The Astros blew up the Trade Deadline after the 3pm Deadline acquiring Cal Stevenson, Joe Biagini, Aaron Sanchez, and - holy crap - Zack Greinke. And that's after re-acquiring Martin Maldonado earlier in the day.
The Return
Martin Maldonado.
You know Machete.
Joe Biagini
Astros getting a guy with 88th percentile curveball spin, and elite vertical movement, but who only throws the pitch 7% of the time ... https://t.co/Arwwf5JsWY
Biagini - a 29-year old reliever - won't be a free agent until 2023. In 50IP in 2019, he has allowed 50H/21ER, 50K:17BB, 3.78 ERA / 3.80 xFIP. He has an 81% LOB rate this season, AND his HR/9 rate has declined from 2018 to 2019.
Aaron Sanchez
Sanchez - a 27-year old righty starter - has had some, uh, issues this year, but he looks like another project for the analytics team and Strom. Sanchez is 3-14 with a 6.07 ERA belied by a 5.04 FIP and a 5.09 xFIP. In 112.1IP he has allowed 131H/76ER, with 99K:59BB. The Astros have likely seen something fixable in all of that. He won't be a free agent until 2021.
Sanchez also has three options remaining, so maybe the Astros don't bring him up immediately and instead send him to Triple-A.
Cal Stevenson
Stevenson - a 22-year old lefty-hitting outfielder - is hitting .298/.388/.393 in High-A. He was the Blue Jays' 10th Round pick in 2018, so this is just his second professional season, and his first full pro season, in baseball.
Rainier Rivas
The Astros get 18-year old Rainier Rivas from the Angels for Max Stassi, made expendable by the arrival of Martin Maldonado. Rivas was hitting .400/.512/.543 in the DSL and has come to the States in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .260/.309/.440. He's an 18-year old 6'3" 220lb lefty-hitting outfielder. That's crazy.
Raider Uceta
Uceta is the other piece in the Stassi trade. Also 18, also a lefty, Uceta has spent all of 2019 in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .278/.341/.373
Zack Greinke
Just a future Hall of Famer. Some initial thoughts on this one...
Greinke will be 36 in October, but that hasn't stopped him from putting in a career year in a career full of career years. In 141IP in 2019, Greinke has allowed 115H/45ER, 128K:18BB, 2.84 ERA / 0.94 WHIP (which leads the National League). He has a 7.11 K:BB ratio. And he's about to get deployed by the Astros' coaching staff. He's a thoughtful fella, likes analytics, so pitching under Hinch and Strom and with Verlander and Cole is probably going to work out pretty well.
The Astros are taking on $53m of the $80.5m remaining on Greinke's contract. Doing so probably precluded Arizona insisting on Kyle Tucker and/or Forrest Whitley. It gives the Astros easily the best Top 3 in all of baseball, which will of course carry over to October. This is insane.
This move also adds an immediate placeholder for Gerrit Cole's spot in the rotation after this season, when Cole is eligible for free agency. Remember that Lance McCullers, Jr. comes back in 2020, as well. So the Astros will waltz into 2020 with Verlander-Greinke-McCullers and then some Wade Miley-type guy who we don't even think about and then we look up and see he has a 2.98 ERA and then possibly Forrest Whitley, the #1 pitching prospect in baseball, who will spend September learning from Verlander, Cole, and Greinke, and then Spring Training, as well. There is no reason to be upset about this trade.
The Send-Off
The Astros are losing the following.
To Toronto: Derek Fisher. That's it. Seriously. I looked. I looked for a long time.
To Arizona: J.B. Bukauskas, Seth Beer, Corbin Martin, and Josh Rojas. If you read this blog, I don't have to give you the breakdown of who the Astros sent to Arizona, but I will try to give you a reason to not be all that broken up.
Bukauskas: He's not Forrest Whitley. The 1st Round pick in the 2017 Draft, Bukauskas has had a rough go of it. He has walked 54 batters in 85.2IP at Corpus and has a 5.25 ERA / 1.58 WHIP. At Double-A, where he is admittedly a couple of years younger than his competition.
Martin: He's not Forrest Whitley. Promising pitcher, had Tommy John surgery, and won't pitch until 2021.
Rojas: He's not Kyle Tucker. Utility guy who was really putting it together at Round Rock. Can play 2B/3B/LF and did so hitting .310/.402/.586 at Triple-A. He's 25, but was also a 26th Round pick in 2017. The Astros have Aledmys Diaz.
Beer: He's not Kyle Tucker. 1st Round pick in 2018. He's also nine months older than Yordan Alvarez.
The Astros County Summary
Are you kidding? The Astros remade the bullpen and added Zack F. Greinke and didn't lose Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley.
Thanks to Flick for taking the Hot Links yesterday morning while I was out pretending I'm not in my late 30s. Seeing Spoon was a bucket list item for me, Cage The Elephant played maybe the best show I've seen in the last 15 years (and turned me from An Appreciator to A Hardcore Fan), and Beck was as phenomenal as I expected him to be. His drummer went hard. Anyway. It was really cool to get to come to Houston this past weekend and hang out with a bunch of you, whether that was at the Disaster of the Lima Time Time Live Show, or the concert last night. You're all pretty solid people, and I appreciate you.
Random Notes
The Astros were off yesterday. Their next off-day is next Monday. This week's schedule:
Tue-Thu: at Cleveland
Fri-Sun: vs. Seattle
Houston has 55 games remaining. 26 of them are against teams above .500:
Cleveland (3)
Oakland (8)
Anaheim (10)
Tampa (3)
Milwaukee (2)
18 of the 26 remaining games against teams above .500 (prior to the games of July 29) are with Oakland and Anaheim, against whom the Astros are a combined 15-5.
Since losing seven in a row between Toronto, Cincinnati, and New York, the Astros are 20-9 with a collective .283/.355/.496 slash line and a 3.83 ERA / 1.23 WHIP with a 3.31 K:BB ratio. They good.
Astros News
*Jake Marisnick lost his appeal, because Joe Torre and MLB are spineless. He will sit tonight and tomorrow, and the Astros will just play a man down.
*The Athletic's Jon Greenberg ($) wrote up a profile of Tri-City manager Ozney Guillen and the future of the modern MLB manager. It's a really good read.
Trade Stuff The Trade Deadline is tomorrow at 3pm Central.
*As you know, the Mets have acquired Marcos Stroman. Stroman was apparently so upset that he wasn't traded to the Yankees, Red Sox, or Astros that the clubhouse was closed while he vented. Stroman is smart and says he's excited to be a Met.
Between STRO-MAN becoming a Met, and David Price's dog ASTRO going to Boston, I'm starting to think that there's nothing to read into these perfect coincidences. The Mets also traded Jason Vargas to the division rival Phillies, for a 25-year old catcher hitting .195 in his 2nd year at Double-A, but who went to school with Jeff Wilpon's son. Ultimately, the Mets are not smart. On a scale of usefulness, Tampons > Wilpons. The Inestimable David J. Roth: A Working Theory Of What The Mets Are Doing.
*Corpus won in 10 innings, 7-6. Abraham Toro was 3x5 with a double and 2HR/4RBI. J.B. Bukauskas threw 4.2IP, 3H/3ER, 4K:5BB. In his last four starts: 21.2IP, 13H/5ER, 26K:12BB. Erasmo Pinales threw 2IP and allowed 0H/0ER, 6K:2BB.
*Quad Cities lost to Beloit 11-3. Not much of note in this one.
*Texas Monthly: It only took a handful of people to wrongly convict Ed Ates of murder. It took an army to free him from prison. Now comes the hard part.
*Parents are giving up custody of their kids in order to qualify for need-based scholarships and tuition-assistance. This country is fan...[kisses bunched fingers]...tastic.
GOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD I hate the Rangers. They make zero sense. This game should not have even been close. Houston blew an 8-4 lead in the middle of the 7th and lost 9-8. Just a terrible pitching performance from anyone not named Gerrit Cole or Ryan Pressly. Houston is 57-35 with a 6-game lead on Oakland.
*Gerrit Cole allowed five hits and gave up four earned runs, three of those came on solo home runs. This is Snidely Whiplash-lookin ass booiiiiiiii Rob Manfred's doing. Piece of crap commissioner. It's the first time in his career that Gerrit Cole has allowed three home runs in a start. It's the 16th time this season that a starter has allowed five or fewer hits with three of those leaving the park. Manfred, you idiot. Cole had allowed 4ER in his previous 27IP combined. Two of the home runs he allowed came on 0-2 pitches.
Cole has struck out 13+ batters four times in his career. All four times have been with the Astros and two of them have been against the Rangers.
*Gerrit Cole threw a first-pitch strike to 23 of the 26 batters he faced. He has 182 strikeouts, two more than Max Scherzer for the overall MLB lead. He has a 3.23 ERA and these idiots are 13-7 when he starts. Cole: It was like a heavyweight slugfest. Came up short, but it was an entertaining game. It was quite a game.
*Astros pitchers allowed 5HR for the 5th time this season. What in the actual hell.
*The dumbass bullpen blew an 8-4 lead in the middle of the 7th. Hinch: We just couldn't keep them from scoring. They did a better job of finding ways to win the game. Credit them for an offensive approach that worked for them tonight, especially as the game went on.
*For whatever reason, Ryan Pressly exited the game after throwing exactly nine pitches.
*The Astros hit four home runs and lost. It's the 22nd time in 2019 it has happened to an MLB team, the 3rd time it's happened to the Astros this year.
*Yordan Alvarez was 3x3 with a walk and two home runs, his 8th and 9th of the year. He has played in 21 games.
*Jose Altuve hit his first home run since June 23. The Astros are now 9-1 in games where Altuve homers.
*Yuli Gurriel hit another home run. On May 2, Gurriel was hitting .234/.289/.360. Since then (55 games) Gurriel is hitting .298/.325/.547 with 12 doubles, a triple, and 14 home runs. Since June 9 he's hitting .337/.383/.735.
*Robinson Chirinos was ahead 3-0 in the count in the top of the 8th and struck out on six pitches without ever taking his bat off his shoulder. It was the 9th time in 87 PAs in his career that he was ahead 3-0 and struck out. Benedict Arnold lookin-ass boooiiiii. In his last 20 starts (dating back to June 9) Chirinos is hitting .160/.256/.253 with 35K:9BB in 86 PAs.
*Joe Smith was activated from the IL after sustaining a ruptured achilles tendon in December. To make room on the 40-Man, Carlos Correa was placed on the 60-Day IL, which means it's a minimum of two weeks before he's ready to rejoin the team. Cy Sneed was optioned to Round Rock to clear room on the active roster.
In that link we also find that the Astros might go with an Opener on Tuesday to try to help Framber Valdez out. Hinch: I think we have to look at it. We haven't discussed it internally. The reason I've been reluctant is not because I don't believe in it or I don't see it as an option, it's just we haven't had a rotation that's been built that we've needed [an opener].
*J.B. Bukauskas had himself a decent little start: 6IP, 2H/1ER, 6K:4BB in a 5-2 Corpus win.
*Forrest Whitley made his first rehab start for the GCL Astros and got five outs, all by strikeout, but allowed 1H/3ER on 3BB. He threw 29 pitches in a 4-2 GCL Astros loss.
*The Angels threw a combined no-hitter against Seattle in Anaheim as they honored Tyler Skaggs. Today (Saturday, 7/13) would have been Skaggs' birthday. Mike Trout noted that the Angels scored seven runs in the first and ended up with 13 runs total.
The @Angels paid tribute to Tyler Skaggs by throwing a combined no-hitter against the Mariners in Anaheim.
The last time there was a combined no-hitter in the state of California? Orioles-A's in Oakland on July 13, 1991 - the same day Tyler Skaggs was born.#TheHaloWay
Well that was something. According to Win Expectancy, when Bregman struck out swinging in the 5th, the Astros had a 5.3% chance of winning that game. Fast forward a Yuli grand slam and some more hits and the Astros come away with an 11-10 win in 10 innings. Houston goes into the Break with a 57-33 record.
*The Astros have a .633 win%. Amazing because they've had about 70% of a starting rotation this season. If they get that rotation to, like, 80-90%? Shoot. Astros going undefeated in the 2nd Half.
*Houston has played 15 series at Minute Maid Park in 2019:
Series Wins: 11
Series Splits: 3
Series Losses: 1 (Freakin' Pittsburgh)
The Astros are 33-14 at home in 2019. They were 46-35 at home in 2018.
*I guess we can begin with what, I feel, should have been the go-ahead run: Marisnick's sliding play at home. While I know that Twitter videos are trash, this is the best one I can find, as it shows multiple angles and you get an idea of what Marisnick might have been thinking:
Here are several different angles of the collision at home between Jake Marisnick and Jonathan Lucroy. Marisnick went right to Lucroy’s side after he touches home. Lucroy was carted off after a scary sight at Minute Maid Park. #TakeItBackpic.twitter.com/KixPkDI6vM
*It felt to me as though Marisnick thought that Calhoun's throw was going up the line, so he committed to slide towards the inside of the plate. Lucroy caught the ball (good throw, Calhoun, though it pains me to say that) and tried to get in front of Marisnick. There are some issues here, which we will explore further. It did not feel malicious, to me. I'm not exactly an impartial observer, but I feel like I'm fair when it comes to criticisms of the Astros.
Notably, Rule 7.13 was passed prior to the 2014 season. It says:
-A runner may not run out of a direct line to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher...covering the plate. If he does, the umpire can call him out even if the player taking the throw loses possession of the ball.
Verdict: It looks, again, to me, that Marisnick got out of a direct line in order to avoid contact with Lucroy. Lucroy receives the ball with his glove - the outside of the basepath as Marisnick approaches the plate - and Marisnick, in a split-second decision, thought the throw might take Lucroy up the line and away from the plate, so he dove to the inside.
-The catcher may not block the pathway of a runner attempting to score unless he has possession of the ball. If the catcher blocks the runner before he has the ball, the umpire may call the runner safe.
Verdict: Lucroy was in possession of the ball, but was blocking the plate before he had possession. This is what forced Marisnick to pivot off his right foot and dive toward the mound side of the plate. Lucroy dove back toward the inside in order to tag Marisnick. Jake Marisnick is listed at 6'4" 220lbs. Lucroy is listed at 6'0" 200lbs.
-All calls will be based on the umpire's judgment. The umpire will consider such factors as whether the runner made an effort to touch the plate and whether he lowered his shoulder or used his hands, elbows or arms when approaching the catcher.
Verdict: Marisnick did put his arm up but only after Lucroy got back into the trajectory in which Marisnick had already decided upon. Getty's Bob Levey got this great photo of the actual impact:
Note that Marisnick's arms aren't targeting Lucroy at the moment of impact. I guess my Takeaway is that it was an unfortunate collision, but Marisnick was trying to score the go-ahead run in what was a dramatic comeback, and Lucroy was trying to prevent the Astros from scoring that run.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia Brad Ausmus thinks Marisnick deserves a lengthy suspension. Ausmus: It certainly didn't look like a clean play...It looked like Marisnick took a step to the left and bowled into him with his arm up. The call was right. MLB should probably take a look at it and consider some type of suspension quite frankly.
Let's back up a minute and see the first part of this quote: Ausmus It certainly didn't look like a clean play. I don't know what actually happened.... So it's confirmed: Brad Ausmus should shut the f up.
On Instagram, Yadier Molina had a few words to say: MLB (needs) to take action on this Bullsh*t play! Fu*k! Praying for Lucroy! slide slide slide fu*kkk (sic)! F*ck u if u think this is Ok..F*ck u!
Molina can join Ausmus. Ausmus, however, is defending his guys. Molina, however, is defending catchers. Ultimately this is just more fuel for you if you already hated the Astros. No one's mind will be changed.
Marisnick, in his own words: Through my eyes I thought the play was going to end up on the outside of the plate. I made a split-second decision at full speed to slide head first on the inside part of the plate. That decision got another player hurt and I feel awful. I hope nothing but the best for [Lucroy].
*The Astros were down 7-2 at one point. Their previous largest comeback was a 3-run deficit, so that's a nice little building block for the 2nd Half. Previous records/leads at the All-Star Break:
*Alright, to the game. The Astros were 6x22 w/RISP. I have a Baseball-Reference Play Index subscription, and I don't know how you look up the record for hitting with runners in scoring position, but I can't imagine that 22 ABs w/RISP is not somewhere high on the franchise record list.
*Yuli Gurriel hit a got dang grand slam. He has a home run in five straight games, and a home run in nine of his last eleven games. Consecutive games with a home run, franchise history:
-Ensberg (2006): 6
-Altuve (2019): 5
-Beltran (2004): 5
-Cliff Johnson (1975): 5
-Gurriel (2019): 5
So obviously this means the Astros have never had two different players enjoy a five-game homer streak in the same season before this season.
Yuli Gurriel has nine homers in 11 games, most by an Astro since Jeff Bagwell hit nine in 10 games in 2000. One of three Astros to hit nine in 11 games or less: The other is Glenn Davis, nine in 11 in 1990. From Elias Sports Bureau.
*Houston got six extra-base hits for the 21st time this season. They're 18-3 when they get 6+ XBH.
*Brantley had four hits for his second straight game. He's the 10th Astro in franchise history to have back-to-back four-hit games. Also on the list:
Altuve (4 times), Correa (2017), Berkman (2008), Tejada (2008), Bagwell (1995), Cedeno (1977), Wilbur Howard (1975), John Bateman (1966), Al Spangler (1963).
*Yordan Alvarez was 3x5 with 3RBI. He has 25 hits (14 of them for extra-bases) in his first 82 PAs. That seems high.
*Tyler White was 3x6 with an RBI. It's his 2nd 3-hit game of the season and the 10th 3-hit game of his career. The Astros are 7-3 when Tyler White gets three hits in a game. And he was 1x3 w/RISP! He is now 7x44 (.159) with runners in scoring position.
*Bregman (2BB) and Chirinos were the only batters to have multiple PAs and not get a hit.
*Pitching (whistles). Jose Urquidy got his mulligan from the Colorado start and, uh, it didn't go well. Urquidy, by inning:
1st Inning: 1H/0ER, 2K:0BB
2nd Inning: 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB
3rd Inning: 7H/5ER, 0K:0BB, WP
Anyone in the organization feel like stepping up and doing something for the rotation? No? Okay.
Let's recap the Astros' pitching depth coming into this season (this will be the subject of a lengthier post in the next three days):
-Justin Verlander: Great, gives up too many homers this season. Still awesome.
-Gerrit Cole: Better than Verlander, sign him to all the moneys
-Wade Miley: Brent Strom solidified his Legendary status:
-Brad Peacock: Hurt
-Collin McHugh: Bullpen
*Here's Jake Kaplan on why splitting Verlander and Cole makes sense. Coming out of the All-Star Break, Hinch is going with TBD (Thursday) then Cole, Miley, and Verlander, followed by another TBD on Monday. Hinch: We'll see if the high fastball that Verlander throws followed by someone who doesn't elevate a ton (in Miley), followed by somebody who can do everything (in Cole) - we'll see if that's a combo we like.
Chandler Rome: J.B. Bukauskas knows he has absolutely jelly-dicked around this first three months of the season. Bukauskas: I think we all had a little bit too high a standard for ourselves coming out of Spring Training, if that makes sense. Because then, as soon as there's any sort of failure, it's like, 'Oh, my gosh. What's going on?'...I think we need to take it all as a learning process and learn to adjust and develop and keep getting better.
The Astros needed a home run from Josh Reddick to tie the game and a home run from Yuli Gurriel to walk it off against the Mariners. This offense is - at present - a joke. Houston is 51-32 with a 4.5 game lead over Southeast Denton. Houston is 3-9 in their last 12 games. It's Verlander Day.
*The Astros are 7-1 against Seattle in 2019. They were 9-10 against the Mariners in 2018.
*Yuli Gurriel hit his 3rd homer of the week, and his first career walk-off home run to go with his first career home run in extra innings. Four of his eight home runs this season have been go-ahead homers. Gurriel: We've had a couple tough games here and to win gives us a lot of confidence moving forward. I didn't feel great my previous at-bats, but in that at-bat, I remained focused, locked in. I hit a foul ball. I knew I could hit a fastball, and then I got the next one. Hit it out.
Hinch: Really an emotional win for us in a game where it felt like we were in so many positions to win and we needed the win.
*Josh Reddick tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the 8th, his 10th home run of the year and his 40th career home run with the Astros. It's his eighth straight season with 10+ home runs. Reddick: It felt like one of our biggest hits in the last week and a half. That's the swing we've been waiting on to pick up not only ourselves, the team, the ballpark. It was a completely different atmosphere when I came across the plate and saw our dugout going crazy. It felt good.
*More Hinch: It's a big win for us, the way that it all went down. With all the missed opportunities, I could easily sit here and say we needed one big hit. You could script it with the way the game was going, and then 'Redd' picks us up and ties the game.
*Last three games, Astros' offense: 27 hits, five extra-base hits, seven walks, four runs, 36 left on base.
*As a team, the Astros are hitting .267/.342/.471 overall. But with runners in scoring position (Houston was 1x8 last night) they're hitting .248.
*Alex Bregman was 3x5. It is his 6th 3-hit game of the season. Five of those have come against AL West opponents. Houston is 6-0 when Bregman gets three hits in a game. Bregman has raised his OPS from .910 to .929 in the last four games.
*Jose Altuve was 0x5 with 0K:0BB. It was the 36th 0x5 game of his career. Here they are, by season:
*Wade Miley was excellent: 6IP, 3H/1ER, 2K:2BB. Twelve of his 18 outs were groundball outs. It's Miley's 10th start of the season out of 17 with 18+ outs.
*Brad Peacock was placed on the 10-Day IL due to "shoulder discomfort." It is a joke by now. Reymin Guduan was recalled to Houston. What is dead will never die. Hinch: He probably could keep giving us 100 percent of what he's got, but obviously it didn't go well [Thursday] and we feel like with the off-days and the All-Star Break we can get ahead of this and avoid any more missed time. We expect him to be back in the rotation after the All-Star Break. A little bit of rest does everybody good, and we hope he can mend quickly.
So who will take Peacock's spot in the rotation? As Jake Kaplan points out, Cy Sneed would be on normal rest the next time Peacock's spot comes up. The All-Star Break begins after the games of Sunday, July 7. Here's the Astros' schedule until that point:
Saturday, June 29: Seattle
Sunday: Seattle
Monday: Off
Tuesday: At Colorado
Wednesday: At Colorado
Thursday: Off
Friday: At Anaheim
Saturday: At Anaheim
Sunday: At Anaheim
Peacock's last five starts (Thursday included): 25.1IP, 28H/18ER, 28K:7BB, 8HR. 6.39 ERA / 1.38 WHIP. The Astros are 1-4 in these last five starts, but also scored 1, 10, 0, 1, 0 runs in those starts.
*Yordan Alvarez didn't play last night in what has been described as a "precautionary" move after doing something to his knee.
*Aledmys Diaz took BP on the field prior to last night's game and could travel with the team to Colorado.
*Joe Smith threw a scoreless 7th for Round Rock in their 9-2 win, throwing nine of 10 pitches for strikes. Cionel Perez threw 5.2IP, 3H/1ER, 4K:2BB. Drew Ferguson (HR, 4RBI), Alex DeGoti, Nick Tanielu, and Chas McCormick (HR, 2BB, 3RBI) had two hits each.
*Fayetteville lost 3-2, but Shawn Dubin (13th Round - 2018) threw 7IP, 2H/1ER, 9K:2BB. He has 55 strikeouts in 46IP in 2019, including a 30K:6BB line in his last 20IP.
*Quad Cities is enjoying a W3 with a 7-2 win over Burlington last night. Jonathan Bermudez and Cody Deason combined on the tandem start to throw 9IP, 4H/2ER, 18K:5BB.
*Tri-City has lost five straight games following a 3-0 loss to Aberdeen in which they were held to two hits.
*Jim Crane says extending the netting is "a possibility," but the Astros will wait to get "more information." A 2-year old kid got a fractured skull from a foul ball. That's the information I need.
*Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says they have time to evaluate where they are before pulling the trigger on a major trade (i.e., Scherzer).
*Last night was the 12th anniversary of Craig Biggio's 3000th hit. We were in New York, so we weren't there, but did watch it on tv. My father-in-law tried to play the odds. Going into that game against Colorado, Biggio was hitting .238/.278/.387, stuck on 2,997 hits. My father-in-law bought tickets to all games in the series but the 1st game. Biggio had enjoyed six 3+ hit games in 2007 (including a 3x5 performance against Arlington on June 24), but it was a defensible decision to make. Colorado would end up pretty good - they would go on to get swept by the Red Sox in the World Series - but they were 38-40 going into the June 28 game, having lost six in a row, two of those by walk-off (and would lose on June 28 AND June 29 via Astros' walk-offs.) Anyway, Biggio got his 2nd - and last - 5-hit night of his career that night, my Father-in-Law got to see the next three games. Here's the SABR article by Frederick C. Bush on Biggio's 3000th hit.
The Got Dang Astros dropped their first series since the end of April/beginning of May and to the Got Dang Cincinnati Reds, a franchise so historically stupid that they changed their name to the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1954-1958 so that no one would think that they were fielding a team of Actual Communists. The last time Cincinnati won a series was May 24-26, their last home series win was against the Cubs from May 14-16. Houston is 48-26 and have lost three straight games for the first time since April 20-22.
*To further the Bad News, I left my Kindle at the gym and it was not turned in to Lost & Found. I was already in a way, but now I'm Some Kind of Way.
*Houston is now 12-8 in 1-run games. They were 12-6 in 1-run games prior to this series.
*It's the 4th time this season the Astros have allowed six or fewer hits and lost the game. It's the 9th time in franchise history that the Astros have allowed six or fewer hits, three of them home runs, and lost the game. It's the first time that Cincinnati has gotten six hits, three of them home runs, and beaten Houston since June 28, 1970.
*Houston was 1x8 w/RISP, one of those including Justin Verlander because Cincinnati thinks Italian Chili is a Delicacy and also doesn't have a roof. Nothing in that previous sentence is actually related.
*There are two MLB teams against which Justin Verlander has not recorded a win: Cincinnati and Miami. It's not looking good to get all 30. Verlander has allowed three home runs in a game 16 times in his career. Two of those have come in the last six days, three of them in 2019. It happened three times in all of 2018. Verlander has given up six home runs in the last ten hits he has allowed. That's dumb as hell.
Verlander has allowed 20 home runs in 2019. Eighteen of them have been solo home runs. Former Astros Great Derek Dietrich hit the 2nd home run of the season off of Verlander with someone on base (and it was 88.2mph off the bat, which is stupidly low). God this game was dumb. It's the first time since August 19, 2018 Verlander gave up two home runs in an inning. Verlander: Maybe I could throw less strikes, but I'm someone who traditionally wants to attack the zone and not let too many guys get on base, so I kind of live and die by that.
Verlander has allowed only 31 ER in 107.2 IP but has given up 20 homers.
"It used to be the name of the game was to miss barrels. Now it's kind of to miss the whole bat,” he said. "You’ve got to generate swings and misses because it doesn't take a lot for the ball to leave."
All that said, Verlander passed Mickey Lolich for 19th place on the All-Time Strikeout List, with 2839. He's 16 short of tying Jim Bunning for 18th place.
*Alex Bregman hit his 20th home run of the season. It is June 18. Alex Bregman home runs, by month:
Mar/Apr: 5
May: 12
June: 3
*Michael Brantley got his 4th 3-hit game of the season. Houston is now 3-1 in those games.
*Tyler White was 2x4 with two doubles. It's his 2nd multi-extra-base hit game of the season (May 4)
*Myles Straw has 7K:8BB in his time with the Astros this season.
*I got my M.D. from Twitter University and yesterday I pronounced Jose Altuve dead at Third Base in Round Rock. I was wrong. Probably won't try to diagnose an injury from a Twitter video on here anymore. Anyway, Altuve will be at 2B this morning (First Pitch is at 11:35am Texas time). Altuve: It's been forever, but at the same time, it's helped me a lot that the guys have been playing so good and winning a lot of games. It makes me feel better about not playing.
And regarding that video? I was kind of surprised when I looked at the video and saw myself running, because I feel way better than that. Running is not going to be an issue. It's never been a big deal for me, so I think I'll be able to run.
Within that link we find that George Springer will begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Corpus. Joe Smith could begin a rehab assignment this week, and Collin McHugh wants to "refine his delivery" during his rehab assignment, as well.
*Related: Potential trade target Marcus Stroman, who is arbitration-eligible after this season but won't be a free agent until 2021, doesn't think he'll sign an extension with Toronto. His 59.2% Groundball Rate is somewhat desirable.
*Max Scherzer broke his own damn nose in a pre-game bunting drill. Hitters and Position Players don't spend time thinking about pitching, pitchers even thinking about hitting is stupid. Universal DH now.
The Astros' offense returned to normal as Houston evened up the series at one apiece. The Astros are averaging 5.5 runs per game over their last two games. Houston is 18-12.
*The eleven runs scored last night are a season high. It's the 4th time this season they've scored in double-digits, and the 2nd time they've done it against the Twins.
*It's also the second shutout of the season for the pitching staff. Houston pitchers have allowed two runs in their last 27 innings. They have a two-game streak of allowing three or fewer hits for the first time since September 19-20, 2016. The franchise record is three games of three or fewer hits, set September 23-25, 1986, the final game of which streak was Mike Scott's no-hitter against the Giants that clinched the division.
*25 of the Astros' 30 games have come against teams over .500. Considering there are only five other AL teams over .500 (with the Rangers at 14-14), this is hard to do.
*Gerrit Cole was fantastic, throwing 7IP, 1H/0ER, 11K:3BB. It's the second time in his career he has 10+ Ks and allowed one hit in the same start - the last being one of the most dominant starts in franchise history, on May 4, 2018. It's the third time in his career that he has struck out 10+ batters and not allowed any runs. He started off slow, walking the first two batters he faced before Correa started a double play on a ball that was almost-literally scorched off of Nelson Cruz's bat. Cole: It was a little bit different of an environment than I had pitched in in a while, and I was just struggling a little bit to command the breaking ball in the zone. Carlos made a great play and picked me up...That was pretty much the game.
*On Cole: He's one of the best in the league. Across the board, his stuff is elite. When he gets in hitter's counts, you can see him have that putaway mentality. It looked like he had a lot of fun tonight. He was in complete control.
*George Springer, Alex Bregman, and Jake Marisnick all homered. It's Marisnick's second home run of 2019, both came on the road. In fact, Marisnick's last six home runs dating back to June 28, 2018 have come on the road, and twelve of his last 15 home runs have been away from Minute Maid Park.
McTaggart noted that Bregman's 9th inning walk ties Joe Morgan's franchise record set in 1970 with 11 straight games with an unintentional walk.
*Carlos Correa was 2x3 with 3RBI - his 3rd 3RBI game of the year. He had five such games in all of 2018.
*Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick each had three hits. Reddick has 2+ hits in eight of his last 16 games. Reddick got his first start at DH since September 16, 2015.
*Seven of the starters in last night's lineup ended the game with an OPS over .840. The Astros' 123 wRC+ leads baseball. At 19.7%, the Astros have the 3rd-lowest K% in baseball - only the A's (19.2%) and Angels (15.7%) strike out at a lower rate.
*Yuli Gurriel was given the night off, as he is frustrated, says Chandler Rome, who also noted that six of the last seven balls he has hit 110mph+ have been outs.
*Houston went 4x15 w/RISP, improving to a .235 average with runners on 2nd and/or 3rd. They're still leading the league with the bases empty with a .287 average.
*Last night's win was A.J. Hinch's 392nd victory as manager of the Astros - tying him for 3rd with Art Howe. He needs 43 more to catch Larry Dierker, and 152 to tie Bill Virdon for most in franchise history.
*J.J. Matijevic was suspended 50 games for a second positive test of a Drug of Abuse. He was the Astros' 2nd Round pick out of Arizona in 2017. What the Heck, Bobby got wind of this news before it broke in yesterday's Farm Report. Click the link and note that Tyler Ivey - the Astros' 3rd Round pick in 2017 - has been unofficially suspended for having a foreign substance on his glove on April 12. Jayne is the best and you should read her blog often.
*Jake Kaplan has a really good story on J.B. Bukauskas' roller-coaster of a season so far.
Bukauskas' 1st three games for Corpus: 8IP, 16H/18R (17ER), 7K:12BB.
Bukauskas' last start for Corpus: 4IP, 1H/1R (0ER), 9K:2BB.
*Ken Rosenthal notes that free agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel (perhaps you've heard of him) would now prefer to sign a 1-year deal and re-enter free agency this offseason. You know, because free agency has been a massive success for him this year.
*Bon Appetit: The Bizarre History of Buca di Beppo, America's Most Postmodern Red Sauce Chain.
*BBC: Chris Froome's Tenerife Training Camp..."you come here to suffer."
For those of you who are New Around Here, I'm basically Eurotrash. I have listened to Kula Shaker in the last 24 hours. I pay attention to English soccer, and I love the Tour de France. Any efforts to make me stop linking to these sports will only strengthen my resolve and I will flood the Hot Links with cycling news out of spite.
I'm giving Flick a break this long weekend, so he can actually rest before he has to go through Finals.
*The Astros were off last night. If you count Opening Day, the Astros are 4-0 following an off-day in 2019.
*The Astros were off April 11, 15, and 18. Then they play 26 games in 27 days. A.J. Hinch talks about carrying an extra position player during this random stretch of off-days.
*Jake Kaplan says McHugh/Miley/Peacock are the steadiness the rotation needs after an off-season of turnover.
*The Astros will have the 3rd-lowest draft pool in the 2019 Amateur Draft, at $5,355,100.
*After 14 road games to start 2019, it was finally the home opener in Fayetteville at Segra Stadium. They lost, 7-5. Seth Beer hit his 2nd home run of the season, as did 2017 39th Round pick Colton Shaver.
*Yordan Alvarez is hitting .318/.455/.841. Kyle Tucker is hitting .109/.180/.217. Jonathan Mayo answers a question about Alvarez replacing Tucker on the prospect list. Alvarez is 21, Tucker is 22. We're lucky to have them both.
*Mike Rosenbaum and Jim Callis mention the possibility that J.B. Bukauskas is the Astros' closer of the future. Coincidentally, last night Bukauskas started for Corpus, throwing 2.1IP, 3H/6ER, 1K:5BB.
Bukauskas, 2019: Three starts, 8IP, 16H/17ER, 7K:12BB. 19.13 ERA / 3.50 WHIP. He has thrown 211 pitches, 113 for strikes (53.6%).
*Noted Boras Shill Jon Heyman reports that Dallas Keuchel would be interested in a 1-year deal to reset his value, and mentions the Brewers, Phillies, Padres, and Astros as a potential destination.
That was a weird game and the game-winning RBI from Carlos Correa was a weird hit, reminiscent of the Bregman walk-off from about this time last year. Nevertheless the Astros win 4-3 and improve to 6-5, 4-0 at home.
*The last time the Astros won their first four home games of the season was 2001. They would go on to win the World Series 16 years later.
*The Astros are now 4-0 in 1-run games, quite a departure from 2018, when they went 24-24 in 1-run games.
*Carlos Correa's game-winning hit had an exit velocity of 28.9mph. Correa: You've got to take them. This is a tough game. Sometimes you hit the ball hard right at people and sometimes that happens. That's why we love this game so much - you never know what to expect.
*Robinson Chirinos was 2x3 with two doubles (and 2RBI). He has six hits in 2019: four doubles, one home run, and one single.
*Alex Bregman was 1x2 with 2BB. Since April 1 Alex Bregman has reached base in 18 of his last 29 PAs (12 hits, 6 walks).
*Jose Altuve hit his 2nd home run of the year - the 2nd-hardest-hit home run he's ever hit, as recorded by Statcast.
*Justin Verlander threw 6IP, 7H/3ER, 6K:2BB while the bullpen of Harris, Pressly, and Osuna held the Yankees to 1H/0ER, 2K:1BB in the final 3IP.
*Due to the three off-days in the next eight, the Astros won't be needing Brad Peacock to make any starts for a while, so he's headed to the bullpen. Hinch: I've noticed a difference in the first 10 games to have a 12-man pitching staff versus a 13-man pitching staff. We've seen Josh James pitch a lot, we've seen [Harris] and Rondon get up virtually every game. An extra arm down in the 'pen for this stretch will be nice.
*Just in case you got got, like I did with the 6:10pm CT start time, tonight's game starts at 7:10pm, while tomorrow night's game is at 6:40pm.
The Pirates defeated the Astros yesterday at Minute Maid 5-1 off the back of former Astros great J.B. Shuck's 1/2 with 1 RBI night. Colin Moran was there too. Notes:
Springer 1/2, Solo HR
Tanielu: 1/2
Stassi: 1/2
Those were all our hits.
Bukauskas: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Martin: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO
The SI preview not only gives some predictions, but also gives out some awards like "Most overrated", "biggest bust potential", and "the one guy you want up in a clutch moment"
Here are the four most burning questions Astros have going into the season besides when Cionel Perez will get called back up.
Jake Marisnick and Tyler White went undercover at an Academy store to mess with the shoppers there and make us, the target audience, laugh at their quirky one-liners.
Pardon me for not posting Hot Links yesterday morning. As you regular readers have likely inferred, I am basically Eurotrash. Lots of Britpop, soccer fan. I get up to watch the Tour de France. It's a Problem, and of this I am fully aware. That said, my favorite team - Leeds United - came into yesterday 2nd in the Championship (the league below the Premier League). The top two teams get automatic promotion to the Premier League. Teams 3-6 play a playoff to be the 3rd team to go to the Premier League (while the three worst Premier League teams drop down a level. It's fascinating.) Leeds played Sheffield United at home yesterday morning. Sheffield United was in 3rd. It was A Big Game. Leeds hit the post, had chance after chance, and couldn't find the net. Sheffield United had one shot on goal, and it went in. Thus, Leeds dropped to 3rd, Sheffield United rose to 2nd. That's why there were no Hot Links. Because I was upset. There are eight games left.
*Oh, the Astros beat a Harper-less Philadelphia 13-5. Brad Peacock's curve was the best A.J. Hinch - who did not get thrown out by a trash-ass umpire today - .had seen this Spring. Also:
-The Astros scored nine runs in the 5th inning. They had 17 hits in the game: four doubles (Corey Julks, Yordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa, and Abraham Toro) and 13 singles.
-Michael Brantley was 3x3 with 3RBI and a walk.
-George Springer was 2x3 with a walk.
-Josh James made his Grapefruit League debut, and the plan is for him to start at some point this season.
-J.B. Bukauskas threw 3IP, 3H/1R (0ER), 5K:0BB with three groundouts and no flyouts.
*Scott Boras told Jon Paul Morosi that Dallas Keuchel "is receiving offers." Morosi says the Braves are closely monitoring Keuchel, which would make sense with McCann behind the plate for Atlanta.
It's Spring Break. Spring Break started today with my daughter being so excited about Spring Break at 7:15am that she couldn't sleep. This life, it's not terribly Fair.
*The Astros lost to the Cardinals 6-3, but Forrest Whitley struck out six batters in 3IP, including two by Paul Goldschmidt. Gerrit Cole threw 3IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:0BB. Alex De Goti had two of the Astros' five hits. Altuve and Bregman are expected to be in the lineup for today's game. Collin McHugh will get the start.
It will be Jose Altuve's 8th straight Opening Day start at 2B, which ties him with Joe Morgan and Bill Doran for 2nd in franchise history.
*Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Astros have made offers to Dallas Keuchel in the 1-2 year range but, obviously, those offers are not yet acceptable. Buster Olney says the two sides "aren't close."
We know that the market for free agents has shifted. We also know the Phillies would prefer a short-term deal for Keuchel. These are things we know. Regardless of the motive of Management, that's how it is. If Keuchel is holding out for a 4-5 year deal, I'm not sure where it comes from, if the only teams talking to reporters are offering 1-2 years.
*There were another round of cuts this morning, showing that, once again, the second cut is as deep as the first: Bryan Abreu, Akeem Bostick, Garrett Stubbs, Chuckie Robinson, Taylor Jones, Josh Rojas, and Ronnie Dawson.
*Today's game vs the Mets - featuring Justin Verlander, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Forrest Whitley, and Ryan Pressly - will be on MLB Network beginning at 12pm Central.
*The Astros/Cardinals game ended in a 4-4 tie, but I'm sure the Cardinals went ahead and counted it as a win for them.
Notable:
-Framber Valdez retired four of the nine batters he faced and allowed 3H/2ER, 0K:2BB.
-Roberto Osuna threw a perfect inning, striking out one.
-Corbin Martin threw 2.2IP, 2H/1ER, 0K:1BB.
-Tony Kemp and Myles Straw (SB) had two hits each.
-Carlos Correa had an RBI double.
*Carlos Correa is encouraged by his exit velocity even this early in Spring Training. Correa: It just feels great to be able to put the barrel on the baseball, and my back feels great.
*Jenny Dial Creech: Lance McCullers doesn't like just watching Spring Training.
*The New York Times' Michael Powell went to the Astros' clubhouse to talk about the last two free agency cycles, and the comparison between the players' roles in the NBA and MLB. There were some quotes. Reddick: A lot of guys are pissed off. There are a lot of guys who should have jobs who are just hanging there. If it takes another bad strike to change this, then that's what we need to do.
Bregman: A lot of teams seem fine with losing and getting TV money and making no attempt to sign players. That is bad for the game.
According to MLBTR's 2018-19 Free Agent Tracker, there are 34 remaining uninjured free agents who played in 2018. Here they are with their 2018 fWAR:
Matt Belisle: -0.2
Blaine Boyer: -0.9
Santiago Casilla: 0.1
Bartolo Colon: 0.2
Jorge De La Rosa: 0.0
Yovani Gallardo: 0.1
Evan Gattis: 0.0
Carlos Gomez: -0.5
Carlos Gonzalez: 1.7
Miguel Gonzalez: -0.3
Gio Gonzalez: 2.0
Chris Hatcher: -0.4
Chase Headley: -0.4
Matt Holliday: 0.1
Edwin Jackson: 0.7
Austin Jackson: -1.0
Jim Johnson: -0.3
Adam Jones: 0.5
Dallas Keuchel: 3.6
Craig Kimbrel: 1.5
Ryan Madson: 0.2
Martin Maldonado: 0.9
Logan Morrison: -0.7
Brandon Phillips: -0.3
Jose Reyes: -0.9
Fernando Salas: 0.0
James Shields: 0.8
Tony Sipp: 0.9
Denard Span: 1.5
Chris Tillman: -0.4
Danny Valencia: -0.4
Adam Warren: 0.3
Blake Wood: 0.0
Chris Young: -0.5
I know that was long, but I wanted to show my work. So of this list of free agents there are four who were worth more than 1.0 fWAR. There are more who posted a negative fWAR in 2018 (13) than posted an fWAR over 0.5 (9). I mean, if you were to start a franchise on MLB 12 The Show, there are some tasty names in here, but a long list of players who used to be really good is not the team you build in 2019.
But still, Astros, offer Dallas Keuchel 3yrs/$50m.
Spring Training is in full swing so we can finally start looking forward to new Hot Links nearly every single day instead of the sporadic offseason uploads. A week from tomorrow is the Astros first spring training game where I will happily watch 6 innings of baseball, be satisfied, not watch another spring training game the rest of the year, and get way too excited for Opening Day.
Speaking of Gerrit, he just like everyone else in baseball it seems kinda hates openers. I feel like I'm in the minority when I say that it's kind of cool we are still introducing new strategies for the 200 year old game of baseball and welcome any other odd ideas managers have this year with open arms.
Jeff Luhnow said he spoke with Kyle Tucker when he was in Houston last week for FanFest.
"He's mentally, I think, learned a lot from last year. The kid is so talented and he's going to be an everyday major leaguer on a contending team, and it's going to be us."
There is simply no way that today is not Friday, or March. It is 13 days until Pitchers & Catcher(s) Report.
*Today is Jackie Robinson's 100th birthday. Happy birthday, Jackie.
*As the rotation stands today, Houston ranks 2nd in MLB in terms of fastball velocity behind Tampa, who added St. Charles F. Morton giving the Rays the nod.
*J.B. Bukauskas has a 98mph fastball but it's his slider that is considered the best of the 2019 Top 100 Prospects. Josh James and Forrest Whitley got an honorable mention for best changeup.
*Oooooh check out Reid Ryan throwing some shade at the Rangers' farm system as he talked with Round Rock fans about the 2019 season. Ryan: We know these guys are going to be taken care of when they come here. It's great for the Astros brand and the Express brand. We have some real talent in the system, and people are going to see some really good baseball players.
Triple-A record (win%) since the beginning of the 2011 season, when the Express flipped to Arlington: Houston: 618-523 (.542)
Arlington: 579-560 (.508)
*Astros minor-league pitcher Jairo Solis got himself some Tommy John surgery and won't be back until 2020. Solis, who turned 19 last month, has a 3.05 ERA / 1.37 WHIP in 112IP (120K:53BB) in his two-year pro career. He threw 50.2IP for Quad Cities in 2018 before tearing his UCL.
*Doug Brocail's history will benefit him as Baltimore's pitching coach.
*Former Astros Great J.B. Shuck has signed a minor-league deal with Pittsburgh. Only the real Astros fans remember when the Astros trotted out:
J.A. Happ
J.B. Shuck
J.C. Chasez
J.D. Martinez
on a daily basis
*Kacy Clemens and his godbrother are suing the Concrete Cowboy after they say the bouncer assaulted them. Baseball, please hurry.
*Chicago lit its train tracks on fire to prevent them from contracting in the cold. I'm actually perfectly fine with either lighting the Marlins on fire, or contracting them in the cold.
