Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Okay, Astros...you have ten games to figure it out. Houston lost. At home. Again. Theyre 84-68, a ridiculously stupid 38-39 at home. The Rangers and Mariners both won. Idiots. Houston has lost 10 of their last 13 games at home.

*AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore (95-56)

2. Houston (84-68)

3. Minnesota (80-72)

4. Tampa (93-59)

5. Toronto (84-67)

6. Coppell (83-68)

7. Seattle (83-68)

*AL West Odds

FanGraphs:

Houston: 51.8%

Seattle: 30.2%

Coppell: 18.0%

*Postseason Odds. Three of the following will make the playoffs:

Houston: 89.6%

Toronto: 82.7%

Coppell: 64.9%

Seattle: 62.7%

The Game

*What a nightmare. The Astros never had the lead, losing 2-0, tied 2-2, losing 5-2, 5-3, 7-3, 7-5, 9-5. Houston was 2x12 with runners in scoring position. 

*Houston has lost six of their last eight games, and 14 of their last 19 home games. This is guaranteed to be the Astros' worst home record since 2014. Dusty:

I've got concern, but concern is not going to solve the issue. We've got four more games here, and we're going to have to figure it out. I don't know exactly what it is. We've tried to put our finger on it. 

Well I mean it's only been 77 games at home so far this season. That's a lot of fingering. 

*It's the Astros 83rd game in 2023 in which they've scored 5+ runs. They're 69-14 in those games. 

*It's the second time in 2023 that Houston hit 3+ home runs and lost. 

*Kyle Tucker hit his 28th home run of the season and now has an AL-leading (and career high) 108 RBI. With 28 steals, he needs two more homers and two steals to join the 30/30 Club.

*Alex Bregman hit his 24th home run of the season - his highest HR total since hitting 41 in 2019. Bregman, on the 2023 Astros:

It's a good league. You better show up and do it or you're not going to get the results you want and you're going to be sitting on your ass in October instead of playing. It comes down to doing it, that's it.

*Jose Altuve was 2x4 to collect his 100th hit of the season. It's his 4th straight multi-hit game, he's slashing .474/.500/.842. The Astros are 1-3 in these games.

*Yordan Alvarez had back-to-back hitless game for the first time since May 31-June 1. 

*Baltimore put up 10 hits, a night after racking up 16 hits. It's the first time the pitching staff has allowed back-to-back double-digit hit games since doing it in four straight between August 19-22. 

*Mid-Town Hunter Brown: 5.1IP, 6H/7ER, 5K:2BB (although Phil Maton allowed two inherited runners to score).

Brown, since the All-Star Break: 12 games, 57.2IP, 59H/39ER, 63K:20BB, 13HR. 6.09 ERA / 1.37 WHIP. 

It's his 3rd start with a Game Score under 40 in his last five starts. Brown:

I thought they spoiled some really good pitches. And then they made me pay for the mistakes that I made tonight. I think that was probably the biggest difference, you know?

Yes. I do know.

*Shoutout to Bennett Sousa, appearing in his second game as an Astro: 1.2IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:0BB.

*Phil Cuzzi was throwing people out last night.

*Michael Brantley didn't play for a second straight day due to being "a little sore."

*Cool story from Chandler re: Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Astros Manager-in-Waiting Joe Espada.

*FanGraphs: J.P. France embraces his inner updog underdog.

*ESPN says that "staying afloat" is the Astros' biggest success in 2023, while Jose Abreu was the biggest failure.

*Will Wagner - Billy's son (how am I just now finding this out?) got promoted to Sugar Land and went 2x4 with a double last night in his Triple-A debut.

*Cavan Biggio is stepping up for Toronto.

*The New Yorker: The Rock Stars Singing About Shohei Ohtani

*What To Watch, September 20:

FC Union Berlin @ Real Madrid: 11:45am Central

Red Sox @ Rangers: 1:05pm 

Orioles @ Astros: 1:10pm

Leeds United @ Hull: 1:45pm

PSV Eindhoven @ Arsenal: 2pm

Manchester United @ Bayern Munich: 2pm

Mariners @ A's: 2:37pm

Blue Jays @ Yankees: 6:05pm

Vancouver @ Houston Dynamo: 7:30pm

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Well that was less than ideal. The Astros took an improbable lead into the middle of the 9th and then Roberto Osuna gave it right back. More on him in a minute. The Astros' eight-game winning streak has been snapped. The Away Runs mean that Houston advances to play Chicago tomorrow, on aggregate. Houston is 77-41. There are 44 regular season games left. Oakland, Anaheim, and East Thurber all won. Houston's lead is an even ten games. They have won 18 of their last 22 games.

The Astros looked flat, which I guess can happen about 14 hours after you put 23 on a team.

Former Astros Greats did the damage on Sunday:
-Asher Wojciechowski: 6IP, 4H/3ER, 5K:3BB
-Jonathan Villar: 3x4 with a walk and a run scored.
-Rio Ruiz: 2x5, 2-run walkoff homer.

Good for all those guys, to be honest. It's been a hard year for Baltimore, and they had success the afternoon after getting absolutely trounced. If it gives them and their fans some happiness, then so be it. How many times from 2011-2013 did the Astros win a game they might not have been expected to win, and it just made us a little nicer to those around us?

*Hinch:
That was a winnable game. We didn't put probably enough pressure on them in enough innings. The big innings that we did have kind of put us in position to win the game.

*Justin Verlander was...decent. 5IP, 9H/4ER, 11K:1BB.

The strikeouts were there and should absolutely be acknowledged. He has 217 strikeouts this season, nine behind Gerrit Cole. The nine hits Verlander gave up are the most he has given up in a game since July 28, 2018 in a cursed loss to the Ramgers. Verlander:
When you're playing great baseball it seems like the losses even hurt that much more. We put ourselves in a position to win; our guys did a fantastic job battling back. Just one pitch early in the game, a couple pitches that I made that were mistakes. But I think sometimes you've got to look at the bigger picture and understand that we're playing good baseball. Don't let this be too much of a Debbie Downer.

Verlander also has 10+ strikeouts in five straight starts, setting a career-high (he had a streak of four in 2018). He joins Randy Johnson (Aug 28-Sept 18, 1998) and J.R. Richard (Sept 16, 1979-Apr 10, 1980) as the only Astros pitchers to strike out ten or more batters in five straight games. They each had 63K in their five starts. Verlander comes in at a scrub-level 57K in his five-start streak.

*Roberto Osuna. Hm. 0.2IP, 2H/3ER, 1K, 1HBP. The HBP to Chance Sisco (his 2nd HBP of the game, by the by. The Astros have hit the same guy twice in a game only one other time this season - Tampa's Joey Wendle, in the season opener).

Anyway, Osuna's HBP was the game-tying run, followed by Rio Ruiz who trotted across the plate after the walk-off, his 2nd home run in as many days against the Astros.

Maybe Osuna was protecting Bregman, who got drilled in the top of the back earlier in the game. But Osuna's had a rough go of it lately.

Osuna, beginning of season to May 24: 22.1IP, 8H/2ER, 21K:2BB, 0.81 ERA / 0.44 WHIP.
Osuna, May 25 - right this minute: 25IP, 27H/14ER, 28K:6BB, 5.04 ERA / 1.32 WHIP.
Osuna, since the All-Star Break: 10IP, 12H/8ER, 10K:2BB, 7.20 ERA / 1.40 WHIP.

Maybe it's regression, maybe his finger is off by a hot millimeter in his delivery. Intentional, or not, that HBP to Sisco was freaking stupid. It was more stupid than allowing the home run to Ruiz. Chance Sisco is the #7 hitter on a team 39 games under .500. He has a .734 OPS. There is no reason to try to be too fine with your pitch. There is no reason to hit him, even if it is to send a message. You won't see the Orioles again until 2020, so what message are you actually trying to send? Don't put an Astro on base? I think the rest of the league knows that. FOH, Osuna. Figure your crap out. Hinch even said: why would [they] hit someone in a 2-run game?

For what it's worth, Osuna said the HBP wasn't intentional:
Absolutely not. Like I said, I didn't have the stuff. I was wild. I missed a lot of pitches. Most of them were (not) in the location I wanted...It was one of those days.

-Jace Peterson hit a 1st-pitch double.
-Richie Martin got a 1-1 ground out in which Osuna's 1st pitch was a ball
-Chance Sisco took the 1-0 HBP
-Chris Davis hit a 1-0 sac fly
-Rio Ruiz started off 2-0, Osuna got him back to 2-2 before Ruiz fouled off two pitches and deposited the 7th pitch onto Eutaw Street.

Officially, Osuna threw a 1st-pitch strike to exactly zero of the five batters he faced. Osuna:
The guys did a great job coming back and get the lead and expected me to get the job done. Not being able to do that, it's a bad day.

Chirinos:
I'd say we went too many changeups there. That could be my fault. I thought we were going to get swing and miss against the changeup. Last one, it was more like middle in, and [Ruiz] put a good swing.

*Will Harris threw a perfect inning, and hasn't allowed a hit since July 26, 4.1IP, 0H/0ER, 5K:1BB. His ERA is 1.64. 136 relievers have thrown at least 40IP in MLB this season. Harris' ERA is the 4th-lowest of them all. Pressly's 1.99 ERA is 9th.

*Astros pitchers struck out 16 Orioles. It's the 64th game in which the pitching staff has gotten 10+ Ks. It's the 8th with 16+. This is insane.

*George Springer went 3x5 - his first 3-hit game since August 2. He had four hits in his previous five games combined.

*Carlos Correa hit another home run. It's the first time he's hit home runs in consecutive games since May 5-6. He has six home runs since returning from the IL.

*Alex Bregman was 0x2, but with 0K:2BB. He has struck out once in his last 43 PAs, going 30 PAs without a strikeout. His last strikeout was on August 2.

*Brad Peacock threw 0.1IP, 1H/0ER, 1K:1BB Saturday night for Round Rock, and told Hinch that it's "the best he's felt since he's been back on the mound."

*The Astros are not ruling out Forrest Whitley's 2019 Houston debut. Luhnow:
He would have to prove to us in August that he could help us, which is a high bar (because) he's not currently on the (40-man) roster. But I'm not going to rule it out, that's for sure.

Whitley, Saturday night: 3.2IP, 2H/3ER, 5K:5BB, 2HBP, 42 of 82 pitches for strikes.

*Baseball America: How do scouts evaluate Triple-A raw power given the bunny ball that is getting thrown there?

*Mental Floss: Whatever happened to the eight things that terrified us in the 1990s?

*Drew Magary: You're not sticking to sports when you Stick To Sports.

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

The Astros curb-stomped the Orioles. It was fun at first. Then I felt badly about the damage done to those 25 Orioles, to the actual structure of Camden Yards. This game was so one-sided that I wanted it to just end. Do what my alma mater did to A&M in 2003 (I was there) and just bunt for the last five innings. It was depressing. But the Astros were in the same position from 2011-2013. Still, I take no pleasure in announcing that the 77-40 Astros did, in fact, do it again. They beat Baltimore 23-2. Every other AL West team lost. Houston is 11 games up on Oakland. There are 45 regular season games remaining.

The win gives the Astros the best record in baseball by percentage points (.658 to the Dodgers' .655). They have a one-game lead on New York for the best record in the AL.

The Astros won their 34th away game of the season. The Orioles have half as many home wins (17, if you want to check my math).

Houston has won eight in a row, 11 of their last 12, and 18 of their last 21 games.

Houston runs vs. Baltimore in four games before last night: 12 (3-1)
Houston runs vs. Baltimore last night: 23

Hinch:
It was obviously a pretty explosive night from the beginning. From top to bottom just incredible at-bats, productive at-bats, explosive at-bats and ultimately a comfortable win.

Altuve:
It's really hard to explain what happened today.

*The Astros have scored 20+ runs in a single solitary game only once before in franchise history: October 2, 2015 against Arizona.

It was the first 20-run margin game in franchise history. The previous high for margin of victory was 18 runs, in a 19-1 win over Toronto on July 9, 2017.

The 25 hits tie a franchise record, set twice in 1976 (May 30 and July 2). It's the 24th time in franchise history they've recorded 20+ hits.

*On September 9, 2000 the Astros recorded 11 extra-base hits (four doubles, seven homers) in a 14-4 win against the Cubs. Last night the Astros set a franchise record with 13 extra-base hits (seven doubles, six home runs).

*It's the 6th time in Orioles history they've allowed 20+ runs, and the most since West Forney beat them 30-3 on August 22, 2007.

*17 of the Astros runs came with two outs.

*Yordan hit three home runs, his 15th-17th home runs of the year. He's the first Astro to hit three home runs in a game since Carlos Lee did it on April 13, 2007. Yordan joins Astros lore as one of ten Astros to hit 3HR in a game. He joins Carlos Lee, Morgan Ensberg, Richard Hidalgo, Lance Berkman, Vinny Castilla, Jeff Bagwell (three times), Glenn Davis (twice), Lee May, and Jimmy Wynn.

Yordan has an OPS of 1.175. It's the 3rd time this season an MLB player has had 3HR/7RBI in the same game (Josh Bell, Christian Yelich). He has now caught Brandon Lowe and Mike Tauchman on the AL Rookie fWAR leaderboard. All three have posted 2.5 fWAR.

Games played:
Yordan: 45
Tauchman: 64
Lowe: 76

Yordan has already posted the 10th-highest fWAR by an Astros rookie in franchise history, joining Luke Scott for 10th. Again, Yordan has played in 45 games. The record is 4.9 fWAR, set by Joe Morgan and Bill Doran.

Yordan just became the quickest player in MLB history to post 50 RBI, beating Joe Freaking DiMaggio by one game. Joe DiMaggio. Yordan has 51 RBI in his first 45 games, breaking Ted Williams' 1939 record for most RBI in his first 45 games (Williams had 47).

Aaron Sanchez, on Yordan:
Yordan is special, watching from afar. And now I get to see him every night...To follow this guy's career is going to be something special, for sure.

Yordan:
When something goes well for one of us, it goes well for all of us.

The Astros came into last Wednesday having had six instances of a player recording 7+ RBI in franchise history. Between Yuli and Yordan, they've gotten two more in the last four days.

*Altuve hit his 20th home run. It's his third season with 20+ HR, and his previous career high was 24, set in 2016 and 2017.

*Carlos Correa - the Astros' #6 hitter (let that sink in) - hit the longest home run that anyone who regularly goes to Camden Yards can remember. Statcast says it went 474' - his career-longest. Devenski:
A few guys scattered to try and catch it. Then we realized it was going way over us.

*Gurriel got the 4th 4-hit game of his career. Since June 9, Gurriel: .359/.395/.733.

*Bregman's heating up. After going hitless in four straight games from July 22-26, Bregman is hitting .439/.511/.829 in his last eleven games, including a six-game hitting streak in which he has 12 hits.

*Aaron Sanchez pitched well, though you may have forgotten the Orioles even held a bat. 5IP, 3H/1ER, 6K:3BB. Sanchez's last four starts: 21.2IP, 14H/6ER, 28K:5BB, 2.49 ERA / 0.88 WHIP.

*Check this MLB.com story on how Hinch manages a lefty-less bullpen. Hinch, on Will Harris:
I trust him as much as I trust anybody in my managerial career so far. He's been really good for us over the last five years or so.

Harris, 2012-2014: 99.1IP, 104H/47ER, 107K:30BB, 4.26 ERA / 1.35 WHIP.
Harris, 2015-2019: 280IP, 215H/76ER, 292K:69BB, 2.44 ERA / 1.01 WHIP.

*Gerrit Cole, on his impending free agency:
If I'm just being honest with you, we hold each other accountable so well here to stay focused on what we've got to do. When we get a guy like Greinke, my mind goes to being better equipped to win the World Series. I kind of leave the financial stuff for another day. We'll see how free agency plays out and see how it goes.

*The Astros plan to continue to develop Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez at 1B. Luhnow:
We'd like that to be options for next year. It would be helpful if both of those guys were playable at first base, it gives A.J. some more options and gives us several more options in trying to form the team next year.

On Tucker, specifically:
I'm impressed by how he has just continued to go out there, compete, and played well. He hasn't had his agent call me, ask 'When am I getting called up?' He knows our situation our situation. He knows this team is playing well and we have a full outfield. He also knows September is right around the corner.

Tucker was 1x4 with a strikeout and played 1B in a 13-3 loss to Albuquerque last night. Abraham Toro was 2x4 and has a 1.144 OPS in his first eight games at Round Rock.

*Jeff Luhnow commented on Reymin Guduan's season-long suspension in that it ends when the minor-league season ended. Guduan was suspended for violating team policy and it broke early last week. I don't know what Guduan did (the couple of Sources I have weren't talking) but I can't imagine that getting suspended for the final month of the season and it not being PED-related or domestic violence-related is the result of a good thing. I also can't imagine that Guduan would be brought up for mop-up innings in September in Houston when they won't let him get mop-up innings in August in Round Rock.

*The Astros released Akeem Bostick yesterday. Brought over from Aren'tlington in the 2015 Carlos Corporan trade, Bostick has a career 4.62 ERA / 1.40 WHIP in seven minor-league seasons. He got two seasons at Triple-A (one in Fresno - granted, for only 5IP - and one in Round Rock) and in 85.1IP allowed 103H/69ER, 81K:44BB, for a 7.28 ERA / 1.72 WHIP. Guess RamgerFan69 won that trade.

*I don't know what's crazier: that Mike Trout just turned 28 or that, with a home run at Fenway last night, he has now homered in every single AL ballpark, or that it took him 22 career games at Fenway to hit a home run.

Related, the number of AL ballparks in which the Astros have hit a home run:
Springer: 15. Haha Springer > Trout.
Altuve: 15. Haha Springer and Altuve > Trout.
Bregman: 15. Haha Springer and Altuve and Bregman > Trout.
Correa: 15. Haha-
Reddick: 15. Hah-
Brantley: 13
Gurriel: 10
Yordan: 4

*NY Post: Brodie Van Wagenen's trade for J.D. Davis is looking like a winner. In 100 games for New York, Davis is hitting .308/.373/.525.

Apropos of nothing: Tyler White is 1x21 with the Dodgers, hitting .048/.200/.048. Since the Astros traded White on July 25 Houston is hitting .310/.380/.589 as a team.

*The 1994 Strike went into effect 25 years ago today. From Yahoo: August 11, 1994: Scenes from a lost MLB season.

*The Illegal Ramen Vendors of Post-War Tokyo.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros played a team formerly in the Major Leagues in Baltimore last night, and beat them 3-2. Houston is 76-40. Oakland won because Oakland doesn't lose, so the Astros' lead remains at 10.0 games. The Angels, Rangers, and Mariners all lost. There are 46 regular season games remaining. Fifteen of those games come against teams currently over .500.

If you imagine a world in which the Astros aren't 9-2 against Oakland, and Oakland isn't 2-9 against Houston, the standings are:

Houston: 67-38
Oakland: 64-41

That world does not exist.

*The Astros improved to 14-10 against the AL East this season.

*Wade Miley did a job last night, against a team that is highly reminiscent of the 2011 Astros in that they're 3-4 years away from anything resembling relevance. God bless Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal for willingly deciding to do That again. Miley: 5.2IP, 5H/1ER, 4K:2BB.

The Astros are 17-7 when Wade Miley starts. Number of starts with the following earned runs:

4: 2
3: 6
2: 8
1: 5
0: 3

Yep. In 24 starts, Wade Miley has allowed 4ER just twice.

Miley's 5.2IP, 5H/1ER performance put his ERA at 2.99. The Astros have three starting pitchers with an ERA under 3.00. And Zack Greinke.

Miley:
I was pretty wild out there early. I don't think it was until the fifth inning where I finally started commanding it where I wanted it to, but I was able to make pitches.

Hinch:
It was probably his worst command that he's had in recent memory, and yet he still pitched very well and got to the sixth inning.

Butt how? pic.twitter.com/IYOsrlq6JF

— MLB (@MLB) August 10, 2019

*Joe Smith allowed a solo home run, his first earned run of the season.

*Dylan Bundy had a nice start for Baltimore, allowing 6H/2ER, 6K:1BB in 6IP.

*Bundy vs. 2019 Astros:  12IP, 9H/4ER, 12K:2BB, 3.00 ERA / 0.92 WHIP
Bundy vs Everyone Else: 102.1IP, 106H/60ER, 106K:37BB, 5.26 ERA / 1.39 WHIP.

*MLB.com says the Astros left 16 men on base. That would be the most LOBsters since the last game before the All-Star Break, when the Astros left 16 on base against Anaheim. Houston was 2x13 w/RISP against the now-38-77 Orioles.

*It was the first time since July 23 that Orioles pitchers did not give up a home run.

*Jose Altuve got his 30th multi-hit game of the season.

Multi-hit games, pre-injury: 10 (in 39 games)
Multi-hit games, post injury: 20 (in 41 games)

*Robinson Chirinos snapped a three-game hitless streak (0x11, 6K:0BB).

*A.J. Hinch says that Josh Reddick - is in no danger of losing playing time. Hinch:
I always go to pitch selection or I'll go to a little bit of how hard he swings and how hard he chases hits. He's not using the opposite field as much. There's little things that he could do that he hasn't done for the last month or so. He's not in any danger of losing playing time. I'm comfortable with him as a real threat and I expect him to finish the season really well.

Tyler White's OPS, with Houston: .650
Josh Reddick's OPS, w/Houston: .710

On May 25 Reddick was hitting .333/.386/.455 for an .840 OPS.
Since (232 PAs), Reddick is "hitting" .223/.255/.353, a .609 OPS.

*Mike Petriello writes about the chances of the Astros becoming the 2nd team ever to lead the League in Hitting K% and Pitching K%. 36 teams in MLB history have been in the Top 3 of both categories. The 2017 Astros and the 2018 Astros are two of those 36 teams.

*Brent Strom was released from the hospital, participated in team meetings, but won't join the Astros in Baltimore or Chicago.

*Ryan Pressly was activated from the IL, and Garrett Stubbs was optioned back to Triple-A. Need to get me a Stubbs "Stubbs" Players Weekend jersey ASAP.

*Chandler Rome: Yuli Gurriel's hot streak was sparked by his older brother. Rome:
In Miami this offseason, Yuniesky approached Yuli with an unorthodox idea involving weighted balls. Yuniesky thought flipping them in the batting cage would improve his brothers' strength and hard-contact contact. Yuli had never tried the tactic but, ultimately, decided to give it a shot.

*Our own Brian Arbour reminds us to enjoy this run the Astros are on.

*Here's your first Gerrit Cole-to-Anaheim hot rumor of the next eight months.

*Here's Hunter Atkins doing the Good Work: J.R. Towles was at Yuli's 8RBI game. Atkins:
A 35-year old married father of two working construction and living an hour north of Houston, Towles gets to say he is a former major-leaguer. Because of Gurriel, he was a swing away from being a former record-holder.

This is a really, really great story which is poignant and sad. God bless J.R. Towles.

*MLB's home run surge has pitchers scrambling and confused.

*Standings Craziness:

In the AL Central: Minnesota and Cleveland are tied for the lead. The Twins are 14-13 since the All-Star Break. Cleveland is 20-8.
In the NL: Five teams (Milwaukee, St. Louis, Philadelphia, New York, and Arizona) are all within 1.5 games of second Wild Card spot.

*A day in the life of Nolan Arenado.

*Everyone knows the strike actually killed the Montreal Expos. The Astros were having a really good season, too, but Jeff Bagwell was hitting .368/.451/.750 when Andy F. Benes broke Bagwell's hand with a pitch so who knows how that would have impacted the postseason, if it had happened. Actually, it's time to rethink the Padres on our collective Most-Hated Teams list. Benes breaks Bagwell's hand. 1998 happens. Screw the Padres. Oh but the Yankees want to remind you they were really good, too. Expect a banner to go up as a result of this sluttery.

*Ken Davidoff writes that, in the wake of the Brett Gardner ejection, it's time for the umpires to show more accountability. All we needed to get calls for the escape from Umpire tyranny was for something silly to happen to a Yankee.

*Yankees GM Brian Cashman was mistaken for a car thief and the cops pulled up on him with guns drawn in Connecticut. Brian, there's only one GM who can credibly be charged with theft and that GM is Jeffrey F. Luhnow.

This concludes the Two Minutes Yankees Hate. Back to work.

*A death and life in the Bronx's opioid crisis. I broke my elbow in college. I was really overweight and decided - after watching Jackass - that the skateboard should be my primary mode of transportation. I bought a skateboard at 3pm and had broken my elbow by 3:15. My doctor gave me Vicodin. A lot of it. And he gave me more when I asked for more. I was lucky enough to escape being hopelessly addicted to it, but I got to see just how easy it is to get hooked.

*Outside: We've reached Peak Wellness. Most of it is nonsense.

*A Jordan bookseller's 24-hour 'Emergency Room for the Mind.'

*A Musical Selection:

You could put me in a room with a 12-string guitar for 100 years and I would not be able to come up with this, my favorite moment of the entire MTV Unplugged series:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Not even losing to the Orioles could ruin Annual Astros County Date Night. Go see Will Hoge in concert whenever you can. Houston is 44-22, 23-9 at home. Don't forget that even the 2013 Astros beat teams 51 times.

I didn't watch a minute of this game, but once again the Astros struggled to get anything going against a team with legitimately the worst pitching staff in all of baseball. It's a game that, if you're an Orioles fan, gives you Hope and makes you think that Baseball is actually worth it, at least for another week. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde:
Our guys have a ton of heart. We've been playing tough games and having tough losses. To play in a game like that and pull away was awesome.

Hinch:
We couldn't get anything started. We couldn't get the ball off the ground against Cashner and then we just never got the break. Yuli misses the homer by a foot and then we get doubled off.

Here's how I imagine the rest of that interview with Hinch going...

HINCH: That's a [giggles] good team over there. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other team [punches hole in wall].

*Framber Valdez pitched well: 7IP, 5H/0ER, 7K:0BB and in only 84 pitches. Good for him for giving the bullpen a rest. Valdez:
This opportunity was a privilege, and to be able to take advantage of this opportunity when it presented itself, I'm very happy about that and I want to keep doing what I'm doing.

*Reymin Guduan did not pitch well: 1IP, 1H/2ER, 2K:1BB. He has a 14.54 ERA, but it's not like it's fluky, because his FIP is 12.61. Guduan has faced 24 batters in 2019, 11 of them have reached base and have a 1.353 OPS. Don't put Reymin Guduan in any more close games.

*The "offense" had four hits - all singles. It's the fourth time this season that the Astros have not gotten an extra-base hit. They're 0-4 and have scored a total of two runs in those games. It's only the second time this season Baltimore has thrown a game in which they didn't give up an extra-base hit.

*Shoutout to Josh Reddick, one of those singles was his 1000th career hit. Here's where the rest of the Astros stand on the career hits leaderboard:

Altuve: 1454
Brantley: 1273
Springer: 699
Correa: 551
Bregman: 445
Gurriel: 408
Marisnick: 348
White: 157

This is a reminder for everyone out there who is told that they will never make it or accomplish their goals. Don’t let ANYONE tell you you’re not good enough or that you can’t do it. I’m a living example the you… https://t.co/OYJ4ObrSsn

— Mr. Irrelevant (@RealJoshReddick) June 9, 2019

*Word around the campfire is that the Astros are calling up Yordan Alvarez. The Astros don't do knee-jerk reactions, so I doubt that a listless performance against Andrew F. Cashner was the catalyst behind the call-up, but how flat the offense has been in the last few games probably played at least a small role. The move has not been confirmed, though the Astros would have to clear a spot on the 40-Man Roster. The easiest two ways to do that:

-DFA somebody.
-Transfer McCullers to the 60-Day IL.

*Jose Altuve "ran the bases vigorously" prior to yesterday's game.

*Drew Ferguson became the 2nd Round Rock player ever to get six hits in a game, in a 19-5 win over Salt Lake City. Matt Harvey sucks.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros finally beat the Oriololololes in a game that was completely stupid and unnecessary. They won, so yay, but got dang. That game was dumb. Houston is 44-21, and the lead is back to 10 games over Arlington.

*Houston has an MLB-best 23-7 record over their last 30 games. They're 9-5 vs AL East teams in 2019. (Baltimore is 9-18 vs AL East teams in 2019).

*The Astros are 4-0 in extra-innings and 12-6 in 1-run games.

*Houston won their 2nd straight extra-inning game on a Maybe slide by Gurriel after Chirinos doubled in the bottom of the 11th. Hinch:
You can't really tell did Yuli touch the plate or not. Whatever he called was going to be the play that he saw. He's the closest guy there...it's a tough play and nearly impossible to be perfect. I'm still not sure what happened, but I like the ruling.

*Gerrit Cole threw a gem: 7IP 4H/3R (1ER), 14K:0BB. The 14Ks are the second-highest of his career (16Ks vs Arizona on May 4, 2018). He got a career-high 29 swings-and-misses. More on Cole's mean streak from the Chronicle here.

 It's the fourth instance across MLB this season in which the starter struck out 14+ and didn't walk anybody (Chris Sale has done it twice, Shane Bieber did it for Cleveland, and now Cole). In three of the four instances in 2019, Baltimore has been on the Walking-Back-To-The-Dugout end.

It's the first start in his career in which Cole has had a 14K:0BB line. It's the 10th time he's had double-digit strikeouts and no walks.

*Gerrit Cole's 1st Innings this year:
-March 29 @ Tampa: 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB
-April 3 @ Arlington: 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB
-April 9 v. New York: 1H/1ER, 1K:0BB (1HR)
-April 14 @ Seattle: 1H/1ER, 2K:0BB (1HR)
-April 20 @ Arlington: 4H/5R (4ER) , 1K:2BB
-April 25 v Cleveland: 0H/0ER, 2K:2BB
-April 30 @ Minnesota: 0H/0ER, 0K:2BB
-May 6 v Kansas City: 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 11 v Arlington: 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB
-May 17 @ Boston: 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 22 v Chicago (AL): 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 27 v Chiacgo (NL) 1H/1ER, 2K:1BB (1HR)
-June 2 @ Oakland: 0H/0ER, 1K:2BB
-June 7 v Baltimore: 2H/3R (1ER), 2K:0BB, 1HBP

Mostly pretty good. A bad one against Arlington, somewhat inconsistent to set the table.

*Cole's 130 strikeouts lead the American League.

*Cionel Perez threw 3IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB and got his first career MLB win. Good for Cionel Perez, good for Us. Hinch, on Perez:
It was a night where we needed Cionel. It was his game, and he was going to continue to pitch. He's had a rough season in Triple-A and strike-throwing has been an issue for him. He throws a ton of strikes and is really conservative with his pitch total - no hits, huge innings. Just an incredible night for him.

*From May 7-June 6 the Orioles' pitching staff had allowed 251 hits in 241.2IP, a 5.77 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. So of course the Astros got six hits in eleven innings.

*Top four in the lineup (Fisher-Bregman-Brantley-Gurriel) went for a combined 1x18 with two walks, both via Derek Fisher. Alex Bregman went 0x5 for the 7th time in his career, and the first time since March 31, 2018.

*Josh Reddick homered and stole a base in the same game for the first time since July 4, 2018. Tony Kemp homered into the upper deck, as well.

*Baltimore's Rio Ruiz plated the 2nd and 3rd Oriole runs. Why does that name sound familiar? Because the Astros picked Ruiz in the 4th Round of the legendary 2012 draft. Houston traded him to Atlanta as part of the deal that brought in Unconscionably-Unemployed Evan Gattis. The Braves waived him in December 2018, and Baltimore picked him up.

*A tranzaction as the Astros work to get healthy and also to not lose against horrible teams. Via McTaggart:
-Cionel Perez is up, Brady Rodgers was optioned back to Round Rock.

Hinch:
Fourteen innings will create a little urgency to mix things up and find a fresh arm. [Cionel Perez] has been here before, has been in the 'pen before and he's stretched out to help us as much as he can in a very tired and depleted bullpen after the road trip.

Rodgers made his 2019 debut on May 22 and threw 37 pitches. Then he didn't pitch again until June 4, where he threw a clean inning. And then he pitched on June 5 (the rough one against Seattle) where he threw 63 pitches. I don't know that 12 days off in between your 1st and 2nd outings are ideal, following by a 60+ pitch outing the next day. Tough situation for Brady Rodgers.

Meanwhile, Altuve, Springer, Diaz, Stassi, and McHugh could go on a rehab assignment by the end of the homestand.

*Framber Valdez gets the start tonight.

*Jose Urquidy threw 6IP, 3H/0ER, 8K:0BB as Round Rock beat Salt Lake City 10-0. Yordan Alvarez, who is still in Triple-A so he can work on his defense, got the start at DH and hit his 23rd home run of the year. Josh Rojas hit three doubles.

*Seth Beer hit his third home run of the season for Corpus last night.

*Fayetteville's Chad Donato threw 6IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:2BB.

*You hate to see it:

The Seattle #Mariners, who opened with a 13-2 record, have since gone 13-38. The Houston #Astros, who opened with a 2-5 record, have since gone 41-16. That’s a 25-game gap in just two months for those counting.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 7, 2019

*Lance McCullers threw a no-hitter as himself on MLB The Show.

*Dallas Keuchel is now an Atlanta Brave and Former Astros Great Mike Foltynewicz (and Josh Hader) credit Keuchel for taking them under his wing. He'll make $4.9m less than he would have if he/Boras would have accepted the Qualifying Offer from the Astros.

*Seattle's Mitch Haniger was put on the IL after Thursday's game against Houston with...a ruptured testicle.

*Corpus' Abraham Toro gets a nice shoutout from Baseball America in their latest report.

*Math With Bad Drawings: Why Baseball Statistics Matter

*How John Smoltz went from a media darling to the topic of debate.

*Outside: A Supposedly Fun Thing I Might Do Again

*Check out this Texas Monthly interview with Shea Serrano, a Legit Legend.

*Deadspin's Laura Wagner: Competitive musical chairs is New York's friendliest sport.

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*In his weekly notes column for FanGraphs, David Laurilia talks to Orioles GM about the possibility of replicating the Astros' success with pitchers in Baltimore. Also, had absolutely no idea that Chris Holt is the assistant pitching coordinator for the Astros.

*Brian T. Smith says free agency in baseball is broken.

*For the first time in three years, Alex Bregman is pain-free.

Since the beginning of 2017 Alex Bregman has hit .285/.374/.509 for a 141 OPS+. His OPS+ in 2018 was 156. If he did that through any semblance of pain, this year could be, uh, something else.

*How far apart are the Astros with Correa, Cole, and Devenski?

Correa asked for $5m. The Astros offered $4.25m.

Cole asked for $13.1m. The Astros offered $11.425m.

Devenski asked for $1.65m. The Astros offered $1.4m.

The total difference between Ask and Offer is $2,675,000.

*SI's Emma Baccellieri says that Yasmani Grandal's one-year deal is more bad news for the MLBPA.

*New Yorker: What it felt like when 'Cat Person' went viral.

*The day a deadly wave of molasses tore through Boston.

*I stayed up until 2:15 this morning finishing Charles Soule's "The Oracle Year." I enjoyed it immensely.

Not sure if I'll be able to keep up the book-a-week pace, but here's a running list of the books I've read in 2019:
1) The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad
2) The Oracle Year - Charles Soule

*A musical selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Okay, so catching up on some things that I missed yesterday because I woke up late and had to leave early:

*The Astros and Former Ramgers Great Robinson Chirinos agreed to a 1yr/$5.75m deal. So, at present, it looks as though the Astros will go through 2019 with a combo of Chirinos and Max Stassi. I'm in favor of this deal solely because my Ramger Fan Brother-in-Law is heartbroken.

Chirinos, who will be 35 in June, had an outlier year in 2017 in which he hit .255/.360/.506, good enough for a 120 OPS+. In 2018 he came back to the rest of his career's benchmark, hitting .222/.338/.419. He didn't hit well last year but he sure did strike out a lot (140 Ks in 426 PAs), though he hit a career-high 18 home runs.

Chirinos would actually be an offensive upgrade considering the Astros' offensive struggles behind the plate: Astros catchers collectively put up a .223/.298/.375 line in 2018. Max Stassi hit .226/.316/.394 in 88 games, .220/.307/.379 after April. Oh yeah, but Chirinos is a bad defensive catcher. So, no, I don't get it. I do, sort of, if I squint and shake my head.

Jake Kaplan has an excellent look at the questions surrounding Chirinos' acquisition.

So does FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan.

*Brian McTaggart has himself an inbox, in which we find that Altuve and Chirinos are really good friends

*There's a report that the Red Sox' negotiations with Nate Eovaldi are intensifying at 4yrs and (approximately) $68m, though the Astros are the Red Sox' main competition.

*Arizona traded Paul Goldschmidt to the Cheatin-Ass Cardinals for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andy Young, and St. Louis' Comp B pick.

Weaver was St. Louis' 1st Round pick in 2014 and went 7-11 with a 4.95 ERA/1.50 WHIP/ 78 ERA+ for St. Louis in 2018. Carson Kelly, a catcher, was St. Louis' #3 prospect heading into 2018 and has hit .154/.227/.188 in 131 MLB PAs. He was BP's #44 overall prospect coming into 2018 and hit .269/.378/.395 for Triple-A Memphis. Andy Young hit .276/.372/.444 for High-A Palm Beach and in 35 games at Double-A Springfield hit .319/.395/.556.

I'm not sure what a comparable package from Houston would have been for a year of Paul Goldschmidt, but at least I can delete the draft of the "What Paul Goldschmidt Would Mean to the Astros" piece I was working up for The Athletic. That's good. Who needs a little extra money, anyway?

*Are the Astros a Sleeper Team on Bryce Harper?

*Just in case you were feeling too good, what with the sun going down around 5:20pm, A.J. Hinch reflected on Andrew Benintendi (easily my least-favorite character in The Count of Monte Cristo) and his Game 4-saving catch. Hinch:
What Benintendi's play really showed you is how small the distance [is] - in just one play - between hope and despair in sports.

*The Astros' organization was/will be well-represented at the funeral services for George H.W. Bush.

*The Baltimore Sun takes a look at what the additions of Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal could mean for the Orioles' franchise.

*Jayson Stark is hearing that there is momentum building towards limiting defensive shifts in baseball, because Rob Manfred knows what's killing baseball and it is DECIDEDLY NOT that a family has to take out a loan to go to a game, or that a 6-year old cannot actually stay awake for an entire World Series game. Thankfully Rob Manfred (Smart, Handsome) knows that what fans (Dumb, Ugly) need in order to flock back to baseball is a rule about where the shortstop can legally stand.

*The Nationals gave Patrick Corbin 6yrs/$140m. I don't believe that Patrick Corbin is worth twice as much as Nate Eovaldi.

*Daniella Yoko Rodriguez picked Noel Gonzalez (wife of Former Astros Great Marwin Gonzalez) and Kara McCullers to be her bridesmaids.

I did a Twitter mailbag:

Did you ever, inspired by the Jose Lima, eat at Casa Ole?

— Brian Arbour (@bkarbour) December 6, 2018

Yes. Every September 30 - Jose Lima's birthday - I get my pitch over this plate at Casa Ole. My gluten-intolerant wife even comes with me. I call it Casa Ole Day.

Why isn't Gerald Ford one of our most respected presidents after being handed the worst presidential promotion EVER? UNRELATED.... Who's our opening day catcher?

— flinchböt (@flinchbot) December 6, 2018

GREAT question. Not only was Ford never elected to the Presidency, he was elevated to Vice President without being elected because Spiro Agnew was a sack of crap. He is basically Tom Kirkman minus the terrorism but with All The Crimes added. He is not respected because he pardoned Nixon, and did not satiate the American people's desire for BLOOD! in the wake of Watergate.

I'm going to go out on a Big Limb, upon which I have zero support or sources, and say that Sal Perez is the Astros' Opening Day catcher.

More painful loss...99 to Walt F’n Weiss or game 4 vs Boston? https://t.co/1kzPayyo5r

— Alex Sandoval (@LEXthePEX) December 6, 2018

Walt Weiss, because I came back to Houston during my freshmen year Fall Break and watched that game at the Dome. Terrible way to close out the Astrodome.

are american arsenal fans the cops

— All we are is Dustin Nguyen, Holiday Edition (@itsdtrain) December 6, 2018

I laughed, because I hate Arsenal (Fever Pitch notwithstanding - I love that book). I also hate Chelsea mainly because of John F. Terry and Frank "Shia" LeBoeuf. Sorry, George. You like Tottenham Hotspur? Nice job, Cowboys fan who also likes Duke, or whatever.

That said, I'm all for Americans enjoying English soccer. I respect you more if you like an absolutely God-awful team. Back in April 2017 I wrote about the Astros and Leeds United (my favourite football team) being too much alike, and then six and a half months later the Astros won the World Series so suck it. Currently Leeds sits in 2nd place in the Championship, which is not as impressive as it sounds, so things might be turning there. But I'm all for Americans picking up a sport that brings them misery, particularly if they get up at 6am on a Saturday to be miserable. Arsenal loves misery, so I hope their fans enjoy the weekly pain.

That said, I'm interested in the Why. Why do Americans pick their favorite English soccer teams? Fulham? You liked all the Americans, including Clint Nacogdoches Dempsey. Everton? Maybe Tim Howard. Manchester United? You don't have a soul and probably also like the Yankees. Manchester City? Bandwagon lookin' ass boiiiii. Now, you want to roll Wigan? Preston North End? Millwall? Rushden & Diamonds? I got your back.

I want Bum. I think we need Bum. Bum would help. That and the magical healing of Altuve’s knee and Correa’s back. Also how does one get invited to the Correa wedding? MY COLUMN

— Bill Kelly (@billkellytexas) December 6, 2018

I can't think of a good reason not to let Madison Bumgarner be the Astros' SP3/4. I'm assuming that you mean Bumgarner, and this isn't a 1960s British Booty Call. While I do think McHugh is better than Bumgarner at this point. However, a rotation of Verlander/Cole/McHugh/Bumgarner/James would be pretty okay with me.

Will there ever be another @LimaTime_Time episode again?

— Craig Harmann (@CraigHarmann) December 6, 2018

If someone wants to pick up this Bad Boy for me (times is tight), it would be sooner than later. I'll accept PayPal. $500 should cover it.

if you could wipe one show or movie from existence based on its cultural impact, whatcha pick

— CHANDLER™ ⏣ (@1STROS) December 6, 2018

Okay. If I could take one show out of human existence, it would easily be Gray's Anatomy. I don't trust that show. I don't trust anyone who watches it. If you watch Grey's Anatomy you are watching a time capsule. Please stop reading this web site if you still watch Gray's Amanoty.

Can I do Hot Links again starting a week from today? (please don't answer right now I would like to read about it in tomorrow's post)

— Flick Nickem, Fayetteville Woodpeckers #1 Fan 😎 (@FlickNickem) December 6, 2018

PLEASE DO. THIS IS A TRAIN WRECK.

*It's the 25th anniversary of a movie that 13-Year Old Me really liked. The Ringer: How Cabin Boy turned Chris Elliott and Adam Resnick into Hollywood pariahs and comedy legends.

*A Musical Selection:


*A bonus Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

The 2018 Houston Astros are now the greatest team in franchise history (postseason-pending, because by God if they lose to the Barves in the NLDS...) with their 103rd win of the season, setting the franchise mark for wins. They can go for 104 today with Charlie Morton on the mound, who just might let the Orioles score a few runs just so they can feel good about themselves going into the offseason. After today you will have four days to get re-acquainted with your family and read for pleasure and drink Detox Tea before it's time to get to Real Issues. I can't wait to be an insufferable prick for the next month. Stupid half-marathon training getting in the way of killing my liver.

*Hinch, on 103 wins:
We took a moment because it's a great accomplishment and we should be proud...We did want to be in the record books, and the most wins in franchise history is a big deal. 

*With the double-header sweep, A.J. Hinch is 374-273 as the manager of the Astros. He's the first Astros manager to sit 100 games over .500 for his career. Larry Dierker was 87 games over .500 from 1997-2001.

*They're 45 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.

*The Astros' 57 road wins is the 2nd-highest in MLB since 1961.

*What do you want to know? The Astros took both sides of a double-header against the Orioles, as they should have. I get the feeling that the next series they play will be a little tougher than this.

*Justin Verlander threw 6IP, 3H/0ER, 10K:1BB and was robbed of a win by Joe "Left Off The Playoff Roster" Smith, who allowed three of the six batters he faced to score. Idiot. Fake-ass ID name lookin-boy.

In his last two starts, Verlander has thrown 12IP, 4H/0ER, 21K:1BB and has no decisions. Let's consider: Verlander finished the regular season 16-9. Verlander, by month, 2018:

March: 6IP, 4H/0ER, 5K:2BB, 0.00 ERA / 1.00 WHIP
April: 33.2IP, 17H/6ER, 43K:6BB, 1.60 ERA / 0.68 WHIP
May: 41.2IP, 22H/4ER, 50K:7BB, 0.86 ERA / 0.70 WHIP
June: 37.1IP, 35H/18ER, 46K:9BB, 4.34 ERA / 1.18 WHIP
July: 30IP, 27H/9ER, 46K:3BB, 2.70 ERA / 1.00 WHIP
August: 32.1IP, 35H/19ER, 50K:6BB, 5.29 ERA / 1.27 WHIP
September: 33IP, 16H/4ER, 50K:5BB, 1.09 ERA / 0.64 WHIP

16 of Verlander's 60 Earned Runs (26.7%) came in three starts against Tampa, Detroit, and Seattle. And now he's all jazzed up and ready for the playoffs. I feel good about this.

Verlander has back-to-back scoreless starts for the first time since October 5/10, 2013 - ALDS vs. Oakland.

Verlander has 11 starts in 2018 in which he has thrown a Quality Start and gotten a no-decision or a loss. He gets a little less than half of those with some run support and he's 21-4. AL Cy Young.

Justin Verlander had 10+ strikeouts for the 4th straight game and the 13th time this season. That seems high.

Verlander's 0.90 WHIP for the regular season is the lowest in Astros franchise history. The Top 10:

1. Justin Verlander (2018): 0.90
2. Chris Devenski (2016): 0.914
3. Mike Scott (1986): 0.923
4. J.R. Richard (1980): 0.924
5. Turk Farrell (1963): 0.969
6. Mike Scott (1988): 0.98
7. Roger Clemens (2005): 1.008
8. Doug Jones (1992): 1.012
9. Don Sutton (1981): 1.015
10. Dallas Keuchel (2015): 1.017

Chandler Rome says that Verlander's number scream "AL Cy Young." Czech out Ken Rosenthal in The Atlantic on Verlander's Cy Young chances.

*Joe Smith allowed a three-run homer. Twelve of the 52 home runs he has allowed in his career have been 3-run shots. Six of the seven home runs he's allowed in 2018 have been on the road.

*Will Harris hasn't allowed a run since August 14, so maybe dial your slander back. That's 13.1IP, 5H/0ER, 11K:2BB.

*Keuchel, who started Game 2:
To be able to start this game was pretty special to know we had a chance for the franchise-record single-season in wins. It's been pretty special for me here the last three or four years, turning the corner with the franchise and getting a heck of a lot better. This is something I'll cherish for a very long time. 

Three years / $50 million for Keuchel. Who says no: Keuchel, Boras, or the Astros?

*In Game 2 Ryan Pressly got the Save despite walking a batter. It's the 3rd batter he's walked in 23.1IP (84 batters faced) as an Astro.

*Speaking of slander, I will take all of the credit for suggesting that Correa be left off the playoff roster and his subsequent 2-XBH game in Game 1, his first since May 4.

*Josh Reddick was 3x5 in Game 1, his first 3-hit game since August 4.

*SMH Myles Straw hit an MLB home run before Kyle Tucker did.

Kyle Tucker: 61 home runs in 1739 minor-league plate appearances (one every 28.51 PAs)
Myles Straw: 3 home runs in 1830 minor-league plate appearances (one every 610 PAs)

*The Astros swept a double-header despite going 1x13 w/RISP over the two games.

*Double-headers are hard to recap in a daily post, so I'll stop.

*Charlie F. Morton says today's start against the OrioLOLes is big for him physically and mentally. Morton:
I felt like it was hard to let the ball go, and I think some of that is probably where we are in the season and where I've been for the last couple of years coming off a season [2016] where I didn't pitch a whole lot. This is the most I've ever thrown back-to-back years, and I'm just trying to manage it going into the playoffs.

Out of eleven seasons in the Majors, Morton has thrown 25.8% of his career regular-season IPs in 2017-18. That's nuts. I also did not realize that Morton has led the League in HBPs in four of the last six years, including 2018. But he's such a gentleman that opposing batters he hits with a 99mph fastball approach the mound, shake his hand, and then walk to 1st Base to wait for their Bruise Surprise.

*Lance McCullers to Jake Kaplan: "I am ready to go."

*Did Seattle's clubhouse chemistry undo them?

*The Cardinals will not make the postseason for the 3rd straight year, the first time that's happened since 1997-1999.

*David Wright was everything the Mets could have hoped for.

*Let's hear it for chaos in the National League. GIVE ME TWO GAME 163s

*55 years ago yesterday, John Paciorek played in his one - and only - Major-League game. He went 3x3, 0K:2BB, 3RBI, 4 Runs Scored. And he never played in another Major-League game.

*A Musical Selection

Thursday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros have basically won six games six different ways so far this season. I think we can all agree that we as fans can get used to winning six games per week. Yesterday the Astros beat the Orioles for the sweep, 3-2. The Astros have won 14 of their last 16 games against Baltimore, including nine straight in Houston.

*Reddick singled three times. Bregman and Stassi were each 1x3 with a walk. The Astros were 1x8 w/RISP as everyone seemingly dealt with a hangover from the ring ceremony.

*Dallas Keuchel needed 104 pitches to get 15 outs, allowing 5H/2R (1ER), 3K:4BB. It was the second time since the beginning of the 2015 season that he walked more batters than he struck out. Keuchel:
I thought my command on the glove side with my cutter was a whole lot better than it was in Arlington, so that's a plus. I just didn't lock it in on the arm side of the plate.

Hinch:
It's nice to get a win in an otherwise pretty sluggish day for us. I didn't think we were at our best on a lot of levels, but we kind of grind through the game, and Dallas gets through a tough outing of his own and we kind of piece it together and come up with a big hit.

Of course there was manufactured drama in letting Brad Peacock (3IP, 2H/0ER, 5K:0BB, 39 pitches) close out the final three innings of the game, and not using Ken Giles for the 9th inning. Hinch:
The move today is no indictment on Ken Giles. It's not a message being sent to him...today the matchup that we liked with the way Peacock was spinning the ball and the team we were facing and how he was pitching, all led me to want to leave Brad Peacock in.

*Today's Off-Day means it's the first Playoff Odds Check-In (POC-I) of the season!
-FanGraphs: 95.3% to win the division, 98.9% to make the playoffs.
-BP: 87.6% to win the division, 95.7% to make the playoffs.
-FiveThirtyEight: 74% to win the division, 88% to make the playoffs.

*Jexas has your Orioles sweep recap.

*Hunter Atkins says it's easy for Hinch to manage different lineups.

*From The Athletic:
-Jake Kaplan writes about how the rings tell the story of the 2017 season.
-Levi Weaver talked to Rob Manfred about minor-league pay and his answers made no sense whatsoever.
-Rob Manfred is satisfied with how the Astros handled Gurriel's five-game suspension. Manfred:
He served his five-game suspension. He lost his five days of pay. He's now on a 15-day disabled list stint. I think what they did was completely consistent not only with the rules but with the intent of the rules.

Someone want to tell Manfred that it's a 10-Day disabled list now? While we're talking about The Athletic, I would like to mention why their stories are included in the Hot Links:

1. The Athletic has really good journalism that looks at the game from a slightly different angle.
2. That's pretty much it.

Yes, you have to subscribe to The Athletic in order to read the articles. I typically don't include articles you would need to pay to read in the Hot Links each morning but The Athletic is worth the subscription price. If you don't want to pay to read the articles, you don't have to click the link. The Athletic has also given me, personally, an outlet for a wider audience and I feel that highlighting what they're publishing is okay. If you are offended, I deeply apologize but will make no effort to rectify the wrongs inflicted on you.

*I did the Where Did These Guys Come From for:
-Fresno
-Corpus
-Buies Creek
-Quad Cities

*Jim Callis has a list of where the Astros' Top 30 prospects will start the 2018 season.

*FanGraphs: The four-man outfield and position-less baseball.

Series Recap: Astros vs Orioles 04/02-04/04

The Home Opener: the series that the team and the fans had been waiting for. The unveiling of the WS banner, the ring ceremony, the general warm fuzzy homecoming feel of it all had long been anticipated. 

In a pregame ceremony Monday, the WS banner was unveiled at a snail’s pace, which I would like to think was just the universe’s way of reminding us how long we had waited for this moment. Rich Dauer, who had a brush with death immediately following the World Series parade downtown, threw out the first pitch to AJ Hinch in what was an emotional & beautiful moment. 

At Tuesday’s pregame ceremony, the Astros were presented with their unbelievably gorgeous 2017 World Series Championship rings. Recipients at the ceremony included Astros Hall of Famers Craig Biggio & Jeff Bagwell as well as future Hall of Famer Tio Carlos Beltran.  Here’s a video you can watch about the creation of these rings.

56 years in the making.

Introducing the #Astros World Champions ring! pic.twitter.com/lI4cO87AG8

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 3, 2018

Game 1

My goodness, it was nice to see Charlie Morton back on the mound. There’s a sense of calm when he is the starting pitcher. Even after seeing the bases loaded at the top of the 2^nd w a single to Adam Jones, Astros folklore legend Colby Rasmus hit by a pitch and a walk to Pedro Alvarez, you can still have confidence in Morton’s mental game that he’ll come out of the inning without giving up a run. He did. The only run given up by Astros pitching was a homerun off of Colin McHugh’s first pitch of the night: a four-seam fastball up the middle to Trey Mancini at the top of the 9^th. As for the Astros offense, 6 runs were scored off of 11 hits, including a homerun by Mr. Marvelous Marwin Gonzalez and Brian McCann scoring from 1^st base on a triple from Derek Fisher, making that Fisher’s 2^nd triple of the season.  Astros win 6-1.

Game 2

A rough night for Justin Verlander is a decent night for many pitchers. After striking out the first two batters, his fifth pitch to Jonathan Schoop was lifted up and into the Crawford Boxes. Carlos Correa got the crowd going in the bottom of the first with an inside the park homerun. It is the fourth by an Astro in Minute Maid Park and the first since 2014. Top of the 4^th, Josh Reddick saved a fly ball to the right from becoming a three run homer by absolutely robbing Trey Mancini with a leaping grab, making it a sac fly. Fast forward to the top of the 6^th, after two fastballs on either side of the plate, Verlander let one rip right up the middle to Adam Jones for a go-ahead two run homer. But Reddick came to win. After a single by Correa, Reddick sent a flyball into the stands to put the Astros on top again. And just to make sure his team got the W, Reddick sealed the deal with a Grand Slam off of Nestor Cortes Jr to make the final score 10-6.

Game 3

Dallas Keuchel started out game 3 the same way Justin Verlander started out game 2, allowing a run in the first inning. Keuchel continued to struggle through the fifth, getting up to 104 pitches, striking out three and walking four. Not his best but not awful considering a couple of errors & missed opportunities on the field. Hector Rondon had a solid 6^th, while Brad Peacock gets the win after pitching very well through the final 3 innings allowing no runs on just 2 hits. The offense lost a little steam today, unless your name is Josh Reddick who went 3 for 4. The go ahead run scored in the 7^th looked awfully familiar with Derek Fisher at 2^nd as Bregman hit a line drive to left field to. Game 5, anyone? Final score: 3-2

A series sweep. I’ll take it. It was good to see Reddick’s bat come alive, Alex Bregman continues to impress at third base and the Astros look focused and very immune to this “World Series hangover” folks are waiting for. Tomorrow the Astros have a much earned day off and then host the San Diego Padres this weekend for a 3 game series, starting with Lance McCullers Jr on the mound.

Series W-L: 3-0