Today is July 3rd. Many of you know that I was born in England, and every 3rd of July my wife and I celebrate Dependence Day, in honor of the last day of the Colonies' dependence on England. Newcastle Brown Ale, Harp, Bass, Bangers & Mash, and lots (and lots) of Ocean Colour Scene, Oasis, Blur, Pulp, and Kula Shaker. Happy Dependence Day. Piers Morgan can get stuffed, though.
The Astros won a wild one last night in Colorado and are undefeated when Jose Urquidy starts. Houston is 54-32, 7.0 games up on Oakland and 7.5 up on the 3rd Place North Madisonville Rangers. The Astros have won six of their last eight games. They've scored 6+ runs three games in a row for the first time since May 11-13. Hinch:
I don't come here a lot, and I don't manage here a lot, but it feels like every time I do come here, it's a game that never ends and a game you're never quite in control of and never quite out of. Good team win for us. We had a lot of people step up and do a lot of good things.
Houston is 4-1 at Colorado since 2015, outscoring them 35-21.
*George Springer and Jose Altuve combined for seven of the Astros' 13 hits - Springer going 3x5 and Altuve going 4x5 with a double. Altuve has seven hits in his last ten PAs. If you excuse his first game back from the IL, Altuve is hitting .367/.385/.510 in his last eleven games. He stole two bases in a game for the first time since June 2, 2018. Hinch, on Altuve:
He hasn't forgotten how to play. When he gets these hits in bunches and he starts to run the bases aggressively, I think we all collectively exhale and feel really good for him. People have no idea how hard he's worked and what he's put in and the stress he carries when he doesn't do well.
*Springer is hitting .345/.406/.483 since coming off the IL.
*Yuli Gurriel was 3x5 with two home runs. It's the second 2HR game of his career, first since September 21, 2018. Since June 11, Gurriel is hitting .338/.390/.676. He also struck out last night for the first time since June 20, going 41 PAs between strikeouts. Bum. Hinch, on Gurriel:
He's getting pretty good pitches to hit and he's not missing them.
Gurriel, on how he likes hitting at Coors:
Mucho. Good stadium to hit in and the ball goes far.
Chandler Rome says the story behind Gurriel's resurgence begins with a conversation with Carlos Beltran.
*Jose Urquidy made his MLB debut last night and threw 3.2IP, 6H/2ER, 4K:1BB, throwing 52 of his 81 pitches for strikes. He got dinked (sic) on. Unlucky. He'll get another start Sunday. A.J. Reed was DFA'd to make room on the 40-Man Roster for Urquidy, and Reymin Guduan was optioned back to Round Rock to make room on the 25-Man.
Within that link we find that Correa and Diaz are working out at the team's Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach.
*Josh James kind of crapped the bed, getting four outs and allowing 3H/5R (4ER) with 1K:2BB. It's the second time this season he has allowed 4ER. He has allowed runs in 10 of his 31 appearances, and multiple runs in nine of those.
*Will Harris allowed four hits for the 4th time in his career and the first time in the regular season since July 8, 2016. It happened once in the 2015 ALDS but we do not speak of this. He worked himself out of a bases-loaded jam. Harris:
You know coming in you're just going to have to go out there and find a way to get three outs. You know you're going to give up hits and you just have to keep grinding.
*Chris Devenski, Ryan Pressly, and Roberto Osuna closed the door on the Rockies, combining for 3IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:1BB.
*Holdt up a minute: Baseball-Reference has their own Playoff Odds tracker and they say the Twins (10.3%) have a better chance of winning the World Series than the Astros (9.5%)? And the Dodgers have a 1-in-3 chance? GTFOH. Related from Buster Olney: Can the Twins keep winning?
*The County Mountie has some potential spin rate trade targets for your reading pleasure.
*The Astros signed #14 international prospect Dauri Lorenzo yesterday, and 12 other international players.
*The Athletic's Marc Carig has a good piece on potential trade target Zack Wheeler.
*The Braves just couldn't score enough for Dallas Keuchel.
*The Ringer: The 2019 Orioles might be the 1927 Yankees of awful.
*Wired: A costly reminder that you don't actually own your E-books.
*Cain and Abel and Oil.
*A Musical Selection:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Dauri Lorenzo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dauri Lorenzo. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Thursday Morning Hot Links
Brad Peacock pitched well and the Astros avenged Collin McHugh by whooping up on the Royals 9-0. Houston is 22-15, 12-4 at home.
*Astros pitchers held the Royals to three hits. It's the 4th time this season they've held their opponent to three or fewer hits. They're 3-1 in those games. Peacock and James struck out 17 Royals. The last time the Astros struck out 17 opponents in a shutout was June 15, 1987, a 4-0 win against Cincinnati. It's the 3rd time in franchise history the Astros have done that, and only the 2nd time in a 9-inning game. (On April 15, 1968 the Astros beat the Mets 1-0 in 24 innings, and struck out 20.)
*Brad Peacock went to a full wind-up instead of pitching out of the stretch and threw 7IP, 3H/0ER, 12K:1BB. It's the best start of his career. He had never thrown 7IP with 12K prior to last night. On August 4, 2013 Peacock threw 7IP, 4H/3ER, 10K:2BB, but that was his only 21-out, 10+K game. It's only the 4th time in his career he recorded 21 outs, and the first time since July 18, 2017. The Astros would go on to win the World Series. Hinch:
The story of the day for me is the adjustment he made. His delivery out of the windup has much more rhythm, much more energy. The ball came out better, his execution was better and ultimately his results were better. That's as good as he's gotten into a game, and he held it his entire outing. It was an excellent night for him.
Peacock:
What I was doing wasn't working too well and I had to make a change. I felt really good tonight. I felt like I was able to get some rhythm out there and throw my stuff for strikes.
*Josh James struck out five of the six batters he faced.
*George Springer was 1x2 with a sac fly, a walk, and the 28th leadoff home run of his career. He's currently enjoying an 8-game hitting streak in which he has four home runs.
*Michael Brantley hit two home runs, his 8th and 9th of the season. It's his 5th career 2HR game, and the first since September 10, 2015.
In 2014, Brantley's best year as a pro, he collected 200 hits and hit 20 home runs in 676 PAs.
PA/hit, 2014: 3.38
PA/hit, 2019: 3.19
PA/HR, 2014: 33.8
PA/HR, 2019: 17.0
Brantley's 48 hits in 2019 lead the AL, and he's just four hits behind Cody Bellinger for MLB lead.
*Jose Altuve was 1x5. He has nine hits in his last 76 PAs. Yesterday I wrote about how Jose Altuve will be fine.
*Another Round Rock game, another Yordan homer. Jake Kaplan rounds up some of the questions about projecting Yordan Alvarez's bat in the Majors. I mean, I really only look at box scores but I have seen no reason why he wouldn't hit 60+ home runs in Houston.
*MLB Pipeline says the Astros are favorites to sign 16-year old SS Dauri Lorenzo in July. He's #14 on their Top 100 International Prospects list.
*Two nights ago Tyler White became the first player in Astros history to appear in a game as both DH and Pitcher.
*From SportsNet Canada: One year later, the Osuna case raises uneasy questions.
*Be warned. I will be in attendance at Minute Maid Park tonight. No, it wasn't my idea. Yes, I know the risk that I am taking for all of you. That said, I was at the King Felix Destruction Game, so maybe it'll be okay.
Speaking of which, let's talk about that June 12, 2015 game. Coming into it, for his career, King Felix: 2143.0IP, 1895H/727ER, 2032K:595BB, a 3.05 ERA / 1.16 WHIP.
SINCE that game, King Felix: 551.1IP, 551H/280ER, 466K:190BB, a 4.57 ERA / 1.34 WHIP.
The Astros killed him.
*15 Amazing Facts about Mike F. Fiers' 2nd career no-hitter. Read about the MLB scout who saw something relentless in Mike Fiers.
*Former Astros Great Delino DeShields got Delino DeMoted to Triple-A Nashville.
*SI's Stephanie Apstein: In the age of Analytics, scouts are looking for life after baseball.
*MLB teams would absolutely hire the Jeopardy guy.
*Vice: How an augmented reality game escalated into real-world spy warfare.
*Vox: Bored and lonely? Blame your phone.
*A Musical Selection:
*Astros pitchers held the Royals to three hits. It's the 4th time this season they've held their opponent to three or fewer hits. They're 3-1 in those games. Peacock and James struck out 17 Royals. The last time the Astros struck out 17 opponents in a shutout was June 15, 1987, a 4-0 win against Cincinnati. It's the 3rd time in franchise history the Astros have done that, and only the 2nd time in a 9-inning game. (On April 15, 1968 the Astros beat the Mets 1-0 in 24 innings, and struck out 20.)
*Brad Peacock went to a full wind-up instead of pitching out of the stretch and threw 7IP, 3H/0ER, 12K:1BB. It's the best start of his career. He had never thrown 7IP with 12K prior to last night. On August 4, 2013 Peacock threw 7IP, 4H/3ER, 10K:2BB, but that was his only 21-out, 10+K game. It's only the 4th time in his career he recorded 21 outs, and the first time since July 18, 2017. The Astros would go on to win the World Series. Hinch:
The story of the day for me is the adjustment he made. His delivery out of the windup has much more rhythm, much more energy. The ball came out better, his execution was better and ultimately his results were better. That's as good as he's gotten into a game, and he held it his entire outing. It was an excellent night for him.
Peacock:
What I was doing wasn't working too well and I had to make a change. I felt really good tonight. I felt like I was able to get some rhythm out there and throw my stuff for strikes.
*Josh James struck out five of the six batters he faced.
*George Springer was 1x2 with a sac fly, a walk, and the 28th leadoff home run of his career. He's currently enjoying an 8-game hitting streak in which he has four home runs.
*Michael Brantley hit two home runs, his 8th and 9th of the season. It's his 5th career 2HR game, and the first since September 10, 2015.
In 2014, Brantley's best year as a pro, he collected 200 hits and hit 20 home runs in 676 PAs.
PA/hit, 2014: 3.38
PA/hit, 2019: 3.19
PA/HR, 2014: 33.8
PA/HR, 2019: 17.0
Brantley's 48 hits in 2019 lead the AL, and he's just four hits behind Cody Bellinger for MLB lead.
*Jose Altuve was 1x5. He has nine hits in his last 76 PAs. Yesterday I wrote about how Jose Altuve will be fine.
*Another Round Rock game, another Yordan homer. Jake Kaplan rounds up some of the questions about projecting Yordan Alvarez's bat in the Majors. I mean, I really only look at box scores but I have seen no reason why he wouldn't hit 60+ home runs in Houston.
*MLB Pipeline says the Astros are favorites to sign 16-year old SS Dauri Lorenzo in July. He's #14 on their Top 100 International Prospects list.
*Two nights ago Tyler White became the first player in Astros history to appear in a game as both DH and Pitcher.
*From SportsNet Canada: One year later, the Osuna case raises uneasy questions.
*Be warned. I will be in attendance at Minute Maid Park tonight. No, it wasn't my idea. Yes, I know the risk that I am taking for all of you. That said, I was at the King Felix Destruction Game, so maybe it'll be okay.
Speaking of which, let's talk about that June 12, 2015 game. Coming into it, for his career, King Felix: 2143.0IP, 1895H/727ER, 2032K:595BB, a 3.05 ERA / 1.16 WHIP.
SINCE that game, King Felix: 551.1IP, 551H/280ER, 466K:190BB, a 4.57 ERA / 1.34 WHIP.
The Astros killed him.
*15 Amazing Facts about Mike F. Fiers' 2nd career no-hitter. Read about the MLB scout who saw something relentless in Mike Fiers.
*Former Astros Great Delino DeShields got Delino DeMoted to Triple-A Nashville.
*SI's Stephanie Apstein: In the age of Analytics, scouts are looking for life after baseball.
*MLB teams would absolutely hire the Jeopardy guy.
*Vice: How an augmented reality game escalated into real-world spy warfare.
*Vox: Bored and lonely? Blame your phone.
*A Musical Selection:
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