For the Astros in 2017, Nothing is too late

“Ah, Nothing is too late, till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Never say this blog fails to bring culture to the world. Of course our usual shots at culture are about as sophisticated as a Jack in the Box Munchie Meal, but dear Mr. Longfellow was a literary Hall of Famer. And he seems to have some words that speak directly to the Astros’ fans as we are emotionally tied to a team that seems to wait until the last minute to score and does not care if the stress of this causes its followers to have their hearts ready to cease palpitating for them.

The Astros have been the Komeback Kids this season as through Tuesday night 2/3 of their 18 wins have been of the comeback variety. Why is this necessary? Well let’s take a look at their offense by inning and compare it against the rest of the AL.

Inning Runs Rank in AL BA Rank in AL OBP Rank in AL OPS Rank in AL
1 11 8 .250 9 .304 10 .755 7
2 4 15 .196 15 .267 13 .583 13
3 11 9 .276 2 .319 6 .804 3
4 13 2 .282 1 .362 1 .789 1
5 14 6 .314 1 .383 2 .863 3
6 13 9 .194 14 .292 12 .568 13
7 22 1 .292 1 .355 2 .806 3
8 21 2 .324 2 .392 3 .896 2
9 11 6 .299 3 .342 6 .745 6
Extra 6 3 .370 3 .485 3 1.003 6
1-6 66 10 .253 5 .322 6 .731 8
7 and Later 60 1 .311 1 .377 1 .842 1
8 and Later 38 1 .322 1 .389 2 .861 1
9 and Later 17 3 .319 1 .385 2 .821 4

There is a lot of meat there, but the most important lines may be the ones that show they are ranked 10th in the league in runs scored during innings one thru six, but then are ranked 1st in runs scored from the 7th inning onward. This shows they have scored almost as many runs (60 vs. 66) in about one half the innings. Impressive.

Even more impressive are those late inning numbers – .311 BA / .377 OBP / .842 OPS – all first in the AL and the equivalent of having one of your best batters take everyone of those ABs.

So if it seems like the Astros tend to let that scoring lag to late in the game, that is because it is true.

And now if our hearts can just hold on…

 

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204 responses to “For the Astros in 2017, Nothing is too late”

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  1. Astros overcome a huge mistake by Hinch in sending a worn out Keuchel out to pitch the ninth. Bring in your closer in the ninth with a 4-run lead and nobody on against the bottom of the order and close out your closest competitor. Don’t wait to bring him in with the bases loaded, nobody out and Trout and Pujols up. Sheesh!
    Stupid, stupid move that the team overcame. Can’t say enough about this team and
    the win.
    All the dumdums at Crawfish Boxes begging for Hinch to send Keuchel out for the ninth had to swallow their tongues.

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  2. Who knows OP, you know how Keuchel lobbies to go out and finish a game. But, you’re right that Hinch should have seen who was coming up to bat, and he should have said NOPE. Using Devenski tonight might keep him from pitching tomorrow, because McCullers track record is high pitch count….and not lasting 5 innings. AGAIN…..if Hinch doesn’t figure out that pitching to Albert PUJOLS is a bad idea, he never will. I love this team more, and more everyday. They have a no quit attitude and the young guys have really matured, and carry themselves like the players they have become! No need for club Astros anymore…..they “get it” now!

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  3. I missed all the drama, going to sleep with a 1-1 tie in the 6th. It was already close to midnight at this outpost. But my first thought was why send Keuchel out again in the 9th? And for goodness sakes, pull him after the first guy gets on. At this rate, he’ll be approaching the post season already having thrown 240 innings. 1OP, I agree with you 100%. And why put Giles in such a position to fail, putting him out there with the bases loaded and nobody out staring in at Trout, with Albert in the on deck circle? That’s a cruel assignment. Hinch has to manage, regardless of what Keuchel wants to do. If we want an effective Keuchel around in October, we need to figure out a way to win with him going seven innings a night.

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  4. I didn’t have a problem letting Keuchel pitch the 9th inning. I was one of the dum dums that felt Keuchel was our best pitcher and I wanted him to finish the game. His pitch count, which is more important that IPs, was below 100 and other than 2 solo HRs he looked vintage Keuchel. I have vivid memories of our late season bullpen meltdowns the last 2 years so I can understand trying to lessen the load on the bullpen early in the season. It wasn’t like Giles looked particularly strong either, although much of it was just bad luck. Most of the ‘dum dums’ at TCB agreed with OP and Dave that Keuchel shouldn’t have started the 9th inning. I wanted our best pitcher on the mound to finish that game. Its easy to second guess after the fact, but it’s also easy to say the decision was wrong when things don’t work out as planned. Keuchel could’ve easily gotten the three up and three down and no one would have questioned Hinch, but because it didn’t work then everyone blames Hinch. I guess that’s how it works.

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    • Tim, I’m still going to question Keuchel going 8 and 9 innings on a regular basis. Those last couple can be high intensity. And we don’t need him entering the post season at 240 innings plus. He’s given up 8 hits in 19 at bats in the 8th and 9th innings to date. No, he’s not getting pounded, but he’s not as effective. Let the arm from the pen enter to start an inning. We are going to have to rely on those guys over this long season.

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      • You’re making my point about needing those arms over the long season. We have had late season bullpen meltdowns the last 2 seasons. It seems fairly clear to me the Astros have made a concerted effort to use their bullpen less in the early going so they have a fairly rested bullpen when the push for the division title is happening. Also, I believe this decision is not made solely by Hinch, but is a collaborated decision by Hinch, Strom and upper management. Keuchel pitched 232 innings in 2015 and he was outstanding in the playoffs that year. There’s a delicate balance between managing the innings of Keuchel and the bullpen.

        With all this being said we don’t know what would have happened if Hinch brought in Giles to start the inning. Maybe Giles implodes and we lose the game in the bottom of the 9th or maybe he gets the Angels out 1,2,3. What we do know is that the Astros won last night and Hinch’s decision to sub Marisnick in for Aoki was integral in getting the win. Thus, I give Hinch much credit for the Astros win last night because without the defensive substitution the Astros probably lose that game in the bottom of the 9th.

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      • I will also bet you a dime to a dollar that if Hinch had brought in Giles to start the 9th inning and he imploded by giving up 5 runs the second guessers would have been in full force. They would have questioned Hinch for taking out his best pitcher for our shaky closer who has struggled in non-save situations (it wasn’t a save situation to start the 9th inning). I am very confident Hinch would have been second guessed no matter what decision he made unless there was a smooth 9th inning.

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  5. I would also like to point out that if Hinch doesn’t sub in Marisnick for Aoki late in the game the Astros would’ve lost that game in the bottom of the 9th. Aoki wouldn’t have made the catch Marisnick did to get the last out. Thus, while we can say Hinch ‘almost’ blew the game with his lack of bullpen management we can also say he saved the game with his defensive substitutions. I think Hinch is the right manager for this team, is a very good manager and I think we lose that game last night if other decisions were not made.

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    • I am not campaigning to get Hinch fired, but he made a mistake last night that did not cost the game. I have no issue with DK starting the 9th. But Kalas made the comment that no one was in the bullpen warming up because Hinch does not like to warm up relievers and then not use them. He had plenty of arms available. He should have had a couple “starting to get ready” in the 9th. It was inexcusable to let 2 pitchers pitch the entire 9th. Three runners were on BEFORE he could even get Giles warmed up and into the game. Then Giles would have saved it except for two extremely lucky breaks by the Angels.

      I don’t plan to have an auto accident, but I carry my insurance card in my vehicle anyway.

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      • I will make one more point and get off my soap box. Our next 2 starters are McCullers and Fiers. We are definitely going to need our bullpen today and tomorrow. I completely understand why Hinch wanted his best pitcher to finish the game and why he didn’t want to use the bullpen or even get someone warming up until it was apparent Keuchel didn’t have it to complete the game. Warming up in the bullpen should only happen if you plan to take out the pitcher on the mound as it still is pitches being thrown and can have an affect on the rest of the weekend. I didn’t see any comments on here before the 9th inning indicating it was a mistake to send Keuchel out, but I saw several comments after the fact. It’s so easy to be right when you question a decision after it doesn’t work out. Yes, he had plenty of arms available, but he is going to need those arms today and tomorrow. Keuchel could have easily gone 1,2,3 in the bottom of the 9th and we would all be singing Keuchel’s praises and no one would be questioning Hinch, but since it didn’t work out as planned we suddenly have a blog full of second guessers. That’s baseball, I guess.

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      • Tim, I dropped the ball. I was asleep here in Atlantic Standard time, otherwise I would have complained.

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  6. For what it is worth, last night the Lake County Captains played the Quad Cities River Bandits. The Bandits won 6-2. But that is not the real story. The real story is who started – and lost – the game for the Captains. It was Brady Aiken. Brady pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 ER on 4 hits (2 of which were doubles), 4 BBs, and striking out 3. He is now 0-5 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP.

    Meanwhile, lefty Cionel Perez, the Astros’ most recent Cuban signee, got the win for Quad Cities by going 5.2 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and one walk, and striking out 7.

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    • How often do you think two Astro draftees face each other at that level? Also both lefties. Also both had their initial offers revised due to physical questions? Too cool!

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    • When I saw Aiken’s 0-5 record I wanted to laugh. But the truth is his record looks bad but he has not pitched that badly. His team is really bad and he has had little run support.
      I have big problems with Aiken, but when I looked at his game logs for the year, it tells a different story. I wish him well, but hope he loses every game against the organization I believe he tried to smear in public because he knew what was wrong with his elbow. And he did know, because he was the one person the Astros could share his medicals with.

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      • I don’t think Brady Aiken did anything to smear anyone. No doubt his agents, handlers, his mom and dad and others did all that for him. Brady was just a young athlete tossed around by his benefactors.,

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  7. I personally at the time thought it was ok to start Keuchel in the 9th but I would have had Giles warming up. I would have replaced Keuchel after 2 hitters because he had left his pitches up to the first two.
    Funny thing is that Trout got lucky his fly to center blooped in because it was not hit as well as it looked. And Pujols struck out.
    It was just one of those things but the team did not despair and won it in the 10th.
    We will gladly take a 5.5 game.lead into Saturday.

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  8. I slept thru whole game, did not bother to check paper, came here, found excellent reportage and frisky discussion. BAU. Thanks to all.

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  9. This blogger saw the whole game. I don’t need any excuses to defend a position that is completely obvious.
    Leaving in a starter to face batters a fourth or fifth time around when you have a closer who hasn’t pitched in four days was a dumb move and turned out terribly.
    To defend that move only serves to try and impose one’s will in the face of the obvious.
    To use the defense of trying to conserve the bullpen or the starter for five months down the road is also not reasonable, because the team sent five prospect to acquire the closer and not using him in a game he was meant to be in is detrimental to the team today as well as at the end of the season.
    The team won the game and overcame a stupid move by the manager and everyone in that clubhouse will lie about it out loud and then hop in the shower or go sit by their locker and think about how their manager screwed up.

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    • I’m going to remain concerned about our ace five months down the road. He already leads the league in innings pitched and batters faced. I rather our guy not win those titles. Could his workload in 2015 have contributed to his health issues in 2016? I sure hope not. Our pen is supposed to be excellent. Let’s use it correctly to support our single most valuable asset. I’m with you on everything else.

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    • 1OP.. agree with you but won’t call it a stupid move. More like an unwise decision. I too was out by 11:00EDT so I didn’t see the results until this AM. Is Keuchel pitching great, yes, but the season is a full 162 plus the playoffs so don’t burn him up? Using the BP for one inning shouldn’t kill us down the road so let’s have a couple up and throwing just in case. Getting stretched out and tossing a few shouldn’t impact the BP if they aren’t needed. If they have to turn up the volume, then they are ready. You don’t want to wait till the leak in the dam becomes a torrent before you decide to do preventive maintenance.

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      • This chipper’s discrepancy hinges on Kalas’ word that Hinch likes to do what? Cmon!

        I watched it over and again. In realtime, I would’ve pulled Dallas after the Escobar hit. But after further review, I can make a case against. I’m not going to go into pitch selection, or how his movement was good on the first pitch but not on the 6th pitch, on the fifth time thru the order. The plain truth is – you ain’t pulling Cy Young out of a game he’s able to complete as the winner up until the time he exited. He made devastating swing/miss on each of those batters in the 9th. The game was OVER if Simmons gets rung up, then OVER if Marwin stabs the ball he’s normally going to make (but perhaps caught a spike). It’s a game of inches. It’s not Hinch ALONE making these decisions. Try watching the game with the knowledge we won, and then see where the other team put together some nice pieces of hitting. Andrelton Simmons is a pushover. He was O’fer 3 last night and Dallas was truly unfortunate to not get him out and squash this discussion.

        Then again, I can see where we should’ve put any number of relievers in. I get it. But what message do you send at that point to Keuchel. It was a player-first move, which can bite a team in the end.

        I rather focus on that moment in time, Correa looked over at the dugout, after hitting what was a game winner. The faces that appeared standing O! Springer and McCann were in view. That look of team unity and spirit that nothing is going to stop us. That AtBat alone for Correa was dominating. He just wasn’t going to be stopped.

        Now make the adjustment with DK and say look we kept you in longer than we should’ve next time we’re yankin’ ya unless … and Dallas would probably agree! Who knows?

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      • Gov,

        That was a very astute and excellent post. It’s fine to say you would have done something different, but it’s an entirely different thing to say the move was wrong and Hinch blew it. Giles could have easily come in and blown the game and guess what kind of hindsight bias we would be reading today. There were probably many reasons why Hinch did what he did. He is playing a chess game, but some on here is playing checkers (I stole this analogy from someone at TCB as it’s very appropriate). OP would have done something different and that’s fine, but to call it a wrong move by Hinch when he is simply an armchair bench coach and not in tune with decision making process is simply hindsight bias at it’s ultimate worse. It’s really that simple.

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    • Joe comes home late from work and walks into his house to find it destroyed on the inside and his six month old puppy, Rover, lying exhausted on the torn up rug.
      His two buddies show up right then to watch the game and they walk in and see the the disaster.
      His buddy, Bert, looks at the damage and asks Joe why he left Rover inside, when he has that great back yard full of Rover’s chew toys and an expensive dog house.
      Joe replies that he loves Rover and he deserved to be left inside.
      Joe’s friend Ernie looks at the damage, listens to Joe’s explanation and says that he thinks that Joe made the right decision and that he should probably do the same thing when he gets new furniture to show Rover his devotion. Ernie says that Joe made the right decision because Rover did not burn the house down.

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      • That’s a great story, but it just further illustrates your hindsight bias. I am thankful we have a manager that has this team 10 games over .500 and on pace to win over 100 games. I don’t need some bogus made up story to illustrate any hindsight bias.

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    • You are free to give your opinion, but you can be as wrong as I am in that opinion. Calling it a dumb move, after the fact, is hindsight bias at its worst. The only 2 facts that are obvious is that the Astros won and having Marisnick in LF as a defensive substitution played a huge role in the win. Otherwise, your hindsight bias proves nothing other than you have an opinion and it could be wrong.

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      • What in the world does this have to do with Marisnick? Who said anything about Marisnick?
        And I’m not calling it a dumb move in hindsight. It was a dumb move in foresight. You have a closer, one you paid dearly for. With four days rest and a day off Monday, use him!

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      • It is complete hindsight when you claim the move was wrong after the fact. The results don’t change whether a decision was right or wrong. There are so many factors that went into the decision to start Keuchel in the 9th inning. Even one of our astute authors disagrees with you as he would have let Keuchel start the 9th inning as well. It is impossible to know what would have happened if Giles started the 9th inning because HE DIDN’T. What we do know is the Astros won, but if another decision was made they could’ve lost (or they could’ve still won). You disagree with what Hinch did, but that doesn’t your opinion correct. Dan and I were fine with Keuchel starting the 9th, but that doesn’t make our opinion correct either. The 9th inning didn’t go as planned, but it could have been worse if Hinch decided to start with a different pitcher or it could have been a better result. We simply don’t know what would have happened if Giles was brought into the game and this is why your accusation that Hinch blew it is hindsight bias.

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      • But we also have hindsight to see that Hinch’s decision to leave Keuchel in was a disaster. Hindsight is not a bias and it is not some kind of sin or moral flaw as you make it out to be. Hindsight is learning from mistakes.
        Foresight is using good information to make sure you don’t make a dumb mistake.
        Defending someone because you don’t want to acknowledge them making a mistake because it would reflect on your biases is showing hindsight bias

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      • I’ll let you go to Webster to look up hindsight, but I’m not saying Hinch blew it or made the right decision. What you fail to recognize is that the results could’ve been worse if Hinch made the move you thought he should have. Giles could have started the 9th inning and given up 5 runs and the Astros would’ve lost. You claiming Hinch blew it after the results is the definition of hindsight. I can use hindsight and say Hinch made the right move because the Astros won. I’m not making that claim because I don’t know what the results would’ve been if Giles, or Harris, started the 9th inning. There’s a difference in saying you would’ve done it differently or saying Hinch blew it. Whether you want to accept it or not using the results if a decision as a basis for claiming your argument is pure hindsight bias.

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      • I don’t have to go to Webster. When I hear a donkey make a noise I know it is a donkey because that donkey makes the same noise all the time. I use my hindsight of past noises that I heard this donkey make and then use foresight to realize that the donkey is going to continue making donkey noises because he is a donkey.
        You live in a world where your opinion is an opinion, and the other guy’s opinion is hindsight bias. I live in a world where I see a donkey and call him by the name Donkey.

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      • There you go! You just said it was your opinion. Thank you! We can now end this diatribe because, as we all know, opinions can be wrong.

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      • It’s always a pleasure having a discussion with you. We all learn something new every time. Keep up the strong opinions, right or wrong.

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    • I love the 5.5 game lead. I love the 6 game lead in the loss column. I love the 16-4 record against the AL West. It is like I’m an adolescent and falling in love every day with this team.

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  11. I think I would have had Marisnick take Aoki’s spot and then have Aoki start the 9th on the mound – thus giving us our best defensive OF and saving our bullpen – voila!

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    • Great story pencil – Chris Devenski is one player who I will never begrudge his contracts. Hope he helps his dad Mike and family have a comfortable next stage in life.

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  13. Btw, daveb, we talked about Marwin in line for a ‘breakout season’. Kind of a vague word, but compare these numbers flashed last night:

    2016 484 AB 13 HR 22 BB
    2017 65 AB 9 HR 11 BB

    I’d say, though not sustainable surely, he’s on his way to becoming a regular … somewhere. What’s changed from him being a poorer hitter from either side is the fact that he’s working deeper counts, and getting to see less while laying off of the ground ball-inducing pitches. He flashed that pop last Spring with 9 HR’s, so now that the lineup is stronger, and he’s taking every AB more seriously; fouling off pitches and being scrappy with the umps, he’s starting to assert himself.

    http://www.astrosfuture.com/2017/05/houston-astros-milb-players-month-april/

    Rogelio Armenteros, Preston Tucker and Baby Tuck headline a strong April.

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      • We do need another starter, or two this year. I think you were alluding to that? Feeling like our 1-3 are truly top shelf. That’s really an overriding factor. Staying healthy. In this way, it was pretty dumb to trot Keuchel out there. Do you think he has a CG clause in his contract? Like a million bucks for 10 of them? Let’s say he doesn’t and it’s just about collaborative pride to grab the headlines, to keep the spectacle on this team? To see how far Dallas can go? If we need to give him an extra day, so be it. It shows that we were damned determined to let him go like Kluber stretched out last post season. The team responded in a big way with Devo Tuve and Correa to cap it.

        Meanwhile, uncle Jeff is back to the drawing boards cookin’ up some pitching. The quest to button up every matchup continues.

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  15. My thoughts:
    Hinch needs Keuchel….now and in 5 months. PERIOD.
    McCullers absolutely HAS to figure out how to use fewer pitches, and get his temper under control. Love the kid, but he’s not doing himself any favors with his temper.
    (My opinion only….since I’ve only “seen” him pitch one time.)
    Charlie Morton has got to stay who he is, and not turn into Mr. Fister in June.
    McHugh has a VERY LOONG road in front of him….and I’m worried that he won’t resemble himself when he does try to come back. It really worries me. Not kidding.
    Fires and Musgrove are iffy at best….big innings follow both of them around, like a bad dream.
    Yes, daveb Luhnow is probably on the phone as we speak trying to pry Chris Archer from the Rays….at least I HOPE he is.
    That was an amazing story about Devenski and his family! We gotta pray that arm holds out until the last game this club plays, and then tell the front office to give him a nice payday for bailing out this pitching staff.
    I couldn’t be more proud of the way this team has jelled. They play hard and root for each other every…single…day.
    Josh Reddick has become my favorite guy on this team! After the game was over last night, he laid the wrestling belt at Correa’s feet. I embrace his sense of humor and being weird on this team is celebrated! I still miss Rasmus.
    We are fans. We are different. We are passionate. We love this team. We are allowed to have our say. We are not always right. We are not always wrong. We are who we are. I’ve spent 18 months fighting for another day…..NOTHING…AND…NO ONE can make me stop contributing to this blog. Yeah…..my feelings have been hurt, and I’ve cried more than once…..I love each and every one of you, warts and all.
    Let’s meet up tonight after another amazing win, and talk about it. Becky⚾

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    • I love you, girl. Your tough spirit inspires me. Keep up the good fight and your love for the Astros. Outside of my family and my faith nothing gives me more pleasure than Astros baseball. I think many of us have this in common.

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  16. I didn’t have a problem letting Keuchel start the ninth. Not having anyone warming up after a guy has gone 8 innings always makes me nervous. That was Hinch’s mistake.

    Our rotation is not that great. We all know that, we are going to need Keuchel and the pen to maintain their success as the season goes along. I still remember the meltdown in 15 after the AS break.

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    • This is not to argue with you as your opinion seems to be that of many here and over at TCB. I just want to add that Kalas mentioned on the telecast last night that Hinch doesn’t like to get anyone up in the bullpen unless he plans to use him in the game. This seems to be a team decision to further lessen the load on the bullpen. I believe this is why Hinch waited until the second hit before getting Giles going in the bullpen. My big disagreement, and this is just my opinion, is that Hinch should have sent Storm out after the 2nd hit to give Giles extra time to get warm. It seemed to me Giles got into the game fairly quickly after starting to warm up and I wonder if this is why he wasn’t as sharp as he normally is. It’s just my observation of how the inning unfolded.

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  17. By the way, I really like Kalas, but how great was it to hear Bill Brown again during the Rangers series? I know Becky wasn’t able to hear him, but I really enjoyed having him back, even if it was for such a short time.

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    • I do like Kalas, a lot, but really enjoyed Bill Brown. Sometimes we don’t realize what we have till it’s no longer around. My all time favorite was Brown and Deshaies.

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      • Yes, I completely agree. I don’t want to spit on someone’s grave, but I never, ever cared for Milo Hamilton. I just found him insufferable and self-centered in all his broadcasts.

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  18. Today is Altuve 27th birthday……and he gets the day off! How many other baseball players have the number on their jersey match their age! He needed the day off.

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  19. Correa and Beltran both double to grab the lead. They are warming up and that is bad news for the league. Also Trout got scratched before the game.

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  22. Hinch made a terrible mistake tonight………… (Nah, I just can’t do it two nights in a row).

    Baseball Gods were not kind tonight. LMJ did all he could possibly do.

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  23. I was having a friendly discussion (yes, it actually was friendly) on whether Hinch should have walked Simmons there to load the bases. At first, I thought it should have been done as Simmons rarely strikes out, but not knowing the availability of Trout as a possible pinch hitter I back-tracked and I can defend pitching to Simmons there. I want nothing to do with facing the greatest hitter in the game with the bases loaded. He may have been unavailable to PH, but I don’t think Hinch could take that chance. What are the thoughts of those here?

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    • It had occurred to me to walk him though Simmons had struck out the last time up. It is always a tough call – the bases loaded allows you to have the force at home but also brings up the possibilty of a bases loaded walk.
      Just like Altuve was brought off the bench – Trout might have been too.

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      • Exactly what I was thinking…..loading up the bases two night in a row, is a recipe for disaster! I’m just amazed we kept Uncle Albert from getting a hit tonight!

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      • Hi Becky,

        Albert got the hit in the 9th inning that put Calhoun on 3rd base. We almost made it the entire night without giving up a hit to our tormentor.

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      • There was a graphic that Pujols has almost 10% of his home runs against the Astros. So in his Hall of Fame introduction speech, I wonder if he says “I would like to thank my parents, my wife, my boyhood coach, and the Houston Astros pitching staff for making this day possible.”

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  24. Lance McCullers Jr. Was simply OUTSTANDING tonight! This is the guy we’ve all been waiting to see! The only run he gave up was unearned, and that was a real pity.
    He lasted longer than I expected him to, so I have hope this is the REAL McCullers.
    As bad as I felt for him, I was giddy watching the arlington little league get it handed to them in the 8th by the M’s!! By the way, Keuchel will get an extra day rest before his next start. He is scheduled to pitch Thurs against…..who else? The Yankees!!
    I told you earlier that Reddick is my new favorite player, Brian McCann come in a very close second! Love his attitude, love his bat….but most of all I love his steady, guiding hand when it comes to our pitching staff!
    P.S. Let’s hope Trout is out of the lineup again tomorrow!!

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    • Becky, I’m glad you have adopted Reddick. He’ll need some love when he stops hitting from the left side. I think your second choice might end up being the guy that means most to this club.

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  26. Would like to say in the 9th, Pujols got his single by not trying to win the game by himself. Devo was pitching him outside. So instead of trying to crank it out, he just one handed a soft liner to left that moved Calhoun to 3rd. I hope a few of the Astros were watching.

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  27. Reddick called out on two strikes way out of the zone and then Altuve gets picked off …again. Not a good start to this one.

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      • Well the good news is we don’t have to wait to get the answers to this afternoon’s questions. 1. How long until Altuve gets his first hit? 2. How long until Altuve gets picked off base? and 3. How long until Fiers gives up first home run?

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  29. Hey is something wrong with the feed? All I see is the Root Sports logo with some incredibly generic music playing. I’m off work today so I have no way of knowing if it’s the channel itself or just the feed we’re picking up.

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      • If I didn’t live an hour+ away from my job I’d drive up there just to find out what’s going on! We’re in the same market with the same provider so something is definitely up.

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  32. Feed of the game restored. ..just in time for me to see Fiers do the usual. Can we PLEASE trade this fool to the Rangers or something? !

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  38. I am glad to see I garner so much interest over here. 🙂

    There is something special going on with this team of ours. We go into the rubber game with our struggling #5 pitcher facing probably the best Angels starter and they find a way to win the series. Granted, not having Trout in the lineup helped the Astros, but this did not look like a good matchup at the start of the day.

    After this quick 2-game series against Atlanta the schedule starts to get much tougher. The 4-game series next weekend in N.Y. against the Yankees looks like the marque matchup. Honestly, as well as the Yankees are playing, I will be happy if the Astros can split.

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    • Have to agree Tim – a split with the Yanks would look good – but our Astros keep surprising us – so who knows.

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  39. Fires really struggled today, but since our options are slim to none he gets the ball.
    This is a special team we have. It’s starting to look like a magical season! AWESOME! Altuve got the belt today😀
    Sandy I don’t feel one bit bad for the arlington little league’s bull pen! As a matter of fact I think it’s *great*!

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    • Martes is back from DL will start tomorrow for the Grizzlies! Keeping my fingers crossed for that kid!

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    • Don’t worry Zanadu, we’ll still have the inevitable slump and we’ll be able to argue about who should be benched and if Dave Hudgens should be fired (when was the last time we talked about him?) and whether or not Hinch is the guy to take this club all the way and all that other stuff that comes along during a 162 game season, and then hopefullly, a playoff run.

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  41. After Edison Frias got blown out of the game again today for Fresno, he was released by the Astros. Frias had one of the worst springs I have seen in all my years watching baseball.
    Maybe he can start over somewhere else.

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  42. Buies Creek hit seven homers today. Two by Tucker, three by Martin and one each by Anibal Sierra and Pat Porter. They were the only affiliate to win.

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  44. The Rangers are 2-7, or something similarly awful, in 1-run games this year. The regression monster is rearing it’s ugly head.

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