Sunday was the kind of game that in 2022, the Astros would have turned to two of their best players, Justin Verlander and Jose Altuve to rescue them.
The team was off to a crummy 3-6 start, having blown the first two games of the series against the Twins. After Luis Garcia’s troubles on Saturday afternoon, the bullpen needed some relief from a starting pitcher who might go deeper than the 4th or 5th inning. The offense needed someone other than Kyle Tucker or Yordan Alvarez to do something offensively after those two gentlemen had contributed 6 of the team’s 9 HRs and 22 of their 40 RBIs heading into game 10. And if someone could give them some help from Jose Altuve’s leadoff spot, that would be a bonus.
Voila, turn to Sunday’s game, and on the mound is the youngster, Hunter Brown, who, in his cameo call-up in 2022 was compared favorably to JV with his stuff and his delivery. Brown gave the Astros exactly what they needed as he tossed 97 pitches over 7 innings of tw0-hit, seven-K, one-unearned run success. It was about as impressive a start as a rookie could give the team considering the situation, and it helped to flip the rotation back around to the top with Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier on a very positive note.
And as far as the offense goes….. Dusty Baker, who always seemed to be underestimating Chas McCormick and his contributions to the offense, out of the blue, decided to move him to the leadoff spot Saturday and left him there for the finale against the Twins. Chas channeled his inner Altuve and launched a two-out, two-run homer in the third inning and then followed it up with a two-out, two-run single in the fifth.
Of course, these were not the only good things that happened this day. The previous leadoff hitter, Jeremy Pena moved down the lineup and had a single and a double, scoring one run and knocking in another. Yanier Diaz caught a good game and also earned the first two hits of his major league career.
On the bullpen side, Bryan Abreu worked around a walk to strike out the side in the eighth inning and Ryan Pressly retired the side in the 9th after scaring the heck out of everyone by slipping and falling on a delivery to the first batter of the inning.
Oh, and Kyle Tucker was thrown out of the game for griping at the umpire after being called out for running inside the base path on a throw to first. It is the weirdest rule in the books because it is physically impossible to step on a base that is only inside the base path without actually coming to the inside of the base path. The way the rule is written, you need to stay outside and take a left turn at the last minute. Oh well, getting Tucker thrown out of the game did not affect the outcome, and the Astros won a game where KTuck and YA did not get a hit.
So, how do you feel after a get away day win?
CHIPALATTA 
I was impressed when Brown opened the 5th with a 10 pitch walk and then came right back and got the next three guys.
Jake Odorizzi out for the season.
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There was so much good news yesterday:
1. Hunter Brown played the ‘stopper’ we needed;
2. We got offense from people not named Alvarez, Abreu and Tucker;
3. Our bullpen only had to throw two innings, and was nails [7 batters faced, 0 Runs, 0 hits];
4. We had ZERO wild pitches, ZERO passed balls, and allowed ZERO steals [and our catcher was not Martin Maldonado];
5. We actually outhit an opponent, getting two-hit games from four different players – McCormick, Pena, Diaz, and Dubon;
6. we struck out less than ten times for the first time in awhile;
7. KTuck didn’t run out of the base path any more than you-know-you you-know-what-ed.
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I had to go onto twitter to find a replay of Tucker getting tossed. He’s running outside the base path until the 2B throws the ball home. At that point he came back across the base path to the field of play. It was clearly to make any return throw to first more difficult. That one is actually a bit of a special case as the umpire has the discretion to call interference if they believe the runner has done anything to interfere with the player taking the throw at first.
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I don’t know why they don’t extend the bag into the foul territory a foot or so. They had no problem making it bigger going the other way for “safety” reasons. This would truly help them avoid collisions.
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The way the team had been playing I was dreading a Sunday afternoon getaway game with the shadows that had been bothering the Astros the two previous games.
It just goes to show: You never know.
The Masters was an exercise in futility with an LIV golfer vying with a foreign player for the title with a traitor Mickelson making a run at the end. So frustrating that none of my favorites was good enough to even challenge on the most beautifully manicured golf course I have ever seen. Can’t believe I found myself pulling for Jon Rahm.
It is also so disappointing that television cannot even come close to showing the slope of the greens in it’s broadcast. The ball breaks so much on greens that show up on the screen as relatively flat. Looking down from a high perched tower camera gives TV such a deceptive view of these sloped greens.
It is an absolute waste to have to watch the coverage of holes #12 and #16 the way CBS did it this weekend. A camera angle from a distance with a longer range lens would so enhance the vision for us of a player with a 30 foot putt that breaks 8 feet, something that CBS missed all week.
Speaking of missing, how do the umps miss so many calls against Astros batters that are 3-4 inches outside of the strike zone.
True strike zone technology cannot get here fast enough for this old fan.
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The Astros are getting hit by too many pitches. If the league does not do something, the Astros will have to deal with it.
When you’re tied for the league lead with 9 and more than half the league has 3 or less, something is wrong. It could get ugly.
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Tonight the Astros played like the Astros. They had good pitching, timely hitting, and good defense. Don’t know what Dubon’s been smoking but keep it up. He could have easily had 5 hits tonight save for the line drives to right field. Maybe we’re getting back into the swing of things. The Home plate umpire (Nick Mahrley) must have missed no fewer than 20 pitches. He gets the Angel Hernandez award for tonight.
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IS THAT A ‘DUBON BROTHERS’ ALBUM I HEAR PLAYING?
After a couple of years of dissing Frenchy, I guess it’s time to ‘Listen to the Music’ …
but will this new band be a ‘Long Train Running’?
Will our boys be ‘Takin’ it to the Streets’?
At playoff time will we hear some Funky Dixieland, dance some honkeytonk, and be buying everybody drinks all around?
or is this latest tease just: ‘What a Fool Believes’.
– all rights reserved, Mauricio Dubon and his band of Astro sidekicks, a/k/a ‘the Dubon Brothers’
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Yeah Mr. Bill we are Depending on You to make these great music references. For Dubon it was Another Park Another Monday (close), and he could have had 5 hits.
The team needs this kind of unexpected performances along the way to fill in for the missing.
At least we are not in the Rays division and 4-1/2 games back already.
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Some thoughts from last night
– It was nice to see the team playing the Pirates in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2016 – nice ballpark – one of the plus sides to the new schedules is that the team will hit all the other ballparks every two seasons.
– A lot of people might say – oh that was only the Pirates – but they were 6-3 coming into the game while the Astros were only 4-6
– This was the most complete offensive performance of the season. Except for Jose Abreu, who had his 10 game hitting streak ended last night, all other players in the starting lineup scored and/or drove in at least one run
– The seven inning efforts by Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez were critical to give the bullpen some rest. They used Abreu and Pressly Sunday night, but were able to use Maton and Martinez to mop up Monday night. Considering they have Thursday off, they can use most of the bullpen the next two days if needed (but some good long performances by Javier and Urquidy would be welcome)
– Monday night, the offense got going early and did not let up – this put the Pirates on their heels and helped the Astros’ pitching staff coast to an easy victory
– It was good to see our new leadoff hitter, Mr. Chas, back in the lineup and getting on base two more times. Since Chas moved to the leadoff spot he has gotten on base 5 times, scored 3 runs, knocked in 4 runs and the Astros have scored 6,5 and 8 runs.
– Dubon’s hot streak has certainly helped, especially with keeping the weaker end of the lineup above water and helping to flip the lineup back up to the strong top of the lineup.
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Pitching is what will get us through the loss of Altuve, and to a smaller extent Brantley. But the way, is he really coming back in May?
We’ve only got 6 of our 13 bats with an OPS over .600. Heck, Frenchy is propping up Bregman right now. Can’t Bregman figure out what he does wrong every winter to correct not being ready to hit on Opening Day?
Very small sample, but Abreu has 13 singles and a double. We don’t need a cleanup guy with a .658 OPS. I keep hearing his exit velocities are solid, but I want to see balls bouncing off walls for 2 bases.
Julks keeps getting playing time, but he’s another singles hitter so far. And he’s got no walks and 8 K’s. He’s one of those guys under .600 in OPS. I fear he’s taking at bats from an ultimately much better hitter in Diaz. I want him to catch twice a week and DH twice.
Dan, I’m feeling a Jake start tonight with Chas “resting”. Hope I’m wrong.
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The only Astro with ABs against the Pirates starter Keller – is Dubon who is 3 for 5 against him.
The only Pirates with ABs against Javier are Ji Man Choi and Connor Joe – who have 0 hits in 5 total ABs….
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Daveb (uncleknuckle) you seem to be channeling your inner Chipalatta Cynic. Just ask Mr. Bill – its not a paying gig.
Let’s give this time – I don’t start worrying at least 6 to 8 weeks into a season relative to anyone’s or any team’s start. I don’t think Abreu will stay sub-.700 OPS. I don’t think the Rays are winning 162 games. I don’t think Dubon will continue to hit like .375 or whatever he is doing. Things will trend back towards norm.
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Just call me and Dave the ‘Dubious Brothers’, Dan. Come see us if you are ever in China Grove!
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Hi-larious……
I know your humor – It Keeps You Runnin’
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Dan, I taught Mr. Bill everything he knows about being Chief Cynic! I have to admit though being proud of Dusty today. He’s kept Chas in the game today, even as he’s moved him over to make room for Jake in center.
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Thoughts on the last two nights –
Agree with OP, the umps have been bad so far but especially yesterday. Chas ended up striking out after taking what was obvious ball 4. That pitch Bregman was rung up on was terrible.
Yesterday was great that they were making Contreras throw strikes, and 13 hits was great. And there were some hard hit balls that ended up in gloves. Could be a funk breaking day.
I noticed when Meyers entered the game he went to CF and pushed Chas to LF. What is Dusty seeing that I am not? Is he saying Meyers has more range than Chas? I haven’t seen that. Outside of the fact that Dubon has paid off Dusty’s insistence – is he really playing Meyers and Dubon as much as he is because they are better defensive assets than Chas and Hensley in his mind?
I am not ready to take back every mean thing I have said about Dubon yet, but he is looking like a ballplayer. Even his outs are good contact outs, and defensively he is really good. He might literally be the best defensive player on the roster at 5 or 6 of the 8 positions. Obviously right now he is hitting out of his depth but I think when Brantley and Altuve are back he might have played himself into saving his roster spot. Will probably be the end of Meyers unless he starts duplicating Dubon.
Framber didn’t have his best command yesterday but he got through it. Thats what aces do.
I’m rooting for CJ tonight, and I am hopeful that he finishes 6. Statistically he hasn’t been bad – but it hasn’t looked quite as great watching. I’m hoping they come together tonight.
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It seems statistically that Jake may have more range than Chas.
Last year, Statcast had Chas faster than Jake going from home to first, but with a lower top speed. So far this year, Jake does not yet have enough Competitive Runs to qualify. Summary of the top Astro players below. See link: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint_speed?min_season=2023&max_season=2023&position=&team=&min=10
Sprint Speed
2022
Rank Name Home to 1B Ft / Sec
32 Jeremy Pena 4.28 29.4
64 Jake Meyers 4.35 28.9
95 Chas McCormick 4.27 28.6
107 David Hensley 4.34 28.5
154 Mauricio Dubon 4.28 28.2
2023
Rank Name Home to 1B Ft / Sec
9 Jeremy Pena – 29.2
59 Corey Julks – 27.7
66 Mauricio Dubon – 27.4
90 Chas McCormick – 26.8
146 Kyle Tucker – 25.7
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Let me preface this with an apology to the grand maestro of our team, the good Dusty Baker.
Good indicator of speed. Even just the eye test suggests Meyers should be much faster, so the stats don’t surprise.
An even better breakdown – Meyers has a RF/9 of 2.54 in 742 career innings in CF. Chas has only 2.11 in 771 innings in CF. That is a fairly significant difference – literally every 21 (20.93 to be exact) innings or so Meyers has made a play that Chas would not. They both have 2 career assists, so the RF number difference is ALL range.
Around the league – last years GG winners in CF were 2.71 and 2.63. Julio Rodriguez, probably the rangiest one out there, 2.88. Meyers only has 742 innings, not even a full season, but he compares much closer to the best in CF in the league and Chas (at least statistically) shouldn’t even be in CF.
I cannot stress enough the difference in the two. In 150 games Meyers would get 65 more outs, or really, Chas would allow 65 more hits. Over a season that would be about 15 points in batting average against. Imagine the team going from .258 BAA to .273 BAA. Imagine 15 or 20 of those 65 hits not being harmless singles that extend the pitcher by one batter, but imagine 15 or 20 of those being in the 8th inning of a tied game, a few even driving in the winning run.
Now I understand why we are seeing Meyers and Dubon.
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Can’t argue with those numbers. And that would explain why Dusty Baker has tried so hard to to help Jake come around at the plate. Honestly, I did not see such a real difference between Jake and Chas in center. These old eyes don’t see as well anymore. But I will say this. Going back to last year, Jake has really been pressing. He’s not having any fun out there and it certainly shows in his play. Conversely, Chas really wants the job, but he’s still a kid out there on a baseball field. He’s battled better and has more fun doing it. I hope Jake gets a real chance to regroup again. He’s got to hit though.
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Lineup for tonight…
Chas CF
Bregs 3B
YA DH
Abreu 1B
KTuck RF
Pena SS
Jake Not from State Farm CF
Dubon 2B
Maldy C
Javier on the mound
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That was an annoying game to watch.
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Saw the 9th. Talk about highs and lows. So far Abreu has been a disappointment. He swung at three pitches all out of the zone in the 9th. And another Dusty screw up by sending out your closer to “hold” the lead. So far that hasn’t worked. What will we do when we start to face “good” teams as we can’t beat the mediocre ones?
Can I be on the “cynic committee”. I sure feel like one.
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The closer in a tied game is normal in all of baseball for visiting teams – if you enter the 9th inning it is impossible to get to a save situation if you are the road team.
That said, it’s time to debate if we have the seen the best from Pressly or if there is still gas left in the tank. I don’t know if it’s the WBC that has contributed to his shaky start, I don’t know if its just the 34 years old and 11 years, but this is not the same guy we saw 3 years ago. Heck, he isn’t even the same guy we saw last year. Losing even half a mile an hour on your FB or an 8th of an inch on your break, can spell the end. That is how detailed this game is, you either learn to pitch without your best stuff or you are stick a fork in that one by 34. I said before first pitch even happened that he probably isn’t even the third best reliever on this team anymore, but that was more of a product of how good this BP is than anything I saw. Now, I’m concerned about him finishing the season without 3 months on the IL.
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With Pressly – we saw him pitch poorly in the opener of the season, where he kept shaking his hand and his arm like they were numb – not a good sign. He then was held out of a number of games for an undisclosed “illness” but you had to wonder. Then last time out he went down on a pitch where his foot skidded in the moist ground and his ankle appeared to turn over. He has a history of knee problems, that he does not always immediately admit to. I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV, nor do I sat in a Holiday Inn Express, but I have to wonder if he is injured right now.
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I’d rather see Pressly in a tie game top of the ninth than an extra inning with the designated runner on second. The extra inning rules are dumb. You know what else is dumb? I tried watching the “playoff” basketball last night and realized there’s no reason to keep watching. They don’t enforce the rules and just call fouls if they anticipate a guy is going to foul. I think MLB needs to go back to the old extra inning rules and eliminate the limit on throw-overs per batter to first base. Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to go yell at some clouds.
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Friends, pumping the brakes for a moment here…
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I am going to undergo a 4 – 5 hour surgery to remove a cancerous organ. I am asking for your prayers for this incident and prayers for the immediate family. Thank you and may God Bless you all.
Michael H (sargeh)
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Heavenly Father, I pray that you guide the minds and hands of the doctors and medical staff performing the surgery, for a successful procedure with no complications, and a complete and speedy recovery for Michael / sargeh. Lord Jesus please touch Michael with your healing power and comfort him and his family as they go through this difficult time.
In Jesus’ Almighty name, Amen.
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Sarge H – we will be praying for you today.
Dear Lord please bless your servant Michael, Sarge H. Guide his doctors through a successful surgery and Michael through a successful recovery. Please, be with him and his family during this difficult time.
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We will anxiously be waiting on word. Swift recovery hopefully you are getting the Stros in the hospital room!
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Steven – not sure we want him watching the Astros right now – he needs something to lift his spirits (LOL).
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Praying for a successful operation and a speedy recovery for you Sargeh.
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Dear God, I ask for your protection and blessing for my friend Sarge as he faces surgery today. I ask and pray that you watch over the doctors, nurses, surgeons; all healers that will guided by you. And I pray that you will see my friend through a successful operation that will rid him of the cancers within.
Amen.
Sarge, I’ll be here thinking about you as I make my way through the day. God bless you.
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Praying health, healing, and restoration for Sarge!
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Is the WBC a contributing factor to Pressly’s issues right now? Don’t know, but throwing 97 in mid March after a short winter can’t be ideal. And again, Javier was topping out at 92 last night. His stuff just above the zone did not stay above the zone. He threw a couple of badly located pitches that got absolute hammered. But I’m concerned about the 3 K’s as much as anything. As Dan noted yesterday, it’s a tiny sample, but neither guy had a regular spring. We’ll see. In the meantime, we’re likely going to have to take at least the rest of this month to see any lineup consistency. I’ll take .500 at the end of the month.
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Part of the frustration here is that they had .500 in their sites last night and let it slip away. We already lost Altuve to his injury in the WBC and now we have to wonder if the usage and early ramp up of our pitchers may have caused some of them to start the season on the wrong foot.
The team played longer than most of the teams last year and then after a short off season – some of them had to be playing at full steam way early in Spring Training. There is really no timing that makes sense for the WBC. If you ran it after the postseason, a lot of players would already be ramped down. If you ran it in the middle of the season, it would turn the marathon of a season into an ultramarathon. Maybe run it at the very end of Spring Training? I don’t know, but I do know that there will be teams discouraging their player from going to it, maybe even putting clauses in their contracts….
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Yep, there is no good time to do it. If MLB is truly committed, they should play a 150 game season every four years and run the event in the middle of the season. But no owner is going to buy into the concept. The WBC is just a flawed idea.
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Having a look at “fun with numbers” statistic. Of the 7 loses thus far the Bull pen has accounted for 5 of those. A total of 24 runs given up with 16 of those in the losses. That’s not a winning formula. However, we’re winning today with a 3 run HR by Bregman. Three great outfield plays by each of our trio out there today.
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Great game for our ‘Stros to wrap up our first series win. Jose Urquidy threw 6 innings of shutout ball, allowing only 2 hits along the way. He walked three and struck out 2. He was followed by three relievers, Neris, Abreu, and Blanco, who weren’t perfect but who did their jobs in the long run. Each was able to hold the shutout, each struck out 2 Pirates, each allowed one walk, and only Abreu gave up a hit. Offensively we were able to win, and win big, without Yordan Alvarez. We got multi-hit games from four players: Chaz, Abreu, Julks, and Dubon. Bregman hit a 3 run bomb; Julks a solo shot for his first ML dinger; Abreu drove in a run with a double.
Nothing for CC to complain about today.
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Urquidy made the ball dance today. Hopefully Dusty will keep him paired up with Yainer in the future. A great win that makes me want to sing:
Urquidy, we want you to be a great starter
Can’t you see? The leg kick is just lifting
Right arm is throwing, and pitches enthralling
Urquidy
Fantasy ball is never so thrilling
Arm flows easily, I hope that you are killing
Pick our team up, lick opponent’s lineup
Urquidy
Let them hit into groundouts
All-star guys with their gloves are all around
You can take us where we want to go
Oh, oh
Urquidy, we want you to be a great starter
Can’t you see? The leg kick is just lifting
Right arm is throwing, and pitches enthralling
Urquidy
Let them hit into groundouts
All-star guys with their gloves are all around
You can take us where we want to go
Oh, oh
Urquidy, we want you to be a great starter
Can’t you see? The leg kick is just lifting
Right arm is throwing, and pitches enthralling
Urquidy
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I put a response up to Sarge’s prayer request, but don’t have a clue where it went.
His news about his health put a damper on my Astros enthusiasm.
Watched yesterday’s game and was amazed by Dubon’s accomplishments and Jose Abreu’s mystifying ineptness at the plate.
Anyway, we’re gonna pray for Sarge and eagerly await news from him, with the understanding it might be a while for that to happen. This really hits home and real close to the heart.
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I keep thinking about Sarge, waiting for that news.
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