Saturday Morning Hot Links

*The Masked Marvel has the recap of the violent and glorious 12-2 win over the A's. The Rangers beat the Mariners, the Angels beat the Pirates, and the Twins lost to the Rays. So the Astros are tied with the Angels for 3rd, 6.0 back of the Mariners, and 7.0 back of the Rangers.

*Carlos Correa hit a 440-foot triple, and our boy Daren Willman says that 93% of the balls hit that far leave the park.

*Jason Castro is still running a fever, hence all the Catchis love.

*Tony Kemp keeps playing his way into the Astros' lineup. Hinch:
He's very disciplined in his approach...and he can be a pest up there. So his ability to get on base is something that we've always liked throughout his minor-league career and if he gets up here and can hit at the bottom of the order and set the table for the top of the order, he will be very valuable for us.

*Jonah Keri writes about the unconventional choice of Springer hitting leadoff, and the resulting surge for the Astros.

*Richard Justice says that the Astros go as Springer goes.

*FanGraphs has a very in-depth interview with Lance McCullers regarding mechanics and pitching.

*The Astros will have just under $6,000,000 to spend on next week's draft. The Astros are linked to a number of college pitchers with the 17th overall pick.

*Jeff Passan: A Kansas high schooler's 157-pitch outing explains everything that's wrong with youth baseball.

*Vanderbilt is trying to cope after the death of pitcher Donny Everett.

*The Marlins scooped the world on Muhammad Ali's death.

*Robert Lipsyte's obituary of Muhammad Ali in the New York Times is fantastic. So is the one written by SI's Richard Hoffer.

Before You Go:

This picture of Ali after having knocked out Cleveland Williams at the Astrodome takes my breath away. pic.twitter.com/JoVdYk8dNc

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 4, 2016

From the Office of the County Clerk - G56: Astros versus Athletics

Jesse Hahn (2-2, 4.15) versus Doug Fister (4-3, 3.86)

Apologies, AC readers, for only managing to recap one of the D-Backs games.  Things have been busy, and I am late to recap this one as well.  So, perhaps the shorter notes format will have to suffice.

Astros win, 12-2, ending the 5-game win-streak that the A's entered this series with.  The Astros, of course, recently lost a 5-game win-streak of their own... grumble grumble grumble.

How did it all happen??  Lets see:

• Doug Fister had a stretch in April and May where he was clearly the Astros' best starter, and he continued his solid early-season form tonight.  He is not quite at his age-27 to -30 peak (3.30 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 1.186 WHIP over 586-and-two-thirds innings), but he has pitched reasonably well this year.  His difficulty has been around regression in all of his important stats, including his near-career-high HR/9 of 1.3, and his career-high BB/9 of 3.3 combined with his career-low strikeout rate of 5.3/9.  That is the reason for his FIP over five, possibly showing that he has had some good luck, and that the Regression Monster may be lurking.
• So perhaps Fister needed a scoreless outing, and he got it today over six innings.  His final line was solid: 4 hits (2 doubles) and 2 walks against 3 strikeouts.  He was assisted by one double-play, and no Athletic hitter touched third while he was on the bump.  If it hadn't been for a monster 18-pitch at-bat against Marcus Semien, he could have gone seven-shutout without problem.
• And speaking of 18-pitch at-bats, behold:

• On the up-side of an 18-pitch at-bat, Lance Berkman and Andy Pettitte were in the Astros' radio booth at the time, and as a result, Robert Ford and Steve Sparks got to talk to them more. Silver linings and stuff, huh?
• According to the always-accurate Internet, the longest at-bat of modern times (by pitch-count) apparently involved the Astros in 1998.  The amazing Bartolo Colon threw 20 pitches to Ricky Guiterrez of the Astros.  Two strikes, three balls, 13 foul-balls.
• The actual longest at-bat is thought to be in 1940 - Luke Appling is apparently credited with a 24-pitch at-bat.  No word on who the pitcher was.  Stupid Internet.
• Tony Sipp came on for his first appearance since the Angels series, and immediately allowed a home run to.... Marcus Semien!!  It was an awful pitch - a 2-2 elevated split-fingered fastball inside, and Semien rightly smashed it off the arches above the Crawford Boxes.
• Chris Devenski allowed back-to-back doubles to open his night in the eighth inning.  That scored the A's second and final run.  Devenski then knuckled down to strike out the next four batters before allowing a single in the ninth, then getting Jake Smolinski to pop out, and then striking out Jed Lowrie.  Five strikeouts in two frames.  The Dragon lives in the strike zone.
• Jesse Hahn had a horror first inning.  He had no real feel for where the ball was going, and the Astros - combined with a little luck - capitalised with a seven-run inning.  Hahn was out after two-thirds of an inning - his previous career-low in terms of innings pitched was three-and-two-thirds.  The Astros went: single (2-2 count), full-count walk, K (2-2 count), first-pitch RBI single, 2-2 RBI grounder after a double-steal, 4-pitch walk, 1-2 RBI single, first-pitch triple (could have been an error, as Coghlan the RF simply failed to glove it), first-pitch RBI single, 2-2 RBI single.  That ended Hahn's night - all runs were earned, and his ERA jumped from 4.15 to 6.10.
• Carlos Correa made two outs in the first inning - both strikeouts, on a total of nine pitches.  Correa's next at bat was a 430-ft triple on a fat middle-middle slider, that landed and sat like a sweetly-struck nine-iron right at the top of Tal's Hill.  This time, he busted it out of the box.  Correa went 2-5 on the night.
• Speaking of long drives, Evan Gattis The Catcher continued his run of awesomeness.  Gattis went 4-5 with 4 RBI, hitting a long home run onto the railroad tracks above the Boxes.  The pitch was a 1-0 slider that was left up a little, and Gattis hammered it a long way.  It was estimated at 443ft, just a little longer than Correa's triple, which had occurred two batters earlier.  The Astros hitters combined for 480-odd feet for two hits in the fourth frame
• Also mashing: George Springer (2-5), José Altuve (1-2, BB, SB), Colby Rasmus (2-5, SB), Tony Kemp (1-3, 3B, 2xBB) and Handsome Jake (2-5, SB).
• Tony Kemp started the game as the DH, which shows how much the Astros value a lefty hitter with good bat control on a swing-and-miss team.  He gives a different look from the left side down the bottom of the lineup.  Thinking about it, all of the other lefty hitters on the Astros' team are swing-and-miss guys.  Anyhow, Kemp finished the game making his first ML appearance in RF, which means that the Astros gave up the DH - not that it cost them any at-bats.  The pitcher's spot was next up at the end of the eighth.
• Overall, the Astros knocked out 16 hits and 5 walks, but managed only three extra-base hits (2 triples, one home run).  They are putting together - as a team - better at-bats, lead by George Springer at the top of the order.  Springer is, for the most part, remaining in his shoes after swinging.  Please pass that advice on to Carlos Gómez, George.
• Speaking of Gómez, he was the only Astro remaining on the bench tonight.  The Astros have been playing shorthanded, too, with Jason Castro sitting for the last few days with the 'flu.  Evan Gattis The Catcher has been doing an adequate defensive job, a great offensive job, and a solid job controlling baserunners in Castro's absence.
• Expect the Astros to keep running if Stephen Vogt remains behind the plate.  The double-steal in the first inning (Altuve and Rasmus) happened without a throw, too.  Thing of beauty.
• Props to Andrew Triggs, who saved the A's bullpen from total decimation.  Triggs threw a career-high (at least in the major leagues) 76 pitches in four innings of work, allowing 5 runs.  Must be a little bitter-sweet for a guy like Triggs coming in after two-thirds of an inning, knowing that an option to the minor-leagues (or in some cases, exposure to waivers) may occur after the game, simply to get a fresh arm into the 'pen.
• The Astros saw an opposing position-player take the mound - always a welcome sight.  Tyler Ladendorf pitched a scoreless frame, walking one and allowing one hit while throwing only 16 pitches.  The second-baseman sat in the mid-80's with his fastball.  

So a solid way to start the series - remember the same thing happened in Arizona, when the Astros saw a lot of the D-Backs' bullpen in the first two games.  Hopefully the Astros can back it up with another solid offensive effort tomorrow.

On the Morrow:

The A's have scratched Rich Hill from this start, due to a balky groin.  They go with Kendall Graveman, who is on normal rest despite moving up in the order.

Kendall Graveman (2-6, 5.09) versus Collin McHugh (5-4, 4.82)

4 Eastern, 3 Central.

Jose Altuve and 900 hits

Last night Jose Altuve recorded his 900th and 901st career Major League hit. It took him 722 games, which is awfully impressive. So, because I'm trying to find something to write about, I thought we could make a little comparison to Altuve and some other notable players over their first 722 career games.

Let's start off with Altuve:

Jose Altuve: 901 hits, .307/.348/.425, 184 stolen bases, 112 wRC+, 114 OPS+

Cool.

How about Craig Biggio: 706 hits, .273/.351/.382, 120 stolen bases, 112 wRC+.

Derek Jeter: 924 hits, .320/.389/.468, 102 stolen bases, 125 wRC+.

Dustin Pedroia: 871 hits, .305/.374/.464, 121 wRC+.

It gets a little tricky trying to do this with older players, but we'll get as close as we can.

Rod Carew had 842 hits after 722 games. In his first 727 games: .309/.357/.404, 117 OPS+

Pete Rose had 862 hits after 722 games. In his first 759 games: 899 hits, .295/.351/.413, 110 OPS+.

Paul Molitor had 878 hits after 722 games. In his first 752 games: 899 hits, .292/.349/.421, 189 stolen bases, 115 OPS+.

Carl Yastrzemski had 830 hits after 722 games. In his first 743 games: 847 hits, .296/.374/.464, 127 OPS+.

Hank Aaron had 907 hits after 722 games. In his first 732 games: .316/.365/.543, 230 stolen bases, 145 OPS+. So Altuve isn't Hank Aaron. Intriguing.

This is fun.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*The Masked Marvel has the recap from a 5-4 Astros 11th inning win that Luke Gregerson made way more interesting than necessary, but George Springer's walk-off homer saved.

That was George Springer's first walkoff homer of his life. Never hit one at any level from Little League all the way up.

— Steve Grande (@AstrosGrande) June 2, 2016

*That's the Astros' eighth win in their last nine games. The A's won, but the Rangers, Mariners, and Angels all finally lost. So Houston is half a game up on Anaheim, tied with Oakland, 6.0 behind Seattle, and 6.5 behind the Rangers.

*Thanks to their recent play, FanGraphs now gives the Astros a 22.5% chance of winning the division and a 39.6% chance of making the postseason. Baseball Prospectus now has the Astros with a 31.2% chance of making the postseason. FiveThirtyEight still lags behind with a 23% chance of making the postseason.

*Arizona manager Chip Hale:
It was a great baseball game. They just had a bit more firepower and got us in the end...I can't be more proud of our guys' effort coming back in that game.

*Marisnick, on the defensive wizardry of all three outfielders:
We were feeding off each other and having fun. We can all go get it. It's a fun group to play with and nothing they do surprises me.

*Evan Gattis threw out two baserunners last night and is making significant progress behind the plate.  Hinch, who said that Jason Castro is battling the flu, said it's not a platoon system but:
We win when he catches, I like that part. And he's hit the ball very well when he catches, as well.

The Astros are 4-1 when Gattis is behind the plate, and have won the last four Catchis starts.

*Altuve got his 900th career hit last night in his 722nd career game. The last player to reach 900 hits as quickly was Albert Pujols, who needed five fewer games to hit 900.

*Springer made a wicked good play:

This doesn't seem possible. pic.twitter.com/bNI7DDppPp

— Houston Astros (@astros) June 2, 2016

*Towards the bottom of this Ken Rosenthal piece, Rosenthal notes that only the Dodgers have gotten less production out of 3B than the Astros, and Alex Bregman could be a late-season option.

*An executive with the Padres called his team "miserable failures."

*What it's like to be Joe Buck.

*Baylor isn't letting incoming freshmen out of their LOIs. Trash.

From the Office of the County Clerk - G54: Astros versus Diamondbacks

Robbie Ray (2-4, 4.67) versus Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.20)

So during my couple-days out of the Office of the County Clerk, the Astros have quietly run their win-streak to four (entering this game), and started their march up the AL West ladder.  The Constable pointed out in the last couple of days that the Astros have won... but so have the remainder of the teams in the AL West, so no ground has been made.  Well, as one sharp and handsome reader pointed out, lets not worry too much about the other teams in the AL West, but lets just rejoice in the fact that the Astros seem to be putting together some solid baseball for the first time in a while.

And it continued tonight.  The Astros pitched well, and their offensive prowess - whilst not perfect - gave them a bit of a lead heading into the late frames.  That lead was blown, but note is made that the Astros had worked hard to give themselves enough insurance that they could withstand giving up a few runs late in the game.  That took them to extra innings, and the Diamondbacks' relief staff blinked first, giving up a run in the bottom of the 11th to end the night.  Astros win, 5-4.  Win streak at five.  Six-point-five games back of the Ramgers, and a half-game ahead of the Angels.  This is what 2016 was supposed to look like - long may it last.

On the Mound:
Mike Fiers didn't start well, but his defense recorded some vital outs early in the game.  The last five innings was all Fiers, and he ended up covering-off 6 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, giving up one run and striking out seven.  Typical Fiers start - kept the team in the game, and gave them a chance to win, but nothing too flashy.  What was different for this Fiers start compared to the others in 2016 was (i) he didn't give up any extra-base hits, and (ii) the defense helped him immensely.

Example:  Jean Segura led of the game with a walk, then was gunned down trying to steal second by Evan Gattis The Catcher (great tag from Carlos Correa, too).  Another example: Michael Bourn walked with one out in the first, then tried to go first-to-third on a Paul Goldschmidt bloop single into CF.  Carlos Gómez declined to allow that, as he grabbed the ball on the first bounce with his bare hand, and gunned it to Valbuena to catch Bourn sliding into third.  Fiers then found his groove, and struck out Jake Lamb to end the frame.

Two strikeouts bookended the D-Backs half of the second, and Fiers allowed the lone run in the third. A one out single advanced to second on another one-out single (two great plays from Marisnick in LF to hold the runner at first, then nearly get the careless runner off second), then the runner tagged up on a fly out to CF, which Gómez made a nice play on in front of the pillars beside the visiting bullpen.  Then with a runner on third, Fiers missed down and away with a fastball that Gattis reached for, but the ball bounced off the end of his glove.  The batter, Paul Goldschmidt, lined out two pitches later (a diving play from Handsome Jake in LF), so perhaps the run could have been prevented.

Fiers faced the minimum in the fourth and fifth - the latter down to a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play, again thanks to Evan Gattis The Catcher.  Fiers ended the sixth strongly, striking out Michael Bourn and Paul Goldschmidt (both on splitters) to end the frame.

Giles got the seventh, and he sandwiched a couple of strikeouts around a runner-erasing defensive gem from George Springer, who defied the laws of physics to shift the direction of his bodyweight to make a perfect throw to Correa at second, who tagged out Richie Weeks Jr.  A Giles fastball down-and-away turned into a bloop single into the Bermuda Triangle behind first base, and Springer retrieved the ball on the first bounce, heading into foul ground.  He spun, fired a strike to Correa, who only needed to drop the tag on Weeks.  Impressive arm strength.

Will Harris got the eighth, and he retired the side in order, lowering his ERA to 0.36 in the process.  His scoreless streak continues to grow, and sits at 23-and-one-third, by my count.

Luke Gregerson got the ninth with a three-run lead, and he "hit" Jean Segura with a pitch - the ball probably hit the knob of the bat, not the hand - but Hinch declined to challenge.  The next batter was Michael Bourn, and he doubled on a 1-2 hanging slider into the RF corner, scoring Segura.  Paul Goldschmidt was retired on a hard smash to first, then Jake Lamb took a similar pitch to Bourn's pitch - a first pitch hanging slider - and deposited it into the Astros' bullpen for a game-tying, too run shot.  Five of the nine Mike Lamb home runs have come in the ninth inning this year.

So that tied the game, and Pat Neshek came on to clean up the rest of the ninth.  He allowed a bloop single before setting down the next two hitters.  Extra innings is Feliz Time, and he continued his dominance - retiring the side in order in the tenth (ten pitches, nine strikes) and eleventh (including strikeouts of Paul Goldschmidt and Mike Lamb).  He probably would have gone in the twelfth as well, but was not needed....

At the Plate:
The Astros looked like the April Astros in the early part of the game, stranding José Altuve at second with one out in the first, and loading the bases with one out and not scoring in the third (Correa and Gattis struck out on fastballs away to end the frame).  A Carlos Gómez single and stolen base with two outs was the only action in the fourth, before they took the lead in the fifth.  Another rally with two outs, as José Altuve hit his second double of the game (off the LF stands), Carlos Correa singled him in on a line drive the other way, and Altuve (2-4, 2x2B, BB) slid around the tag to score.  That brought up Evan Gattis The Catcher, and he hammered the second pitch he saw (a 1-0 changeup down and in the middle of the plate) off the Community Leaders sign above the Crawford Boxes.  The pitch was down and out of the zone, and Evan Gattis The Catcher (1-5, HR, 2RBI) went down and got it, hitting a flat shot with a heap of backspin that got out by plenty.

The Astros went down in order in the sixth before George Springer led off with a ground rule double to RF in the seventh.  He couldn't advance past third, however, as the next three hitters went down on a groundout, a strikeout and a groundout respectively.  In the eighth, MarGo (starting at first) was HBP to lead off the frame.  He advanced to second on Valbuena's (0-4, BB) walk, then advanced to third on Carlos Gómez (1-5, SB) line drive that was caught deep in CF by Michael Bourn, who seems to know the MMP OF dimensions really well, for some reason.  That put runners on the corners for Tony Kemp, who pinch-hit for Tyler White against tough side-arming righty Brad Ziegler - Kemp jumped on the first pitch he saw, driving it deep enough to LF for MarGo (1-4) to score without a throw.  Vital insurance run.

With the game tied in the ninth, Carlos Correa (2-5, 3B) hit a two out drive off Ziegler which hit the bullpen fence in RF about one foot shy of getting out.  Correa cruised into third with a triple, but he was stranded after Evan Gattis flew out to CF off the end of the bat.  In the tenth, Tyler Clippard struck out the side, and he stayed on for the eleventh, retiring Tony Kemp (0-1, RBI) on a grounder to second base, and striking out Handsome Jake (0-4).  That brought up George Springer, and...

Turning Point:
George Springer has not yet had a walk-off home run in his career.  Clippard went with a first pitch breaking ball, which crossed the plate down-and-in, and Springer stuck with it, hammering it into the LF power alley.  The ball hit of the façade above the concourse there - a decent sized blow - and that ended the ballgame.  Gatorade showers swamped the throng of players at home plate.  Boom.

Man of the Match:
After a shout-out to Michael Feliz and Evan Gattis The Catcher, George Springer is the only logical choice.  Two-for-five, with a walk, a double, a home run, and an outfield assist.  George Springer in May: .296/.404/.548, 8 HR, 5x2B, 19 walks versus 30 strikeouts.  He has been great lately, and the pitching has been good enough to allow Springer to win games at the plate with nights like this one.

Springer gets extra points for trying to injure the pitcher with shards of broken-bat, like he did in the first inning.

Goat of the Game:
Luke Gregerson, who seems to be either shut-down or melt-down at the moment.  Slider looked like a concrete mixer, rolling up there.

Everyone seems to want to talk about Ken Giles to close, but what about Will Harris??  Anyhow, Gregerson is certainly a very good ML reliever, but he has been maddeningly inconsistent as of late.

Does anyone else think that if Carlos Correa had busted it out of the box in the ninth, he could have scored an inside-the-park HR for the walk off win???  I would be interested in garnishing opinion.  Comments below.

On the Morrow:
Final game of the Home-and-Home series against the Astros' "natural rivals", the D-Backs.  A stellar pitching matchup if both the starters return to 2015 form, too.

Zack Greinke (6-3, 4.71) versus Dallas Keuchel (3-6, 5.58).

2 Eastern, 1 Central.

Then the A's come to town.  The A's are also current riding a five-game win streak.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros beat the Diamondbacks for their fourth straight win and their seventh win in the last eight games. Of course, for the 2nd straight day, every other team in the AL West won, so no ground was gained.

*Lance McCullers:
We're playing with more confidence. It's as simple as that. You see guys taking really confident ABs, guys pitching with a lot of confidence. We're just starting to hit on all points of the game when we need to.

*Springer is hitting .457 and the Astros are 7-1 since he moved to the leadoff spot. Hinch:
His job to be a leadoff hitter is to be a good hitter first. What comes with that is a better hitter than when he tries to do too much and get too big. Whether it's mental or physical, I don't really care. I like the look of it, and I think he's made a conscious adjustment to try to set the table for Altuve, Correa, etc. 

*Carlos Gomez's playing time is TBD, but you'll see him a lot over the next few days. Hinch:
It will be dictated over time. These next 10 days (including Tuesday) we face a lot of left-handed pitching, so he'll naturally be in there. We'd certainly like to see him contribute. He's an everyday player in the big leagues. But we're going to make sure we keep our other guys engaged who have stepped up during his absence

*Altuve is currently the vote leader for the AL All-Star team at 2B. Correa is 4th among shortstops, and Rasmus is 13th in outfielders.

*It's behind a paywall, but Ben Badler says that the Astros are expected to exceed their spending limits in the July 2 international free agent signing - mostly on Cuban shortstop Anibal Sierra. The Astros apparently agreed to a deal with Sierra back in April, but will have to wait until July 2 to announce it. At $3.5m, the Astros will essentially spend $7m on Sierra due to the overage tax.

*Here's FanGraphs on the weapon that has become Michael Feliz.

*FanGraphs scouted Brady Aiken's first professional appearance.

*New Jersey's Giuseppe Rossi wishes he wasn't an idiot, should have played for the USMNT.

Lessons to be learned from the 2005 Astros

Now that we are past Memorial Day, and the Astros are once again (tied for) last place, it's easy to go back to the well of 2005 and try to get a bucket of hope and inspiration.

There are some similarities between the 2016 Astros and the 2005 Astros - both were coming off a playoff run. Both had fairly high expectations for that season. Both started off in a piss-poor way and had a pretty giant hole out of which to climb. And...um...well that might just about do it, but let's see what the 2016 Astros can learn from the 2005 Astros.

The 2005 Astros lost a 9-0 game to the Reds on Memorial Day, getting held to five hits by the legendary Reds battery of Aaron Harang, David Weathers, and Todd Coffey. The 9-0 score was run up in the 9th after Roger Clemens allowed 4H/2ER, 7K:1BB in 8IP. So, down 2-0 in the top of the 9th, John Franco allowed hits to all three batters he saw (7.36 ERA), then Russ Springer allowed 3H/4ER, 1K:1BB in 0.1IP (8.62 ERA), then Chad Qualls had to come in to clean it up and get the final two outs to lower his ERA to 5.55. The loss dropped the 2005 Astros to 18-32, last in the NL Central, 15 games behind the Cardinals. Only the Rockies - at 14-35 - had a worse record in the National League. 

So what happened? After that 9-0 loss, the Astros finished the season with a 71-41 record - best in the NL by four games, and a game better than the A's to post the best record in all of baseball. How did they do it?

1. They needed all the help they could get from the offense. 

The Astros averaged 3.56 runs/game over the first 50 games of the season. Their 178 runs scored was 18 runs fewer than the NL's next-worst, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was the lowest run total in baseball. Over the final 112 games the Astros improved by over a run per game, scoring 4.59 runs/game until the end of the season. 

As a team following that 9-0 Cincinnati loss they were hitting .239/.306/.377. They had only hit 37 home runs as a team, and were striking out almost seven times a game.

Outside of Craig Biggio and Morgan Ensberg the offense was a black hole over the first 50 games. Check it:

Ensberg: .281/.386/.525 (.911 OPS)

Biggio: .291/.349/.525 (.874 OPS)

then

Bagwell: .250/.361/.398 (.759 OPS)

Vizcaino: .239/.301/.358 (.659 OPS)

Lane: .218/.268/.391 (.659 OPS)

Everett: .222/.281/.377 (.658 OPS)

Lamb: .200/.257/.384 (.641 OPS)

Taveras: .250/.300/.335 (.635 OPS)

Ausmus: .248/.325/.295 (.620 OPS)

Berkman: .216/.318/.297 (.615 OPS)

And then someone flipped a switch. From May 31 through the end of the season they hit .264/.330/.421. They went from averaging 0.74 home runs per game to hitting 1.1 homers/game. 

Berkman: .307/.427/.566 (.993 OPS)

Ensberg: .284/.389/.571 (.960 OPS)

Lane: .288/.336/.546 (.882 OPS)

Palmeiro: .272/.327/.435 (.762 OPS)

Biggio: .253/.314/.443 (.757 OPS)

Lamb: .259/.300/.442 (.742 OPS)

Ausmus: .262/.361/.344 (.705 OPS)

Burke: .253/.316/.388 (.704 OPS)

Taveras: .308/.336/.344 (.680 OPS)

Everett: .258/.293/.359 (.652 OPS)

Bagwell's shoulder forced him out of the lineup and he was replaced at 1B primarily by Lance Berkman. That, combined with Mike Lamb's improved play and versatility allowed Phil Garner to field a more potent lineup. You had two guys with an OPS over .760 over the first 50 games, and then as a team they posted a .751 OPS, which is an improvement of almost 70 points...as a team.

2. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the pitching staff tightened up.

The Astros allowed 226 runs over their first 50 games, or 4.52 runs/game. This was middle-of-the-road as far as the NL went in 2005, but the offense was so poor that the pitching staff had almost no room for error, and they made more errors than they had room. 

The pitching staff posted a 4.37 ERA/1.30 WHIP over the first 50 games of the season, but the problem wasn't the top of the rotation:

Clemens: 3-3, 76IP, 1.30 ERA/0.86 WHIP

Oswalt: 5-6, 75.1IP, 3.23 ERA/1.17 WHIP

Pettitte: 3-5, 63IP, 3.71 ERA/1.25 WHIP

So just to be clear, the Astros lost 20 of the first 32 games in which Clemens/Pettitte/Oswalt started. Combined they threw 214.1IP, 187H/64ER, 176K:55BB for a 2.69 ERA/1.13 WHIP. Clemens was on the wrong end of a 1-0 loss in three of his first four starts. 

And the bullpen was an early disaster, as well:

Springer: 15.2IP, 8.62 ERA/1.66 WHIP

Harville: 13IP, 6.23 ERA/2.08 WHIP

Qualls: 24.1IP, 5.55 ERA/1.56 WHIP

Lidge: 22IP, 3.27 ERA/1.36 WHIP

Wheeler: 21.2IP, 1.66 ERA/1.06 WHIP

Lidge was okay. Wheeler was fantastic. Then you had a whole bunch of bullcrap trying to close out games. 

Over the final 112 games of the season, the Astros allowed 383 runs - the fewest runs allowed in baseball, and 45 runs fewer than the NL's 2nd-lowest total by the Cardinals. This was thanks to a 3.14 ERA/1.20 WHIP. 

The rotation was unbelievable, or at least the top of the rotation was. Over the final 112 games:

Pettitte: 14-4, 1.86 ERA/0.94 WHIP

Oswalt: 15-6, 2.81 ERA/1.22 WHIP

Clemens: 10-5, 2.19 ERA/1.09 WHIP

Backe: 6-5, 4.78 ERA/1.58 WHIP

Wandy: 9-9, 5.46 ERA/1.47 WHIP

Clemens had notoriously bad luck, despite throwing 211.1IP with a 1.87 ERA, the Astros went 15-17 in his starts because he apparently pitched so well that he made the Astros' bats go silent, as well as their opponents' bats. Clemens lost five 1-0 decisions over the course of the season, and didn't give up a run in all five. The Astros scored two or fewer runs in 15 of his 32 starts. No wonder he went back to the Yankees.

But the bullpen's performance was where real improvements were made:

Qualls: 55.1IP, 2.28 ERA/1.05 WHIP

Wheeler: 51.2IP, 2.44 ERA/0.95 WHIP, 9.06 K/9

Lidge: 48.2IP, 1.85 ERA/1.05 WHIP, 12.95 K/9

Springer: 43.1IP, 3.32 ERA/1.02 WHIP

Gallo: 20.1IP, 2.66 ERA/1.38 WHIP

3. They took advantage of bad teams.

The 2005 Astros and the 2005 Cardinals were so good (30 games over .500 and 22 games over .500 down the stretch, respectively) that the Brewers were the only other NL Central team to end the season over .500, and their 57-55 record gave them an 81-81 record. The Cubs went 54-59, the Reds went 52-59, and the Pirates were 45-68. 

The 2005 Astros went 30-22 against NL opponents. They went 8-1 against Cincinnati, 8-3 against Pittsburgh, 6-5 against Milwaukee. This helped the fact that they went 8-13 against the Cubs and Cardinals combined. 

The 2005 NL West was God-awful. The Padres won the division with an 82-80 record, for crying out loud. The Nationals finished last in the NL East and were one game worse than the Padres. and the Astros went 16-9 against NL West teams down the stretch. But if we talk about playing the worst teams in the National League in 2005, the Astros finished the season 32-13 against sub-.500 National League teams down the stretch.

4. They started to win close games.

Again, perhaps this sounds familiar. The 2005 Astros were 5-10 in 1-run games; 7-16 in games decided by 1-2 runs up until Memorial Day. For the last 112 games the Astros went 18-11 in 1-run games and 33-20 in games decided by 1-2 runs.

So the formula set by the 2005 Astros:

1. Hit better

2. Pitch better

3. Take advantage of playing soft teams

4. Win close games

It's an over-simplistic formula, and it's worth remembering that the 2005 Astros dug themselves such a hole that, even with the best record in baseball after Memorial Day, they still finished eleven games back of the Cardinals and didn't win 90 games. It took going 6-0 against the Phillies - five of those games were decided by one run - to take the Wild Card over Philadelphia by one run. The 2016 Astros are not as far back in the division as were the 2005 Astros. Maybe the 2016 offense is better than the 2005 offense (we'll just go ahead and say that Keuchel/McHugh/Fister isn't Clemens/Oswalt/Pettitte). Maybe the 2016 Astros can recreate the magic of 2005, but they're going to need a lot of help along the way. 

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros beat the Diamondbacks 8-3 yesterday. But the A's beat the Twins, the Mariners beat the Padres, the Rangers beat the Indians, and the Angels beat the Tigers. So the Astros didn't actually make up any ground and remain 7.5 GB of ARL, 7.0 back of Seattle, 0.5 back of Anaheim, and are tied with the A's.

*The Astros scored all eight runs without hitting a home run - the first time the Astros scored 8+ runs with no homers since August 2014. Hinch:
We scored eight runs early and got out of the gates hot, and it was nice to do it without the benefit of the home run. We got a couple of good hits and when we needed it, we got a couple of timely, well-located hits, and we continued to tack on and chase their starter out of the game early.

*Collin McHugh threw the Astros' first complete game since Mike F. Fiers' no-hitter last August. McHugh:
My whole goal was to keep the bullpen out of it. Keep guys from warming up. Keep guys from coming in. We were able to accomplish that today.

You can't just ignore his 2016 debut, in which the Yankees chased him after getting just one out. But that's exactly what I'm about to do. In his last ten starts (starting with the April 11 start): McHugh has thrown 61.1IP, 73H/28ER, 56K:12BB. In six May starts McHugh threw 40IP, 40H/17ER, 39K:9BB.

*Carlos Gomez has been activated and will join the team in Arizona today. Colin Moran has been optioned back to Fresno. Hinch had nice things to say about Moran and especially liked how Moran just shut the hell up:
He's ready to be a big leaguer. He's going to be an effective hitter for us. He played a pretty good third base while he was here. He doesn't say a word. He's as quiet as they come. There's a lot to like about Colin Moran, and when he comes back, he'll contribute quite a bit. 

*Altuve's triple yesterday was the 2000th triple in franchise history.

*George Springer is 12x29 since being moved to the leadoff spot.

*Lance McCullers' 150 Ks through his first 25 MLB starts is 2nd-highest in franchise history, eight behind Tom Griffin in 1969.

*Memorial Day means a lot for Hinch, whose Team USA roommate was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.

*A.J. Reed went 3x5 with a double and an RBI but Fresno and Colorado Springs ended their Memorial Day with a 6-6 tie in the 10th inning, thanks to a travel curfew where both teams needed to catch flights. Since it's the last time the teams will play each other, they just Selig'd it and called it off at 2:30pm. Josh Fields is having a tough time in Fresno. In 7IP, he has allowed 4H/3ER, 6K:5BB.

*Here's what keeps the Royals' front office awake at night (a notable read).

*Here's Lindsay Berra with 12 major league players who died serving their country.

*On Matt Harvey and the Media.

*Vice Sports: Sieg Heil, Refugees Welcome - A Night Spent Partying with Real Madrid Fans.

*Before You Go: Steven Wright's knuckleball is stupid.

This knuckleball is filthy https://t.co/Thg0tcI8eG

— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) May 30, 2016

Memorial Day Hot Links

The Masked Marvel has your recap of the 13-inning win over the Angels.

*The Astros are 22-29 and have won five of their last six games. They are half a game behind the Angels, seven behind the Mariners, and 7.5 behind the Rangers.

*Memorial Day record, recent memory:
2016: 22-29
2015: 29-17
2014: 20-32
2013: 15-36
2012: 22-27
2011: 20-34
2010: 17-34
2009: 18-26
2008: 29-22
2007: 21-29
2006: 26-26
2005: 18-32
2004: 27-23


*FanGraphs gives them a 16% chance to win the division, a 27.7% chance to make the playoffs. FiveThirtyEight gives them an 18% chance to make the playoffs. Baseball Prospectus gives them a 23% chance to make the playoffs.

*Carlos Correa: "Best day off ever." It was his first not-solo homer of the season.

*Mike Scioscia:
Mike Morin made one bad pitch, a hanging off-speed pitch to Correa and that was it.

Marisnick, on his first home run since September 2015:
It was an off-speed pitch, and (Tropeano) left it up. Things are definitely better for me lately. A month ago, I would've missed those pitches.

*Well I guess Carlos Gomez will be back tomorrow. Hinch:
I think he's feeling a lot better, which is the No. 1 priority. Getting production out of him is the second phase of this.

*Ryan Braun is "the hot name" in trade rumors, with him being linked to the Astros. Braun is in the first year of a 5yr/$105m extension.

*The Cheatin-Ass Cardinals won't get punished for their cheatin-ass hacking of Ground Control before the draft.
Two sources with knowledge of the commissioner's thinking said it would be "unlikely" that any punishment could be exacted before this coming draft. There isn't time, said one, and the plan has been to wait until after the sentencing.

*Michael Bourn will face the Astros today, after having played in the Braves and Blue Jays organizations already this year.

Before you go:

#Astros Jose Altuve has his 88th career three-hit game. Most in baseball since his debut season in 2011. pic.twitter.com/wr64nxJQbZ

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) May 29, 2016

From the Office of the County Clerk - G51: Astros in Anaheim

Doug Fister (4-3, 4.12) versus Nick Tropeano (3-2, 2.68)

Sorry, loyal AC readers.  A full working Monday for me (no Memorial Weekend in my part of the world) combined with a day game means that this will be posted around 9 hours after the game finished.  Let's just go with a shorter notes-format column, huh?  Not that any 13-inning game recap is gonna be short, grumble, grumble....

• Astros win, 8-6, in 13 innings.  The game was three minutes shy of five hours.  Carlos Correa had the day off, so I imagine he was napping in the clubhouse.... until the thirteenth inning (more on that later).  Also in the lineup was Evan Gattis at catcher (his first time catching a non-McHugh starter), Tyler White at first, MarGo at short, Luis Valbeuna at third, Tony Kemp in LF, Colby Rasmus in RF and Handsome Jake in CF.  George Springer was leading off and DH-ing.
• And speaking of Handsome Jake, his full name around the AC offices is Handsome, Strong, Fast, Athletic Jake, which is a bit of a handful to say and type.  So we call him Handsome Jake.  He had a great day, hitting the first home run by an Astros CF in 2016, and hitting the ball hard in the majority of the times at bat.  His home run in the fifth inning pulled the Astros ahead.  It only just got out in the LF power-alley, but it was a good way to dispose of a hanging curveball.  Veteran infielder Chad Pennington gloved a hard-ish liner in the ninth, which was an example of a hard-hit ball that didn't result in a hit.  Marisnick's overall line: 2-6, HR.
• José Altuve went 4-6 (all singles) and Luis Valbuena went 1-3, 3xBB: both on base four times each.  Tyler White reached base three times (1-4, 2xBB).  Evan Gattis doubled while going 2-6.
• Carlos Correa will be remembered as the hero.  A three-run drive in the thirteenth, pinch hitting  for Tony Kemp, was the deciding shot in the game.  The pitch was a 2-1 elevated changeup thrown by Mike Morin.  It was a towering shot that only just got out, right around the 390 marker in LF.  At the time, MarGo and Tyler White were populating the bases, so the Astros managed to string a bit of a rally together.  Correa has had a tough time of it lately, so hopefully this signals the start of a hot streak.
• The Astros walked nine times, versus 12 hits.
• The Astros' record is now 22-29, so they remain tied with the A's (same record) and one game behind in the loss column of the Angels (22-28).  Couple more wins, and the 'Stros could ditch the basement!!
• More Astros lost on the bases.  Four double plays (three GIDP's), one caught stealing, another runner picked off.  Valbuena was gunned down stretching at second as well.  One of the GIDP's came with the bases loaded an no outs.  That was one of three double plays with no outs.  Frikking rally-killers.
• This game was a ding-dong affair.  The Angels took the lead at 1-0, then the Astros went 3-1 up.  The Angels closed to 3-2, then 4-2, then 4-3, then 5-4 Angels.  Then 5-5, which is where it sat until the 13th, when the Angels were only able to counter with one run to the Astros' three.
• Doug Fister managed another solid outing.  His line: 6IP, 5H, 3R/1ER, 4BB, 6K.  95 pitches.  Not the worst, but an extra MPH or two would be really useful on that fastball.
• Funny moment in the fifth.  I was listening on the radio - Marisnick homered and Altuve managed a 2-out RBI for the Astros to take the lead 3-1.  Steve Sparks started talking about the veteran Doug Fister, and how he knows that throwing strikes and getting a quick inning would do a lot to help the Astros win.  The result??  Five-pitch walk, K, catcher's interference call on a hit-and-run, wild pitch and walk.  That loaded the bases for Mike Trout and an infield single was the result, with MarGo shading toward third base only able to knock the ball down.  The Pujols GIDP'd to mercifully end the frame.  Stop tempting fate, Steve Sparks.
• If Trout and Pujols up with RISP worries you, then rewind to the third frame.  Kaleb Coward singled, then C.J. Cron struck out.  Kole Calhoun (what is with all these double-initialled hard K's in a row in the Angels lineup) had homered earlier off Fister, so he wasn't going to get a pitch to hit, with Fister walking him on four-straight.  That brought up Trout and Pujols.  The result??  Two three-pitch strikeouts to end the frame.  Yikes.
• Another error in the sixth with one out didn't help Fister.  He could have gotten out of that inning if a difficult inning-ending DP could have been turned, too.
• Ken Giles also BABIP'd into blown-save territory again.  Leadoff double to deep CF, followed by a one-out wild pitch and walk.  That brought up Pujols with runners on the corners and one out.  Giles busted him inside on the fists with a 98mph fastball, but Pujols was good enough to bloop it over Altuve at second to put runners on the corners again with a tied game.  A safety squeeze was the next play - Giles did well to get an out, but the lead was lost.
• Scott Feldman pitched around a runner on third with two outs.  Will Harris had a RISP for the last two outs of his frame.  Pat Neshek worked around a one-out triple that turned into a one-out bases loaded situation thanks to IBB's to Pujols and Trout.  So some Astros pitchers recorded some clutch outs in tough spots during this game.
• Michael Feliz was the only Astros reliever to record a clean inning.  And he was credited with the win - his third on the year.
• Luke Gregerson took the bottom of the 13th with a three-run lead.  Strikeout, walk, line-out, double put runners on the corners with two outs.  A wild pitch advanced both runners.  But a strikeout ended the game.  Phew.
• The Astros got slightly hosed by the HP ump.  Again.  Have a look here.
• Particularly hosed by the ump: Ken Giles on Mike Trout.  Before casting your eyes below, remember that Mike Trout is, like 6'4", and that the strike zone plot at Brooks Baseball is standard at three-and-one-half feet, regardless of the height of the batter.  The estimators on MLB.com had pitch numbers one and five both in the zone.  Getting calls on Mike Trout at home isn't that easy, but if Giles had managed that inning, they wouldn't have had to play 13.

Up Next:
The Astros are in Phoenix for a home-and-home series against the "Natural Rivals du jour", the Diamondbacks.  Next year, the Rockies are the "Natural Rivals".  How natural is it to change your rivalry every year??

Collin McHugh (4-4, 5.13) versus Edwin Escobar, making his first career ML start (0-0, -.--).  Escobar was claimed of waivers from the Red Sox last month, from memory.

4:10 Eastern, 3:10 Central.

The eloquent BatGuy will pinch-hit a game recap tomorrow.  Hoping to tie the season-long win-streak too.  Thanks for reading.

From the Office of the County Clerk - G50: Astros in Anaheim

Dallas Keuchel (2-6, 5.92) versus Jered Weaver (4-3, 5.33)

So the Astros, after getting well-beaten in the first game of the series, try to bounce back against the Angels today.  The main participants in this battle are two guys who are proven ML starters, but who are having rough seasons.  Weaver struggles to bust 86-mph on his fastball, and Keuchel seems to be struggling with location, missing mid-thigh too often this season, in contrast to his Cy Young 2015, which was based on being at-or-below the knees, and infrequently and purposefully elevating above that only occasionally.

The Astros stacked their lineup with lefties tonight, which meant Castro behind the dish, Valbuena at first, Moran at third, and Kemp in left.  One lefty missing, however, was Colby Rasmus, which may be something to do with the 20 plate appearances that have yielded a .059/.200/.118 line against Weaver.  Marisnick batted ninth, and got the start in CF.

The Astros, after being down early, came back to earn the tie, then the lead, eventually winning 4-2. That forces a rubber game tomorrow.

On the Mound:
Keuchel looked good to start the game, retiring Yunel Escobar on a grounder to second, and getting Kole Calhoun on a soft pop up to third base.  But that brought up Mike Trout, and he worked the count to 2-2 before getting a pitch away and mid-thigh.  The RF power-ally was not enough to hold the drive - it only just got out, but it was enough.  That tied the game and brought up Albert Pujols, and he also worked the count full before hammering out out to the LF power-alley to take the lead.  The pitch was meant to be an inside fastball, but Keuchel missed down and arm-side, and the result was a pitch low in the strike zone but over the middle of the plate.  Pujols entered the game hitting a Valbeuna-esque .219/.298/.404, but hell, against the Astros he seems to hit 1.000/1.000/4.000, so of course he homered to extend his record as the player who owns the most career home runs against the Astros (now 52).

A leadoff single by Giavotella was stranded at second because ex-Stro Gregorio Petit went down on a back-foot slider, Pérez grounded to second (advancing the runner) and Shane Robinson grounded back to the mound.  At this point, Keuchel was struggling to keep his pitches down a little, and missing arm-side a little as well, but he opened the third locating a little better, retiring Escobar and Calhoun, before getting Trout on a pop-up behind first base on a changeup off the plate, down and away.  Keuchel retired the side in order in the fourth inning, all on balls caught, one of which was a line-drive off the bat of Albert Pujols.  The 7-8-9 hitters were retired in order in the fifth, two on strikeouts.  Keuchel - after a rough first frame, had settled into a bit of a groove.

So Keuchel opened the sixth frame with a lead, and the top of the order up for the third time.  Yunel Escobar was leading off the frame, and he was tossed on a 1-2 count for showing up the home-plate ump.  Caleb Cowart was the poor bench guy who had to face Keuchel with two strikes already on him, and he struck out on the most unenthusiastic swing ever against a back-foot slider.  Calhoun followed with a grounder, and Mike Trout went down foul-tipping a high fastball.

With the solo home runs in the first inning a rapidly fading memory, Keuchel was given the opportunity to pitch to bottom of the seventh.  He didn't disappoint, getting a couple of groundouts to third base and a grounder back to the mound to retire the side in order.  That quietly ran his batters-retired streak to 18 at this point, and left him at 106 pitches for the night, so he handed over to the 'pen to open the eighth.

And the man from the 'pen was Pat Neshek, who got the bottom of the order - all righties.  Neshek, entering the night, had a 0.061 opponent average against righties, was a solid choice for this part of the game, and he didn't disappoint, setting down the only two batters he faced.  When Mike Scioscia pinch hit for Shane Robinson with the lefty Ortega, Kinch countered by calling on Tony Sipp, and he did his bit by striking out Ortega.

The left Gregerson to complete the save, and two groundouts back to the mound made it look good early.  Mike Trout grounded out just past the mound to end the game (to short), and that meant the last 24 Angels hitters were retired in order - another solid night from a resurgent Astros pitching staff (aside from one lone inning last night).

At the Plate:
The Astros set their offense to "efficient" for a rare occasion on the season to open the game.  George Springer saw five pitches before he doubled down the LF line on a breaking-pitch down-and-away, Jose Altuve moved him up to third base on a CF warning-track flyout, then Carlos Correa slashed an elevated 1-2 pitch the other way to score Springer on a grounder to second.  Correa looked like he was trying to direct the ball that way, and the result was scoring a runner from third with less than two outs.  Miracle!  Evan Gattis finished the frame by striking out looking on a pitch just off the plate away.

Jered Weaver faced the minimum in the second, despite a perfect Luis Valbeuna bunt to lead off the inning.  Colin Moran grounded into a perfect 6-3 double-play, and Jason Castro hit a hard-liner to RF to end the frame.  Some two-out action in the third - Marisnick and Kemp were both retired on fly-balls into the outfield before George Springer dumped an end-of-the-bat bloop into LF for a single, and José Altuve walked on four pitches before Carlos Correa hammered a hard line drive that Gregorio Petit at short leapt and snatched out of the air to end the frame.  Petit clearly no longer wants a job in the Astros organisation.  

The fourth inning was remarkable for Jered Weaver exploiting the generous glove-side strike zone of Vic Carapazza.  Colin Moran recorded the final out of the frame on a hard drive right down the throat of the RF Calhoun - Moran looks to have solid bat control, and looks like a candidate to take advantage of a shift, much like he did (twice) yesterday.  He stung this pitch, but placed it poorly in the outfield.  

In the fifth inning, Handsome Jake (2-4) reached on an infield single to the right side, and stole second with Tony Kemp (0-3, BB) at the plate (who subsequently walked).  That turned the lineup over and brought up George Springer for his third look at Jered Weaver on the night, and he singled through the 5.5 hole to load the bases for José Altuve.  Altuve responded by hitting a high fly ball just short of the warning track that advanced both Kemp and Marisnick, levelling the scores at twos.  Correa (0-4) was the final out of the inning on an end-of-the-bat bloop down the RF that Calhoun made a running play on.

The Astros took the lead in the sixth frame.  Evan Gattis (0-3) led off by being hit by a pitch.  Truthfully, I think he leaned into it a little, and he was probably reassured by the idea that Weaver's pitch was not going to leave a bruise.  Luis Valbuena joined Gattis on base with a five-pitch walk, and Colin Moran followed by slashing at the first pitch he saw, grounding it to second for a 4-6-3 double play.  The wisdom of going after the first pitch when the opposing pitcher seems to be struggling with command is debatable.  But that brought up Castro, and with a 2-2 count, he saw a fastball down in a zone but in the middle of the plate.  He hammered it, with the ball landing on the batter's eye in dead CF, scoring Gattis and pulling the Astros ahead 4-2.

A José Altuve single with two outs in the seventh was the only action against Angels reliever, Mike Morin.  Altuve (1-2, BB, SF) singled through the 5.5 hole on a high, inside fastball - Morin promptly got his revenge by picking Altuve off first with Correa in a two-strike count.  Morin stayed on to retire the first two hitters in the top of the eighth, before Mike Sciascia opted to head to the 'pen for some lefty-on-lefty violence.  Luis Valbuena was having none of that, so he responded by dumping a single into the LF gap, and Hinch countered by pinch-hitting MarGo (0-1) for Colin Moran.  MarGo struck out for the final out.

Lefty Jose Álvarez stayed on for the ninth frame, and he retired Jason Castro (1-4, HR) on strikeout looking on a ball that was a great pitch, but out of the zone.  Handsome Jake followed by dumping an end-of-the-bat single into LF on a changeup down-and-away, but he was erased on a fielder's choice off the bat of Tony Kemp.  Springer grounded out to end the frame.

Turning Point:
Jason Castro on Jered Weaver, game tied at twos.  Fifth pitch of the at-bat, 1-2 count.  Castro has been good in May, but poor in the last few days, chasing balls off the plate again.  Weaver tried to bust Castro down and in, the ball leaked arm-side over the middle of the plate, and Castro hammered it to the batting eye for the decisive blow of the game.

Man of the Match:
... is co-awarded to the two best standout performers, with a nod to the abovementioned Jason Castro.  George Springer went 3-5 with a double, raising his batting line to .274/.364/.492.  Luis Valbuena continued his hot form, going 2-3 with a walk.  OBP is king, and any time you can get on base three times in a game, that is worthy of MoTM consideration.

Dallas Keuchel bounced back well, too, after a rough start.

Goat of the Game:
Colin Moran went 0-3, grounded into two double-plays, and nearly killed one rally (which was saved by the offensive awesomeness of Jason Castro).

On the Morrow:
Rubber match against the Angels

Doug Fister (4-3, 4.12) versus Nick Tropeano (3-2, 2.68)

3:30 Eastern, 2:30 Central