Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

I mean, I guess as long as the Astros find ways to grind out wins, there's not much about which to complain, yes? Astros beat the Yankees 2-1, snapping their 9-game winning streak. The Astros are 5-0 against the Yankees at Minute Maid Park dating back to the beginning of the 2017 ALCS. The Astros finish April with a 20-10 record.

*Houston vs. New York, last seven games at Minute Maid Park: 7-0, outscoring the Yankees 25-5.

*Charlie Morton: 7.2IP, 2H/1ER, 10K:2BB. Hinch:
His curveball was the pitch tonight. It's the best it's been, I think, all year. That's saying a lot, given he was arguably one of the best pitchers in the American League. Everything he does starts with his breaking ball, and when he has that going - we know he has 96-99 in the tank - it's a tough combination when he's landing his breaking ball for a strike.

Stanton, on Morton:
He's throwing five to eight miles an hour harder than when I saw him last. You do that and mix your pitches, it's going to be a nice little battle.


*23 outs is CFM's longest outing since May 6, 2014 when he got 24 outs against the Giants.

*Get you a Charlie Freakin' Morton shirt.

*Ken Giles struck out the side on 13 pitches in the 9th. Giles:
Overall, everybody was amped up about this series. It's a great team we were facing, and it brings back a lot of memories. We want to prove a point. We want to make a statement that we're the team to beat and you've got to come past us first.

When you put me in a spot and you put me up to a great challenge, I'm always up for the task. It's a great adrenaline rush for me....All I care about is I'm trending the right way, and all the hard work I've been doing between games, and all my learning experiences, I'm finally putting them to use.

*Gregorius-Stanton-Sanchez-Hicks: 0x15, 10K:1BB.

*The Astros were 1x9 w/RISP.

*Altuve's hit last night gave him 1,291 career hits - 8th on the Astros' all-time list. 66 more and he catches Terry Puhl.

*Brian T. Smith writes that the starting rotation has one thing in common: Brian McCann.

*A.J. Hinch and Aaron Boone have a bond that goes back to college. Jake Kaplan has further color in The Athletic.

*Jake Kaplan also writes about how righty Chris Devenski has become the Astros' lefty specialist.

*George Springer hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a refurbished field.

*David Paulino made his 2018 debut last night for Fresno, going 3IP, 4H/3R (2ER), 5K:2BB. The Grizzlies won 11-4. Kyle Tucker was 3x4 with two doubles, a walk, and 3RBI. He's 15x43 (.349) in his last ten games, and has back-to-back 3-hit games.

*The Dodgers' Corey Seager is out for the year.

*I, a chubby, love to run. I'd rather run than lift weights (they're heavy) and I've always wanted to run a marathon - something I'm currently working on doing. Well, not currently, but you know what I mean. But there's no way I'm going to try the Barkley Marathons. Read this article, then check out the documentary on Netflix.