*Toronto was able to surpass the Mets' bid (6yrs/$120-$125m) and ink George Springer to a 6yr/$150m deal last night. Never mind that I said in the Chronicle back in October that 6yrs/$150m would get a deal done with Springer, though it was believed earlier this month that he was looking for a deal in the $175m range. The Astros were apparently never really engaged in bringing back Springer. It was just last Friday that "GM" James Click said, regarding Springer and Brantley, "we're gonna go where the market dictates sometimes and sometimes we are gonna push the market and make it come to us." Apparently the market dictated that the Astros were going to go the Extreme Shift route and play with a one-man outfield. The Astros do not spend in free agency, that's just a fact.
So what have the Astros lost, besides the spark plug for the best lineup in franchise history?
*At 26.6 fWAR, Springer was 0.2 fWAR behind Terry Puhl for the 5th-highest fWAR for an outfielder in franchise history.
*His 174 home runs are 3rd-most for an Astros outfielder, and 5th-highest for an Astro.
*His 134 wRC+ is 2nd in franchise history for an Astros outfielder who played more than 500 games for the team.
*His .491 SLG and .852 OPS are both 6th all-time in franchise history.
*His 39 leadoff home runs are 2nd in franchise history, 14 behind Hall of Famer Craig Biggio which Springer could have passed by, I don't know, May?
*His 19 postseason home runs are most all-time, and his 2017 World Series Game 5 home run that came minutes after his diving misplay in centerfield remains my favorite home run of all time.
Despite me being mentally prepared for Springer's departure back in early November, the Astros also lost a whole lot of their heart and soul. It's entirely possible that Springer just didn't want to play in Houston, and I can get it. I'd been hearing whispers that Springer wanted to be closer to home in Connecticut and now he can live in Toronto, play in Boston and New York 20-ish times a year. Obviously summers in Toronto are preferable to summers in Houston (if you're from Connecticut).
And let's not discount how fans around baseball have signed a personal services contract with Amnesia when it comes to badass members of the 2017 Astros coming to their team. Not getting booed everywhere has some non-monetary advantages, I would imagine.
*Since the Astros gave Springer a qualifying offer, they'll get an extra pick after the 4th Round of the 2021 Draft, if that's something that matters to you.
*Chandler Rome: A face and voice of the Astros' golden era is gone.
*Toronto is scheduled to play at Minute Maid Park May 7-9.
*At some point soon I'll take a look at possible replacements, but not today.
*Outside: A Nepali team just made the first winter summit of K2.
*I wrote about a fake plot to kidnap nuns and force them into sex slavery, Samuel Morse, the "Harper" in "Harper Collins Publishing," an inspiration for Scorsese's "Bill the Butcher," and the 1856 elections, if that's something you're interested in.
The Astros continued a trend dating back to the 2019 Postseason in which they simply could not get the one hit they needed, losing to the Grand Prairie Rangers 1-0, completely wasting a stellar Lance McCullers start. Houston is 24-25, 17-7 at home. It was their first home loss since September 1. Houston is 7-12 in 1-run games, giving off some Extremely 2016 Vibes.
*It's just the sixth time in franchise history that Astros pitchers have struck out at least twelve batters, allowed one run, and still lost. The last time it happened was April 18, 2005. The time before that was five days earlier. Roger Clemens started both games. 2005 started off extremely stupid. Ended the same way, as I recall.
*It's the 8th time the Astros have held their opponent to just one run, and now they're 7-1 in those games.
*Lance McCullers: 7IP, 2H/0ER, 8K:0BB. McCullers' Game Score was 81, the third 80+ Game Score game of the Astros' season, and McCullers has two of them. McCullers:
Solid effort. Sad that we couldn't get the team W. That's what we care about.
*Ryan Pressly: 0.2IP, 1H/1ER, 1K:1BB.
*32-year old Rangers starter Kyle Gibson came into last night's start leading the league in hits allowed. He held the Astros to four total in his first career CGSHO. The Rangers were 1-8 in Gibson's starts prior to last night. In Gibson's previous five starts combined, he had posted an 8.10 ERA / 1.80 WHIP, so of course he straight dominated. Idiots.
He lowered his season ERA from 6.14 to 5.18. Farmers Branch is now 5-18 on the road.
*Oakland beat Colorado yesterday and their magic number is now five. The two teams were 2x19 w/RISP. So...very 2020. Oakland is 6.5 up on the Astros. So if the Astros go 11-0 starting tonight, Oakland would need to go 4-6 to win the division.
Seattle lost as the home team in San Francisco, so the Astros' lead is still 2.0 games with 11 to play, and three against the Mariners.
*Carlos Correa was in the lineup last night. After watching that foul ball, that's unbelievable to me, someone who would have turned into a transparent version of myself and just ascended into heaven while somehow simultaneously playing a harp, should I have done that to the inside of my ankle. Two and a half months ago I slipped on some water and haven't run a mile since.
*Lance McCullers was activated in advance of last night's start, and Cionel Perez was optioned to the alternate training site.
*Justin Verlander threw 75 pitches off the mound in a simulated game. I, too, threw a simulated game in which I simulated 75 pitches and got 27 strikeouts in the most dominant outing you didn't get to see because it was behind closed doors (and minds). How Verlander responds over the next two days will determine the next steps, but the regular season ends a week from Sunday.
In that link we also find that Chris Devenski had arthroscopic elbow surgery that comes with a four-month recovery time. Devenski's last appearance in an Astros uniform may very well have been a September 6 outing in which he allowed 1H/1ER, 0K:2BB in a 9-5 loss to Anaheim.
*Almost a quarter of young Americans (not the David Bowie ones) think the Holocaust is either a myth or is exaggerated. I'll say this as a History Teacher: If you don't like History, you had a teacher who didn't know how to tell a story.
*Got dang Leeds United lost to MF Hull City FC in the 2nd Round of the Carabao Cup, 9-8 after penalty kicks. Oh well, that's fewer games to play in order to smash all of your individual English Football hopes & dreams. Also, Marcelo Bielsa gives the most devastating of post-match comments:
With our preparation for this game we thought that we were going to do more than we did. When a coach picks a team...I picked the team thinking they would have enough to beat Hull but when the team didn't have enough to beat Hull, I feel like I am responsible for the defeat....The team was built with players that should have shown a better performance.
Leeds fielded a lineup that did not start against Liverpool last Saturday. Fulham is gonna taste the pain on Saturday.
We here at Astros County took Sunday night off in the same way the bullpen did. Regardless, here we go. The Astros...took the night off, again. Houston had seven hits, all singles, and only had three PAs with runners in scoring position for a 6-0 loss to Oakland. It's Houston's 5th straight loss and they're now 4.5 back of Oakland and only 2.0 ahead of [squints] Seattle. Been a rough week.
*Last night was the first time the Astros have been shut out with no extra-base hits since June 27, 2019 against Pittsburgh. It was ugly.
*1-5 in the lineup: 3x19, 1K:1BB
6-9 in the lineup: 4x14, 3K:0BB
Carlos Correa had two of the Astros seven hits. He's hitting .301/.367/.441 in 2020.
7-9 in the lineup last night (Diaz, Toro, Garneau) are hitting .179, .154, .174, respectively.
We can't look behind us, we have to look ahead. Nothing lasts forever. I think we have another streak of five games and we reeled off eight in a row. You can't be afraid of somebody overtaking you from behind, there's nothing you can do but play the game you're playing.
Blake Taylor hid his elbow soreness from the Astros. Dusty:
He had hidden it and was trying to medicate himself because as a young player, he was afraid to go in and get treatment. He was afraid of being sent out, like a lot of young guys, that's in the back of their minds no matter how well they're doing. We could tell something was wrong. His velocity was good but his location was bad.
The Astros beat the Mariners 8-5 thanks to Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve. Houston is 3-1.
Josh James threw 3IP, 3H/3ER, 5K:5BB, HBP, WP. 39 of his 75 pitches were thrown for strikes. Brandon Bielak came in and threw 3.1IP, 4H/2R (1ER), 4K:0BB in his MLB debut in relief, getting his first MLB win. Dusty, on Bielak: It was a great debut for him. He saved our tail. He came in today and threw a lot of strikes, competed, attacked, executed.
*Alex Bregman hit his 100th career home run in his 521st career game, one pitch after Jose Altuve hit his 300th career double. He's the 18th Astro to hit 100 home runs.
Altuve's 300th double came in his 1247th game. Craig Biggio - who is 5th all-time in MLB in doubles - hit his 300th double in his 1432nd game.
*For just the 3rd time in his career, George Springer was 0x5 with 3K:0BB. He's 1x16 to start the season.
*Michael Brantley was 2x3 with a double and is hitting .467/.529/.800 so far.
*Dustin Garneau hit his first career triple. Astros catchers hit .429/.467/.521 in four games against the Mariners.
*Taylor Jones, who made his MLB debut on Sunday, was optioned to Satellite Camp on Monday. With Verlander on the IL, the Astros brought up Brandon Bielak and Nivaldo Rodriguez. The 40 Man Roster is now full. More arms to work with, though eight of them are rookies. Framber will start today's game against the Dodgers and Wednesday's start - which was to be Verlander's - just might be a bullpen game.
*Now that there's been a day of separation between the Verlander News and some time to let it sink in...Dusty, on Verlander: He's in a good frame of mind...I've always called him a medical marvel. This guy works and he believes that he's close to Superman and he really is and I'm just hoping he's Superman this time, too, but without hurting himself.
SI's Emma Baccellieri: Where do the Astros go without Justin Verlander? FanGraphs: Verlander's impact on the already-thin rotation.
*George Springer had his first Zoom press conference on Monday, and was asked about his upcoming free agency. He didn't really say anything, which is pretty much exactly what you would expect him to say, given that he's trying to secure what is likely his only/last big contract. Also, Springer has made over $31m plus whatever the pro-rated pay is for 2020, so it's not like he's trying to set himself up...this is more like setting your 3rd and 4th generations up. Still, George Springer should get paid all the money. I just don't know that the Astros will do it.
So let's look at the years that Astros will hit free agency:
After 2020: George Springer, Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick, Brad Peacock
After 2021: Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, Roberto Osuna, Joe Smith, Martin Maldonado, Chris Devenski
*David Barron: The Dodgers are way more worried about COVID than 2017 as they come to Houston.
*Astros.com: Inside the UH facility hosting the Astros' taxi squad.
Like other MLB owners, I was firm and sincere in my belief that Not Really Trying At All was the best option when it came to managing the challenges of playing baseball during an out-of-control pandemic. I still think it's our best and most principled course of action.
Just. I mean. So the thing is. If you really think about it. No, I got nothing. First things first, some streaks came to an end in Sunday's game: the 15-game winning streak over Seattle, as well as the 27-game streak of hitting a home run. Then Justin Verlander is apparently dead. First, the game:
*Zack Greinke lasted just 58 pitches, throwing 3.1IP and allowed 4H/3ER, 2K:2BB. It was his shortest outing since March 28, 2019, when he got 11 outs and allowed 7ER. That was also his first start of the season. The last time Greinke recorded fewer outs in a start was August 14, 2016 (1.2IP).
Make of it what you will, but Zack Greinke averaged 87.7 mph with his fastball today. He averaged 89.9 mph in 2019.
Greinke said: Not too happy with anything. Command wasn't great, stuff wasn't great, endurance wasn't even good at all.
*The four runs allowed by the bullpen (one to Biagini, three to Devenski) were the first runs allowed by the Astros' bullpen this season. Blake Taylor, who was acquired from New York for Jake Marisnick: 1.1IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB.
*Chris Devenski, 2016-2017: 189IP, 129H/50ER, 204K:46BB, 2.38 ERA / 0.93 WHIP.
Chris Devenski, since: 118.1IP, 115H/62ER, 127K:35BB, 4.72 ERA / 1.27 WHIP.
*Brandon Bailey, who was acquired from Oakland for Ramon Laureano, made his MLB debut. So did Taylor Jones, who GIDPd and then struck out on three pitches with the bases loaded.
*Bryan Abreu faced nine batters: two HBPs, two walks, 13 of 31 pitches for strikes.
*Jose Altuve drew two walks for the second game in a row, which only happened once in 2019 (April 25-26, 2019), once in 2018, once in 2017. He had five walks in 57 games in 2011.
*Josh Reddick tripled to lead off the 6th, and then the Astros couldn't get him another 90 feet. They were 3x13 w/RISP in Sunday's game. It's the first time as an Astro that Reddick got a triple and the Astros lost the game (they were previously 9-0 when Reddick tripled).
*Thanks to Our Dude Chris Peixoto we find that Martin Maldonado's six RBIs over the first three games are the most by an MLB catcher since Brian McCann did it in 2007. Maldonado has never had 2+ RsBI in three straight games before.
Dusty: It's not a pleasant situation to think about Verlander or to think about how many young players we have in the bullpen and organization but we'll go back to the drawing board.
The report that I’m currently missing the rest of the season is not accurate. There is a forearm strain... I’m hopeful that with some rest it will heal and I’ll be able to return soon. Thank you for all the well wishes. 🙏🏻
"Currently missing the rest of the season." Losing Verlander long-term is obviously one of the worst-case scenarios coming into the 2020 season, an entire team outbreak of COVID aside. But let's hold off on doom-and-gloom on the baseball front for two more weeks, or just bottle it up and assume the worst privately, like an adult. We did this already with Lance McCullers (or pretty much every pitcher), where a forearm strain was a precursor to Tommy John surgery. Maybe this isn't it. But it probably is.
*In McTaggart's pre-game Notes we find that Blake Taylor and Enoli Paredes were the first Astros pitchers to make their MLB debut on Opening Day since Wesley Wright in 2008 and Josh James' backyard MLB-regulation mound.
Sorry about yesterday's Hot Links, I just...didn't feel like doing it.
The Astros lost Sunday to the Mets, 3-1. Aledmys Diaz, Lorenzo Quintana, Alex De Goti, and Taylor Jones had doubles. Taylor Jones is legit. Justin Verlander left the game with sore triceps after 2IP, Cy Sneed threw 2IP, 2H/0ER, 0K:1BB, and Jose Urquidy had a rough one with 4IP, 6H/3ER, 3K:1BB.
The big news of the day was Verlander's sore triceps. He was scheduled to throw 4IP but left after 2IP. Verlander was not "available to the media." Dusty: We got to take care of the big horse. Like I said, we sent him for precaution and observation, and hopefully it's not [worse]...We don't know if he is hurt. Like I said, it's precautionary. I was surprised his velocity was down a tick from the last time, but you know Verlander can dial it up when he gets ready. We didn't see anything. I was quite surprised when Strommy came over and told me he had to come out of the game.
In that link we also find that Devenski's slider is coming back around, and that there's a new autograph policy in place for the Nationals and Astros based on recommendations from the CDC and MLB.
*This is fun: Joe Smith was asked questions about...Joe Smith. The level of detail that Smith remembers about games in which he has pitched is insane. I could not tell you what I wore yesterday.
*Hahahahaha here's a SUPER-CONCERNING ARTICLE about Forrest Whitley. Brent Strom: Whitley was not ready to come into camp physically and compete for a position, for whatever reason, in my opinion. So we had to slow-walk him a little bit.
Whitley: Impressing people right now isn't really what I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to get my work in, stay healthy and do everything I can to have a successful season.
This is the first official "Maybe don't get too excited about Forrest Whitley" article of 2020.
*The Oakland Athletics are ready to take on the Houston Astros for the 2020 season, according to Boob Nightengale. Something called a "Liam Hendriks:" It's going to be very interesting to see how they handle the day-to-day lifestyle of everything. It's going to be a very long season for them. There are only two outcomes: either it overwhelms them, or they embrace it. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. Just wait until they come to Oakland. We may not have the most fans in baseball, but we have the most passionate fans in baseball. They're going to be loud, they're going to be obnoxious. And they're going to be wearing guys out. They're going to have no recourse. If they start fighting back, it's going to snowball even more.
*The Astros lost 7-4 to the Marlins. Chas McCormick (21st Round - 2017) hit a grand slam. Taylor Jones, Jeremy Pena, and Drew Ferguson had the other hits. Chris Devenski and Jared Hughes saw their first action of the Spring and combined for 2IP, 3H/0ER, 1K:0BB.
*Chris Devenski dropped 20 pounds this offseason and is looking to return to his All-Star form. Devenski: I worked this offseason on getting my fastball right, getting my command right and spinning the ball out of my hand the right way. I went back and did a bunch of drills on that. I think everything for me is mental. I know the way my body feels and when I'm in the shape I'm in right now.
*In this McTaggart piece, we find:
-Dusty Baker really likes the young pitchers.
-Dustin Garneau is settling into the analytics side of being an Astros catcher.
*Myles Straw is among the fastest players in MLB. Straw: (Astros Strength & Conditioning Coach Brendan) Verner would wear me out about it last year and kind of pushed me and motivated me. I'll probably work with him a lot this year and try to be the quickest in the league.
*Abraham Toro was supposed to start on Tuesday but was scratched with an eye irritation.
*The Astros play a split-squad game against the Mets and the Cardinals. Jose Urquidy and Forrest Whitley will be on various mounds, George Springer and Michael Brantley will play. I'm sure Boos are coming.
Sign-Stealing Stuff *The Ringer: The Astros' Trash-Can Cheating Scheme is a Window Onto Human Nature.
So late Thursday night the Astros traded Peyton Battenfield and Cal Stevenson to Tampa Bay for RHP Austin Pruitt.
Pruitt, 30, was born in The Woodlands (aka Fenway/Yankee Stadium Southwest) and went to the University of Houston. In 199.2IP for Tampa from 2017-19, Pruitt has allowed 222H/108ER, with 147K:50BB, for a 4.87 ERA / 1.36 WHIP. Is it impressive? No. Is it projectable? Sure.
Peyton Battenfield was the Astros' 9th Round pick in 2019. At Tri-City this season Battenfield threw 39.1IP, 23H/7ER, 46K:15BB (1.60 ERA / 0.97 WHIP). He'll be 23 next August.
Cal Stevenson was acquired by the Astros on July 31, 2019 in the trade that brought Joe Biagini and Aaron Sanchez from Toronto for Derek Fisher. Aaron "Not The Guy From Chopped" Sanchez threw the first 2/3 of a no-hitter and was never heard from again, and Biagini was funny and was also never heard from again. This closes the book on the Derek Fisher trade. Long may it remain in our collective amnesia.
Austin Pruitt, whose first name I have initially typed as "Jeremy" on no fewer than three occasions already in this post, is out of options. So, as McTaggart notes, he will either make the back end of the rotation, or he will go to the bullpen. Luhnow: We're going to give him a chance to compete. He's started in his Major League career, so he's capable. He's got two different breaking balls, a good fastball and really good command, which means he should be able to get through some innings.
Tags also notes the spin-rate on Pruitt's curveball, which ranks 9th in MLB. Keep in mind Pruitt is also coming over from Tampa, who is really good at this sort of thing, and not the trash-ass Pirates, who didn't know how to use Gerrit F. Cole. That said, he only threw his curve 13% of the time in 2019. That's probably going to go up.
Dean Deetz was DFA'd to make room on the 40-Man Roster.
*The Astros avoided arbitration with Carlos Correa, who signed for 2020 for $8m. They also avoided arbitration with Chris Devenski, who will make $2m in 2020. At the time of writing, there's no word regarding the arbitration cases of George Springer, Roberto Osuna, Brad Peacock, and Aledmys Diaz.
Three cities in five days including two flights and one rental car, two time zones, one concert, a couple of days with family, a couple of days with friends, and it's been an absolutely exhausting week. Thank God it's over. It was great. Hope you had at least a restful Thanksgiving break. Except for Aubrey Huff. I hope Aubrey Huff's anti-gonorrhea medication didn't work this month.
*Would you tender a contract to the following arbitration-eligible players?
Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez threw 131.1IP in 2019 (18.2IP for Houston after getting traded for Derek Fisher (along with Joe Biagini and Cal Stevenson), but underwent shoulder surgery that will keep him on the IL into 2020. He's projected to make about $5.6m in 2020.
Obviously no one knows how long Sanchez will be out, but given that the Astros seem to be ready to lose Gerrit Cole and Collin McHugh. Sanchez could be useful at a (baseball-wise, anyway) reasonable rate in 2020.
Chris Devenski. Devenski is more of a known quantity since coming over as the [snicker] PTBNL in the White Sox' 2012 trade for [belly-laugh] Brett Myers. Devenski ERA / FIP / fWAR, 2016-2019:
I didn't think I'd say this two years ago, but I might not tender Devenski a contract. He's only projected to make $2m, so maybe there's something fixable in there, but he's been trending downwards - severely - for the last two seasons. He's been almost a perfect Replacement Level reliever for the last 116.1IP.
*Jim "Ralph" Bowden: The Angels should go spend half a billion dollars on Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.
*FanGraphs: Which Astros players might have benefited most from sign-stealing? Jake Mailhot:
...When you have an organizational culture that values the cumulative effects of many marginal improvements, implementing a sign-stealing system to help your batters gain an edge, even a small one, might be just what you're looking for. This article is not fun! *Mike Piazza will be the manager of the Italian national baseball team.
Working on a post for tomorrow of reflections of the 2019 season a week after it ended. Until then:
*Jake Kaplan: This winter might be Jeff Luhnow's biggest challenge yet.
*Brian McTaggart has a notebook in which:
-Jim Crane is ready to "make a run" at Gerrit Cole, who received a qualifying offer. This means that, if he signs with another team, the Astros will get a compensatory pick (possibly off-setting the loss of a pick if the Astros sign a player who received a qualifying offer). Luhnow: We're probably over the line [the so-called Luxury Tax] at this point without any added additions. Fortunately, Jim's been really open to different investment ideas depending on how we justify it and how it helps our team. At the end of the day, we're not going to know our payroll until we start next year. There's going to be opportunities to improve the team. In this video, Crane said "it's a possibility" to go over the luxury tax. -Hitting coach Alex Cintron will manage Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League.
*The Rays got Verlandered and an Altuve homer and a chokejob from the Rays' defense to take a 1-0 series lead. Houston now needs to go no worse than 2-2 to advance to the ALCS.
*The Astros came in to 2019 ALDS G1 as 69.5% favorites to win the Series, according to FanGraphs. That has now moved to 82-18. Houston's Win Probability tonight is 66.1%. Tonight's starter for Tampa Bay - Blake Snell - is about three weeks removed from his return from arthroscopic elbow surgery, and is likely to have as long a leash as Glasnow had.
*The last team to lose a Division Series after winning Game 1 was the 2017 Cleveland Indians. Three of the four Division Series in 2015 featured a Game 1 winner that ultimately lost the series). Overall, 27 out of 36 Game 1 winners (75.0%) since 2010 went on to win the Division Series. Bregman: I think we've got a lot of work left to do, but it was a great start. Verlander came out and did a great job. Altuve had a big swing to get us on the board and break the ice. I think it's going to be a fun series, and we've got a lot of work cut out for us.
*Hinch: I think we're comfortable with what we do in big moments. I think we've been that way. If you look at our players, the pulse, the heartbeat, we have it.
*Verlander: 7IP, 1H/0ER, 8K:3BB. His three walks were the most he's issued since June 29. He has two or fewer walks in 19 of his 26 postseason starts. It's the 11th time in his career that he's thrown 7IP in the postseason. His teams are 9-2 when that happens, and the two losses were both 1-0 losses with Detroit in the 2013 postseason. Hinch: He's got an incredible instinct for the moment. He leaves some gas in his gas tank at the end of his outings...like a good sprinter, like at the finish line, he's going to win. He's going to win the race at the end of his outings.
For me, the best thing that happened to Verlander yesterday was allowing the soft hit to Brandon Lowe in the 5th, because it removed any pressure of a no-hitter. Verlander came out after 100 pitches, and would likely be on track for a G4 start, if necessary, rather than have a no-hitter at 100 pitches and going back out for the 8th to try to get it.
Verlander, since the All-Star Break (including yesterday's game): 103.1IP, 62H/22ER, 155K:18BB. 1.92 ERA / 0.77 WHIP.
Verlander is ranked 3rd all-time in postseason strikeouts, passing Roger Clemens yesterday. His 14 postseason wins are tied with Tom Glavine for 3rd all-time.
*Pressly: 0.2IP, 4H/2ER, 0K:0BB. Didn't look great, but didn't get straight up knocked around. Exit Velocities on Pressly's hits allowed:
Single to Tommy Pham: 26.2 mph
Single to Eric Sogard: 90.0 mph
Single to Joey Wendle: 96.6 mph
Double to Austin Meadows: 101.6 mph
*Jose Altuve homered in his third straight G1. He has homered against the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Indians, and Rays in the postseason in his career. Houston is 7-0 in the postseason when Altuve hits a home run. Correa, on Altuve: Unbelievable. [Altuve] told me before the game...'Hey, I've hit a homer in the first game of the last two postseasons. So I'm gonna make it three today,' and he did. When he tells me, I believe him. It doesn't surprise me.
Altuve: Glasnow was throwing so good through the game. His fastball was almost invisible. I was not looking for one specific pitch. I was just looking up and I got lucky. He threw it there and I could hit it.
*Brantley: 2x4, 1K. Brantley had the hardest-hit ball that didn't actually get down for a hit when he lined out in the 1st on a 103.6 mph shot off the bat.
*Correa: 1x4, 3K. It looked like Correa was trying to get his timing down more than he was trying to have productive ABs. Jenny Dial Creech: A healthy Carlos Correa is a happy Carlos Correa.
*Correa-Chirinos-Reddick: 2x10, 6K:2BB.
*The Astros had three stolen bases in the game (Springer, Bregman, Gurriel). They stole one base in the entire 2018 postseason. They stole three bases in a game four times in the 2019 regular season - but two of those were in September (Sept 6, Sept 14). Hinch: It was part of our strategy today. We felt like if we could put some pressure on them in opportune times, we were going to be able to manufacture some runs too. This is not a pitching staff that you're just going to ambush and get away with it.
*On Gurriel's pop-up that landed between Brandon Lowe and Austin Meadows, both rested blame partially at the feet of Astros fans. Meadows: It was tough to hear anything in general.
*The Ringer: The Astros have brought the Murderers Row lineup back to baseball.
*The Astros included both Jose Urquidy and Wade Miley on the ALDS roster, leaving off Chris Devenski and Brad Peacock. Hinch: The two toughest ones for me were Devo and Peacock. Those guys both pitched in the World Series for us. They both are tremendous individuals, and both are all on board and deserving to be on playoff rosters. It's a depth luxury more than an indictment of them not being capable to handle the responsibility of being on there.
*A few links in The Athletic worth your time:
-Andy McCullough on Gerrit Cole. Cole: [In the game] I don't need analytical help. I need feel. I need, like, 'Hey did you see the way that guy stepped out of the box and reacted to that pitch? Or 'Hey, you really f*****d that guy up.'
-Jake Kaplan on Hinch's midseason move to drop Bregman from 3rd to 4th, sandwiching him between two lefties in Brantley and Alvarez, and how it paid off yesterday. Hinch: That's the real dilemma for the other side. 'Do you want to save your lefty for Brantley?' or 'Do you want to save it for Alvarez?' and you've got MVP right in the middle of it.
-Jayson Stark on Verlander: Twenty and three! You know what that is? That's his record, since he pulled deep into the heart of Houston, Texas, in games played in September and October... ...If Verlander wins any more games in this postseason - which would seem like a definite possibility - he would become the first pitcher to win more than 20 September/October games over a three-year span since (ready?) Grover Cleveland Alexander won 25 for the 1915-17 Phillies, in slightly different times.
*Outside: The essential post-run stretching routine to keep you injury-free. Side note: I was training to run a marathon in January. Two weeks of a sinus infection and bronchitis (and, let's be honest, postseason stress-hydrating) has delayed that a little bit.
*Mental Floss: The best sleeping position, according to experts.
*Deadspin: Inside TheMaven's plan to turn Sports Illustrated into a rickety content mill.
*Allow me to apologize for numerous inaccuracies in yesterday morning's Hot Links. It was a mess. I was trying to do two or three things two nights ago, and didn't do any of them particularly well.
Here's the thing about baseball that I love: it absolutely mirrors real life. You go to work damn near every day. People come and go. You get the promotion you don't really deserve. You win games you otherwise have no business winning. Someone else gets the promotion you do deserve. Sometimes you lose games you absolutely have no business losing. Then you get back at it tomorrow. Every now and then you have really good days and feels like there's a parade waiting for you as you leave. Sometimes you have five really bad days in a row (some of them in Boston), and you find yourself looking for meaning. Sometimes an arbitrary person straight up ruins what you thought was special. The St. Petersburg Devil Rays won 9-8.
Point is, the highest compliment I can pay the Rays is that I hate them and I hope they move to Montreal. Team full of youth pastors and accountants and frisbee golf enthusiasts.
Houston is 87-48. They've lost one of their last one games. They went 8-2 on the homestand and, typical Astros who crap the bed in August are [squints] 18-8 in August. There are 27 games left in the regular season. Oakland beat Kansas City 9-8, if you like unhappy coincidences. Houston has a nine-game lead on the A's. They play four games against each other from September 9-12. The Yankees were off, the Dodgers lost to Arizona.
New York: 88-47
Los Angeles: -0.5
Houston: -1.0
Oakland: -10.0
The Astros lost a game they had no business losing: Greinke vs the Bullpen. It's just the 4th game in MLB this season in which a team scored at least eight runs, got at least eight hits, and walked at least ten times and lost. The only time it has happened before in franchise history was April 26, 2000 when the Astros lost 13-8 to the Cubs. It happens. Not often, but it happens. It doesn't make it less stupid.
Six of the nine hitters in Houston's lineup have an OPS of .900 or higher. Greinke was on the mound. None of the starting nine hitters in Tampa's lineup have an OPS over .900. Hinch: You get a close game like that - and certainly, a crazy game like that - you always look back at the opportunities. We didn't play particularly clean, but we did fight and I love the fight. It was a weird back-and-forth game, but we didn't do quite enough at the right times to win the game.
Greinke: 5.2IP, 6H/5ER, 8K:1BB. His 8Ks are the highest he's posted as an Astro, and the highest since July 20 against the Brewers. One of Greinke's earned runs came when Smith couldn't close out the inning.
The pitching staff of Greinke, Smith, Devenski, Rondon, and Sneed allowed 14H/9ER. It was stupid. The Astros' offense was 2x11 w/RISP and left 11 on base. Everyone was the unclutchiest.
Devenski, especially. In recording precisely one out, Devenski allowed 4H/3ER, two of those hits for doubles.
Devenski, 2016-2017: 189IP, 129H/50ER, 204K:46BB, 2.38 ERA / 0.93 WHIP.
Devenski, 2018-2019: 105.1IP, 103H/56ER, 115K:32BB, 4.78 ERA / 1.28 WHIP.
This may be the emotion talking, as I'm writing this a couple of hours after the loss, but I'm sort of done with Chris Devenski.
*Rays 1B Ji-Man Choi was 2x4 with a walk and 2RBI. He was 2x3 with a double, home run, walk and 2RBI on Wednesday.
*Josh Reddick "struck out" "looking" with one out in the bottom of the 9th. He got ejected after this pitch:
This is asinine. The home plate umpire was Jordan Baker. Not the one from The Great Gatsby, though she was a professional tennis player and would have done a better job - at 100+ years old - than this side of rancid bacon behind the plate. Reddick went nuts. Reddick: Weird thing is (Baker) thought I called him - how do I say this? - a four-letter word for a male's private area.
So not only is Jordan Baker bad at his job, he also can't hear. Good job, MLBUA.
It's really easy to blame the Dumb Jordan Baker, but the Astros lost this game as a team. They left the bases loaded in the 4th and the 5th innings. They dunked on themselves, with an alley-oop assist from The Idiot Jordan Baker. That doesn't make it easier. Springer up with the tying run on 1st and one out is different than Springer up with two outs and no one on. But if the Astros go 4x11 w/RISP, or even 3x11 w/RISP, it's a non-issue. I'm glad the Astros are mad.
*Lost in the shuffle of the game was Abraham Toro, who went 1x2 with a home run and 3RBI. It's the first home run of his career. Good lookin' out, AB. Enjoy Toronto and your hundreds of family and friends. Get your Tim Horton's.
*Jose Altuve hit a home run in the 6th to give the Astros a 6-5 lead. It was his 25th home run of the season, which is now a career-high. He hit 24 home runs in 2016 and 2017.
*For no reason, I was looking at Travis D'Arnaud's Baseball-Reference page (he had 4RBI in the 9-8 loss). D'Arnaud, he of a career .718 OPS, was drafted 37th overall by the Phillies, traded to Toronto for Roy Halladay in 2009, then traded to New York - with Noah Syndergaard - to New York for R.A. Dickey in 2012. That's nuts.
*BreakingT (of which Ya Boi is but a small part) is having a Labor Day Weekend Sale including the Hugs For Homers shirt. Click the link and buy an inexpensive shirt and I get a cut of the sale. Here's my sales pitch on the shirts they make: I run in these shirts. I run a decently-long distance in these shirts (5-10 miles). Not once have these shirts angered my nipples, and they're a quality organization. Not only do I get a (small) cut, but due to the licensing agreement with the various professional leagues they service, so do the players. There's Astros and Rockets stuff, as well, just scroll through. No Texans gear, because Bill O'Brien's dimple won't sell but still.
*The other day we mentioned Rays Double-A pitcher Blake Bivens, whose wife, son, and mother-in-law were killed by his brother-in-law. Morgan Ensberg is his manager, and flew home with him.
The Astros were off, nothing really happened, yesterday sucked. Good news is we get to do this again on Thursday, just in time to watch The Crazytrain on Kirby play a pre-season game.
Related, here's the playoff schedule. The ALDS will start on October 4 or October 5. Whichever time slot is more convenient for the Yankees, the Astros would get the other one.
*Former Astros Great Tony Sipp rejected an outright assignment to the minors and the Nationals have requested release waivers, meaning he's headed to the open market. If they already brought back Machete, and could use another reliever since Reymin Guduan is apparently an idiot, might they try to get the whole damn band back together?
*Framber threw 6IP, 5H/2ER, 8K:1BB in a 6-3 Round Rock win over Sacramento. Nick Tanielu was 2x3 with a home run and a walk. Kyle Tucker was 1x3 with an RBI.
*Corpus managed only two runs but it was enough to shut out Frisco. Bryan Abreu (5IP) and Cristian Javier (4IP) threw 9IP, 3H/0ER, 13K:5BB - and four of those walks were Abreu's.
Cristian Javier's last ten appearances: 42.1IP, 16H/11ER, 69K:24BB, 2.34 ERA / 0.94 WHIP.
*Fayetteville pitchers walked nine batters but limited the damage in a 13-4 whoopin of Myrtle Beach. Scott Manea was 4x5 with two doubles, a home run, and 3RBI. Corey Julks was 3x4 with four runs scored and 2RBI.
*Quad Cities have scored two runs in the first three games of the series against Kane County, losing last night 3-0. 1-7 in the lineup went 0x22 with 8K.
*Joe Perez (2nd Round - 2017) hit a walkoff home run against Jenrry Mejia - yes, that Jenrry Mejia - as Tri-City beat Lowell. 2017 10th Round pick Kyle Serrano is back after basically two years of injuries, and he's happy the Astros stuck with him (this article is from, like, a month ago, but it's still applicable).
*Evan P. Grant, with a quote from a fan who was a racist tirade at Globe Life Park about what transpired on Saturday, hours after the racist mass shooting in El Paso: He made it perfectly clear during the second inning that he is not a fan of Hispanics. And he just so happened to have a Hispanic family [us] sitting in front of him and another one sitting directly behind him. During the second inning the little boy behind him who looked to be about [her son's] age kicked the back of his chair. And for the next three innings I had to hear him complain about all the illegal immigrants that were surrounding him at the game. That he should kick little Speedy Gonzalez all the way back to Mexico for kicking his seat. That Trump needs to hurry and build the wall and send all these illegals back so they won't be kicking his seat.
This isn't a joke about Dallas. Racists who get triggered by a kid at a baseball game are the joke.
*Hahahahahahahaha. The Astros threw a combined no-hitter against the Mariners in Aaron Sanchez's Astros debut and got seven extra-base hits for a 9-0 demolition of Seattle. Houston is 72-40. The lead on Oakland is still 8.5 games. There are 50 regular season games left.
Record, after 112 games:
2019: 72-40
2018: 71-41
2017: 71-41
The 2017 Astros went 11-17 in August. I don't think that'll happen to this team.At this point the Astros will need to 32-18 to reach 104 wins and set a franchise record. That's a .640 winning percentage down the stretch. Given that their win% right now is .642, it's doable.
Houston is 15-7 since the All-Star Break.
Game Notes
*You have to go back all the way to July 12 to find the last time the Mariners were no-hit.
*It's the first time since August 21, 2015 that the Astros have thrown a no-hitter, when Former Astros Great Mike F. Fiers did it against the Dodgers. It's the 12th time in franchise history that they've recorded a no-hitter. They're 11-1 in games in which they do not allow a hit. On April 23, 1964 the Reds beat the Astros 1-0 because starting pitcher Ken Johnson and Nellie Fox committed two infield errors in the top of the 9th and Pete Rose scored the winning run.
*Aaron Sanchez was brilliant: 6IP, 0H/0ER, 6K:2BB. Sanchez's previous career-long with 0H allowed? 2IP, on August 30, 2014. Last night was his first win in 17 consecutive starts.
ESPN: Sanchez threw his curve on 30.4% of his pitches, the highest curveball percentage of his career with a minimum of two batters faced according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Scott Servais: He certainly wasn't dominating anybody coming into the game, so we expected to do a lot more against him and just weren't able to get it done.
Hinch: I don't carry the burden of the early-season losses for him because he wasn't with us. I am proud of him for containing his energy and containing his excitement...I feel so good for him because he was able to channel that inner energy that he has and deliver a huge start. He really did step onto this team and provide a great first impression.
Sanchez's last three starts: 16.2IP, 11H/5ER, 22K:2BB. 2.70 ERA / 0.78 WHIP. Sanchez: It's hard to come to a team and feel like you can contribute right away when they're already so good. So for tonight to end the way it did, these guys coming in behind me and doing their part, too...I'm so happy.
Sanchez is the 2nd pitcher in MLB history to be part of a combined no-hitter in his first start with a new team.
Devenski: When I saw Vogelbach hit it in the air and Redd catch it and everyone came running at me, it was pretty cool...I kind of looked up when I was walking in from the bullpen and saw a 0 up there. I had to step off the mound and take a step back and gather myself. Going out there and being able to finish this, with these groups of guys, is something that's going to live on forever. I'm happy to be a part of it.
*Seattle's Mallex Smith: It's kind of embarrassing. But it's baseball. It's sports, you know. Sometimes the dice roll your way, sometimes not.
Seattle started the season 13-2. They're 34-64 since.
*Hinch, on the Astros' seeming ability to turn pitchers around: We don't have magic dust. There's a lot of people in the organization that go to work to try to find the one thing that can unlock people's potential.
Aha! But there's this from Hinch, as well: I want to credit Aaron Sanchez more than I credit the magic dust we sometimes sprinkle on these guys.
There is absolutely a jar of Magic Dust.
Gerrit Cole wasn't terribly thrilled with some fans who were leaving in the 9th Inning: I just don't think everybody was aware of what was going on. I certainly wouldn't leave. But if you want to leave, you can leave. I'm not telling you to stay or leave, I just hope that you know that it was a no-hitter.
*Will Harris: 1IP, 0H/0ER, 0K:1BB.
Joe Biagini: 1IP, 0H/0ER, 1K:1BB
Chris Devenski: 1IP, 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
Chandler Rome: How the bullpen locked down the no-hitter.
*2-6 in the lineup (Altuve-Brantley-Bregman-Yordan-Correa): 11x25 / 8 RBI with four doubles, a triple, and a home run.
*Michael Brantley was 3x5 with two doubles and 4RBI. He's hitting .320/.379/.516 with a career-high in OPS. It's his 11th 3+ hit game of the season.
*Astros hitters have recorded at least three hits in a game 70 times this season:
Brantley: 11
Gurriel: 10
Altuve: 9
Springer: 8
Bregman: 7
Reddick: 6
Correa: 5
Yordan: 4
Marisnick: 3
White: 3
Chirinos: 1
Kemp: 1
Mayfield: 1
Straw: 1
*Jose Altuve was 2x5 with his 18th home run of the year. On June 20 his OPS was .769. It's now .907. Over those 35 games he's hitting .373/.417/.633. He has a 1.212 OPS since the All-Star Break.
*Bregman, Yordan, and Correa each had two hits.
If you're a GM and the Astros call asking to trade for one your players, and you don't know why they want said player, you should immediately hang up the phone and figure out what you're not seeing.
*The Astros had a successful inaugural Hall of Fame class last night. Shoutout to Mike Acosta. J.R. Richard: I cannot explain the feeling that's going through me right now. I'm just appreciative to be here with such a bunch of great guys. To have played with those guys has been a true pleasure and honor. And I'm so happy for the franchise and how it's grown.
*The pairing of Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke is extremely rare in MLB history, writes Andrew Simon. Simon: It's not just that the Astros have two likely future Hall of Famers. It's that they have them at a time when both pitchers are both so highly accomplished already (60+ WAR, Cy Young Awards), and still highly effective.
*There are three pitchers in MLB with 140+ IP thrown and a WHIP under 1.00: Verlander, Cole, Greinke.
*July AL Player of the Month: Yuli Gurriel
July AL Pitcher of the Month: Gerrit Cole. The last pitcher to win back-to-back Pitcher of the Month awards was Blake Snell, who later won the AL Cy Young.
July AL Rookie of the Month: Yordan Alvarez
It's the first time since June 2006 (Minnesota) that one team has swept all three awards in the same month.
*Zack Greinke is a really interesting guy with a well-documented history of social anxiety. Brian T. Smith writes that, with the Astros, Greinke can just be himself. Luhnow: He's not a guy that seeks the limelight, and that actually works well for us here in Houston and slotting in with Verlander and Cole. He's not going to have to be the guy that's in front of the camera the whole time. But he's a competitor. The one thing I've heard about him is he's really intelligent...The GM of the Diamondbacks told me that he loves to study the draft, he loves to absorb the draft, he knows all the draft players. So I'm looking forward to having him as a special assistant.
The Astros have so many Personalities on the team: Bregman, Reddick, Correa (and Daniella, of course), Springer, Yuli. Verlander and Cole. Yordan is a serene lake at dawn. Greinke doesn't have to provide a soundbite. It's perfect. I have a fairly decent case of social anxiety, or maybe anxiety/depression in general. It manifests itself in different ways. I drink a decent amount, but I'm working on that. Hot Links, and Astros County in general, has helped. Running helps more. I didn't really feel this anxiety during the live show but I would much rather, 99% of the time, to just stay home. Maybe it's teaching/coaching that forces me to be social and caring and accommodating, and there's something to taking on the weight of 120+ students and all of their emotions and the weight of their general existence. I tell my students that if they just can't deal with the cafeteria then my room is open (provided the door stays open and I tell our hall security guard that I have a student in there - can't be too careful) for them to just sit and eat lunch. We can talk if they want, or I can get some work done while they remove themselves from a situation if they don't. I'm exhausted when I get home.
So to the Houston reporters - and I know at least a couple of you read this blog - just leave Greinke alone. He'll talk when he wants to talk. If you're reading this, do not think that Greinke is "such a weirdo." Laugh at the legitimately funny stories surrounding Greinke, but do not just chalk him up to being a head case. Because in reality, who isn't?
*Round Rock beat Sacramento 10-9. Kyle Tucker was 2x5 with a double and his 28th home run of the year. Abraham Toro was 2x3. Alex De Goti was 2x4 with a home run and 3RBI. Brad Peacock "threw" 1.1IP, 3H/5ER, 2K:2BB in a rehab start.
*Corpus won 5-1. Colton Shaver hit a three-run home run and JJ Matijevic added another long ball. Forrest Whitley gets the start for Corpus today.
*Cal Stevenson made his Astros org debut last night, hitting 6th for Fayetteville. He went 0x3 with an RBI and a stolen base in a 4-3 Fayetteville loss. Shawn Dubin (13th Round - 2018) threw 4.2IP, 2H/2R (0ER), 11K:1BB.
Dubin's last two starts: 9.2IP, 5H/2ER, 20K:3BB.
*Quad Cities lost to Kane County 2-1 in 10 innings. Jose Alberto Rivera and Jonathan Bermudez combined to throw 8IP, 7H/1ER, 8K:4BB. The game-winning run for Kane County was unearned.
Other Stuff
*FanGraphs' David Laurilia has really great background on Former Astros Great Corbin Martin's development all the way to Arizona.
*Patrick Sandoval is getting called up to Anaheim. Sandoval, drafted by the Astros in the 11th Round of the 2015 Draft, was traded to Anaheim in 2018 for Martin Maldonado.
