Astro’s Twofer Tuesday: What we thought we knew

Today’s two for Tuesday looks at two topics from the off-season and or early season where the pundits opinion has been proven wrong. This writer was one of them and has been as much a pun as a dit…..

1) The importance of the good health of Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr.

In almost every column, post, tweet, and smoke signal, sent out this off season, one message was clear. The most critical component to the Astros’ 2017 season was the health of their top two starters, Keuchel and LMJ. Now this could still be proven critical to the overall performance of the team, but Lance has just come off the DL and Keuchel is about half way through what looks like a 6 week stint on the DL and the team is still the best team in their division, league and all of baseball.

Truth be told the two pitcher’s performance to date, a combined 16-1 record with the team putting up a 22-3 record in their starts has been the biggest boost to this team’s record. But the team has not melted down with either of these pitchers going on the DL and this was not what was expected coming into the season. They go down and the Astros go down – NOT!

The Astros are 30-22 (the equivalent of a 93 win season) when someone else starts a game. And 15 of those starts (about 30%) have been by a combination of David Paulino, Francis Martes, Dayan Diaz and Brad Peacock, three of whom did not start the year in the majors and none of which was expected to be making critical starts this early in the season. Their combined 6-2 record in those starts is just another symbol of how resilient the team has been.

Yes, the Astros can’t afford to play the rest of the season without their best two pitchers, but they have been able to keep the boat afloat with them missing time despite the conventional wisdom to the contrary.

2) George Springer is not a leadoff hitter

Actually the argument about Springer more revolved around that he was not as good a leadoff hitter as All Star Jose Altuve. But what has happened to date with Springer has a lot of us dits scratching our heads. He does not have as good a batting average as Altuve. He does not get on base as often as Altuve. He doesn’t steal bases like Altuve and in fact to date trails Brian McCann in SBs.   But because of the Astros new full top to bottom lineup, he has turned into a huge weapon and the straw that stirs the offensive drink.

Beyond the fact that the Astros are 50-21 in games where he played, look at these mind boggling numbers. When he scores a run they are 32-8, which is an 80% win rate. When he knocks in a run they are 25-5, an even better 83% win rate. He leads the team in runs scored, home runs and is second in RBIs. In previous years, the team went as Altuve went. This year the bellwether is Springer.

So where do you stand on these two items coming into the season?

Are there any other items that have made you go “Dang, I sure missed on that one?”

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153 responses to “Astro’s Twofer Tuesday: What we thought we knew”

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  1. Thanks for this posting Dan. Concerning our pitching situation, I am happily surprised that the stros are still at the top. I worry about the tiring of our relievers. I think Luhnow will still trade for starting pitching soon.
    Springer’s season is really exciting and makes for a real strong lineup.

    I hope you are watching the college World Series. Our 9th round pick M. papierski hit two home runs Friday. One from each side of the plate and threw two runners out last night. He is a good addition to our minor league system.

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    • Yeah I saw Papierski hit the two over the weekend – switch hitting catcher whacking it from both sides of the plate was fun to see in a critical game.

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  2. With Keuchel and LMJ in the rotation the Astros are great and with them on the DL the Astros are pretty good.
    The biggest difference I see in the Astros is their play against the Rangers. Our record against Texas would be even better with our two top pitchers available.
    Watching Altuve flail away at every bad pitch that comes his way, I’ll stick to my guns about him leading off.
    How do I argue about Springer? He’s been terrific this year. With all his homers, would he have been even better hitting in the third spot?

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  3. Some of the things I missed on

    * JFSF actually being a decent force at the plate
    * Peacock actually Pitching instead of throwing
    * Beltrans performance tailing off so much this year , but he is 40
    * DK I thought he would stay healthy all year but be like 13-10
    * McCann and Reddick being so much more than advertised, on the field and in the dugout.

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    • I miss seeing Jon Lovitz – he was so hilarious in SNL and loved him as the grumpy scout in League of Their Own. I guess he is acting in things that are not on my radar.
      Favorite Lovitz story was him beating up Andy Dick. Lovitz took Phil Hartman’s place (God bless him) on News Radio after Phil’s wife killed him. He blamed Dick for getting Phil’s wife back on cocaine after 10 years sober and for that leading to the murder/suicide. He later apologized to Dick for accusing him of that, but then ran into him in a comedy club where Dick said he was going to put the Hartman curse on Lovitz as the next one to die. One thing led to another and he ended up beating the heck out of Andy Dick. I am normally a non-violent person, but I had no problem with that one.

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  6. Now I would like to present the rankings of stregnth of schedule for the remaining games on the schedule for all major league clubs. Again, please note the AL West teams and the stregnth of their schedules vs the stregnth of the schedules for the two teams with the best records in the NL. https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/ranking/future-sos-by-other
    I came upon this idea when I looked up the game logs for the Dodgers’ undefeated starter, Alex Wood, and whas curious as to who he had faced in his starts.. I was amazed at the teams he has beaten, as he and his team face bad teams day in and day out.
    When you look at the Dodgers schedule you realize they are feasting on incredibly bad teams and are getting beaten by teams with records over or near .500.
    And it is going to be that way for them for the rest of the season.

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  7. Last night the Dodgers were shut out 4-0 by Ricky Nolasco and the 40-39 Angels.
    Yes, that Ricky Nolasco.
    The Dodgers payroll for 2017 currently sits at $242,319,262.

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  8. I thought Musgrove would have a more effective out pitch, and have a better season.

    Springer is quite simply my favorite player in MLB. For all I know, the entire team feels like he should lead off?

    But I also thought Marwin would do well, and that Gurriel would even hit for average. I thought Bregman would be a poor fielder, but that he’s young, would improve and would make up for it with his bat. I thought Peacock could be a starter, and that Giles (his persona) turned the corner last mid season. Never saw Gregerson’s struggles coming (seems to be doing better), but thought Harris would be solid. I thought the coaching & management were visionary, and even the players have been good at sharing knowledge. I thought that losing the way we did in the 2015 division series would bring the core closer together, if we ever started playing like we can.

    I had no idea Reddick would be worth every penny on and off the field.

    There are no more player-coaches, elder statesmen … like Carlos Beltran. He’s a gift to players of any team who want to learn, and to this game we love. I think come playoff time, Beltran will shine.

    It doesn’t surprise me that we’ve turned the tide on TEX, but our nemesis is there to remind us that it’s not even close to being over!

    I had a dream last night that I was rooming with Bregman in a hotel in my hometown, and Hinch was bunking right next to me. We talked about how surprising Paulino’s breaking ball was. I pointed out how he’s able to start it higher and pull the string. I remembered AJ loves Charlie Morton and talked about it on the golf course at Spring Training. In short, this is a great season to be a lifelong Astros fan. He smiled.

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  9. The Astros just signed 2nd round pick, Joe Perez, to a deal $235,000 over slot. That is what it took to get him to forego college. Perez has a power bat as a 3B and a 98 mph fastball as a RHP. He just underwent TJ surgery but that did not phase the Astros.

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  10. *“Dang, I sure missed on that one?”* [also known as D.I.S.M.O.T.O]

    Our heroes winning 50 games + before the All-Star Break? HELLO, DISMOTO

    Having over a 10-game division lead by June 27? HELLO, DISMOTO

    Marwin with a .318 BA, 407 OBP, a.998 OPS, and 13 HRs in late June? HELLO, DISMOTO

    Jake Marisnick actually hitting the ball and driving in runs for us? HELLO, DISMOTO

    The lowest OBP on our team belonging to Carlos Beltran? HELLO, DISMOTO

    Springer hitting 22 HRs and driving in almost 50 runs in the lead off position before the ASB? HELLO, DISMOTO

    Fiers making a complete 180 and actually looking like the guy who threw a no-hitter for us once? HELLO DISMOTO

    Winning game after game with a patchwork rotation of rookies? HELLO DISMOTO

    Watching the Rangers bullpen completely implode? HELLO DISMOTO

    Feeling like this REALLY COULD BE THE YEAR WE WILL IT ALL? Nah – I had that one all along, didn’t you?

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  11. Just watched a nice little video on the Astros catcher who leads major league catchers in all offensive categories. His name: Brevan McGattis

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  12. The past several years, I have been within a win or two of successfully predicting their win total. This year, I predicted between 94 and 97 wins. I’m happy as heck to be wrong there!

    I didn’t think Marwin would be as good as he has been. I thought Bregman would be hitting much better, and did not see Beltran declining the way he has. I knew Jake would hit better than he has before, but did not expect him to hit for power.

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  13. I previously argued that Altuve hasn’t improved his pitch selection and referenced last year’s numbers where he took a lot of walks as the leadoff guy and then stopped walking altogether when moved to the third spot in the lineup. I’ll eat some crow on that one – he’s doing a better job but obviously is still suffering from Biggio Disease which causes one to chase any slider thrown low and away.

    I may have defended Springer at leadoff. What keeps playing in my mind was the 2015 ALCS where he could only swing one handed, but made huge things happen with his legs. Note that this does not mean stealing bases as he did not attempt to do so.

    I’ve been pretty wrong about Musgrove. I thought he’d figured things out late last year. I do have a different opinion from most people though. I don’t see him as needing a put-away pitch so much as a feel for how to induce the hitter to put the ball in play weakly.

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    • Lance McCullers Jr has figured out how to induce hitters to put a ball in play weekly. They walk back to the dugout looking forward to putting a ball in play next week.

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    • Altuve has got a 3.4 WAR, a .393 OBP and a .913 OPS. As I noted below, I think he’ll turn it a notch, but heck, sometimes I think we expect too much out of the guy.

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    • I just consider Joe more of a power pitcher, and pitching to contact isn’t his style. Both Morton and Keuchel induce weak contact, Joe gets his hits turned around with quickness.

      According to Hinch his struggles stem from not executing the game plan. I read that as control problems.

      “He’s had a hard time executing his pitches, especially late in the count and he’s had some big innings implode on him in the outings in which he’s struggled.

      I think that’s what we’re going to try to find out,” Hinch said. “He’s throwing a ton of strikes. It’s not throwing the quality of strikes that’s needed to finish hitters at this level. Filling up the strike zone is important. You need to be a strike thrower. He is a strike thrower. Executing the game plan and the pitches in the heat of the moment is the most critical thing. He’s been burned by the big hit and by the big inning.”

      Hope Joe Musgrove comes back ready for whatever role he may fill! I think his slider is as good as on the team, it occurs to me that he loses opportunities to throw it in hitter’s counts.

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  14. At this point, after long insisting that Springer not hit leadoff, I don’t care where he hits. There are solid bats up and down the line up. George ignites. Not sure if it matters where. Nice to see a 1 zip lead so often though. Altuve is still going to go on a tear. And George might finally have become the .900 OPS guy I’ve been waiting for. More good things ahead. I still think Bregman and Beltran will have a better second half. And yes Dan, Gattis will end up with 20 plus homers.

    Good health will be essential from 1 and 2 when it counts most. Of course I had no idea that we’d have the best record in baseball with so many missed starts by the rotation. As noted by someone above, we’ll need to get the pen rested up at some point. Hopefully we’ll win the division early and we can do that in the second half of September.

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  15. I will confess to a number of things as DISMOTO:
    – The two subjects of this post
    – The “failure” of the Dave Hudgens hitting process
    – Thinking that Carlos Beltran would get off to a strong start (I am wondering if his decline after being traded to Texas last season was a precursor to further decline)
    – Calling Jake great defense/sucky offense
    – Giving up on Brad Peacock after too many injuries and mediocre pitching
    – Doubting the front office could actually pick up decent help through trade or FA signing

    But I did say that I thought that adding professional hitters to the lineup and having Gurriel and Bregman for a full season would improve the whole offense synergistically.
    Remember last season when the top 4 in the lineup did most of the carrying and then we would wait a couple innings for the lineup to turn over? Those days are thankfully gone.

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  16. Five of the 10 starters on the Texas League South All-Stars are from our Corpus Christi Hooks:
    Starting pitcher: Rogelio Armenteros
    c – Garrett Stubbs
    1b – Jon Singleton
    3b – JD Davis
    rf – Drew Ferguson

    Two other hooks, Jack Mayfield [IF] and Josh James [RHP] are on the bench for the South All-Star Team.

    Congratulations, Astros organization!!!

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  17. Not only did I not think I would ever say this, but I didn’t believe at the beginning of the season that it could possibly happen: Today, right now, after 77 games, Astros pitchers have struck out more batters than any pitching staff in MLB. Today, right now, after 77 games, the Astros batters have struck out less times than any team in MLB.

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    • It is amazing what a difference having a team put the ball in play makes over the course of a season. The last couple of seasons somebody would get a double with no one out and never move from 2nd base. Of course it also helps to have the team with a .279 BA and .346 OBP in place of .247/.319 and have a huge OPS jump from .735 to .827

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  18. Team stats for this series:

    BA – Astros 1st in MLB with .278; A’s 26th in MLB with .243
    OBP – Astros tied with Yanks for 1st in MLB with .346; A’s 25th with .313
    HRs – Astros 1st in MLB with 124; A’s 9th with 107;
    SOs – Astros fewest in MLB with 526; A’s tied with SD for 28th in league with 709;
    Runs – Astros 2nd in MLB with 424; A’s 23rd in league with 331

    ERA – Astros 3rd in MLB with 3.77; A’s 23rd with 4.76;
    WHIP – Astros 2nd in MLB with 1.20; A’s 13th with 1.34;
    BAA- Astros 2nd in MLB with .226; A’s 14th with .254;
    Ks – Astros 1st in MLB with 778; A’s 18th with 608;
    BBs – Oakland, issued 241 – 18th in league; Astros, issued 236, 22nd in league
    Runs allowed – Astros 305 [3rd best]; A’s 403 [tied for 3rd worst]

    It is so nice to be statistically better than another team. It is much better to go out on the field and win the present series. Let’s win!

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  19. Never thought I’d say this, but I hope Luhnow will bring Beltran back next season!
    Heard Tito say publicly that not bringing back Napoli was a VERY bad mistake. Guys like Napoli and Beltran are sooo important to a clubhouse, we will be promoting young guys next year, and Carlos Beltran is a VERY good babysitter. I really hope Peacock goes back to the pen, we need him to rescue some of our younger guys, PLUS Devo’s, arm is gonna fall off pretty soon if Hinch keeps abusing the guy nearly everyday. I had NO idea Marwin would contribute like he has this year, and I really thought Musgrove was gonna come back from DL rested and sharp.
    I gotta tell you how happy I was to see the Indians pummel the arlington little league last night!! **WE NEED ANOTHER PITCHER** PERIOD!!

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  20. At least the Hooks on the South Tx League All-Stars are hitting tonight. Ferguson is 2 for 2 with a BB and a run scored. Davis got a hit with the bases loaded and drove in 2. Stubbs tripled and drove in 3. Oh, and Jon Singleton . . . well, never mind.

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  24. Hoyt served up the gopher ball. I think I could have hit that pitch. Not impressed with Hoyt. Fiers actually pitched pretty well.

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  26. Fires just can’t get past the 5th inning. His pitch count was 89 top of the 4th, just throws way too many pitches, to stay in the game past the 5th. The bullpen was pretty spent, so I guess Hoyt was the only guy who’s arm wasn’t in a sling. Trouble is….there is NO help from the minors for this team. Get on the phone Luhnow…NOW!

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  27. We’re going to have a sinker every now and then and tonight sure qualifies at least to this point. I know I’m making the same point twice, but Hinch decided to try and get it all at once rather than chipping away and building a big inning. Fiers deserved a better fate tonight.

    We should make our guys stay in a hotel when they come back to town. And maybe start thinking about playing for road field advantage in the playoffs.

    I think this is the most annoyed I’ve been all season.

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  30. I don’t like to point to one pitch or play, BUT. Bases loaded, no out, 3-0 count. Ball four is the pitch but you help the pitcher by swinging and hit into a double play. That gets one run and nothing else. Not a smart baseball move.

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  31. I’m going to back up. We have no idea what Hoyt was thinking with that pitch, we HOPE he was thinking the guy would strike out. I’m alarmed with two stats for this game…..10 of the 12 times Hoyt has pitched in relief, he has given up runs, and a
    subject I was loud about over the weekend, was situational hitting. This team left *10* men on base tonight……completely unacceptable. Every single inning they had men on base, and couldn’t get them in. I think daveb has a point, make them think they are on the road and put them in a hotel instead of their comfy apartments. Maybe they won’t be asleep at the wheel the next day. Fires deserved a better outcome, and it sucks that he didnt. Becky⚾

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  32. I love Hoyt’s backstory and I’m rooting for him,but…he might not have what it takes. Looks like the league has caught up to him.

    It’s no fluke…Jake can rake. Funny part about Jake, though…he’s hitting right handers better than left handers, so maybe a reverse platoon with Aoki (who hits lefthanded about the same as righties historically ). Or better yet, make him the starter and have the best defensive outfield in baseball.

    Fiers is coming around…I got to say he’s impressing me.

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    • Oh and looking over my rants over the past year, it was Doug Fister I used to complain about all the time last year, not Fiers. Guess I owe him an apology.

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  33. Last night was a tale of two bases-loaded at bats.

    It was the best of opportunities; it was the worst of results.
    One craftily worked the count full and got the pitch he wanted; the other swung wildly at 3-0, giving the opposing pitcher a result he did not deserve.
    It was a shining moment of baseball savvy; it was an embarrassing night of shooting ourselves in the foot.

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    • It also came down to Hoyt’s pitch being up in the zone. All the Astros young pitches are getting hit up in the zone.

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  34. Last night was a team effort by the boys:
    – The offense plain and simple left too many ducks on the pond even beyond the bases loaded, nobody out, 3-0 count to Gattis that ended up in a double play and only one run scoring.
    – The starting pitching – Fiers was good but took too many pitches to get through almost 6 innings – he did not deserve to take on all the runs that were scored on the grand slam, but he also did not close out the inning when given the chance.
    – The bullpen did not do a good job, but were these the right guys for the situation, especially the high leveraged bases loaded one….hold that thought
    – A.J. Hinch who has been pulling magic out of his butt, pulled crap out last night. I don’t blame him as much for the green light on the 3-0 count – you have to occasionally have them swing away to keep the pitchers honest. But he had the whole bullpen to pull from after a day off and Hoyt, as Becky pointed out, has just not been effective. That was the most critical out/non-out of the game and Hoyt was probably not the best choice to get it done.

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    • Dan, if he takes 3 and 0, worst case he’s still in an excellent hitters count. This team has won games all year by working counts. At the same time, they lead the league in GDP. Hinch got piggy and it changed the whole completion of the game.

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    • This is why they play 162 games. If that pitch is a couple inches higher Gattis probably drives it into the left – center gap. If we’re calling out players for being aggressive, maybe Reddick should have taken a pitch or two in the ninth.

      I don’t have an issue with bringing in Hoyt with the bases loaded situation. The result stunk, but that’s what he’s here for. I have questions, however, about his velocity. These guns are a bit generous, but we’re seeing Hoyt down around 93 with his fastballs. He’s supposed to be a guy who worked 95-97 with a sharp slider…but have we seen that lately?

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    • But even with the green light, Gattis had the option of taking that pitch. It was a ball, the bases are still loaded, a run is in and there would be no outs.
      The green light on 3-0 means take a rip at a belt-high fastball, not one below the knees.
      If Hinch pulls Fiers when he should have, Fiers doesn’t walk the bases loaded. If Hinch puts in a more reliable pitcher to get us out of the inning at the most critical time of the game it might still have been 1-1. What happened to his situational bullpen usage. That decision was a critical mistake.
      What I like about this game is that the Astros players and coaches might have learned that you can’t always take risks by swinging at bad pitches or not putting in your best reliever and expect to win.
      Good things don’t always result from poor decisions and the Astros didn’t get here by living a charmed life. They got here by making good decisions.

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      • It was a fastball and Manaea is deceptive. Gattis probably had decided it would be a strike before he even began the windup, and his eyes told him it was where he wanted it less than 10 feet out of the hand. Gattis has never had the best judgement up there. Even guys like Aoki get too aggressive sometimes and swing at bad pitches when they should be going after only meatballs.

        I had the same thought about Fiers, but then looked into the game log again.
        – Joyce single
        – Olson 3U, 1out
        – Lowrie single, 1st and 3rd, 1 out
        – Davis, F-2, 2 outs
        – Alonso, 3balls, 1 strike, fourth ball, bases loaded
        – Hoyt enters game. Fiers exits after 106 pitches
        – Healy grand slam on full count

        The question is when should Fiers have been pulled? It’s the sixth inning and he has 1st and 3rd, 1 out, and Davis up and his pitch count at 98. This is probably the ideal time if Hoyt is ready. Given Fiers’ recent hot streak I suspect Hinch was being a bit more optimistic than we’d have seen in April or had it been most of our other guys.

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      • If Fiers is not pitching with a 1 zip deficit all night, it’s a much easier night for him. Even two of those early runs that did not happen would have made his life much easier. And then watching the bases get loaded with nobody out and then going back into a tie game rather than a nice cushion, had to take a bit out of him.

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      • I think Hinch decided that he would not use Harris or Feliz in a tied game on Tuesday due to several innings pitched over the weekend. I know they had Monday off, but Harris pitched both Saturday and Sunday with 1.1 innings on Sunday and the bullpen is extremely taxed. Sometimes you have to make risky calls in June that might not go as hoped to win games in October. The odds are very good that the Astros will win the division and, due to a plethora of injuries to our starting pitchers, the bullpen has been used frequently over the last month. If the Astros had the lead I imagine he brings in Harris or Feliz, but in a tied game it was probably decided to bring in Hoyt. As it turned out Hinch brought in both Feliz and Harris with the lead on Wednesday to help preserve the win. I am not going to fault Hinch for bringing in Hoyt on Tuesday. He has been dealt a tough hand with all the injuries and he has been tasked with managing a very tired bullpen. Hoyt just made a bad pitch and that happens in baseball.

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  36. My worst nightmare is going into the playoffs with a depleted bullpen and that’s exactly what’s going to happen if all our starters can only last 4 or 5 innings.

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    • Sandy, ancient memory, but I always did think if Albert had not hit that moonshot and we had not had to travel and play one more game that we’d have gone to the Series more rested and at least would not have been swept.

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      • I hadn’t considered that angle. My take was that the team (and it started with Garner’s attitude) was already celebrating that they made the WS and weren’t dialed into competing. It’s possible the roller coaster of emotions following that HR and having to win on the road put them in that mindset.

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  37. These are the bullpen guys Hinch can hardly ever count on:
    Sipp
    Hoyt
    Gregersen (is a mess right now)
    Guduan (please no more experiments)
    That leaves Feliz- Harris-Giles and Devo
    They SHOULD all be rested from the road trip, at least we hope they are!
    I don’t know the answer, but our starters can’t keep leaving the game after 4-5 innings and expect THIS bullpen to rescue them night after night. Ain’t gonna happen. AND….one more time…SITUATIONAL HITTING!!

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    • I will say this – though Gregerson puts too many guys on – he has allowed runs in only one of his last 12 appearances

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      • Here are Gregerson’s numbers over the past 12 games.

        1.42 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 2.55 xFIP, 64.5% GB rate and 11.37 K/9. Gregerson is not struggling at all. In fact, he has been very, very good during this time and his slider appears to be back to where it was the past 2 years. I think Gregerson is someone Hinch now feels he can trust again.

        Also, Sipp, while not dominant has a 4.24 ERA with a 3.78 FIP and 4.05 xFIP to go along with a 57.4% GB rate. Granted, Luhnow, rightfully so, is using him in fairly low leverage situations, but Sipp is, at least, serviceable as a bullpen arm. I thought Hinch did a great job last night bringing in Sipp with a 2-run lead to face the 7-9 hitters in the Oakland lineup. The situation had the feel of a somewhat high leverage situation, but it really wasn’t and Sipp retired Oakland in order with 2 Ks. It might have helped Sipp’s confidence going forward.

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  38. Chris Carter accepted a trip to the minors today for the Yankees.
    Jake Buchanan was released yesterday. I believe it was by the Reds.
    Villar is back playing for the Brewers after a stint on the DL.
    Corbin Martin signed a contract with the Astros.
    Paulino and Hahn face off against each other tonight with Hahn having the advantage of the game being in Houston this time.

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  40. I can’t “see” him, but Paulino pitching like he has been….it’s gonna be hard to send him back to Fresno. He’s pitching better than Martes….that’s for sure. Helps that the guys get him a bunch of runs in his starts, but boys and girls this guy might just be the missing piece. WHATCHA think???

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  45. Is it okay to say that Martes, Musgrove and Paulino are not quite ready yet?

    Is Springer turning into one of the best in the game, or is he just hot?

    The A’s are making our series against the Yankees tougher even before we get on the field with them.

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  47. Springer is an uber weapon.
    Reddick is such a pleasure to watch – makes a great play in the field then steals 3rd base on a catcher’s toss back to the pitcher which allows him to score on a sac fly.
    Tony Sipp gives them a nice inning.

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  48. Rough game, but the Astros hang in there and keep scoring runs and eventually get the win.
    Rangers lost, Seattle lost, Oakland lost. Now we just look to see how the Angels do against the Dodgers.
    Just think how tonight’s game would have been had Dallas Keuchel been on the mound. I’m just sayin’.

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    • Speaking of which – Morton pitched 4 innings followed by a 15 pitch bullpen session last night – he might skip his 3rd rehab start and come back Sunday – undecided right now

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  50. Dan, I’m fairly comfortable with things this morning. Had Paulino given up 2 dingers rather than four, he would have ended up with a serviceable five inning outing. I like the fact that he continues to get strike outs at this level. He needs to let a guy like Davis take a walk sometimes. That will come. Sipp gave us a good inning, although his third out came via a pitch that was on the other side of the plate from McCanns glove! Gregerson and Giles finished things off with no drama. And our bats carried the club on a night they needed to.

    I’ve been thinking about Fiers too. A few have lamented his inability to give us more innings. Well, the guy is our fifth starter. And he’s given us more over the past month than any arm on the roster.

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