Just overran it. I put my head down trying to make up some ground. By the time I looked up, it was past me. It's on me.
— All we are is Dustin Nguyen (@itsdtrain) April 8, 2018
Alex Bregman's walk off hit... 83 MPH at a 78 degree launch angle. 0% hit probability.— Daren Willman (@darenw) April 8, 2018
Catcher A.J. Ellis:
It was in that no-man's land. In hindsight, I should have more aggressively went for it and gave us another option out there. I put Hos in a bad position having to run full speed. Definitely something I should have went for, been out there in the mix. No excuse.
Bregman:
That's one of the good things about this team - we don't take anything for granted. (Fisher) was busting his butt from second base. He could have easily jogged and said whatever, but that's not how we play here.
The last 1-0 win was September 12, 2017 at Anaheim. The last extra-innings shutout was May 30, 2010, a 2-0 win at Cincinnati.
*Gerrit Cole: 7IP, 5H/0ER, 11K:0BB. Cole:
It feels good. It feels good to be able to contribute, eat innings, provide some rest for the bullpen.
Hinch:
I love the way that he thinks through the game and also executes the game plan. If he doesn't like a pitch, he stepped off a couple of times. He's just a very, very impressive, high-end starting pitcher. That makes us feel good when he gets the ball. We feel completely in control of the game.
Gerrit Cole's 78 Game Score is the highest for an Astros pitcher since Gerrit Cole recorded a 77 in his first start. The Astros have three starts this season with a Game Score of 70+. The 2017 Astros recorded 19 starts with a Game Score of 70+. Cole's 22 strikeouts in his first two starts sets a franchise record for strikeouts in two debut starts.
Cole's 10+ K starts with Pittsburgh: 6 in 127 starts.
Cole's 10+ K starts with Houston: 2 in 2 starts.
*Astros pitchers have thrown 19IP, 19H/1ER, 25K:4BB against the Padres.
*After going six straight games without a GIDP as a team, Carlos Correa went 0x4 with 2 GIDPs.
*Once again the Astros were held without an extra-base hit. As I noted yesterday, the Astros had two games all last season without an extra-base hit. This is the first time they've gone back-to-back without one since May 7-8, 2015. They had 27 extra-base hits in their first six games, and one in their last three. They're 2-1 in those games.
*Fun times: My daughter and I will be on stage at our church this morning as part of the sermon in which I am to bring a bag full of Astros gear, our preacher is bringing a bag full of Ramgers gear, and my daughter has to pick which is the Good Team and which is the Bad Team. She has been subconsciously training for this all her life.
*The Astros are in no rush to put Evan Gattis behind the plate. Hinch:
We still don't want him to be just a DH. It's just the way the games have played out. I think a lot of it has to do with Max Stassi, just his early-season performance and contributions. It's created a little less innings behind the plate.
*James Hoyt (oblique) was activated from the Disabled List and optioned to Fresno.
*FanGraphs' Rian Watt looked into eBIS and how baseball transactions actually get done.
*The Hardball Times: The physics of the home run boom.
Pre-Stros Report for games of April 7:
Fresno 15
Reno 8
Fresno (1-2) picked up their first win of the season with an offensive explosion led by Jack Mayfield's grand slam. Every Fresno player had a hit. Mayfield (2B, HR, 5RBI), Tyler White (2RBI) and Alejandro Garcia (RBI) had three hits each. A.J. Reed (2B, BB, 2RBI), Garrett Stubbs, and Jon Kemmer (HR, 2RBI) had two hits each. Tony Kemp was 1x3 with 3BB. Former Rangers reliever Neftali Feliz got lit up for 7H/6ER, in 2IP.
Frankie Tuesday made his 2018 debut and was...inefficient: 3.2IP, 6H/3ER, 6K:5BB, 51 of 87 pitches for strikes. Cy Sneed allowed 6H/4ER, 2K:2BB in 2.2IP. Brendan McCurry got the four-out save.
Corpus 8
NW Arkansas 2
Corpus (2-1) got down 1-0 and then rattled off seven unanswered runs. Top four in the lineup (Straw, Benedetti, Alvarez, Jones) went 8x17 with 4K:4BB, 5RBI. Stephen Wrenn was 3x5 with an RBI and a stolen base. Myles Straw was 2x4 with 2BB and 2SB. In this series Straw was 5x10 with 2K:6BB and five stolen bases. Carmen Benedetti was 2x4 with a walk and 3RBI; Yordan Alvarez was 2x5 with 2RBI.
Yoanys Quiala threw 5IP, 3H/1ER, 5K:3BB.
Buies Creek vs Salem postponed due to rain
Quad Cities 3
Cedar Rapids 4
Quad Cities (0-2) tied up the game in the top of the 9th but allowed the Cedar Rapids Kernels to win it on a walk-off. Jonathan Arauz and Jake Adams had two hits each. Gabriel Bracamonte was 0x1 with 3BB. The River Bandits pitching staff only allowed one earned run. Tyler Ivey threw 4.2IP, 3H/2R (1ER), 9K:2BB; Peter Solomon allowed 3H/2R (0ER), 5K:1BB in 4.1IP.
