a 1-2-3 third inning, before melting down in the fourth: Four walks, a single, and a double, allowing 3 more runs. This is the second game in a row in which Clemens pitched a 1-2-3 inning, and then totally lost his control in the next inning - not a good pattern for a long reliever. It didn't really matter in this game's outcome, since the Astros didn't score a single run. But it mattered for Clemens, who was optioned to Oklahoma City the next day.

You've gotta love a team that knows how to fight back! Just a day after the Twins humiliated the Astros with that 8-0 shutout, the kids came back slammin'... Literally! First career grand slams for Carter and Singleton, solo homers for Fowler and Springer, helping to rack up a season-high 14 runs.

With 2 of the 3 games in the weekend series against Minnesota on the Sabbath, when I close up my iPad, I got lucky that the Astros blowout game was  Sunday afternoon. Virtually ever member of the team had something to contribute. The Astros had a modest 5-3 lead, when Carter came to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh inning. BANG! Make that 9-3! Singleton's slam came with two outs in the ninth inning. Cool under pressure! (Well, as much pressure as a big lead in the last inning can generate.) It was his second big hit of the day; he also hit a massive double to lead off the 7th. Singleton was batting cleanup in this game (which I predicted in my last blog post), and that big bat potential was the reason why. Fowler, who has been very hot since being moved into the leadoff role, went 2 for 5 with a solo homer and single. Altuve went 1 for 3 with a single, a walk and a HBP, giving him the opportunity to steal another pair of bases (leads the league at 23). Springer hit a solo homer. Grossman went 2 for 3 and scored 3 runs. Villar, whose recent drought was turning into a legendary oh-fer, went 3 for 5. Corporan only got 1 hit, but it was the one that scored the Astros first run in the second inning. Dominguez was the only batter not to get a hit, but he walked and scored. Like I said, something for everyone...

Well, nearly everyone. Houston's pitchers had a mixed day. McHugh got off to a very nice start, but soon started having control problems. Although he had a 5-1 lead when he left the game, his 4 1/3 innings did not qualify him for the win. Fields allowed both of McHugh's walked runners to score in the 5th, before pitching a scoreless 6th. Our new veteran reliever, Farnsworth, allowed a pair of singles and a pair of walks in the 7th -- not a good outing for him. Then Darin Downs threw the remaining 2 2/3 innings without giving up a run, to end on a happy note.

The next couple of weeks will be interesting ones: The Astros are playing 4 games against the Diamondbacks, and 7 games against the Rays -- both teams that have worse records than ours! If there's any time in our schedule that begs for a winning streak, it's now! The only other games that the Astros will be playing in the next 2 weeks are against the Nats, here in Washington, and I will definitely be there to cheer!

The Future is Looking Very Bright

GAME 59: Astros 7, Angels 2
GAME 60: Angels 4, Astros 0
GAME 61: Astros 8, Angels 5

Another series win!!!

I went into this season thinking that this is a good time to get to know the new faces, batting stances, and stats for the future Astros team that will be a contender -- starting maybe 3 years from now. Over the past couple of months, I've kicked up my expectations: Maybe 2 years from now this will be a winning team? But in the past few weeks, the Astros are starting to look like a team that can win games now. No, I'm not calling for a 2005-style upset, where Houston went from 15-30 on to win the pennant. That year, despite the June 1 "RIP Astros Season" tombstone from the Chronicle, I was undeterred from my faith that the Astros would play in the World Series. (It's all documented in two 3-ring binders that I started at Spring Training and kept up through the sad ending to the World Series.) But that was an Astros team of veteran great players (Bagwell! Biggio!) and seasoned star pitchers (Clemens! Pettitte! Oswalt!), whose day had simply come.  This year, we've got a bunch of kids, with energy and speed and high hopes for their day coming. Even so, I'm starting to believe that their day is coming much sooner that I had thought back in March.

Our pitching rotation might be (mostly) youngsters, but we have enough starters to keep the Astros winning games. More than enough - they had to send Oberholtzer back down last week, not because he wasn't producing, but because they didn't need 6 starters. The bullpen's settling in. And the hitting has improved significantly from the first month of the season. When we went to see the Astros in Baltimore on Mothers' Day, Altuve was the only Houston player on the field batting over .250. Now Altuve's batting well over .300, and the Over .250 Club includes Fowler, Springer, Gonzales, and Dominguez (on a good day). There are still too many players batting under .200 (Carter, Villar, Grossman, Corporan, and --for the moment -- Singleton), but the team batting as a whole is more productive.

The way we can tell is this: The Astros haven't lost a series since they dropped 2 of 3 games in Anaheim May 19-21. They've tied, won, and even swept the Mariners, Royals, Orioles, and Angels since then.  You know what else? The Astros are no longer the worst team in baseball! Their .426 record beats the Rays (.377) in the AL, and 3 teams -- the Phillies, Cubs, and Diamondbacks -- in the NL. That's what happens when you win 12 of the last 20 games. If they keep this up, the Astros aren't getting the first pick in the 2015 draft!

The Astros unprecedented third consecutive first draft pick took place last evening, before the end of the Shavuot holiday, so I missed seeing it live. As soon as the holiday ended, I rushed to Astros.com on my iPad to find out who they selected in what hopefully will be our last first draft pick for a very long time. The Astros went with Brady Aiken, a 17-year old So Cal high school lefty flame-thrower, who looks like he came out of Central Casting to star in a sentimental baseball movie. Really, doesn't this kid look like he ought to be playing a baseball star, not a baseball game? If he develops the way the Astros are dreaming about, this guy is going to be a super fan favorite! Looks don't matter as much as stats... but still... Okay, more seriously, is this a kid we are going to see on the mound when he's 20 years old, with 4 solid pitches, and a flaming fast ball? He's so young, who knows how he'll develop, but he's got the overall look of a big league pitcher, and he hasn't been worn out by overuse in college baseball. Is he going to be our ace by the time he's legally able to buy a drink? I guess he'll have to duke that out with Mark Appel! WOW!

Following the first pick on Day 1, the Astros selected a couple of potential power bats, Derek Fisher and A.J. Reed, both college players. It was great to see one of my favorite players from the pennant winning Astros, Adam Everett, announcing the Astros picks.

Okay, just a couple of words about the Angels series. We won! (I really ought to leave it at those two, considering that I only got to watch the first inning of game 1 and the last few innings of game 3, due to the religious holiday.) But I have to at least mention that this was the first big league series for brand new Astro, Jonathan Singleton. He was signed to a unusually long and large contract for a newbie, and brought up this week from OKC. Clearly the Astros see him as a long-term impact player. He had a good impact in his first game: His first ML hit was an 8th inning home run in Tuesday night's 7-2 win. He had an oh-fer night on Wednesday -- as did most of his teammates, as the Astros were shut out. He got one hit and scored a run in last night's win. So welcome to the Big Leagues, Jon Singleton. And stay off the weed. 

Recapping the starting pitching for this series: McHugh got the win in game 1, after pitching 5 shutout innings (97 pitches), giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks. Although he ended up with the loss, Cosart did not have a bad start in game 2 - he threw into the 7th inning, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits. But NO (zero! zilch!) run support! Peacock didn't have his best stuff in game 3, throwing his 5 innings, giving up 3 runs of 6 hits, one walk, one K. But he got the win with plenty of run support - half of it after he left the game. The big 8th inning surge started with 4 walks, followed by a pair of 2-out 2-RBI hits from our Dynamic Duo, Altuve and Springer. That 8-3 lead should have led to an easy win, but Paul Clemens loaded the bases with no outs in the 9th inning. Kudos to the calm veteran, Chad Qualls, who got the save, after only allowing one of the runners to score. (And to be fair, kudos to Clemens too. He took down Pujols, Hamilton, and Kendrick for a 1-2-3 eighth inning. And the first two guys who got on base in the ninth did so on shaky fielding. He didn't pitch as bad as "bases loaded, no outs" sounds.)

One more notable item: Porter has jiggled the batting order a bit, putting Fowler back as lead-off, followed by Altuve and Springer. I like the change - Fowler's hitting has increased batting at the top of the order (and hopefully his steals will too), and it still keeps Altuve and Springer batting one after the other. Altuve gets on base, Springer knocks him in. That seems to be a good pattern, as Springer has quickly taken the team lead in RBIs. Singleton's batting 5th, for now at least. If he starts knocking out the homers he was brought up to hit, I'd expect to see him in cleanup.

Now that the 2 day religious holiday is over, I still don't get to watch ball games.  WAH! The Sabbath starts at sundown tonight, and tomorrow's a day game. I won't get to watch our new hot ball team in a live game till Sunday. Well, let's just say, we all need to have our priorities in life.

Seeya online on Sunday!

Just a Split, Not a Sweep

GAME 55: Astros 3, Orioles 1
GAME 56: Astros 2, Orioles 1
GAME 57: Orioles 4, Astros 1
GAME 58: Orioles 9, Astros 4

After winning 7 in a row, it was a downer to lose the second pair of games in the Orioles series at MMP. Can you hear what a change in world-view that is? Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was just looking to win one game in each series, hoping for about .333 on the season - an improvement over last year. Now it's disappointing to split a 4-game series, instead of sweeping. Well, I didn't expect that the kids were going to win every game for the rest of the season. But things are sure looking up!

The excellent offense of recent games slowed down considerably on the return to Minute Maid Park. That's a bit ironic, given how many of the Astros' runs this year have come courtesy of homers, and MMP is a very home run friendly ballpark. Happily the Astros starting rotation, except for our ace, are still pitching some nice games. On Thursday, Brad Peacock threw like he knew his future was on the line - 6 innings, giving up only 1 run, striking out 8. Unfortunately, he left the game before the Astros took the lead. They had just enough offense, with a 2-run Springer Dinger in the 7th making the difference between W and L. Friday night it was Oberholzer dealing, also looking to secure his place in the rotation. He pitched 7 innings, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits. His teammates barely helped out, but happily Villar -- after going oh-fer-a-coupla-dozen -- came through with a RBI double to allow the Astros to eke out the win. Saturday afternoon, Keuchel broke his string of 3 virtually complete games, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. Not terrible, but not good enough without run support. Altuve and Springer uncharacteristically went 0 for 8 together, and set the tone for a loss. Let's not even talk about Sunday's mess. Feldman was banged up for a bundle of runs, and though the Astros scored more runs than in the previous game, it wasn't anywhere near good enough. So settle for the series split and move on.

In the rotation battle, Peacock won, and Oberholzer was sent back down to Triple A. But bigger news out of OKC: Singleton's coming!!! He's joining the big league team NOW. Just in time for me to go offline for a few days for religious observance (Shavuot). WAH! Can't wait to see what happens next! And can't wait to hear who we pick in the draft Thursday night. Will check as soon as the holiday ends.

Chag sameach! (That's Hebrew for Happy Holiday!)

A Royals Flush!

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.

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!

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.

Altuve might have a small frame, but he's got a big bat and an even bigger heart!

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!

Enjoy those High Fives at the end of a game -- there will be lot more to come in the future!

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?

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?

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'... 

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!