*Jason Castro was hitting .114/.250/.205 in the first Seattle series, where he said he simplified his swing. Since then he's hitting .314/.470/.588 with 17K:15BB and eight extra-base hits.
*Tony Kemp recorded an outfield assist and two hits in his first career Major League start.
It almost feels like you're playing a video game out there, and it didn't really feel real until they poured Gatorade on me.
*I mean, there *was* that Triple Play thing, though.
*Mat Latos, on his start:
Some days you feel really good and you have a line like you have today, and other days you feel like crap and have a really good line. It sucks and I'm really over it and tired of giving up runs. But you just have to hang with 'em and keep going.
*Ken Giles is feeling more comfortable as the season progresses. Hinch:
I think he's exhaled a little bit...and I also think success has a funny way of making you feel a little bit better about yourself and feeling a little bit more at ease. Guys that get to this level - if they don't feel like they're contributing, it can be pretty miserable.
*The way things line up for the Orioles series means that Chris Devenski is headed back to the bullpen. Hinch:
His velocity was a little higher out of the pen. There's a lot of reasons why he makes our staff stronger and I think he'll start more games as we move forward, but for the purposes of planning for the rest of this series and the Texas series, I let him know what his role would be.
*National Treasure Colby Rasmus hosted an 8-year old fan/patient from Shriner's Hospital in Chicago.
*Alex Bregman was 2x4 yesterday with his 9th home run. Bregman is hitting .330/.435/.691 with 9K:15BB in 26 games for Corpus.
*These dudes walked 22 miles to get to a Dodgers game.
*Yahoo's Tim Brown on what to take away from the Rangers/Blue Jays fight. Fantastic read, and especially for this spot-on description of Rougned Odor:
Rougned Odor, the Texas Rangers' chippy second baseman whose interpretation of middle-of-the-diamond engagements pivots upon whether he's doing the breaking up or is the one being broken up...
*When the Department of Homeland Security went on a panty raid in Kansas City in 2014.
*When Run-DMC met Aerosmith and changed music.
*Before You Go:
Late-night Tidbit: Kemp & Moran are 1st Astros to make 1st Major League start in same game since Taveras and Luke Scott on April 5, 2005.— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 19, 2016
