Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Dallas Keuchel pitched into the 8th inning and the Astros enjoyed a 4-run 8th inning on their way to a 6-2 series-opening win over Seattle yesterday evening in a merciful 5:40pm Central start time. The Astros are 4-0 in September and have their first five-game winning streak since getting that 11W from May 25-June 5. They are 84-53 with a 13.5-game lead on Anaheim and a 3.0-game lead on Cleveland, who won for the 12th time in a row. There are 25 games remaining.

*Keuchel: 7.2IP, 7H/2ER, 5K:2BB. He got 15 groundball outs. Keuchel:
The last starts, I kind of lost my cool a little bit, and that's what led to a lot of runs. And I told myself not to do that ever again and let the guys rely on me to get it going. Everything is a lot more fun and more loose, like we were playing earlier this year. 

Hinch:
His ability to get the ball on the ground was incredible, and even a couple of the hits early he gave up the first run on were ground balls. That's vintage Dallas when he's good - he's throwing strikes, he's down in the zone, he challenges them with balls having to be put in play on the ground.

*The last time an Astros starting pitcher pitched into the 8th? Mike Fiers, June 10.

*Alex Bregman hit a bases-loaded 2-run double down the line after the Mariners intentionally walked George Springer to get to him. Bregman:
They decided to walk Springer. He's been driving the ball...I was just fortunate enough to put a good swing on the ball and thankful to come through for my teammates.

After intentionally walking Altuve to reload the bases, Reddick went ahead and hit a 2-run single.

*Altuve has been held hitless in consecutive games for the fourth time this season, third since August 1.

Keuchel when asked if team is smelling division title: "Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to lie. We think about it probably every day."

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) September 5, 2017

So when might the Astros clinch the division? With 16 of their remaining 25 games on the road, you need some luck to catch the Astros celebrate their first division title since 2001. But let's try to figure it out. Magic number is 12 (Ed. Note: I'm not responsible for faulty math here. Well, I am, but don't hold it against me, this stuff is hard):

-If the Astros and Angels match records from here on out, the Astros would clinch the division when there are 12 games remaining, which would be September 20 - a home game against Chicago.
-Ah! but there are three games at Anaheim between now and then. Let's say the Angels take two of three but match records from that point forward. That would still put the clinch date on September 21 against the White Sox.
-If the Astros sweep the Angels on the road, pushing their lead to a proposed 16.5 games, there's a chance they could clinch in the 3rd and final game of the Angels series on September 14.
-In fact, barring some sort of weirdness (good or bad) games 147-155, Sept 15-24, are home games and represent the most likely time frame for the division championship.
-While it would likely mean that the Astros lost home field advantage throughout the AL side of the playoffs, it would be nice if the Astros clinched the division Sept 25-27 at Southeast Denton in the series that the Rangers didn't want to switch. But I'd rather go ahead and just win the best overall record in the American League.

*Dallas Keuchel made his 4th error of the season last night, having committed four errors in his career before this season.

*Mike Fiers was removed from the rotation to make way for Verlander/McCullers. It was inevitable, really. In his last eight starts (dating back to July 26) Fiers threw 41IP, 48H/36ER, 34K:22BB for a 7.90 ERA/1.56 WHIP. He got 18 outs in just three of his last eight starts. Hinch:
Every starting pitcher is built to want to start games, and I told him, you know, we wouldn't be in the position we're in now if he hadn't taken over and really stepped forward when we needed it the most. He had an incredible stretch in the middle of the season that solidified a lot of what we're doing and kept us going in the right direction with the injuries. I thanked him for that. 

Hinch is exactly right. In the ten starts between his first demotion-just-kidding-welcome-back (May 30-July 21), Fiers threw 61IP, 43H/16ER, 69K:21BB, 2.36 ERA/1.05 WHIP. The Astros were 7-3 in those starts. But then it sort of fell apart from July 26-present. Here's how the rest of the rotation compares dating back to July 26:

Morton: 41IP, 34H/18ER, 47K:14BB, 3.95 ERA/1.17 WHIP
McHugh: 39.2IP, 37H/12ER, 38K:12BB, 2.72 ERA/1.24 WHIP
Keuchel: 38.2IP, 41H/23ER, 28K:17BB, 5.35 ERA/1.50 WHIP
Peacock: 37.2IP, 39H/17ER, 44K:11BB, 4.06 ERA/1.33 WHIP

Keuchel is looking a little more like Keuchel as of late, and Peacock is likely back to the bullpen. Why?

1st time hitters face Peacock, 2017: .130/.216/.159, 52K:14BB
2nd time hitters face Peacock, 2017: .276/.357/.386, 45K:15BB
3rd time hitters face Peacock, 2017: .358/.449/.627, 17K:11BB

So it makes sense for Peacock to be super-effective for 3IP and then out rather than Peacock to be super-effective for 3IP and then pray he can get to the 6th inning.

*Michael Feliz threw a scoreless inning yesterday for Quad Cities in his first rehab outing since August 22.

*Max Stassi was activated from the DL.

*The remaining call-ups will be the rehabbing Evan Gattis and Michael Feliz, and James Hoyt.

*Francisco Liriano gave up his #35 to Verlander for nothing.

*Dayan Diaz was claimed off waivers by the Angels, but it makes more sense for you to think that he was a PTBNL for Cameron Maybin

*George Springer is partnering with his hometown New Britain Bees for a Pack the Truck event on Friday night for supplies to help Southeast Texas recover.

*The Mariners will collect donations to help Harvey victims on Wednesday.

*If this doesn't perfectly summarize Collin McHugh, I don't know what does: When the Astros players started texting each other that they had acquired Verlander, Carlos Correa broke his PS4, George Springer was watching a movie with his fiancee, Jose Altuve was eating dinner, and Collin McHugh...was asleep. Verlander will only have his fiancee in the crowd for tonight's Astros debut:
You know how hard it was for people to try to get here. [Seattle] is the farthest I could have been. It's just as well. It's going to be so nerve-wracking. I know I'll be so nervous. It'll be like Opening Day. It really doesn't matter if you win on Opening Day, but that game's so nerve-wracking because it's new.

*Fresno finished their season with a 9-7 win over Salt Lake yesterday afternoon. A.J. Reed was 3x5 with his 34th home run of the season - breaking Fresno's single-season home run record and giving Reed his second Minor-League Home Run title. At 77-65, it's Fresno's third winning season in a row (all as an Astros affiliate). It's the Astros' Triple-A affiliate's (between Fresno and OKC) 6th winning season in a row. The 2017 Grizzlies set franchise records for runs (853), RBIs (805), and home runs (200). Tony Kemp led all of Triple-A baseball with 166 hits.

*Derek Fisher was named to the All-PCL Team.

*Corpus needed a win and a Midland loss to make the Texas League playoffs, and held up their end of the deal with a 2-0 win over San Antonio. But Midland beat Frisco - seriously the Rangers as an organization is good for nothing - to take the final spot.

Can't say enough about this team @cchooks to be out 6 G w10 left & end up tie record but loose on technicality #HuricaneHarvey #winnersinmy📕

— Rodney Linares (@RondeyLinares) September 5, 2017

So how did the Hooks finish the 2nd half with a 33-35 record, but lose a playoff spot to 32-36 Midland? Corpus lost the season series against Midland.

*Needing a win against the Rangers' High-A affiliate to make the playoffs, Buies Creek lost 10-3.

*Say what you want about ESPN's fellating of Aaron Judge, but 100 walks - especially as a rookie - is pretty impressive. Going into last night's game George Springer had a team-high 50 walks. No Astro has drawn 100+ walks in a season since Morgan Ensberg in 2006. There have been 16 100+ walk seasons in franchise history:
Jeff Bagwell: 7
Jimmy Wynn: 3
Lance Berkman: 3
Joe Morgan: 2
Morgan Ensberg: 1

*J.D. Martinez accomplished something more rare than a perfect game last night.

*Hope you're ready for 9:10pm Central tonight as Justin Verlander makes his Astros debut.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Well yesterday sure was something. The Astros scored three runs in the 8th inning to beat the South Oklahoma Rangers of Arlington 5-1 and then added Justin Verlander last night at the actual last possible minute. The Astros are 80-53. The Astros have an 11.5-game lead on the Angels for the division, and a 3.5-game lead on the Indians for the AL's best record. There are 29 games left.

The Astros finished August with an 11-17 record, after having lost 17 of their first 59 games of the season. They entered August with a 69-36 record, a 16-game lead in the division, and an 11.5-game lead on the Yankees for the best record in the AL. They dropped eight games in the AL standings this month. Glad it's over, for many reasons. 

The Game

First things first. Collin McHugh labored through 4.2IP, needing 91 pitches to hold the Rangers to 4H/1R (0ER), 3K:2BB. McHugh:

It's been a tough week. Obviously, we're really fortunate in so many ways, to have been able to escape the devastation that's actually happened in Houston. We've been away for a while, and we're all ready to get back home. 

Devenski, who threw 2.1 scoreless IPs:

It's been tough on me because, in all reality, we should be there. We should have been there from the start of this. 

A.J. Hinch got himself ejected for the first time this season arguing a catcher's interference call with home plate umpire Chris Segal when hey what's this here comes Joe West for some reason to save the day and toss Hinch. Hinch:

I understand he's protecting a younger umpire, but there was really no business for Joe to be involved in the argument. I didn't say anything that was necessary to get thrown out by the home plate umpires, and then Joe got involved and decided I was done for the day. It was just unnecessary.

*Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, and J.D. Davis had two hits each. Derek Fisher came in for Carlos Beltran after he got hit in the foot and delivered a 2-run single. In August, Fisher was 10x61 with two extra-base hits. Beltran:

Good win. The most important thing is that we're going home and we're going to have a chance to be with our families, hopefully bring a little bit of joy to the city. A lot of people are going through tough times. 

Prediction: There will be at least four Astros on paternity leave come Summer 2018.

The Move(s)

*The Astros claimed Cameron Maybin off waivers yesterday. He doesn't hit a whole lot (.235/.333/.351 for the Angels this season, but he leads the AL with 29 stolen bases and will be a solid defensive replacement/pinch runner come October. McHugh:

He's a great athlete. We've seen him against us; I think he stole about 14 bases against us in a series. To have a guy like that - not only just another veteran presence, but a guy with athleticism and a guy who has been there before - I think it will be huge. 

Story checks out. In the June 9-11 series (Maybin played on June 9 and 11), he was 5x8 with two walks and six stolen bases. 

Hinch:

I said I got ejected just so I could make the call once we traded for him. I've got history with Cam; he's a great human, fun guy to be on our team. He's got a ton of speed and can play all three outfield positions. I'll work him in. 

It's a straight salary dump by the Angels, so the Astros will pay him about $1.6m for the rest of the season. 

*The Astros DFA'd Dayan Diaz. 

*Oh yeah, and then at the literal last minute they could possibly add him to the team, the Astros traded Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron, and Jake Rogers to the Tigers for Justin Verlander. Verlander and Upton wanted to go to the Cubs, but Tigers officials - who were at Verlander's home - told him the Cubs weren't offering enough. Jon Morosi has the breathless, sweaty/shaky hands details:

If you're going anywhere, the Tigers told Verlander, it's going to be Houston. With barely a minute to spare, Verlander agreed to leave the only organization he's ever known. 

*The deal was reported 18 minutes after the official deadline. Leading to super-stupid takes from idiots like this:

JUSTIN VERLANDER YOU CAN GO TO HELL, I HOPE YOU GET TO BE THE BEST PITCHER ON A 65-WIN TEAM AND I HOPE YOUR GIRL LEAVES YOU

— Thickie Don (@AstrosCounty) September 1, 2017

Cole Hamels and Justin Verlander can drink whiskey sours in the saddest, most scabies-ridden nightclub in America for all I care

— Thickie Don (@AstrosCounty) September 1, 2017

/yawns Astros Twitter is so stupid.

*Lookit Jim Crane being all snarky:

We thought the deal was dead. We had tried previously. He's a quality pitcher. I think he's excited to come. He was a little reluctant and eventually made the right decision. We got him for a couple of more years and the team's intact.

*I guess lots of people think his fiancee is pretty. 

*ESPN's David Schoenfield:

Given the unfathomable damage Hurricane Harvey has caused in Houston, the Astros will become America's Team as they go for the first World Series title, a rallying cry for the city and symbol of hope, much like the Yankees in 2001 after 9/11 and the Red Sox in 2013 after the Boston Marathon bombing. 

pic.twitter.com/flxAtiVSJZ

— Josh Reddick (@RealJoshReddick) September 1, 2017

*Jon Heyman begrudgingly fist-bumped the Astros:
The Astros, who've taken hits for being cautious in trades and kept their biggest prospect off-limits in all other deals, made the bold move their critics figured they'd never make, landing exactly the kind of big-time pitcher they needed for a team that's talented but whose best starting pitchers haven't proved their durability yet.

*Ken Rosenthal:
No player, no trade, no team can fix the wreckage left by Hurricane Harvey. But the addition of Verlander sure helps on the field. Maybe, just maybe, it will provide a figurative ray of sunshine off the field as well.

*Bob Nightengale reports that the Tigers will pay $8m annually for the rest of Verlander's contract, putting the Astros on the hook for $20m in 2018 and 2019. Buster Olney says the Astros' triggering his option for 2020 was not part of the deal.

As soon as my nipples die down we'll have a post on the financial impact of adding $20m to the payroll.

*JJ Cooper writes that both sides benefited from this deal. You can read his thoughts on Perez, Cameron, and Rogers.

Nice work Astros. Where farm system depth kicks in. Have an equivalent or better prospect for each guy they traded.

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) September 1, 2017

*Because I need to get ready for work, here's my initial thoughts after four and a half hours of sleep:
This was the deal the Astros had to make. I don't know how much impact the hurricane had on the decision-making process, but the Astros will get today off to see their families and help out the community and go into what ought to be a raucous Minute Maid Park for a doubleheader on Saturday with Verlander in the dugout. This is a massive addition, a shot in the arms of the team and the city. Franklin Perez might turn out to be one of MLB's best pitchers but for a team that had been dragging ass since the trade deadline, this is the September Surprise they need. For everyone focused on winning multiple World Series titles, you have to win the first one first. If it backfires, no one can blame the front office. Trading for Verlander isn't a Kazmir/Gomez deal where you think, "If things break right, this might be okay." This is a slam dunk decision. Now I'm off to focus on my breathing.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

*Man that was a crazy 24 hours for the Astros. After losing David Paulino for 80 games (and the playoffs) the Astros beat the Yankees on a walk-off throw. The Astros are an AL-best 7-3 in their last ten games. They're 55-27 overall with a 13.5-game lead over Anaheim.

*Let's start with what transpired before the game: Reymin Guduan (auto-correct is not a fan of either of those names) was optioned to Triple-A Freshno. Dayan Diaz was recalled and it was announced that David Paulino - this being his side day - would be available out of the bullpen. But because it had been less than 10 days since Diaz had been optioned to Fresno, he would be ineligible to play. And because Guduan had been optioned, the Astros would only have 23 players available for last night's game. Luhnow:
I had assumed it had been 10 days. It certainly seems like 10 days ago or longer to me. It was my fault. I made a mistake and will learn from it. 

AND THEN it was announced that David Paulino had tested positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing drug. Because of the suspension - and because Paulino did not appeal -  Dayan Diaz was eligible to rejoin the Astros for last night's game.

Hinch, on Paulino:
It's disappointing because of all the good that he's done in his career and to be effective, but it's the nature of the business when you try to find a competitive edge. The program's in place to catch these types of actions, and clearly, it worked.

*Luhnow, on Paulino:
He's remorseful. That's all I can really say. He feels bad about it, and he feels bad that he put the organization in this position. He'll learn from it, and I'm sure David will have a long and fruitful Major League career. 

Paulino had made six starts for the Astros since Joe Musgrove went on the DL on May 30. His best game was on June 17 against Boston when he threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 4K:1BB. In his last outing - June 28 against Oakland - he was tagged for 7H/7ER, but with 8K:0BB in 4IP.

*Boldenone, which is also called Equipoise (root word: equine, as in "f***ing horse"), is the steroid that Jenrry Mejia tested positive for back in February 2016. It apparently helps increase the appetite, leading to bigger lean muscle gains. On Mejia's positive test, ESPN's T.J. Quinn had this to say:

Mejia tested positive for boldenone, the 2nd time he was nailed for it. It's old school, unsophisticated, easily detectable. Career suicide.

— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) February 12, 2016

*What does this mean for the rotation? The Astros have 12 pitchers and will have to add someone to the 25-Man Roster today (currently at 24). With a rotation spot available, maybe they can finesse it for a little while until Charlie Morton is ready to start this coming Saturday at Toronto. Morton will throw another rehab start today, in Corpus. Peacock will start Tuesday, with Wednesday's starter TBD. So right now you have (in no particular order): McCullers, Fiers, Martes, Peacock and...probably Musgrove, with Morton the first pitcher back from the DL, which would probably shift Peacock back to the bullpen.

*So on to last night's game against the Yankees. The Astros gave up a grand slam for the second night in a row - and the third time this week, giving the Yankees a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th. In the 8th, a Correa RBI-groundout preceded an Evan Gattis monster shot to left, which preceded a Yuli Gurriel two-run double, giving the Astros a 7-6 lead. In the top of the 9th, Ken Giles got Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier to pop up before Brett Gardner singled and got too aggressive on the bases, and was thrown out to end the game.

*Hinch, on the win:
This game will show you something crazy every day.

*Gurriel was 3x4 with 4RBI, his go-ahead hit off of Aroldis Chapman's 101.5mph fastball was the fastest pitch he had ever hit (according to Statcast). Hinch, on Gurriel vs. Chapman:
He was incredibly patient. That's about as mature of an at-bat as you can get in that situation. It was a really special at-bat.

*Yankees manager Joe Girardi (scroll down past the Clint Frazier-fellating to read anything about the Astros actually winning the game):
Their offense is relentless

*Altuve was 0x3 with a walk and two stolen bases. It's his third 2SB game of the season, and his 2nd in the last four games.

*Frankie Tuesday threw 5IP, 4H/2ER (one of those came courtesy of Will Harris' grand slam), with 7K:1BB but was taken out after 89 pitches. In 21.1IP with Houston, Martes has struck out 23 batters. Hinch, on Martes:
When I went out to talk to him, I told him, 'That's the best I've seen you throw.' I'm proud of him for coming back after a start where he took it on the chin, in an environment like this against a team like the Yankees - that's a big performance. 

*Last night's lineup had as many players (four) with an OPS over .900 as they did players with an OPS under .800. Carlos Beltran is hitting .210/.260/.377 at Minute Maid Park this season.

*Ken Rosenthal's video from yesterday told us two things: the list of Untouchables is basically Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley, and that over the winter the Astros rejected a trade proposal for Jose Quintana because of their insistence on Kyle Tucker.

*Gary Pettis apparently slipped on some wet grass in Minnesota on Memorial Day and tore his meniscus. He'll have surgery on Wednesday and Fresno manager Tony DeFrancesco will act as 3B coach for the next road trip while he recovers.

*The County Mountie wrote about the Astros' defense.

*MLB sent a letter to all 30 teams saying the ball is not juiced.

*The New Yorker: My Dentist's Murder Trial

Sunshine on home plate tonight. pic.twitter.com/SQqqFGcZAU

— Mike Acosta (@AstrosTalk) July 1, 2017

Friday Morning Hot Links

Update from yesterday: Our A/C did not, in fact, heal itself and it went out. It's 80 degrees in my house at 5:58am. Hottest day of the year and the tech can't get here until 4pm. Looking forward to sweating off about 10 pounds today. 

*The Astros had to sweat out what once was a 10-run lead thanks to some shaky pitching from guys who should probably only be pitching in a 9-run game. Or in Fresno. Astros win, 12-9. The offense was unstoppable in the 2nd inning, scoring eight runs - including two 3-run homers from Marisnick (who entered the game after Springer went down) and Marwin. Nori Aoki was 3x5 with two doubles.

*David Paulino pitched a pretty okay game (which is good enough for this offense), throwing 5.1IP, 7H/3ER, 6K:2BB. He struck out five of the first six batters he faced, but efficiency was his downfall, getting pulled after 107 pitches.

*Dayan Diaz gets the Goat of the Game after allowing the A's to get right back in it, throwing 35 pitches to get one out and allowing three hits, two walks, and five runs total (thanks in part to Michael Feliz). Oakland's 8th inning went as such: Double, Strikeout, Walk, Double, Double, Wild Pitch, Walk. Michael Feliz "took over" and this happened: Double, Wild Pitch, RBI groundout, Strikeout.

*Josh Reddick was a (wink) single short of the cycle, going 3x4 with a double, triple, home run, and a walk. Reddick:
You always want to do well against your former team. I enjoy beating them regardless. Whether I go 0x4 or I go 4x4. So, it is fun. 

*The Outlaw Jesse Hahn got everyone all nervous, hitting George Springer on the left hand and knocking him out of the game. Hahn then proceeded to throw 2IP, 6H/10 R (9ER), 0K:3BB and thinks hitting Springer (X-Rays negative, day-to-day) threw him off:
Yeah I think maybe that affected me. For me, my game is coming inside on righties, throwing my sinker in on righties and I kind of babied it in there after that. I started spiking a lot, yanking stuff, and it just wasn't good.

*Hahn told Susan Slusser that:
I'm not going to say it rattled me but I felt bad and sent best wishes to him.

LET'S SEE THOSE BEST WISHES, HAHN.

*X-Rays were negative and Springer has already lobbied Hinch to put him in the lineup when the Astros play the Mariners tonight.

*Marisnick's 10th home run of the season set a career-high. Marisnick:
It feels good doing all that work and then get the results. I'm excited about it, excited to kind of keep working on it and keep going.

*The Astros have now won ten straight at Oakland, and 15 of their last 16 overall against the A's.

*They're 50-24 (reminder that the 2013 Astros were 51-111 for the season) with a 27-8 record on the road (those 2013 Astros were 27-53 on the road and the 2012 Astros went 20-61 on the road. Those were bad times.) The Cubs led MLB in 2016 with a 57-24 record. The 2015 Astros were 33-48 on the road. But the best Astros road record since 1998* came when the 2001 Astros went 49-32 on the road.

*I have other things to do today, so I stopped at 1998. 

*Only three teams since 2000 have reached 50 wins in 74 games or less: the 2001 Mariners, the 2005 White Sox, and the 2015 Cardinals. Only the White Sox went on to win the World Series (boo! hiss!). Hinch:
We're pretty even-keeled around here. We don't talk a lot about getting to 40 wins, getting to 50 wins. We're going to continue to press forward and try to win as many as we can. 

*Houston is the first team in the Majors to reach 400 runs.

*USA Today: McCann and Gattis are a deadly combination. Also this, from McCann:
Every day I walk out to the bullpen at home I get people screaming, 'Gatti, Gatti, sign!'

*Charlie Morton threw 36 pitches in 2IP, allowing 2H/1ER, 1K:1BB in a rehab start for Fresno. Fresno would go on to lose to Sacramento 9-3.

*Kyle Tucker hit his 5th Double-A home run last night in a 6-5 extra-inning win over Frisco thanks to Jon Singleton's sac fly. Tucker is hitting .255/.300/.511 in 22 games with Corpus. He's 20.

*Jon Heyman out here throwing slugs:
Pedroia was upset at that young Astros pitcher not because he believed he threw at him on purpose but because of sheer incompetence; Pedroia was the second straight batter hit.

That "young Astros pitcher" is presumably 30-year old James Hoyt.

*Eno Sarris notes that the Astros are throwing the fewest four-seam fastballs in the Majors.

*The Chronicle's Hunter Atkins: It's all fun and games in the Astros' clubhouse. This is a fun read.

*A.J. Hinch talked defensive shifts with Buster Olney.

*Baseball Prospectus: Tal's Hill went on vacation and took pictures.

*

The view from the catcher is incredible 😍pic.twitter.com/qysOqmhjfU

— Daily Dingers (@BCNDailyDingers) June 1, 2017

Thursday Morning Hot Links

What with me not having to be somewhere at 7am for the next few weeks, you'll notice the Hot Links will be published a little later. I appreciate your reading habits, but I ain't waking up at 4:45am if'n I don't have to.

*So this is less than ideal, though more from a bullpen usage standpoint than any referendum about the 2017 Astros. The Astros lost to the Royals 7-5 after Dallas Keuchel was a late scratch. All seven of the Royals' runs were scored with two outs.

*Astros vs AL West: 20-6
  Astros vs AL East: 8-2
  Astros vs AL Central: 9-10 (1-5 vs Cleveland, 2-4 vs Kansas City)

*Ned Yost:
A.J. said (Keuchel's) been sick and throwing up. (I thought) OK, I'm glad we don't have to face him.

Hinch:
(Keuchel) went back to the hotel. He's had some problems. He's lost a little bit of weight over the last few days. He hasn't felt a ton of energy.

*Keuchel went back to the hotel after he was scratched, so no word from him yet.

*So that means that Dayan Diaz had about a 15-minute heads-up that he would be starting last night, and it was a bullpen game. The Royals scored in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Bullpen usage last night:
Diaz: 2.2IP, 4H/3ER, 3K:0BB
Sipp: 1IP, 3H/2ER, 1K:0BB
Feliz: 1.1IP, 2H/2ER, 3K:2BB
Gregerson: 2IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:0BB
Giles: 1IP, 0H/0ER, 0K:0BB

*The Astros' bullpen has now thrown 200.2IP, most in the AL and only trailing the Dodgers in all of MLB. This is a concern. Though if we break down how those 200.2IP have been distributed, 32IP have been thrown by Tony Sipp, Jandel Gustave, Ashur Tolliver, Jordan Jankowski, Reymin Guduan, and Dayan Diaz (his innings last night didn't count towards this total, because he started). The main bullpen core of Giles, Harris, Devenski, Gregerson, Devenski have thrown a combined 107.2IP. Harris, Giles, and Gregerson have thrown 24 or 24.1IP each. Devenski has thrown 35IP. While Hinch has managed those five's IPs, the Astros are going to need to establish some other relievers capable of coming in and getting outs - hence the shuttle between Fresno and wherever Houston is playing.

*Hinch:
It's hard. You've got to get nine innings of outs and sometimes a lot of those come out of your rotation, and sometimes they come out of your bullpen and it usually cycles. There's also times where I'm trying to get guys from the bullpen into the game because they haven't pitched that much.

*Brian McCann had his first 4-hit game since September 2016, but he wasn't pleased with his pitch-calling:
I felt like I didn't do a good job tonight calling a game. I felt like I could have gone a couple of different directions, and I should have. I'm going to be thinking about some pitches I called tonight, going back to the hotel.

*You can listen to yesterday's two-segment interview with Jeff Bagwell on Sports Radio 610.

*Quad Cities' Yordan Alvarez and pitchers Carson LaRue and Enoli Paredes have been named to the Midwest League All-Star Team.

*Bleacher Report: They tanked like the Sixers, now the Astros are MLB's next big powerhouse.

*MLBTR talked to Jayson Stark about his career and the evolution of baseball coverage.

*Vulture: All 213 Beatles songs ranked from worst to first

*Vice Sports: The Alonzo Mourning Acceptance GIF ("giff" not "jiff")

Saturday Morning Hot Links + PreStros Report

*The Astros had a comfortable lead heading into the 9th before a half-inning described as "messy" allowed the Angels to score four runs and force extra innings. It only lasted one more as Altuve got a hit, stole 2nd, and then Correa knocked him in for the go-ahead run. Astros win 7-6 and improve to 20-10 for the first time since 1973.

Here's how that 9th inning went down:
Single, Strikeout, Single, Single (Giles replaced Keuchel) Single, RBI groundout, Single, Single, Flyout.

McCann:
It just kind of snowballed. They had the bases loaded there and had a lot of things go their way. A lot of soft contact. Those things happen. We fought back. 

McCann has two home runs off of lefty pitchers this season, after hitting three in all of 2016. Last year he hit .218/.317/.345 against LHPs. This year it's .278/.350/.667

Correa:
It was a tough ninth inning. Keuchel did a great job tonight through the entire game. Just one bad inning, that was it. At the end of the day, we were able to win the game, and that's what matters. 

*Keuchel was frustrated:
It was really frustrating. I wish they would have gotten some of those soft hits early in the game. It would have been a lot easier on me. That's really poor by me and just really frustrating. We got the win and that's really all that matters. 

*You need to read Tim Brown's piece on Chris Devenski.

*In the understatement of the season thus far, A.J. Hinch said Luke Gregerson's command is off. Hinch:
The feel for his pitches doesn't seem to have been there the last couple outings. He's left some very hittable pitches and they've done some damage against him. 

*Michael Feliz left the team to deal with an apparently very private matter. Dayan Diaz was called up to fill his role until he gets back.

*Collin McHugh played catch for the first time yesterday, in what certainly sounds like a lost season for McHugh. Hinch described the advance as "the infancy stage of a very long process." There is no timetable for his return.

*Jandel Gustave will be out for longer than expected after experiencing the same arm soreness that landed him on the DL in the first place.

*Ric Flair responded to Fort Worth Guy:

How about no, Stefan.

The WOOOO will never die #Astros #WOOOOlife https://t.co/TW0XhyjjjT

— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) May 6, 2017

*Check out this play from Tony Kemp:

More must-see Grizz D! Hatless @tonykemp with this wild double play:#SCTop10 @Sportscenter @astros @jluhnow #KempinAintEasy 📻@Dougout04 pic.twitter.com/am3RhBTgd3

— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) May 6, 2017

*Matt Albers got his first save in 461 career appearances.

PreStros Report: Games of May 5

Trent Thornton made his second career start at Triple-A and threw 6IP, 4H/0ER, 6K:1BB as Fresno (13-16) beat Sacramento 5-1. Sacramento's lone run came in the 7th off of Tyson Perez. Ashur Toliver and Jordan Jankowski combined for 2IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:0BB. Jankowski's scoreless inning lowers his ERA to 0.69. Derek Fisher (2B) and Tyler White (2B, RBI) were both 3x4. A.J. Reed was 2x4 with a double and is now hitting .300. Juan Centeno was 2x3 with an RBI. Preston Tucker hit a two-run homer.

Midland completed the sweep of Corpus (15-13) with a 10-4 win. Kyle Smith threw 5IP, 3H/2ER, 3K:2BB. Akeem Bostick threw 0.1IP and allowed 2H/3ER after Eric Peterson gave up 7H/5R (4ER) in 2IP. Andrew Thome got the last two outs of the game. Antonio Nunez was 2x3 with a triple and an RBI. Alejandro Garcia was 1x4 with a double and 2RBI. Jon Singleton was 1x2 with two walks and an RBI.

Myrtle Beach used a 3-run 3rd inning to beat Buies Creek (19-10) 4-2. Elieser Hernandez allowed 4H/4ER, 6K:3BB in 5IP. Carlos Sierra threw 3IP, 2H/0ER, 5K:1BB. BCA was 1x13 w/RISP. Myles Straw went 2x4 with a double and a walk. Anibal Sierra went 1x3 with two walks. Kyle Tucker drew two walks. Ryne Birk hit his second home run of the season and walked.

Cuban lefty Cionel Perez got his first domestic win in a 6-2 Quad Cities (15-11) win over Lake County. Perez threw 5.2IP, 2H/0ER, 7K:1BB; Abdiel Saldana allowed 3H/2ER, 3K:1BB and Erasmo Pinales struck out the side in the 9th. The River Bandits touched up Lake County pitcher Brady Aiken - maybe you've heard of him - for 4H/3ER, 3K:4BB in 5IP. Marcos Almonte was 2x4 with a double and is now hitting .360. Randy Cesar was 1x2 with two walks and 2RBI. Spencer Johnson was 1x3 with a walk and 2RBI.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

*The Astros lost to the Cardinals 3-2 last night on Collin McHugh Spring Debut night. McHugh needed 47 pitches to get through 1.2IP, and will likely make two starts on the minor-league side while on the DL.

*Tony Sipp doesn't want you to look at the numbers of his Spring Training. (He gave up a double and a walk in his return to action last night).

*On a related note, Jeff Luhnow doesn't feel like they have to run out and find a lefty reliever.

*The Astros may look into adding a starting pitcher closer to the trade deadline, but are okay with starting the season with a healthy Keuchel and McCullers.

*You have to scroll down past all the AL East talk, but Ken Rosenthal says the biggest question for the Astros is whether they'll need one starting pitcher, or two.

*Sports on Earth writes that the AL West could, but maybe won't, have a new division champion come October.

*ESPN has the Astros 5th in their Power Rankings, with best-case/worst-case scenarios...

*Dayan Diaz was officially told he wasn't going to make the Opening Day roster, meaning the 8th and final bullpen spot is between James Hoyt and Jandel Gustave.

*John Sickels revised his Top 200 Prospects list and A.J. Reed jumped to 66th. Why?
The hot spring is part of that, but mostly it is because I buy into the reports that he has fixed his swing mechanics and suspect that this will be sustainable. 

*The Hardball Times looked into a question we had at Lima Time Time last season: were the 2016 Astros' starters too similar?

*Bad day for former Astros in the Orioles organization as Michael Bourn and Chris Johnson were both released.

*Barry Bonds and the greatest fun fact of all time.

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Yesterday was FanFest at Minute Maid Park in one of the checkpoints of the offseason. We're 23 days away from Pitchers & Catchers reporting. 

*26,000 people came to FanFest. Hinch, on expectations:

Our players understand our hopes and where we are. I want us to embrace that, I want us to take it seriously and have a good time. Winning an offseason or being active in adding all these guys doesn't mean anything. You have to go out and play the games. 

Click the link to read about how predictably excited everyone is.

*Jeff Luhnow said yesterday that he doesn't envision the Astros making any additions between now and the beginning of the season. Taking him at his word, this means the Astros won't be adding another starting pitcher, or a lefty reliever option beyond Tony Sipp. Or if you want to get really nuts he's trying to brainwash the White Sox into lowering the price on Jose Quintana, or the Rays with Chris Archer. Luhnow:

I feel good about the roster we have right now. The roster we have is probably the roster we're going to have to start the season. We're always open to considering ways to improve it, but right now I'd set the expectations low there's going to be any major changes. We've got a good roster of guys that I think can compete for the division title this year. 

*Brian McCann is ready to go.

*Preston Tucker says he feels good, but he hasn't yet taken any swings after surgery on his shoulder

*The Astros signed RHP Dayan Diaz to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Diaz, 27, was in the Astros system until the end of the 2012 season. He has a 2.47 ERA in 113IP at Triple-A. 

*The Astros hosted a Prospect Development Pipeline event yesterday. 

*Jeff Bagwell's election to the HOF should be a source of Connecticut pride, writes this guy from Connecticut.

*FanGraphs: What would a post-expansion MLB look like? 

*Awful news out of the Dominican Republic as Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura died in a car accident. Separately, former MLB infielder Andy Marte died in a car accident. 

Tuesday (afternoon) link dump

FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel reports in from the Astros' instructional team in Kissimmee. Lots of great info about Lance McCullers ("McCullers ultimate projection will depend on how he balances effort in his delivery and command"), Dayan Diaz, Nolan Fontana, Preston Tucker, and Domingo Santana.

The Astros have received calls about Jed Lowrie, but want to be overwhelmed by offers.

Oldstro Jason Bourgeois is a free agent.

April PreStros Employees of the Month

The first month of the season is in the books and the improvement in the farm system is already evident. Let's look at some interesting early numbers.

OKC
16-9
1st place in their division by .5 games

As a team, the RedHawks are hitting .285/.356/.429 with a team ERA of 3.42.

Hitter of the Month: Scott Moore

Scott is hitting .397/.519/.714 with 12 doubles, two home runs, 15 runs scored, and 21 runs batted in through 23 games with 13 walks and 14 strikeouts. He's spent most of the season splitting time with Brett Wallace at third base, but he's also seen time at first and second and he's yet to commit an error at any position.

Pitcher of the Month: Dallas Keuchel


Dallas finished April with a 4-1 record and 1.62 ERA and 0.99 WHIP across 33.1 innings in five starts. He's struck out 16 while walking just seven.

Honorable Mention:

Fernando Martinez is hitting .315/.374/.517 with four home runs.

Jose Valdez has a 1.74 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 10.1 innings. He has 12 strikeouts and three walks (two were intentional) with four saves.

CC
12-12
3rd in their division, three games back

As a team, the Hooks are hitting .264/.334/.428 with a team ERA of 4.78.

Hitter of the Month: Brandon Barnes

Brandon is hitting .353/.398/.659 with 14 doubles, four home runs, 18 runs scored and 21 runs batted in through 22 games with five walks and 22 strikeouts. He's been the teams primary center fielder where he's had two outfield assists.

Pitcher of the Month: Jason Stoffel

Jason has appeared in nine games in relief with two saves and has a 1.93 ERA and 0.53 WHIP through 9.1 innings. He's racked up ten strikeouts to just one walk, hasn't allowed a home run, and has given up just 3.9 hits per nine innings.

Honorable Mention:

Austin Wates is hitting .340/.392/.457 with five steals.

Jose Cisnero is 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. He's struck out 30 in 23.2 innings.

Lancaster
10-14
4th in their division, four games back

The JetHawks are hitting .266/.333/.431 with a team ERA of 5.03.

Hitter of the Month: Telvin Nash

Telvin is hitting .247/.348/.623 with nine home runs, 14 runs and 15 runs batted in through 20 games with 11 walks and 28 strikeouts. He's played mostly left field with a few games at first base with no errors and one outfield assist.

Pitcher of the Month: Ruben Alaniz

Ruben is 2-0 with a 2.80 ERA and 1.10 WHIP through five starts and 31 innings. He's yet to allow a home run and has 26 strikeouts and seven walks.

Honorable Mention:

Jiovanni Mier is hitting .288/.406/.388 with 15 walks in 22 games.

Wes Musick is 2-1 with a 2.96 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He has 22 strikeouts and five walks in 24.1 innings across four starts.

Lexington
11-14
5th in their division, six games back

The Legends are hitting .238/.324/.344 with a team ERA of 4.78.

Hitter of the Month: Zach Johnson

Zach is hitting .275/.376/.505 with nine doubles, four home runs, 13 runs scored and 30 (!) runs batted in. He's been the clubs main first baseman where he has a .994 fielding percentage.

Pitcher of the Month: Dayan Diaz

Dayan has appeared in nine games in relief with a 4-1 record and two saves with a 0.49 ERA and 0.87 WHIP. He has struck out 19 in 18.1 innings and has not yet allowed a home run.

Honorable Mention:

Matt Duffy is hitting .296/.343/.459 with four home runs.

Nick Tropeano is 1-2 despite a 2.36 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He hasn't allowed a home run and has 33 strikeouts and eight walks in 26.2 innings.

PreStros Farm Report: April 28

PreStros: April 28

Oklahoma City (15-8) 

The RedHawks played “Big Inning Baseball” en route to an 11-5 victory over Round Rock (TEX).

After missing his last start, Paul Clemens went 5 innings and gave up 2 R on 4 H and 2 BB with 3 K for the win. Sergio Perez threw 3 innings, allowing 3 R on 5 H with 1 K. Jose Valdez went the final 1 inning with 1 H and 1 K.

LF-JB Shuck led the charge by going 5x5 with 1 2B, 1 SB, 2 R, and 1 RBI. SS-Angel Sanchez was 1x3 with 1 BB, 2 R, and 1 RBI. DH-Fernando Martinez went 2x4 with 1 R and 3 RBI. 3B-Scott Moore was 2x3 with 1 BB, 2 2B, 1 R, and 3 RBI. CF-Justin Ruggiano was 2x4 with 1 BB and 1 R. RF-Brad Snyder went 2x5 with 1 2B. 2B-Jimmy Paredes was 2x5 with 1 HR, 2 R, and 3 RBI. C-Landon Powell went 1x2 with 2 BB, 1 2B, and 2 R.

Man of the Match: Jimmy Paredes

Corpus Christi (12-10) 

Corpus out hit and out pitched Frisco (TEX) as they won 10-1.

In his return from a one start stint in AAA, Ross Seaton went 6 innings and allowed 1 R on 6 H with 1 K. Kevin Chapman threw 2 scoreless innings with 2 BB and 4 K. Josh Zeid finished things out with an uneventful 9th.

LF-Austin Wates went 4x6 with 1 HR and 5 RBI. CF-Brandon Barnes was 2x4 with 1 BB and 2 R. 1B-Kody Hinze was 1x3 with 2 BB and 2 R. 2B-Jose Martinez went 2x3 with 2 BB and 1 R. C-Chris Wallace was 2x4 with 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 R, and 1 RBI.

Man of the Match: Austin Wates

Lancaster (9-14) 

After keeping things close through most of the game, Lancaster allowed seven runs in the seventh inning and ultimately lost 11-4.

Zach Grimmet went 6 innings and was charged with 6 R on 9 H and 1 BB with 7 K. Pat Urckfitz lasted just .1 innings and gave up 5 R (4 ER) on 4 H and 1 K.

CF-George Springer was 2x5 with 1 2B and 1 R. 3B-Jonathan Meyer was 2x4 with 1 R and 1 RBI. LF-Adam Bailey went 1x4 with 1 HR and 2 RBI. C-Ryan McCurdy went 2x3.

Man of the Match: Jonathan Meyer

Lexington (11-12) 

The Legends bullpen held things down long enough for Lexington to win 5-4 in 11 innings.

Jonas Dufek threw 5 innings and gave up 4 R (2 ER) on 4 H with 5 K. Carlos Quevedo, Jason Chowning, and Dayan Diaz each contributed 2 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just 1 H and 1 BB total.

3B-Matt Duffy went 1x5 with 1 HR and 2 RBI. CF-Drew Muren went 3x5 with 1 2B, 1 HR, and 2 RBI. 2B-John Hinson was 3x3 with a solo HR, 1 SB, 1 CS, and 2 errors.

Man of the Match: Quevedo/Chowning/Diaz

Tri-City (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

Greeneville (0-0) 

Season begins June 19.

GCL Astros (0-0) 

Season begins June 18.

DSL Astros (0-0) 

Season schedule not yet posted. Opening Day June 2nd.

PreStros Farm Report: April 13

Oklahoma City (7-2)

So how great is it to beat any level of a Cardinals team? Memphis took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st off Jordan Lyles, but the RedHawks scored 11 of the next 12 runs for an 11-3 win. Lyles gave up 3H/2ER, with 7K:0BB, in 7IP. The first three Memphis batters got on base (HBP, HR, Single), and then faced 21 batters from that point forward. Adalberto Flores gave up 3H/1ER in 1IP, and Enerio Del Rosario threw a perfect 9th inning to close out the game.

The Astros tagged up Shelby Miller for 6H/4ER, 2HR in 5IP as Brian Bixler showed how unhappy he was with getting send down by going 4x5 with an RBI and 2SBs; Fernando Martinez hit two homers for 6RBI, Angel Sanchez went 3x5 with a HR, 2RBI, and Brett Wallace was 3x5. Jordan Lyles added a two-run double. The RedHawks were 6x13 w/RISP.

Man of the Match: How about Fernando Martinez?

Corpus (5-3)

Corpus got 12 runs for the 2nd consecutive game with seven 9th inning runs at NW Arkansas for a 12-2 win. Jose Cisnero threw 6IP, 3H/0ER, 7K:2BB; Henry Villar threw 2IP, 1H/0ER; and Josh Zeid gave up the two Naturals runs with 3H/2ER in 1IP.

The Hooks knocked around Royals prospect with 5H/5ER, 5K:4BB in 4.1IP, and drew 12 walks as a team. Brandon Barnes was 3x5 with 2RBI; Jake Goebbert was 2x4 with two doubles, a walk, and 3RBI. Chris Wallace was 1x4 with a walk and 3RBI; Austin Wates was 1x5 with a walk and 2RBI. Kody Hinze was 1x2 with 3BB, and T.J. Steele was 0x2 with an RBI and 2BBB.

Man of the Match: Jake Goebbert

Lancaster (2-6)

Game vs. Lake Elsinore postponed due to rain.

Lexington (3-6)

Lexington was down 3-0 going in to the 5th, scored five runs, gave up the tying runs in the 8th, and got a two-out walk-off homer courtesy of Alex Todd in the bottom of the 11th for a 6-5 win. Jonas Dufek threw 5IP, 6H/2ER, 6K:0BB; Evan Grills gave up 3H/1ER in 2IP; Murilo Gouvea gave up 3H/2ER, 1K:1BB, HR in 1IP, and Dayan Diaz got the win with 1H/0ER, 5K:1BB in 3IP of relief.

Alex Todd, in addition to the walk-off, was 3x6; Matt Duffy was 3x5 with 2RBI, and Justin Gominsky was 2x5 with an RBI; Delino DeShields was 1x5 with a double, walk, and 2Ks.

Man of the Match: Dayan Diaz.

Eddie's Farm: July 22

Oklahoma City (43-57)

Lucas Harrell gets his first win for OKC with a 5-2 win over Memphis. Harrell threw 7IP, 4H/2ER, 3K:4BB; Jeff Fulchino struck out two in 1IP, and Wesley Wright got his first save with a perfect 9th.

Anderson Hernandez (2B, 3RBI), J.R. Towles, Koby Clemens (2B, RBI), and Drew Locke (2B, RBI, BB) had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Lucas Harrell

Corpus (38-59)

Holy Jeebus. Frisco flat-out destroyed Corpus, hitting eight homers - five from the 6-9 spots in the lineup in a 19-4 win. Jonnathan Aristil gave up 8H/7ER, 2HR in 1.1IP; Kyle Greenwalt gave up 7H/5ER, 3HR in 3IP; Chris Hicks and Henry Villar pitched without incident; Danny Meszaros gave up 6H/6ER, 2HR without recording an out; Arcenio Leon allowed 2H/1ER, 1HR, and catcher Emerson Frostad gave up a hit and a walk - but no homers - in 1IP.

Kody Hinze and Chris Wallace were each 2x4 with a solo homer, and Johnathan Villar and Jimmy Paredes added solo homers, as well.

Man of the Match: Kody Hinze - now has a 1.019 OPS since coming up to Corpus.

Lancaster (38-60)

Lancaster actually had a 3-0 lead. Then High Desert scored the next 11 runs in a 15-10 win over Lancaster. Zach Grimmett threw 4.2IP, 7H/7ER, 2K:2BB, three of those earned runs were given up by Colton Pitkin, who allowed 4H/4ER of his own in 0.1IP. David Berner allowed 3H/2ER, Shane Wolf gave up 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB, and Kirk Clark allowed 3H/2ER.

Miguel Arrendell was 3x3 with three walks and a solo homer; Jose Carlos Thompson was 3x4 with a walk; Jonathan Meyer was 3x5 with a double and 2RBI; Adam Bailey (RBI) and Erik Castro (HR, 2RBI) had two hits each. Andy Simunic was 1x4 with 2BB, and David Flores was 1x4 with 2RBI.

Man of the Match: Miguel Arrendell - nice when your leadoff guy gets on base six times.

Lexington (46-52)

Lexington had a two-run lead, gave it up, and got it back for a 5-4 win over Charleston. Luis Cruz allowed 7H/3ER, 2K:0BB in 5IP; Jason Chowning faced four batters and got five outs without giving up a hit, and Jorge De Leon got his 12th save with a perfect 9th.

Everyone got a hit in the lineup - Bryce Lane was 2x3 with an RBI; Delino DeShields, Enrique Hernandez, and Ben Orloff (2B) had your other RBIs.

Man of the Match: Bryce Lane

Tri-City (14-20)

Tri-City came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Connecticut 3-2 and avoid the sweep. Euris Quezada threw 4.2IP, 3H/2R (1ER), 2K:5BB; Dayan Diaz got the win with 3.1IP, 0H/0ER, 5K:2BB, and Ryan Cole threw a perfect 9th inning.

The ValleyCats only got four hits - two from Matt Duffy, a triple from Drew Muren, and a hit from Jacke Healey. All of the ValleyCats' runs were unearned, and they were also 0x8 w/RISP.

Man of the Match: Dayan Diaz

Greeneville (12-19)

Greeneville got a six-run 7th, and then turned around and gave up three in the top of the 8th to let Bristol tie it up, but got a run in the bottom of the 8th for a 7-6 win. Tyson Perez allowed 8H/3R (2ER), 3K:0BB; Scott Zuloaga got the final two outs of the 6th; Danilo Del Rio allowed three unearned runs in 1.1IP; Steve Martin got the BS/W, allowing a hit that scored one of Del Rio's unearned runs.

Garen Wright was 3x4 with two doubles, Jordan Scott was 2x4 with a triple, walk, and 3RBI; Chan-Jong Moon was 1x2 with 2BB, and Jesse Wierzbicki hit a two-out, two-run homer.

Man of the Match: Garen Wright

GCL Astros (7-21)

The GCL Astros took an early 1-0 lead, and the Mets got two in the bottom of the 3rd, going on to a 2-1 win. Frederick Tiburcio allowed 2H/2ER, 3K:5BB in 5IP; Steve Dennison gave up 3H/0ER, 4K:0BB in 2IP, and Juan Mojica threw a perfect 9th.

Jose Fernandez had a triple, and Kelvin Vizcaino had a hit and a walk. That's it. Two hits.

Man of the Match: Steve Dennison.

Eddie's Farm: July 14

Oklahoma City (40-52)

Oklahoma City came out of the break ready to go - except on defense, where they committed six errors - four by Robinson Cancel. OKC wins with an 8-4 win over the Iowa Cubs. Andy Van Hekken threw 7IP, 7H/4R (1ER), 7K:0BB to drop his ERA to 2.97. Wesley Wright and Jeff Fulchino both had perfect IPs.

Anderson Hernandez was 3x3 with a homer and two walks; J.R. Towles was 2x4 with an RBI; Tommy Manzella was 1x4 with 2RBI.

Man of the Match: Gotta go with Anderson Hernandez, but Van Hekken was solid.

Corpus (33-56)

Corpus and Frisco were tied at 1-1 going into the 9th, and then Brad James happened, and Frisco won 2-1 on a walk-off by Renny Osuna. Erick Abreu allowed 4H/1ER, 7K:1BB and Pat Urckfitz gave up 2H/0ER in 1IP. James walked a batter, and then intentionally walked three more, for a 1H/1ER, 1K:4BB, HBP, WP line, taking the loss.

Jake Goebbert and Kody Hinze (2 2B) had two hits each, while Jimmy Paredes' 1st-inning homer provided all the Hooks' scoring. J.D. Martinez was 1x2 with a walk and a double.

Man of the Match: Erick Abreu

Lancaster (36-55)

Lancaster won 13-7 basically thanks to 1B David Flores. More on that in a second, we have a formula to follow. Our Boy Andrew Robinson allowed 9H/6ER, 3K:1BB in 3.2IP; Mike Ness got the win with 3H/1ER, 3K:0BB in 2.1IP; Chris Hicks struck out five of the seven batters he faced, and Kirk Clark walked three in 1IP, but without further incident.

So, yes, David Flores. He hit three homers, going 4x5 with 7RBI on the night. Jonathan Meyer hit a three-run homer and drew a walk (it's nice when 6-7 in your lineup goes 5x9 with 4HR, 10RBI). Jiovanni Mier was 0x3, but drew two walks.

Man of the Match: Please. David Flores.

Lexington (43-48)

Lexington crushed Savannah's souls with a 7-1 win. Mike Foltynewicz went 6IP, allowing 4H/1ER, 9K:2BB; Jason Chowning struck out five in 2IP, and Jorge De Leon struck out two in 1IP.

Mike Kvasnicka went 2x5 with 2RBI, and Ben Heath went 2x4 with a double and an RBI. Enrique Hernandez went 1x2 with 2BB, as did Ben Orloff. Jay Austin had 2RBI on an 0x3 night.

Man of the Match: Mike Foltynewicz

Tri-City (10-15)

Tri-City took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but gave it right back, losing 6-3 at Batavia. Nick Tropeano threw 4IP, 6H/4R (2ER), 5K:3BB; Kristian Bueno struck out two, but walked three in 1IP; Joan Belliard allowed 2H/1ER, 1K:0BB in 1IP, and Dayan Diaz had 6K:2BB in 2IP.

The ValleyCats only got three hits - Justin Gominsky (2B), John Hinson (SB), and Zach Johnson.

Man of the Match: Dayan Diaz

Greeneville (8-15)

Mother of Pearl. Greeneville had a 1-0 lead on Johnson City. And then Johnson City scored the next 17 runs. Jamaine Cotton allowed 4H/7R (6ER), 0K:1BB in 1.1IP, with two of those runs coming courtesy of Rodney Quintero, who allowed 3ER of his own. Paris Shewey allowed 4H/2ER, Scott Zuloaga allowed 5H/4ER, and Matison Smith gave up just an earned run in 1IP.

Jordan Scott was 2x3 with a double; Chase Davidson was 1x4 with a double. The Gastros went 0x8 w/RISP.

Man of the Match: Jordan Scott

GCL Astros (7-13)

The GCLers scored the final six runs of the game for a 6-1 win over the Nationals. Adrian Houser got his 1st professional win with 5.2IP, 5H/1ER, 8K:2BB; Steven Dennison allowed 1H/0ER in 2.1IP, and Justin Gill threw a perfect 9th.

Chris Epps was 3x5 (and probably should move up to Tri-Cty); Yonathan Mejia was 2x4 with 2RBI - as was the rehabbing Jason Bourgeois. Justin Shults was 1x4 with a walk and an RBI.

Man of the Match: Adrian Houser

Tranzactionz

Got some minor-league transactions for you from yesterday and today:

Round Rock
*Jack Shuck promoted from Corpus
*Mark Melancon assigned to Round Rock

Corpus
Via Twitter, Albert Cartwright assigned to Corpus from Lancaster.

Lancaster
*Jose Altuve assigned to Lancaster from Lexington

Lexington
*Barry Butera assigned to Lexington from Lancaster
*Yordany Ramirez assigned to Lexington from Round Rock
*Jimmy Paredes assigned to Lexington

Tri-City
*John Frawley assigned to Tri-City from Greeneville

GCL Astros
*Ebert Rosario assigned to GCL Astros from Lancaster
*Placed RHP Dayan Diaz on 60-Day DL
*Placed C Alfredo Gonzalez on 60-Day DL