The Astros win and lead the AL West in spite of themselves

After 13 games the Astros sport a 9-4 record, which is tied for their best start in history. They have a comfortable 3-1/2 game lead over the Angels and M’s and a 4 game lead over the A’s and the Rangers in their division.

With all that positivity, this is all occurring while some folks are not performing up to spec in the first 2 weeks of the season. Consider this:

  • Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yulieski Gurriel, Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran and Evan Gattis have a total of 0 HRs.
  • Those 6 regulars, plus Nori Aoki, Carlos Correa and Jake Marisnick have the same amount of HRs as faux slugger Marwin Gonzalez (3) and half as many as true slugger George Springer (6).
  • Correa, who is expected to bust out this season, had 1 HR and 2 RBIs in the opener and 0 HR and 1 RBI in the 12 games since. On top of that he is nursing a hand injury after getting plunked on Sunday.
  • The team is 12th in doubles in the AL, don’t have a triple and are 9th in HRs.
  • Collin McHugh, who has been the Astros 2nd best starter over the last 3 seasons has not thrown a pitch and is likely weeks (or surgery and recovery) away from returning.
  • Closer 1A Ken Giles has a very un-closer-like 7.50 ERA.
  • Closer 1B Luke Gregerson also has a very un-closer-like 7.36 ERA.
  • Lance McCullers Jr. was considered a likely ace coming in to the season, has a below average 4.67 ERA and has struggled to go deep in his outings.
  • 5th starter Mike Fiers has a 5.40 ERA and has so impressed the staff that his 3rd start has been pushed back after Sunday’s rainout.
  • The team has committed 11 errors which is 14th worse in the AL.

Amazingly the team has room for improvement after a very strong start.

So what has driven the fast start of the team.

  • Yeah, except for Springer they are not hitting HRs as a team, but they are hitting. They have put up a .268 BA (2nd in AL), .346 OPS (3rd) and .747 OPS (5th).
  • They are 2nd in hits and 5th in runs scored in the AL, and as folks have pointed out they are doing a great job of avoiding the Ks – having only 88 Ks to date (2nd least in the AL).
  • The pitchers have picked up the fielders as the 11 errors have only resulted in 3 unearned runs.
  • Dallas Keuchel has been insanely good in his three starts to date – his 0.86 ERA and 0.619 WHIP are impressive, but his 3.4 hits / 9 IP number is mind blowing.
  • Chris Devenski has been insanely good in four strong appearances – his 0.82 ERA and 0.455 WHIP are impressive, but his 21 Ks against 1 walk in 11 innings is hard to wrap one’s mind around.
  • Brad Peacocck, 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and Will Harris, 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA have been basically perfect.
  • Luke Gregerson has that awful ERA from one horrendous appearance, but he has had 7 other scoreless appearances.

There are probably items from both lists above that are unsustainable, both bad and good. So, how do you feel about this team?

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222 responses to “The Astros win and lead the AL West in spite of themselves”

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  2. Good teams find ways to win, often with a different character every night.

    Morton (2nd in the majors in soft contact) added, “It’s comforting how good this team is, and fun. It instills a ton of confidence all over the place.”

    Last night, one of the comments was that guys feel like they don’t have to do too much [hit a home run], when the next guy can pickup the team.

    Re quality at-bats, I’m a little concerned with Beltran and Gattis chasing. Both of those guys should wait for their pitch.

    Keuchel and Devo are the best punch in baseball to win any Game 1.

    What we’re searching for however is some sort of base stealing threat (beyond Altuve) and a battery that produces a caught stealing, shoring up defensive woes, better double play timing.

    Extending innings is going to be a key, and so far the scrappy tenacity is a real good sign. Aoki has been a great addition! I’m liking Reddick in the 2-hole, as he’s starting to display that personality. If he and Gurriel start rolling, with Bregman starting to hit, it’s just a matter of time for the others..

    I think last night I would’ve switched the corner infielders, but they seem to want to let Yuli get as much practice with his footwork finding the bag. The more we’re winning w/o injury though, my gut feeling is that Hinch will stick closer to a particular order, and we’ll be less likely to be sprinkling in prospects.

    Last season the team was hamstrung having to play Rasmus Gomez etc, while this season seems more hand-picked, earn it or sit, with more improved options.

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    • As to Aoki, he was asked if the core group made him feel old at 35. He ran his hands down his physique and answered sans translator: “I look young.”
      (from today’s Chron)

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  3. Sandy and Diane – you have to remember that all teams have holes and frankly to this point the Astros have shown less problems than their foes.
    The Astros are 5th in the AL in runs scored, 5th in ERA for their starting pitching and 5th in ERA for their bullpen – all solid numbers.
    The Rangers and M’s are doing well in scoring runs and in starting pitching, but both their bullpens are awful so far.
    The A’s are performing bottom third in the league in all 3 categories.
    The Angels are poor in runs scored and starting pitching but have a good bullpen.

    If the Astros can keep their starting pitching decent (top 6 or 7) I think the other two sides of the team will keep them in good shape. If the M’s and Rangers straighten out their bullpen (like the Astros had to last season after a poor start) they will be the most dangerous of the teams outside Houston in the division.

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    • Starting pitching has always been concern #1 for me, Dan, and the primary reason I couldn’t see them going the distance. But if you say all God’s chillun got holes, that’s good enough for me.

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    • I was going to, but then he’d be thanking us all day instead of enjoying the mountains.

      We all wish you a Happy Birthday, Chip!🎂 Make a wish, but don’t tell us!

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  5. Errors, GiDP, giving away outs on the bases: these all concern me. On the plus side is the improvement in SO and BB, which is huge if the trend continues. Offensively, I’m still very optimistic about this team, as I have been for months. Overall, the pitching has been about what I expected and will gladly take this performance over the rest of the season.

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  6. Looking at pitching concerns around the division (and by the way – when did the 15 day DL become the 10 day DL – I must have been asleep at the wheel):

    Angels
    – Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano – sidelined for the whole season
    – Huston Street – on the 60 day DL and out at least June
    – And most importantly – Ace Garrett Richards who made only 6 starts last season and who had experimental stem cell treatment instead of surgery in the offseason – is currently shut down for an indeterminate amount of time

    Rangers
    – Tyson Ross recovering from surgery – out until at least May
    – Sam Dyson on the 10 day DL with a bruised hand (though it might be a bruised ego)
    – Jake Diekman – out at least until mid season with ulcerative colitis

    M’s
    – Drew Smyly – On the 60 day DL with flexor strain
    – Steve Cishek out until end of April recovering from off-season surgery

    A’s
    – Sonny Gray out until the end of April with lat strain
    – Kendall Graveman – out 10 days with shoulder strain
    – Daniel Mengden out indefinitely recovering from foot surgery
    – John Axford out indefinitely with shoulder strain

    Astros
    – Collin McHugh – out at least 5 more weeks with elbow impingement
    – David Paulino – Out indefinitely with elbow bruise

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    • Diekman and Dyson are big losses for TEX, and Kela coming off a careless offseason, they’re a shell of their once tough pen. Same with their lineup, missing Desmond and Moreland, their starters not so impressive.

      According to A’s beat writer Jane Lee, Sonny Gray told Graveman he feels great. The more I thought about getting Gray though; A’s need a productive SS (which we don’t have ready) relief and OF – do we want to have a Derek Fisher, or bullpen arm drubbing us for years to come? Maybe send someone we can contain, like with Lowrie? Anyway, their defense is horrid, and A’s will want to cut bait some.

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  7. So, how do I feel about this team?
    Well, they are the opposite of last season, when the defense, pitching, baserunning and hitting were bad and their season was over by May.
    What they have this year is youngsters who can play and veterans who have played very well in their careers as proof of their worth. They also have two catchers who want to be here. What they had last year was youngsters who could play and veterans who had not proved their worth or were fools or were biding their time.
    I worry about LMJ’s health and the general lack of team speed. What I love is the fact that the club has won without the team actually having jelled yet.
    When things do come together, they could be special.

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  9. Can’t wait until Correa or Beltran or Gattis or Bregman, etc go crazy for a week or two. The fun thing is that they can sustain some folks in slumps – there are plenty of other folks available to pick up the slack.

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  10. There might be some runs scored in the Hooks and the Grizzlies’ games tonight. All the starting pitchers on both teams have ERAs in the stratosphere. Would love to see Keegan Yuhl and Kyle Smith lower their ERAs and WHIPs substantially tonight. [Not too worried about the guys throwing for NW Ark and Las Vegas.]

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      • I am looking for a 1-0 final, with the only run of the game scoring on a position-player pitcher’s errant throw on a pick-off attempt in the bottom of the 17th.

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  11. 9-4 only hitting on 6 cylinders I’m a happy camper. April last year 7-17, I’ll take every weird ugly win we can get.

    On another subject, someone please tell me after 27 years in the minors and still hitting .118, what the heck is Alpin still doing in our organization Geez.

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    • Nobody is pushing him out. There has been nobody who needed to be added to the 40-man in his place. He is the beneficiary of the Astros going out and filling their needs with veterans, while the youngsters work their way up. Since the Astros are not deep in their high minors with outfielders, he has been able to stick around.
      When the time comes to add players to the 40-man or lose them, Andrew will probably be done. The Astros do not have a full 40-man roster anyway, so he’s not doing any harm.

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  12. I think the starting can be as good, if everyone remains healthy and Fiers is replaced at some point. I believe we’ll get a big arm for the stretch run.

    Guys like Beltran, Correa, McCann and Gattis will start hitting homeruns, although I don’t think we’ll see 24 from Altuve again, because teams have made a concentrated effort to pitch him away. But that’s okay, because he’s already accepted that fact and is committed to taking what they give him. He might not provide a .900 OPS again, but maybe he’ll maintain that .400 plus OBP. He’ll keep being the best leadoff hitter in the league.

    And I do believe the team BA can get a bit better.

    The defense will improve.

    I don’t think we’ll steal as many bases. We won’t need to.

    Gregerson and Giles will get more consistent. Devinski will not keep striking out so many guys. Harris and Peacock will give up runs.

    As I said this morning, we’re 9 and 4 and have not played real well yet.

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  13. I would like to thank directv for at least giving me the first 7 games, they have since decided that Root SW needs to be blacked out in my market (since I live in Mariner country). Fun while it lasted, I will depend on box scores and you good folks to keep me up. Hey, at least I’ll get to watch the Mariner/Stro games.

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  14. Not liking how Musgrove got squeezed prior to giving up the homer. First he has a 2-1 count when it should have been 1-2 and then a check swing that ended up a foot past the plate. So then he puts a 3-1 pitch too far over the plate and boom.

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  15. So Gurriel apparently reads the blog and decided he did not want to be stuck on zip/zero/nada HRs – so he launched one. Springer did not like anyone thinking they could catch him in HRs so he launched one too.
    Musgrove is pitching well but not efficiently so he may not get past the 5th.

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    • And not sure why we have replay if they are not going to get it right. McCann was safe – barely but safe.
      Whose in the review booth in New York? Angel Hernandez?

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  17. NOTE TO HINCH: *W A L K* ALBERT PUJOLS!!! JEEZE…..how many times do you have to see him put one over the train tracks before you get the picture?????

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  18. Musgrove seems like he’s doing more throwing than pitching right now. 73 of his 100 deliveries were strikes, but his location is not there yet, nor has he really shown a K pitch. Too many long counts. At that point, still in the 5th, guys like Trout and Pujols are going to tee off on you.

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    • Disappointing, for certain, but not too surprising. Joe is still a newbie to the league, feeling his way along. My question is, in light of the uninspiring nature of his first three starts, and the fact that in each he has gotten worse at locating instead of better, he – and his future as well as the team’s chances – might be better served by sending him down to Fresno for at least four or five starts to see if he can get his mechanics, mojo, and confidence back and start locating, commanding, and missing bats again.

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      • If you do this do you go with Peacock in the rotation? I definitely don’t want to take Devo out of the bullpen and I am not sure if Feliz has a good 3rd pitch to be an effective starter. Peacock is also looking very good in the bullpen so the options are limited to replace Musgrove.

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      • Don’t we want to see a bigger sample size and also see if Strom can help him find himself a bit? I know this is an important season, but if we knee jerk every time someone struggles, the kids never learn how to improve – spend their careers looking over their shoulders, ,etc

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      • I am just throwing out a question for conversation. Personally, I would give Joe at least one more, probably [depending upon results] two or three more starts. But if he doesn’t show some improvement in control, command, and reduced velocity on contact the next couple of times out, I think it might do him good to Fresno for awhile to work on refinements in a less stressful and demanding environment. Heaven knows, Fresno could use the help!

        As far as what I personally would do to replace him in the rotation in the event Joe was sent down, I would think I would give Peacock the first shot, then Devo and/or Feliz – and go with the hottest hand until either McHugh came back from his rehab or Martes looks ready [which he does not yet].

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  19. I’m sure not ready to pull Musgrove yet. Maybe if we were 5 and 9 it would be a consideration, but not we’re in pretty good shape. Not time to over react.

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  21. I haven’t read any comments yet. I put that loss on Hinch. With first base open, I put Pujols on and pitch to Cron there. Pujols has beaten the Astros more than any other hitter in history and I am taking my chances with a lesser guy, with a force at any base.
    Plus, an intentional walk is four less stressful pitches on Musgrove;s arm.

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    • IBB is 0 pitches and probably the right move there. I’m not concerned with Musgrove. Check back in June if the team struggles in his outings, but I think he’ll give them strong enough outings to hold a spot.

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  22. Eight days ago Forrest Whitley pitched brilliantly to win a game in a double header for Quad Cities. He hasn’t been seen nor heard from since.
    He is lost, apparently on Weiland Island. It’s where minor league pitchers from the Astros go to disappear.

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  23. What we have to remember (and this blog post speaks to this) that baseball is a streaky game and you will never be hitting on all cylinders. Some guys will be hot – some cold. You have to have some patience with folks.
    Best guess is Springer will not end up with 81 HRs just like Beltran or Gattis won’t end up with 0 HRs.
    Let’s give Mr. Musgrove a good solid 10 starts before we look to making changes. Heck it may be Fiers we will need to replace.

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  24. Of course we give Musgrove some time. But the weak start for Joe is bad enough that I for one will be carefully watching the next couple of starts to see how he is trending on BB/9, K/9, pitch per out, WHIP, and velocity on balls hit in play.

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    • The eye test tells me that he gets Pujols out and it’s a different ballgame. Both curves he started Albert out with froze him off the plate, and the first few innings Joe was dominant. Again, Musgrove made many, many brilliant pitches..

      I don’t share the same command concerns you’re all mentioning. The guy, just like many of our pitchers, are getting absolutely screwed on balls/strikes!! The homer to Simmons was a 3-1 count bc the ump(S) didn’t ring up the previous strike: check swing. It is constantly these hitter’s counts the umps put us in that make the difference. We gave Joe a little run support, but Nolasco was gettable and as Dennis Greene said, “we let ’em off the hook!”

      Springer makes that grab vs Trout and it’s a completely different game, just like the Gattis hit that Haniger dropped. A game of inches. Joe’s had a little bad luck.

      Having said that, I think we’d be fine with Peacock Feliz or Devo, but it appears they’re all only 4-6 innings max. Peacock is moving in on first up for that job, but I wonder if like Marwin, when he becomes a regular – the mystique wears off?

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  25. One of the things that hurt Musgrove were a couple of 10/11 pitch ABs. Even though he hung tough and got the out each time – it really upped his pitch count and wore him out a bit.
    I did not get to see that much of the game – was it just good at bats or just lack of an out pitch / location / movement?

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    • Calhoun did a good job of fouling off the backdoor sliders, but Joe eventually mopped up most of those guys. Since he doesn’t have an effective change, the fastball *should be his outpitch but besides a few guys like Feliz and Gustave, nobody really goes Mano y Mano on our staff (like Oswalt did). Musgrove was throwing a 10 to 4-looking curve, not like his last outing that featured that 11 to 5 tight slider. He didn’t have that one working yesterday. Consequently, when he started it inside enough, he froze them. When he elevated it, Simmons, Escobar Trout and Pujols didn’t miss.

      Going back to his radio interview, I have a hard time pinning this on Hinch bc Joe doesn’t back down. Even if they’d pitched out (which they should’ve done), there was reason to believe Joe could’ve still executed.

      Just prior to the big hit, the camera panned into the dugout and it sure looked like Hinch was asking McHugh what he should do. Collin seemed to indicate letting the guy finish. Going to pulling the plug: I do think it’s a tad early.

      This is nothing new for good pitchers all over the league. Making those final decisive outs are never easy!

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  26. I agree, Bill, reduced velocity (you mean exit?),… Joe and Lance need to find that Keuchel ability to induce the grounder or easy fly-outs.

    The way these guys sort of lean in and push the envelope shows their age and lack of experience. Amped up, even if calm-looking. Like throwing gas on fire sometimes. Keeping the hitter guessing, having enough pitches working every night. And when we don’t, improvise.

    That kinda stuff Joe might tweak in Fresno, but I hate the idea of losing his 4 good innings yesterday. Op and starters who thrive on structured routine hate the tandem. We have a ton of arms, and already carrying 13. How do we solve this puzzle?

    Last night, Joe’s trying to qualify for the start. With just two outs to go, ya can’t pull him. You can walk Pujols and face Chron. You can bring in Devo and shut it down. But we’re early in the season, trying to cut our teeth and play pick-me-up. We still had a shot in the end.

    This description pretty well explains what I saw.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/854538483960033280/video/1

    Some real, seriously disappointing AB’s out of Gonzales and Beltran – those are two I’m pinning that game on! I would just bench them a day at least.

    Haven’t checked but last night Correa clenched the brim on his cap, right handed. No wincing. Surely he’s ready, if not tomorrow?

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    • And I’ll say Bregman looked a lot better at SS.

      [When I was real young, playing pitcher in the sandlot, a kid hit a hard liner right at my shin (fortunately not my head), but I’ll never forget how it was difficult fielding that position again bc I was gun shy.]

      Bregman looks like when he has more time (a split second more), he’s able to track and throw from the SS position well. 3B really requires that ability to soak up hard liners, and stretch covering the lines (think Kris Bryant). There’s no room for hesitation. And a gun, like JD Davis’. Anyway, I just say he looked better yesterday. And I’m not trying to start anything, but Correa looked like a natural in the WBC.

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      • Even though I always hated the Everett for Everett trade, I do trust Adam Everett to coach up, or decide what’s best for the infield, though.

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  27. https://mobile.twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/854539616183046146/video/1

    I thought this was pretty humble to say, “maybe if I take a different angle”…

    I watched that one several times, and I suppose he means running toward the fence instead of toward the soonest touch point? I thought it was an incredible effort, so close to a major turning point against the MVP.

    The Angels needed that win yesterday because the next two will be stiff tests, and Showmaker isn’t pitching as well as last Summer..

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    • Gov –
      It is an interesting situation and so tragic (hahahahaha)! Basically you have a team that faced minimal adversity last season. Everything went their way to give them a record that their performance just did not match. And one of the keys was a bullpen that did not cough up leads all over the place like this one has.
      So, last year whatever decision Bannister and Brocail made on pitchers was golden, this year it is all going down the drain and now the finger pointing occurs.
      Yeah, Brocail has no business airing his grievance with Darvish – he was a player – he knows that is now how this is done. He sounds like someone who is trying to take the heat off himself and that is not going to go down well with the team.
      C’mon Rangers – this is only the tip of the implosion. Let’s see some fisticuffs or Darvish out a month after punching a concrete wall.

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      • Hamels wouldn’t come, are you suggesting Kimbrel? That would have cost Hader, Musgrove and Martes.

        In retrospect, nearly that same bullpen was good enough, just gassed. Correa doesn’t make the error, the AL is most likely ours. Conservative foresight, and 2017 is bearing that fruit.

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      • I think he’s talking about the 2016 trade deadline, but typed in the wrong year. Either way, I’m fine with both deadlines as last year’s prices would have hamstrung us going forward and it did very little to help the Rangers who won as many playoff games in 2016 as the Astros. The Astros are positioned much better than the Rangers this year and going forward.

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      • I thought he meant 2016, too, but ’15 is a viable question.

        With as close as we’ve been over the years, I’m not of the opinion, “get to the playoffs & anything can happen.” Having every, single matchup advantage is key.

        Ok, that, and having our stars dominate and not screw up..

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  31. Correa had an MRI on his hand today, just to make sure there isn’t a small break in it. I’m a betting woman, and I don’t think Correa comes back until Friday. Why push him if you don’t REALLY need to. By the way….J.C. Ramirez is dealing. AND….. the idiots to our north got slammed today in Oakland!
    Gov….I loved that article!! My family in Dallas absolutely despise Brocail. I’ll take him back, he did a great job in Corpus Christi.

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    • Well Becky they outlasted Ramirez and put the game away against the Halo’s bullpen. Great games by Keuchel and Reddick. And the South Oklahoma Rangers lose another one. Oh and the Rockets won too. Sweet Wednesday!

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    • Becky – When Brocail says, “I’ve seen enough of Darvish,” that’s sounds like doctrine to me. I always liked him in our uniform, too.

      See a lot of Brocail in Harris. Doug’s best yrs were age 31 and 32 for the Tigers, same age as (now) Harris’ turnaround.

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  32. Outside of Chris Devenski, Ramirez’s stuff was as nasty as I’ve seen all year.
    Their left fielder hurt the Angels tonight.
    Our hitting to the opposite field hurt the Angels tonight.
    I think the rainout in Oakland helped our bullpen a lot
    McCullers needs to be a lot sharper than he was in his last start, because the Angels are underrated at the plate, Simmons is a better hitter than advertised.
    I have not gotten bored by this year’s Astros announcers.
    I think Julia Morales is starting to settle into her job.
    The Astros are growing up.
    I would not be surprised to see Correa play tomorrow, because Gurriel is going to be limping badly. That HBP hurt him.
    How about Arizona and the Rockies. tied at the top of the NL West at 10-5. So great.
    And the Blue Jays have the worst record in the majors.
    Maybe Colin Moran’s walk off single in Fresno’s 1-0 win will get him going.

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    • I thought Ramirez was “Effective wild” or “Wild effective ” – I loved the pitch that struck out Altuve. Catcher and umpire set up low and away. Altuve was looking low and away. Blummer described it as a “cement mixer” high and tight for 3rd strike.

      But his pitches had movement most of the time.

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  33. The guys in the bullpen call Giles “Kenny G”!!! Thought that name was claimed by someone else, who doesn’t play baseball! I absolutely LOVE this team!

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  34. I love baseball stats because they are head scratchers. It is still early, but we were worried about our pitching but the hitting would be solid. And the Rangers had us on starting pitching and they lost some of their hitting. Now Astros are 10-5 with Rangers 5-10.

    Texas is 4th in team BA with Astros 16th. Astros pitching is 6th and Rangers 25th.
    And Texas continues to DFA part of their bullpen.

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  35. Always glad to see a win. But in this case the biggest kudos have to go to Mike Scioscia for starting awkwardly immobile first-baseman Jefrey Marte in left field.

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  36. Under the umbrella of full disclosure I have complained recently about the umps squeezing our pitchers on strike zone. Last night a key strike out for Keuchel was on a 3-2 pitch that looked wide and a foot too low.

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    • And guess who is 5-10 right now? Those St-rangers to the north.
      While the Astros have a 3 game lead on the division and 5 games on the basement dwellers in South Oklahoma (gosh that felt good to type) the Tigers at 8-6 have a one game lead on their 4 division mates – all tied at 7-7.

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    • Well we had to hurry and cool him off – otherwise he might follow up a 3 extra base hit night with another great game.

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  44. Third game in a row that one of the Astros has gotten off the schneid with their first HR of the year – Gurriel first and then two games in a row someone in the two hole (Reddick yesterday followed by Beltran today). It would be nice if Springer could get on base as the leadoff man……

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    • I think gov might even admit that Marwin could use a day off right now. I didn’t realize he was 1 for his last 22. And that last 3 pitch K with guys on second and third and one out was pretty ugly.

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      • Marwin to his bat: “all I’m asking for is a sac fly.”

        His bat: “no chance.”

        On a better note, McCullers has the Angels throwing their bats in disgust.

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  45. Alas, Marwin is not the only one looking bad against Shoemaker today. He is pitching way above his stats – like everyone else in the league seems to do against us.

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    • But, if you look at Shoemaker’s career stats against this lineup, Altuve is the only one who has hit him consistently.

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  46. That Gattis, Gonzales, Marisnick pairing at 7-8-9 in the line-up is so ‘2016’.

    Yes, thank Heaven we usually have Reddick or Bregman, Gurriel and Aoki in those slots.

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  48. The pitch to Trout to end the 6th inning was 97 mph and he was not ready for it. McCullers’s curve is setting up his fastball.
    Marisnick’s HR was a big hit. He barely missed a two-run double the at bat before that.
    Is Marwin’s hot streak over?
    Sure would feel more comfortable with a couple more runs. This seems like a very important divisional game before a tough road trip.

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    • ….then, elevates a fastball to K Pujols! Helps to have the changeup that sets it up.

      Two out walk to Simmons probably spoils his complete game bid? Hinch probably visiting the mound w Devo warming up to day, “just get this guy, don’t try to think beyond.”

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