Saturday, September 19, 2020

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros squandered away yet another game, loading the bases with nobody out in the 1st before striking out three straight times to end the threat. It's maddening, really. Houston was up 2-0, then down 3-2, tied 3-3, and finally lost 6-3. To Arizona. The Astros are 25-26. Houston is 6-11 in September. Oakland won, and Seattle lost, so the Astros are 7.0 back of the A's with nine to play, and still three up on Seattle. The Astros have the 17th-best win% in MLB! I thought I was maybe four years away from saying this, but I just don't think the Astros are very good. 

*Dusty, on the 1st inning:

That was real frustrating, especially to go down twice looking and once swinging. It's real frustrating. We could have blown the game open and maybe gotten him out of the game in the first inning, and the only run we scored was on a wild pitch. Yeah, it was real frustrating for all of us.

Indeed. Asked if the Astros have just given up, Dusty:

We didn't check out. That's the wrong choice of words. It might have looked like that, but there's no way that that's possible.

*The Astros were 2x10 w/RISP. 

2020 w/RISP: .268/.354/.426

2019 w/RISP: .268/.353/.504

Interestingly, the rest of the AL, 2020 w/RISP: .250/.340/.424

*Zack Greinke: 5IP, 6H/3ER, 9K:0BB.

*Jose Altuve had a double and a walk, the second time in the last three games in which he has gotten on base twice in a game. It was his first extra-base hit since August 22. 

*Alex Bregman was 0x4. Since returning from the IL with a hamstring strain, Bregman is hitting .179/.250/.303.

*Kyle Tucker got his 40th RBI of the season in the team's 51st game.

*Justin Verlander will throw another simulated game on Monday. 

*Bread Peacock was placed on the IL with shoulder discomfort - the same one that has been bothering him since last season, and won't pitch in any potential postseason. Peacock is a free agent after this season, so his time in Houston is likely done. Peacock was the last Astros tie to the trade with Oakland that brought him, Chris Carter, and Max Stassi to Houston in exchange for Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. An OG Astro dating back to 2013, if Peacock is done with the Astros then he'll go down as a 32-30 pitcher with a 4.08 ERA / 1.30 WHIP. Except that's not really the whole story. 

From 2016-2018, Peacock appeared in 105 games in both the rotation (27 starts) and the bullpen (30 games finished) and went 16-8 with a 3.23 ERA / 1.17 WHIP. He struck out 11.2 batters/9 in those years. Peacock got the save after throwing 3.2 scoreless IP in Game 3 of the 2017 World Series, striking out four and walking just one. Peacock also saved Game 7 when Lance McCullers got pulled in the 3rd Inning and Peacock threw 2IP, 1H/0ER, 2K:1BB to bridge it to Liriano (who else amongst us completely forgot that Francisco Liriano pitched in Game 7) and Devenski to get through the 5th, before Charlie F. Morton finished off the last four innings. God bless Bread Peacock.

Blake Taylor was activated from the IL to take his place. 

*Jake Kaplan: Should the Astros make the playoffs, who should start Game 3?

*Friend of Astros County Daren Willman: The Astros make a ton of contact, it's just mostly not good contact.

*A fun story from 2018: Does Greinke yell "Swing!" when he pitches?

*The White Sox called up their 1st Round pick from the 2020 draft.

*New York Magazine: Injured? Bruised egos, gobs of money, and the bitter feud that took down Cellino & Barnes, New York's absurdly ubiquitous accident law firm.

*There's a tricky time trial in today's stage of the Tour de France, the penultimate stage of the 2020 Tour.

*Continuing the European Sprots, Leeds United plays Fulham at 9am today. 

*A Musical Selection: