The Astros put it on the Pirates, getting help in multiple innings for the first time in quite a while. Gerrit Cole beat his former team with six strong innings, and the bullpen shut it down. Houston is 50-30 with 82 games remaining. They're 28-11 at home.
*Houston has scored 5+ runs in three straight games for the first time since May 11-14, when they did it in four straight games.
*The win against Pittsburgh snapped a four-game losing streak to NL Central teams.
*Former Pirates Great Gerrit Cole threw 6IP, 7H/1ER, 3K:2BB. It's the fewest number of strikeouts for Cole in an Astros uniform, and his fewest since June 13, 2017, when the Pirates beat Colorado. Cole's teams are 13-7 when he gets three or fewer strikeouts in a game.
*The Pirates did not hit a home run in the game. It's Cole's 5th start of the season in which he didn't allow a home run, and overall it's the Astros' 17th game in which the pitchers didn't allow a ball to leave the yard (see Reddick, Josh below). Cole:
It was unique. I remember facing these guys in Spring Training and throwing live BPs and throwing (simulated) games and coming up with some of them. There's just a lot of memories that you have.
*The bullpen of Josh James, Will Harris, and Collin McHugh combined for 3IP, 1H/0ER, 3K:0BB. McHugh made his first appearance since going on the IL. Hinch, on McHugh:
We're going to need a bridge. I'm looking for somebody to step up - not necessarily be a right-handed specialist - but to be really good against right-handed hitters and be a weapon. We put him in the bullpen, and as much as it felt like a demotion for him, it was more about using him as a weapon in the right spots with the right hitters.
*The Astros got things started offensively with Yuli Gurriel's 2-run home run. Gurriel has now homered in back-to-back appearances for the first time since September 3/4, 2018. Gurriel had hit two home runs in his previous 162 Plate Appearances combined. Hinch, on Gurriel's homer:
Yuli's homer was a very good approach on a fastball pitcher who was pitching a little differently than he does in the National League. He threw us a lot more breaking balls than he's throwing those guys over in the National League. We had to make some adjustments because we didn't have a lot of experience facing him. Yuli hunted fastball, got fastball and kept it fair.
*Alex Bregman was a [wink] triple shy of the cycle, going 3x4 with his 22nd home run of the season. It's his first game with a double and a homer in the same game since September 5, 2018. It's his 5th 3-hit game of the year. I have a feeling that Bregman is about to go on a tear.
*Josh Reddick was 2x3 - his 25th multi-hit game of the season, matching his total of 2+ hit games in 2018. He also pulled back a home run in the 4th inning. Reddick, on the catch:
At the very last second it took a hard right turn. Kind of unexpected for me because I thought I had a good shot at it and all of the sudden I had to quick jump. And it wasn't the prettiest, cleanest of catches, but I caught it. That's all that matters.
*Yordan Alvarez hit a double. He has ten extra-base hits in his first 13 games, and has at least one XBH in nine games.
*Tyler White was 0x4, including an 0x2 w/RISP.
*Carlos Correa said that he would play if the fans voted him in to the All-Star Game. Less than five minutes later Hinch threw cold water all over that piece of bullcrap:
Unfortunately for him, I don't think it's that realistic, given the time he's had off and he hasn't played a rehab game yet. Maybe by then he's active, but unfortunately with the timing, I don't see how that's a possibility.
Within that link we find that:
-Correa is running on the field.
-Forrest Whitley - who hasn't pitched since May 23 - should begin throwing again in the next couple of weeks.
*Corbin Martin is back in Houston after experiencing what was described as a "potentially serious" elbow injury. He last pitched on Sunday.
*JJ Matijevic has been back for a few days after getting suspended for 50 games on April 30 for testing positive for a 2nd time for a drug of abuse. He hit a home run last night in a 3-2 walk-off loss for Fayetteville.
*The Astros are continuing to look at extended netting along the baselines.
*Kevin Youkilis has opened a brewery in California and, by God, if it's not called the Greek God of Hops then what are we even doing here?
*Astroball's Ben Reiter takes a look at the improbable transformation of Alex Rodriguez.
*Looking back at the last 50 years of history between Honduras and El Salvador, and the origins of "The Soccer War."
*A Musical Selection:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label JJ Matijevic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JJ Matijevic. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Wednesday Morning Hot Links
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.
*A Musical Selection:
*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.
*A Musical Selection:
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Thursday Morning Hot Links
The Astros had a laugher of a game which suddenly wasn't so fun and then turned out okay in the end, which is, ideally, a microcosm of what the 2018 season will be. The Astros won 10-7 over Seattle. The A's lost to the Ramgers. Houston is 77-50 with a one-game lead and 35 games to play.
*Houston has now won back-to-back games for the first time since August 6-7. Houston has won 14 out of their last 18 games at Safeco Field.
*Yesterday was the 16th time the Astros have allowing 7+ runs. They're now 2-14 when allowing 7+ runs, the other win coming against Arlington on June 10. Over their last 12 games the Astros are 4-8 and have allowed 57 runs.
*It was the 15th time Houston has scored 10+ runs. The Astros are 51-9 when scoring 5+ runs in a game.
*With two more GIDPs the Astros now have 22 GIDPs in August. GIDPs by month, 2018:
March/April: 22
May:25
June: 35
July: 21
August: 22
*Tyler White was 3x5 with a single, triple, and a home run (wink). Martin Maldonado was 3x5 with 3RBI on a single, double, and a home run.
*Behold, the Astros GIF to end all Astros GIFs:
*Carlos Correa was the only player in the lineup without a hit. In 40 PAs since returning from the DL Correa is hitting .171/.250/.200 with 12K:4BB and one extra-base hit, a double.
*Charlie Morton, Innings 1-4: 4IP, 2H/1ER, 5K:1BB
Charlie Morton, Innings 5-6: 1+IP, 5H/2ER, 2K:0BB, 2 HBP
Morton:
Good and then bad. I gave up a bunch of runs in the sixth. I wasn't really mixing very well and I wasn't executing my sinker in good locations, and the offspeed I did throw was awful.
Tony Kemp, who had three hits:
I think the good thing about our team is that once someone gets out or gets a hit, they come back to the dugout and are really communicative toward their teammates. That's good. Sometimes you hit slumps, you hit ruts, and people don't talk as much. But I think the main thing is our communication is at a high level right now, and that's what we have to keep doing to be successful.
*Ryan Pressly since joining the Astros: 9.2IP, 6H/2ER, 13K:0BB.
*Roberto Osuna since joining the Astros: 7IP, 8H/2ER, 7K:1BB. He recorded his first save since May 6.
*Hinch, on Pressly/Rondon/Osuna:
You can't hate how you win if you win. It was good for us, especially the last three innings with the guys we threw. That's exactly how you draw it up. All three were dominant. The way those guys responded and held it down was pretty nice.
*George Springer was out of the lineup for the third straight game as the Astros try to manage quad soreness and probably some residual soreness in his thumb. Hinch:
I know we're all frustrated and he's frustrated that he's not going to play today. He ran really hard [Wednesday]. He told me and the trainers told me he could probably play at a reduced level, whether that's 90 percent, 80 percent or whatever. The recommendation is to give him another day, and we have the day off [today], and we'll aim for Friday.
*The two-time defending World Series Champion Houston Astros will open the 2019 season at Tampa Bay on March 28. They'll play games in Mexico next year, too. More thoughts on this later.
*In The Athletic, Jake Kaplan takes a look at which minor-leaguers might get called up in September.
*Fresno was down 8-3 after six innings at Sacramento. Kyle Tucker hit a solo home run in the 7th and a grand slam in the 9th to tie the game as Fresno went on to a 10-8 win after a 6-run 9th inning. Grizzlies pitchers need just 57 strikeouts to break the all-time PCL record for strikeouts in a single season.
*Corpus took a 9-3 lead and held on to a 9-8 win over Midland. Brian McCann was 0x3 with a walk. Chris Devenski threw 1IP, 2H/1ER, 3K:0BB.
*At Buies Creek, 1-2 in the lineup Corey Julks and JJMatisyahu Matijevic combined for a 5x8 night with 3HR and 8RBI total. Seth Beer hit his 2nd High-A homer.
*Houston has now won back-to-back games for the first time since August 6-7. Houston has won 14 out of their last 18 games at Safeco Field.
*Yesterday was the 16th time the Astros have allowing 7+ runs. They're now 2-14 when allowing 7+ runs, the other win coming against Arlington on June 10. Over their last 12 games the Astros are 4-8 and have allowed 57 runs.
*It was the 15th time Houston has scored 10+ runs. The Astros are 51-9 when scoring 5+ runs in a game.
*With two more GIDPs the Astros now have 22 GIDPs in August. GIDPs by month, 2018:
March/April: 22
May:25
June: 35
July: 21
August: 22
*Tyler White was 3x5 with a single, triple, and a home run (wink). Martin Maldonado was 3x5 with 3RBI on a single, double, and a home run.
*Behold, the Astros GIF to end all Astros GIFs:
Legends. pic.twitter.com/Z0UiCAxGCd— Houston Astros (@astros) August 22, 2018
*Carlos Correa was the only player in the lineup without a hit. In 40 PAs since returning from the DL Correa is hitting .171/.250/.200 with 12K:4BB and one extra-base hit, a double.
*Charlie Morton, Innings 1-4: 4IP, 2H/1ER, 5K:1BB
Charlie Morton, Innings 5-6: 1+IP, 5H/2ER, 2K:0BB, 2 HBP
Morton:
Good and then bad. I gave up a bunch of runs in the sixth. I wasn't really mixing very well and I wasn't executing my sinker in good locations, and the offspeed I did throw was awful.
Tony Kemp, who had three hits:
I think the good thing about our team is that once someone gets out or gets a hit, they come back to the dugout and are really communicative toward their teammates. That's good. Sometimes you hit slumps, you hit ruts, and people don't talk as much. But I think the main thing is our communication is at a high level right now, and that's what we have to keep doing to be successful.
*Ryan Pressly since joining the Astros: 9.2IP, 6H/2ER, 13K:0BB.
*Roberto Osuna since joining the Astros: 7IP, 8H/2ER, 7K:1BB. He recorded his first save since May 6.
*Hinch, on Pressly/Rondon/Osuna:
You can't hate how you win if you win. It was good for us, especially the last three innings with the guys we threw. That's exactly how you draw it up. All three were dominant. The way those guys responded and held it down was pretty nice.
*George Springer was out of the lineup for the third straight game as the Astros try to manage quad soreness and probably some residual soreness in his thumb. Hinch:
I know we're all frustrated and he's frustrated that he's not going to play today. He ran really hard [Wednesday]. He told me and the trainers told me he could probably play at a reduced level, whether that's 90 percent, 80 percent or whatever. The recommendation is to give him another day, and we have the day off [today], and we'll aim for Friday.
*The two-time defending World Series Champion Houston Astros will open the 2019 season at Tampa Bay on March 28. They'll play games in Mexico next year, too. More thoughts on this later.
*In The Athletic, Jake Kaplan takes a look at which minor-leaguers might get called up in September.
*Fresno was down 8-3 after six innings at Sacramento. Kyle Tucker hit a solo home run in the 7th and a grand slam in the 9th to tie the game as Fresno went on to a 10-8 win after a 6-run 9th inning. Grizzlies pitchers need just 57 strikeouts to break the all-time PCL record for strikeouts in a single season.
*Corpus took a 9-3 lead and held on to a 9-8 win over Midland. Brian McCann was 0x3 with a walk. Chris Devenski threw 1IP, 2H/1ER, 3K:0BB.
*At Buies Creek, 1-2 in the lineup Corey Julks and JJ
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Saturday Morning Hot Links
The Astros are guaranteed a season series win over the Cleveland Indians, who allowed a fantastic start from Corey Kluber to go to waste with a complete bullpen meltdown and a special offensive showing. The Astros are 34-18, having won five straight and 13 of their last 16 games.
*The Astros are 34-18. They're 17-9 against the AL West, and 17-9 against everybody else. There are five teams with 30+ wins:
Boston: 35
Houston: 34
New York: 32
Milwaukee: 32
Seattle: 30
There are seven teams in the American League at .500 or above. Four of them are in the AL West.
*Kluber: 6.1IP, 7H/0ER, 7K:0BB.
Bullpen: 2.2IP, 9H/11ER, 0K:2BB.
Kluber retired nine of the first ten batters he faced. The Astros were 1x3 w/RISP with Kluber on the mound, but no runs scored. They would go 6x12 w/RISP against the Indians bullpen.
*The Astros scored 11 runs. Marwin:
We had a really good energy in the last three innings. We're playing 100 percent baseball. We never give up. They have good pitching and they shut us down for seven innings, but that's what this team is capable of doing, and that's what's special about this team. We can do damage in one or two innings.
Altuve:
It seems like until we see the 27th out against us, we're going to keep playing. We can hit homers with Springer, Bregman, Marwin. We can bunt. We can play defense. That's why this team is special: We do a little bit of everything.
*Seven runs in the 9th inning are the most the Astros have scored in a single inning all season.
Runs scored from the 7th inning on:
Houston: 98
NY Yankees: 90
Atlanta: 89
Chicago Cubs: 87
Toronto: 84
Oakland: 81
Seattle / NY Mets: 80
Pittsburgh: 79
Anaheim: 76
West Shreveport: 75
Baltimore: 74
Detroit / Tampa: 73
Boston: 71
Los Angeles: 70
San Diego: 63
Arizona / Cleveland: 60
Washington / Cincinnati / Minnesota: 59
St. Louis: 58
Philadelphia: 57
Milwaukee: 56
Miami / Chicago White Sox: 54
San Francisco / Kansas City: 49
Colorado: 38
*When trailing going into the 8th inning, the Astros were 1-15. They're now 2-15.
The two-run deficit is still a season-high for comebacks, and this was their 13th comeback win. I guess if you don't really allow more than two runs in a game, it's hard to come back from more.
*Terry Francona:
You're feeling pretty good. It was 2-0 and (Kluber) gets you into the seventh. We got out of that OK. After that, boy, we didn't have an answer of anything.
*The Akron Beacon-Journal's Ryan Lewis:
That's the vintage blueprint. Kluber with a terrific outing, Miller blitzes through an inning or two and Cody Allen nails the door shut. It was all going to plan before the Astros set that blueprint on fire, and the Indians had to frantically and unsuccessfully try to stomp it out.
*George Springer: 3x6, 3RBI, 11th home run of the year. He's hitting .305, the first time his average has been above .300 since August 23, 2017.
*Now at 60 and counting, Carlos Correa set the franchise record for most consecutive games at Shortstop without an error
*Dallas Keuchel threw 6IP, 8H/2ER, 5K:1BB. It's his 6th start (out of 11) in which he has allowed two or fewer runs; it's his 9th with allowing three or fewer runs. He's recorded 18 outs in eight of his eleven starts.
*Jake Marisnick: 1x1, 1RBI.
*Evan Gattis was 3x4 with 2RBI. In May Gattis is hitting .283/.320/.543.
*Because it's the Astros, the basepath is always an adventure.
*Seems obvious to say the Astros have underperformed given their former offensive struggles, but Baseball Prospectus' 3rd-Order Wins says the AL West should look like this:
Houston: 40-12
Anaheim: 28-23
Seattle: 26-24
Oakland: 26-25
Arlington: 19-34
*Derek Fisher had a "throat reaction" that limited how much he could eat, and is hoping to go on a rehab assignment soon.
*Cionel Perez's 1st pitch of the game last night? 97mph. He would go on to strike out ten batters in 4.2IP as the Hooks lost in extras for the second straight night. Myles Straw stole his 30th base of the season.
*Sam Dykstra has a great look at the evolution of JJ Matijevic.
*Geoff Blum is the Astros' representative at the Hall of Fame Legends Game in Cooperstown today.
*Seattle is obviously hoping to end that postseasonless streak - the longest in professional sports - by acquiring Denard Span and Alex Colome from Tampa yesterday. The Mariners now have three prospects. SI's Emma Baccillieri on whether the Mariners are good, lucky, or both.
*Since starting the season 13-3, Anaheim is 15-20.
*The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker: PEDs and the Dominican Republic
*Here's a really weird story about the Braves firing their pitching coach, and then re-hiring him before news broke.
*From The Atlantic: The Wisdom of Running a 2,189-mile Marathon.
*The Astros are 34-18. They're 17-9 against the AL West, and 17-9 against everybody else. There are five teams with 30+ wins:
Boston: 35
Houston: 34
New York: 32
Milwaukee: 32
Seattle: 30
There are seven teams in the American League at .500 or above. Four of them are in the AL West.
*Kluber: 6.1IP, 7H/0ER, 7K:0BB.
Bullpen: 2.2IP, 9H/11ER, 0K:2BB.
Kluber retired nine of the first ten batters he faced. The Astros were 1x3 w/RISP with Kluber on the mound, but no runs scored. They would go 6x12 w/RISP against the Indians bullpen.
*The Astros scored 11 runs. Marwin:
We had a really good energy in the last three innings. We're playing 100 percent baseball. We never give up. They have good pitching and they shut us down for seven innings, but that's what this team is capable of doing, and that's what's special about this team. We can do damage in one or two innings.
Altuve:
It seems like until we see the 27th out against us, we're going to keep playing. We can hit homers with Springer, Bregman, Marwin. We can bunt. We can play defense. That's why this team is special: We do a little bit of everything.
*Seven runs in the 9th inning are the most the Astros have scored in a single inning all season.
Runs scored from the 7th inning on:
Houston: 98
NY Yankees: 90
Atlanta: 89
Chicago Cubs: 87
Toronto: 84
Oakland: 81
Seattle / NY Mets: 80
Pittsburgh: 79
Anaheim: 76
West Shreveport: 75
Baltimore: 74
Detroit / Tampa: 73
Boston: 71
Los Angeles: 70
San Diego: 63
Arizona / Cleveland: 60
Washington / Cincinnati / Minnesota: 59
St. Louis: 58
Philadelphia: 57
Milwaukee: 56
Miami / Chicago White Sox: 54
San Francisco / Kansas City: 49
Colorado: 38
*When trailing going into the 8th inning, the Astros were 1-15. They're now 2-15.
The two-run deficit is still a season-high for comebacks, and this was their 13th comeback win. I guess if you don't really allow more than two runs in a game, it's hard to come back from more.
*Terry Francona:
You're feeling pretty good. It was 2-0 and (Kluber) gets you into the seventh. We got out of that OK. After that, boy, we didn't have an answer of anything.
*The Akron Beacon-Journal's Ryan Lewis:
That's the vintage blueprint. Kluber with a terrific outing, Miller blitzes through an inning or two and Cody Allen nails the door shut. It was all going to plan before the Astros set that blueprint on fire, and the Indians had to frantically and unsuccessfully try to stomp it out.
*George Springer: 3x6, 3RBI, 11th home run of the year. He's hitting .305, the first time his average has been above .300 since August 23, 2017.
*Now at 60 and counting, Carlos Correa set the franchise record for most consecutive games at Shortstop without an error
*Dallas Keuchel threw 6IP, 8H/2ER, 5K:1BB. It's his 6th start (out of 11) in which he has allowed two or fewer runs; it's his 9th with allowing three or fewer runs. He's recorded 18 outs in eight of his eleven starts.
*Jake Marisnick: 1x1, 1RBI.
*Evan Gattis was 3x4 with 2RBI. In May Gattis is hitting .283/.320/.543.
*Because it's the Astros, the basepath is always an adventure.
*Seems obvious to say the Astros have underperformed given their former offensive struggles, but Baseball Prospectus' 3rd-Order Wins says the AL West should look like this:
Houston: 40-12
Anaheim: 28-23
Seattle: 26-24
Oakland: 26-25
Arlington: 19-34
*Derek Fisher had a "throat reaction" that limited how much he could eat, and is hoping to go on a rehab assignment soon.
*Cionel Perez's 1st pitch of the game last night? 97mph. He would go on to strike out ten batters in 4.2IP as the Hooks lost in extras for the second straight night. Myles Straw stole his 30th base of the season.
*Sam Dykstra has a great look at the evolution of JJ Matijevic.
*Geoff Blum is the Astros' representative at the Hall of Fame Legends Game in Cooperstown today.
*Seattle is obviously hoping to end that postseasonless streak - the longest in professional sports - by acquiring Denard Span and Alex Colome from Tampa yesterday. The Mariners now have three prospects. SI's Emma Baccillieri on whether the Mariners are good, lucky, or both.
*Since starting the season 13-3, Anaheim is 15-20.
*The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker: PEDs and the Dominican Republic
*Here's a really weird story about the Braves firing their pitching coach, and then re-hiring him before news broke.
*From The Atlantic: The Wisdom of Running a 2,189-mile Marathon.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Thursday Morning Hot Links
Thanks for all of your well-wishes yesterday after my boy Angus passed. Houston handled San Francisco in a matinee yesterday after Springer got his 10th home run and Verlander did Verlander stuff, so the Astros won again. They're 32-18, two games up on Seattle. Houston has won 11 of their last 14 games. Jexas has your Giants series recap.
After 50 games:
2018: 32-18, 2.0 up
2017: 34-16, 9.0 up
*Hinch:
I'm obviously happy that we are starting to pull things together. We're a good team, and we're playing like it. I think we're starting to do a lot of things right. I like our defense, I like our pitching, I like our hitting. I like our team at Game 1 and I like our team at Game 50.
*Verlander: 6IP, 3H/1ER, 9K:1BB. He has allowed one earned run or less in nine of his eleven starts this season. Verlander's last five starts: 35IP, 17H/3ER, 45K:7BB. Verlander:
I felt OK. Probably a little rusty from the seven days [between starts]. Overall, I was able to execute pitches when I needed to against a really good lineup.
And by "executed pitches" he literally means "state-sanctioned murder of pitches." His nine straight starts of 6+ IP and 2ER or fewer matches the Astros' franchise record set in 1986 by Mike Scott.
*ESPN's David Schoenfield says that Verlander is pitching better than ever before. And it seems like it's for real. As Schoenfield notes, since Verlander made his mechanical tweak around the end of July 2017: 28 starts (postseason included), 193.1IP, 230 strikeouts, 20-4, 1.54 ERA.
*It was Verlander's first career win against San Francisco, and he now has a win over 28 of the 30 MLB teams. The only two teams against which Verlander hasn't got a W? Cincinnati and Miami.
*McTaggart notes in the linked article that the 126 runs allowed by the 2018 Astros through 50 games are the fewest runs allowed through 50 games since 1920. The 1968 Cleveland Indians had the previous record, at 128. The 1968 Indians were led by Luis Tiant (258.1IP, 264 strikeouts, 1.60 ERA) and Sam McDowell (269IP, 283K, 1.81 ERA) and would go on to allow just 504 runs through the season. They finished 3rd in the AL, 16.5 games behind the 103-59 Tigers.
*5-9 in the lineup (Marwin, Gurriel, McCann, Gattis, Kemp): 0x16, 1K:2BB - both walks were drawn by Kemp. Tony Kemp drew more walks yesterday than Jake Marisnick drew in 85 plate appearances. Tony Kemp has reached base twice or more in four of his six starts.
Hinch, on Kemp:
We're watching him play exactly how he's played throughout his whole minor league career. He just hasn't had the chance to get regular at-bats in the big leagues. That quality at-bat, that spark at the end of the order, him being on base in front of George, Bregman, and Altuve is invaluable.
*Here's Jake Kaplan with a good read on Tony Kemp's best chance in the Majors.
*Carlos Correa has now gone 58 games without an error at shortstop. One more ties Roger Metzger for the franchise record.
*Please tell me you saw Our Boy Tyler Stafford's post linking every Astros player to a Shakespearean quote.
*Josh Reddick was the latest outfielder to be placed on the DL with Bad. Jake Marisnick, who has most assuredly fixed his swing what with his [squints] 21 plate appearances at Fresno, has been recalled to take his place, at least for the next 10 days.
*How in the hell is Seattle 29-19 at this point in the season, and without Robinson Cano? Let's look right quick:
a) They've played 23 of their 48 games against the God-awful AL Central (the Astros have played nine games against the AL Central, and three of those were against Cleveland, about to be seven of 13 against Cleveland).
b) They're 13-7 in 1-run games (the Astros are 4-9).
c) Their .740 OPS is tied for 4th in the AL with Oakland and Houston
*Fans have noticed that the Astros have gone all-in on dynamic ticket pricing. La Porte guy:
Supply and demand is part of our economy, but at the same time, c'mon man. You can watch the games on TV, but you want to be here, too.
Astros Director of Ticket Operations Adam Smith was unavailable for comment.
*A former SFA baseball player will be Jose Altuve's body double in a New Balance commercial.
*It's a 5:10pm Central start tonight against Cleveland as Charlie Morton goes up against Mike Clevinger. We'll see if the lineup can be a little more special against Clevinger this time around.
*Francis Martes: Still on the DL in Florida. He hasn't pitched since April 29.
*Buies Creek played a double-header yesterday, and the second game went uh pretty well:
Game 2: JJMatisyahu Matijevic hit two home runs - his first and second at High-A - while Abraham Toro hit his 7th home run of the season, and Ronnie Dawson drove in four runs.
*Insane Person Lenny Dykstra was arrested for making terroristic threats after putting a gun to the head of a New Jersey Uber driver.
*Here's a fascinating story from Andy McCullough on announcer Mauro Ranallo, the "Bipolar Rock N Roller" and his fight against the stigma of mental illness.
*Unraveling the mystery of MH17.
After 50 games:
2018: 32-18, 2.0 up
2017: 34-16, 9.0 up
*Hinch:
I'm obviously happy that we are starting to pull things together. We're a good team, and we're playing like it. I think we're starting to do a lot of things right. I like our defense, I like our pitching, I like our hitting. I like our team at Game 1 and I like our team at Game 50.
*Verlander: 6IP, 3H/1ER, 9K:1BB. He has allowed one earned run or less in nine of his eleven starts this season. Verlander's last five starts: 35IP, 17H/3ER, 45K:7BB. Verlander:
I felt OK. Probably a little rusty from the seven days [between starts]. Overall, I was able to execute pitches when I needed to against a really good lineup.
And by "executed pitches" he literally means "state-sanctioned murder of pitches." His nine straight starts of 6+ IP and 2ER or fewer matches the Astros' franchise record set in 1986 by Mike Scott.
*ESPN's David Schoenfield says that Verlander is pitching better than ever before. And it seems like it's for real. As Schoenfield notes, since Verlander made his mechanical tweak around the end of July 2017: 28 starts (postseason included), 193.1IP, 230 strikeouts, 20-4, 1.54 ERA.
*It was Verlander's first career win against San Francisco, and he now has a win over 28 of the 30 MLB teams. The only two teams against which Verlander hasn't got a W? Cincinnati and Miami.
*McTaggart notes in the linked article that the 126 runs allowed by the 2018 Astros through 50 games are the fewest runs allowed through 50 games since 1920. The 1968 Cleveland Indians had the previous record, at 128. The 1968 Indians were led by Luis Tiant (258.1IP, 264 strikeouts, 1.60 ERA) and Sam McDowell (269IP, 283K, 1.81 ERA) and would go on to allow just 504 runs through the season. They finished 3rd in the AL, 16.5 games behind the 103-59 Tigers.
*5-9 in the lineup (Marwin, Gurriel, McCann, Gattis, Kemp): 0x16, 1K:2BB - both walks were drawn by Kemp. Tony Kemp drew more walks yesterday than Jake Marisnick drew in 85 plate appearances. Tony Kemp has reached base twice or more in four of his six starts.
Hinch, on Kemp:
We're watching him play exactly how he's played throughout his whole minor league career. He just hasn't had the chance to get regular at-bats in the big leagues. That quality at-bat, that spark at the end of the order, him being on base in front of George, Bregman, and Altuve is invaluable.
*Here's Jake Kaplan with a good read on Tony Kemp's best chance in the Majors.
*Carlos Correa has now gone 58 games without an error at shortstop. One more ties Roger Metzger for the franchise record.
*Please tell me you saw Our Boy Tyler Stafford's post linking every Astros player to a Shakespearean quote.
*Josh Reddick was the latest outfielder to be placed on the DL with Bad. Jake Marisnick, who has most assuredly fixed his swing what with his [squints] 21 plate appearances at Fresno, has been recalled to take his place, at least for the next 10 days.
Gerrit Cole v Trevor Bauer on Sunday in Cleveland. Get your popcorn.— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) May 23, 2018
*How in the hell is Seattle 29-19 at this point in the season, and without Robinson Cano? Let's look right quick:
a) They've played 23 of their 48 games against the God-awful AL Central (the Astros have played nine games against the AL Central, and three of those were against Cleveland, about to be seven of 13 against Cleveland).
b) They're 13-7 in 1-run games (the Astros are 4-9).
c) Their .740 OPS is tied for 4th in the AL with Oakland and Houston
*Fans have noticed that the Astros have gone all-in on dynamic ticket pricing. La Porte guy:
Supply and demand is part of our economy, but at the same time, c'mon man. You can watch the games on TV, but you want to be here, too.
Astros Director of Ticket Operations Adam Smith was unavailable for comment.
*A former SFA baseball player will be Jose Altuve's body double in a New Balance commercial.
*It's a 5:10pm Central start tonight against Cleveland as Charlie Morton goes up against Mike Clevinger. We'll see if the lineup can be a little more special against Clevinger this time around.
*Francis Martes: Still on the DL in Florida. He hasn't pitched since April 29.
*Buies Creek played a double-header yesterday, and the second game went uh pretty well:
Game 2: JJ
*Insane Person Lenny Dykstra was arrested for making terroristic threats after putting a gun to the head of a New Jersey Uber driver.
*Here's a fascinating story from Andy McCullough on announcer Mauro Ranallo, the "Bipolar Rock N Roller" and his fight against the stigma of mental illness.
*Unraveling the mystery of MH17.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Wednesday Morning Hot Links
*The Astros continued to do good things and everyone's favorite closer got in a game for the first time in a week to shut it down. Astros win, 4-2, their 7th comeback win of the season. Houston is back on top in the AL West by a half-game.
*McCullers: 5IP, 5H/2ER, 3K:4BB. 52 of his 89 pitches were for strikes. Peacock (2IP, 3K), Devenski (1IP) and Giles (1IP, 1H) held Oakland to one hit and four strikeouts over the last four innings.
McCullers threw 26 changeups (a career-high tied with his last start) to 28 curves. McCullers:
My breaking ball has been a little bit elusive so far this year. I've flashed it at times, but it's hard when you know how to pitch one way and that way is not really there for you....If anyone knows where my curveball's at, I'd like it overnighted to Minute Maid.
Hinch, on Giles getting the game-ending GIDP, one week after getting blown up against the Yankees:
It was nice to see him close out the game, especially under a little bit of duress...He's coming off some emotional outings, and for him to get the ball where he needed, it's nice to see.
Oakland scored their two runs on McCullers' Wild Pitch (he had two) and a sac fly.
*McCullers and the Astros showed Class when McCullers stepped off the mound before Stephen Piscotty's first AB to let the crowd give him a standing ovation. McCullers:
It's tough, man. I feel for him and I feel for his family. From everything I've heard he's an awesome guy. I just wanted him to have some time to be able to come up and have the fans recognize him. I wanted that moment to be his.
*George Springer was 2x4 with a walk and 2RBI. Springer's last ten games: 18x45 (.400), 9 RBI.
*Other two-hit games: Gurriel, Marwin. Marwin Gonzalez is 7x14 in his last three games.
*Bregman hit his 3rd home run of the season. He got his 3rd HR in the Astros' 45th game of the season in 2017.
*Seeing as how the bottom of the lineup actually got some hits last night (5-9 in the lineup: 6x20, three runs scored), Hinch is pleased:
The first two games here, we've gotten production out of the bottom of the order and that sets up nicely for the top of the order. When the bottom of the order contributes, it's a complete lineup.
*FanGraphs: The Astros aren't the only team adding spin.
*Speaking of spin rate, it's worth mentioning that the Friday, May 18 pitching matchup is projected to be Tyler Bauer vs. Justin Verlander.
*Now at 47 straight games, Carlos Correa is six games shy of tying Adam Everett's franchise-high errorless streak.
*Over at WTHB, Jayne has a great interview with Corpus 1B Taylor Jones who is...no longer under the radar.
*Couple of notable minor-league transactions yesterday:
-Justin Ferrell was promoted from Buies Creek to Corpus. Ferrell had thrown 16.2IP, 6H/3ER, 24K:4BB.
-JJ Matijevic was promoted from Quad Cities to Buies Creek. Matijevic was hitting .354/.446/.708.
*Brett Adcock was a little more wild last night for Buies Creek, but ran his scoreless IP streak to 17 with 5IP, 2H/0ER, 7K:5BB. Wild West Sheriff Kit Scheetz struck out eight in four perfect innings.
*James Paxton became the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in Canada. ESPN's David Schoenfield asks if Paxton is for real or not. Having watched him dominate the Astros for three years (which probably means I've watched more Mariners games than all of ESPN's writers combined), yeah, I'd say James Paxton is for real.
*SI: Paxton's no-hitter is a perfect example of modern baseball.
*Charlie Crockett, descendant of David Crockett (NOTE: NOT "DAVY") talked music, race, and Texas. He's playing at the Houston House of Blues Friday night.
*Andre Dawson has owned a funeral home in Florida for ten years.
*McCullers: 5IP, 5H/2ER, 3K:4BB. 52 of his 89 pitches were for strikes. Peacock (2IP, 3K), Devenski (1IP) and Giles (1IP, 1H) held Oakland to one hit and four strikeouts over the last four innings.
McCullers threw 26 changeups (a career-high tied with his last start) to 28 curves. McCullers:
My breaking ball has been a little bit elusive so far this year. I've flashed it at times, but it's hard when you know how to pitch one way and that way is not really there for you....If anyone knows where my curveball's at, I'd like it overnighted to Minute Maid.
Hinch, on Giles getting the game-ending GIDP, one week after getting blown up against the Yankees:
It was nice to see him close out the game, especially under a little bit of duress...He's coming off some emotional outings, and for him to get the ball where he needed, it's nice to see.
Oakland scored their two runs on McCullers' Wild Pitch (he had two) and a sac fly.
*McCullers and the Astros showed Class when McCullers stepped off the mound before Stephen Piscotty's first AB to let the crowd give him a standing ovation. McCullers:
It's tough, man. I feel for him and I feel for his family. From everything I've heard he's an awesome guy. I just wanted him to have some time to be able to come up and have the fans recognize him. I wanted that moment to be his.
Emotional standing O for Stephen's first AB. Then he singled for Gretchen. pic.twitter.com/RvY80qu7Z0— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 9, 2018
*George Springer was 2x4 with a walk and 2RBI. Springer's last ten games: 18x45 (.400), 9 RBI.
*Other two-hit games: Gurriel, Marwin. Marwin Gonzalez is 7x14 in his last three games.
*Bregman hit his 3rd home run of the season. He got his 3rd HR in the Astros' 45th game of the season in 2017.
*Seeing as how the bottom of the lineup actually got some hits last night (5-9 in the lineup: 6x20, three runs scored), Hinch is pleased:
The first two games here, we've gotten production out of the bottom of the order and that sets up nicely for the top of the order. When the bottom of the order contributes, it's a complete lineup.
*FanGraphs: The Astros aren't the only team adding spin.
*Speaking of spin rate, it's worth mentioning that the Friday, May 18 pitching matchup is projected to be Tyler Bauer vs. Justin Verlander.
*Now at 47 straight games, Carlos Correa is six games shy of tying Adam Everett's franchise-high errorless streak.
*Over at WTHB, Jayne has a great interview with Corpus 1B Taylor Jones who is...no longer under the radar.
*Couple of notable minor-league transactions yesterday:
-Justin Ferrell was promoted from Buies Creek to Corpus. Ferrell had thrown 16.2IP, 6H/3ER, 24K:4BB.
-JJ Matijevic was promoted from Quad Cities to Buies Creek. Matijevic was hitting .354/.446/.708.
*Brett Adcock was a little more wild last night for Buies Creek, but ran his scoreless IP streak to 17 with 5IP, 2H/0ER, 7K:5BB. Wild West Sheriff Kit Scheetz struck out eight in four perfect innings.
*James Paxton became the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in Canada. ESPN's David Schoenfield asks if Paxton is for real or not. Having watched him dominate the Astros for three years (which probably means I've watched more Mariners games than all of ESPN's writers combined), yeah, I'd say James Paxton is for real.
*SI: Paxton's no-hitter is a perfect example of modern baseball.
*Charlie Crockett, descendant of David Crockett (NOTE: NOT "DAVY") talked music, race, and Texas. He's playing at the Houston House of Blues Friday night.
*Andre Dawson has owned a funeral home in Florida for ten years.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Monday Morning Hot Links
Everyone is - rightly - going to focus on the obstruction call that 3B umpire Mike DiMuro made on Alex Bregman, automatically scoring Pollock to provide what would be the go-ahead run. But for God's sake score some runs. It's the 11th time in 36 games (30.6%) that the Astros have been held to 0-1 run.
*Houston was 1x10 w/RISP.
4th inning: Correa on 2nd, one out. Reddick lined out, Bregman popped out.
5th inning: Marwin on 3rd, two out. Springer grounded out to short
6th inning: Altuve at 3rd after a leadoff triple, Correa at 1st after an HBP. Nobody out. Reddick struck out, Bregman GIDPd.
7th inning: Marwin on 2nd, Gurriel on 1st, one out. Gattis struck out, Springer flied out.
9th inning: McCann on 2nd, Gurriel on 1st, one out. Stassi struck out, Springer struck out.
*The Astros outscored Arizona 12-7 and lost two of three. The Astros outhit Arizona 28-12 and lost two of three.
*Houston is hitting .229/.283/.333 in May. They're hitting, as a team, .249/.329/.397 w/RISP.
*On the controversial interference call...
Verlander:
Pollock sold it pretty good. You see this in basketball all the time. Can you call it a flop in baseball?
Bregman, on Pollock:
Good acting job.
Hinch:
I saw it as a horseshit rule and bad interpretation. You can call obstruction - you have a free pass as an umpire to call obstruction when there's contact. The contact initiated by the baserunner doesn't really do the defender any good. It looked like, to me, everything is happening right on the base. And when the ball got past, they both jump up and Pollock sticks his arm out and hits Bregman and gets a free run.
*Arizona bench coach Jerry Narron held a Spring Training meeting to discuss what to do in this exact instance. Pollock:
It was definitely made a point that this is important, that we need to know the rules and if it comes up we need to be able to execute and do it the right way. It certainly factored into what I was doing, the fact that we had that meeting.
"Do it the right way." "What I was doing." Pollock knows what's up.
*Check out Jexas' Arizona series recap.
*Verlander's 8Ks now move him to 33rd on MLB's all-time strikeout list, tied with Don Drysdale.
*Evan Gattis is hitting .186/.263/.279. Since going 3x4 on April 1 he's 11x71 with two extra-base hits, 24K:5BB, a .155/.221/.211 slash line on a .217 BABIP.
Gattis has caught 231 Major League games and is a lifetime .270/.322/.537 hitter when he's behind the place. He has been the DH in 263 Major League games and is a lifetime .233/.285/.414 hitter - a 160-point OPS difference. I think, for Gattis to be a productive hitter, he needs to be catching and keep his head in the game. I don't think he's getting enough PAs regularly to find a rhythm, but there's nowhere for him to get regular PAs, other than DH.
*The Ringer: The entire Astros rotation deserves the Cy Young.
*JJ Matijevic has a dog named Jeter and is a huge Lebron fan.
*Bloomberg: The gambler who cracked the horse-racing code.
*Houston was 1x10 w/RISP.
4th inning: Correa on 2nd, one out. Reddick lined out, Bregman popped out.
5th inning: Marwin on 3rd, two out. Springer grounded out to short
6th inning: Altuve at 3rd after a leadoff triple, Correa at 1st after an HBP. Nobody out. Reddick struck out, Bregman GIDPd.
7th inning: Marwin on 2nd, Gurriel on 1st, one out. Gattis struck out, Springer flied out.
9th inning: McCann on 2nd, Gurriel on 1st, one out. Stassi struck out, Springer struck out.
*The Astros outscored Arizona 12-7 and lost two of three. The Astros outhit Arizona 28-12 and lost two of three.
*Houston is hitting .229/.283/.333 in May. They're hitting, as a team, .249/.329/.397 w/RISP.
*On the controversial interference call...
Verlander:
Pollock sold it pretty good. You see this in basketball all the time. Can you call it a flop in baseball?
Bregman, on Pollock:
Good acting job.
Hinch:
I saw it as a horseshit rule and bad interpretation. You can call obstruction - you have a free pass as an umpire to call obstruction when there's contact. The contact initiated by the baserunner doesn't really do the defender any good. It looked like, to me, everything is happening right on the base. And when the ball got past, they both jump up and Pollock sticks his arm out and hits Bregman and gets a free run.
*Arizona bench coach Jerry Narron held a Spring Training meeting to discuss what to do in this exact instance. Pollock:
It was definitely made a point that this is important, that we need to know the rules and if it comes up we need to be able to execute and do it the right way. It certainly factored into what I was doing, the fact that we had that meeting.
"Do it the right way." "What I was doing." Pollock knows what's up.
*Check out Jexas' Arizona series recap.
*Verlander's 8Ks now move him to 33rd on MLB's all-time strikeout list, tied with Don Drysdale.
*Evan Gattis is hitting .186/.263/.279. Since going 3x4 on April 1 he's 11x71 with two extra-base hits, 24K:5BB, a .155/.221/.211 slash line on a .217 BABIP.
Gattis has caught 231 Major League games and is a lifetime .270/.322/.537 hitter when he's behind the place. He has been the DH in 263 Major League games and is a lifetime .233/.285/.414 hitter - a 160-point OPS difference. I think, for Gattis to be a productive hitter, he needs to be catching and keep his head in the game. I don't think he's getting enough PAs regularly to find a rhythm, but there's nowhere for him to get regular PAs, other than DH.
*The Ringer: The entire Astros rotation deserves the Cy Young.
*JJ Matijevic has a dog named Jeter and is a huge Lebron fan.
*Bloomberg: The gambler who cracked the horse-racing code.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Wednesday Morning Hot Links
*Despite a good outing on short rest, the Astros lost 4-2 to the South Denton Rangers thanks to another shaky bullpen and a lack of offense. Brad Peacock - starting on three days' rest - threw 4.2IP, allowing 2H/1ER, 10K:4BB. He's the first Astros pitcher to strike out 10 batters in fewer than 5IP.
Brad Peacock:
I felt great, to tell you the truth. I've got to find a way to get through the fifth inning. They got to me in the fifth. Hats off to them.
The 5th inning saw Peacock allow singles to Lucroy and Odor, a fielder's choice to Correa that didn't get anybody out loaded the bases before Peacock walked in the Rangers' 1st run of the game with two outs.
Hinch:
Peacock was exceptional. I thought he got a little unlucky at the end when a couple of calls didn't go his way. All-in-all, he had really good put-away pitches and did a really good job of getting to the middle part of the game.
*Unlucky at the end? You tell me:
Related: I hate CB Bucknor.
*And Rougned Odor hit home runs accounting for three runs in consecutive innings: 7-8. In his career against Houston (221 ABs) Odor is hitting .299/.345/.611 with 15 home runs. In 166 ABs versus Houston's RHPs he's hitting .355/.386/.729 (just .127/.226/.255 in 55 ABs vs Houston LHPs. So maybe let a lefty throw against Odor?) Since the beginning of the 2015 season, Odor leads the Majors in SLG vs. Houston (.640).
*Odor's first home run, a solo shot to tie the game in the 7th, came off Chris Devenski. Devenski has now allowed an earned run in consecutive outings for the first time this season.
*Pause, in order to remind you that the Astros are 44-22, have won 2/3 of their games, and still have an 11-game lead in the division. And are 6-3 against the Rangers.
*Odor's 2nd home run, an inning later, came off of Luke Gregerson. After allowing 5ER in the early May series against the Rangers, Gregerson had rattled off 13 appearances (13.1IP) with 10H/2ER, 18K:5BB. Lefties are hitting .283/.340/.652 - five home runs allowed in 50 Plate Appearances. Also worth noting that while Gregerson has allowed a .554 OPS on the road, he's allowing a .333/.394/.667 slash line at Minute Maid Park. Gregerson is having a hard time getting the bottom of the order out (with obvious small sample and BABIP alerts): the 8-spot has a 1.255 OPS while the 9-spot has a 1.181. Matter of fact, five spots in the batting order have an OPS of 1.000+ against Gregerson so far this season. In five games versus the Rangers (21 PAs), they are hitting .444/.524/1.056.
So just to recap: don't throw Gregerson at home, against lefties, or the Rangers. Gregerson:
I just tried to get a pitch in on him, and it just kind of ran across the plate, stayed up, he got me in the Crawford Boxes. It's probably not [out] in most other parks, but unfortunately, it is here.
*The bullpen has thrown 46.1IP in June, 2nd-most in the AL.
*The Astros got solo home runs from George Springer (his 18th), and Carlos Correa (his 12th). Springer is the 1st player since Brady Anderson (1996) to have seven leadoff homers through June 13.
*The Astros are 5-11 when collecting seven or fewer hits.
*Hinch, on Rangers starting pitcher Nick Martinez:
We couldn't find enough hits against Martinez. He did a really good job of moving his pitches around. Movement in his ball was moving down...It was not our night against him.
It hasn't been the Astros night a fair amount, lately.
*Josh Reddick is still going through concussion protocol. Hinch:
The reason we're not putting him on (the DL) right now is because there's a decent chance he'll be back in a few days as opposed to having to have him be out a week.
Related: Jeff Luhnow said Derek Fisher is ready for the Majors. Fisher is hitting .335/.401/.608 for Fresno this season. Now, to just find a spot for him...
WAIT. KHOU's Jason Bristol is saying the Astros will call up Fisher today.
*The Astros are being "very conservative" with Dallas Keuchel.
*Lance McCullers said his lower back is tight and stiff, and the DL is to help that and his arm.
*Corpus was swept by Midland and are eliminated from 1st Half title contention.
*Buies Creek put four players on the Carolina League All-Star roster: pitchers Franklin Perez, Nick Hernandez, Yoanys Quiala, and outfielder Myles Straw.
Draft Updates
*2nd Round pick Corbin Martin is pumped about getting drafted, but is focused on the College World Series and won't start negotiations until A&M's run is over. But:
I was more excited about the Astros picking me than where I got picked in the draft.
*75th overall pick JJ Matijevic, on getting drafted:
Just pure happiness. When it was called, everybody just went crazy...Tears. It was pretty awesome.
He'll sign, but it will come down to money:
I'm ready to go. They know I'm ready to go. We've just got to come to terms.
*The Astros are pretty excited about 6th Round pick Jake Adams' power. Mike Elias:
We think he's for real. If you dig up his junior college numbers, he hit a ton of home runs at that level, too. Our scouts liked him, and we're going to see if his power plays in professional baseball.
Great quote from Adams:
They have me at 6'2" 250, and they think I'm slow, but I'm actually 230 and can run pretty good.
*Adams will sign. His dad:
You know this is probably the best case scenario - you got to take, take the leap of faith and go.
*Check our quick write-ups on the draftees from yesterday:
3rd Round: Tyler Ivey
4th Round: Peter Solomon
5th Round: Nate Perry
6th Round: Jake Adams
7th Round: Parker Mushinski
8th Round: Corey Julks
9th Round: Mike Papierski
10th Round: Kyle Serrano
*Stay on top of the draft pick signings over here.
Brad Peacock:
I felt great, to tell you the truth. I've got to find a way to get through the fifth inning. They got to me in the fifth. Hats off to them.
The 5th inning saw Peacock allow singles to Lucroy and Odor, a fielder's choice to Correa that didn't get anybody out loaded the bases before Peacock walked in the Rangers' 1st run of the game with two outs.
Hinch:
Peacock was exceptional. I thought he got a little unlucky at the end when a couple of calls didn't go his way. All-in-all, he had really good put-away pitches and did a really good job of getting to the middle part of the game.
*Unlucky at the end? You tell me:
If I'm the Astros, I'm furious about it. pic.twitter.com/Opz5hSVSxU— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) June 14, 2017
Related: I hate CB Bucknor.
*And Rougned Odor hit home runs accounting for three runs in consecutive innings: 7-8. In his career against Houston (221 ABs) Odor is hitting .299/.345/.611 with 15 home runs. In 166 ABs versus Houston's RHPs he's hitting .355/.386/.729 (just .127/.226/.255 in 55 ABs vs Houston LHPs. So maybe let a lefty throw against Odor?) Since the beginning of the 2015 season, Odor leads the Majors in SLG vs. Houston (.640).
*Odor's first home run, a solo shot to tie the game in the 7th, came off Chris Devenski. Devenski has now allowed an earned run in consecutive outings for the first time this season.
*Pause, in order to remind you that the Astros are 44-22, have won 2/3 of their games, and still have an 11-game lead in the division. And are 6-3 against the Rangers.
*Odor's 2nd home run, an inning later, came off of Luke Gregerson. After allowing 5ER in the early May series against the Rangers, Gregerson had rattled off 13 appearances (13.1IP) with 10H/2ER, 18K:5BB. Lefties are hitting .283/.340/.652 - five home runs allowed in 50 Plate Appearances. Also worth noting that while Gregerson has allowed a .554 OPS on the road, he's allowing a .333/.394/.667 slash line at Minute Maid Park. Gregerson is having a hard time getting the bottom of the order out (with obvious small sample and BABIP alerts): the 8-spot has a 1.255 OPS while the 9-spot has a 1.181. Matter of fact, five spots in the batting order have an OPS of 1.000+ against Gregerson so far this season. In five games versus the Rangers (21 PAs), they are hitting .444/.524/1.056.
So just to recap: don't throw Gregerson at home, against lefties, or the Rangers. Gregerson:
I just tried to get a pitch in on him, and it just kind of ran across the plate, stayed up, he got me in the Crawford Boxes. It's probably not [out] in most other parks, but unfortunately, it is here.
*The bullpen has thrown 46.1IP in June, 2nd-most in the AL.
*The Astros got solo home runs from George Springer (his 18th), and Carlos Correa (his 12th). Springer is the 1st player since Brady Anderson (1996) to have seven leadoff homers through June 13.
*The Astros are 5-11 when collecting seven or fewer hits.
*Hinch, on Rangers starting pitcher Nick Martinez:
We couldn't find enough hits against Martinez. He did a really good job of moving his pitches around. Movement in his ball was moving down...It was not our night against him.
It hasn't been the Astros night a fair amount, lately.
*Josh Reddick is still going through concussion protocol. Hinch:
The reason we're not putting him on (the DL) right now is because there's a decent chance he'll be back in a few days as opposed to having to have him be out a week.
Related: Jeff Luhnow said Derek Fisher is ready for the Majors. Fisher is hitting .335/.401/.608 for Fresno this season. Now, to just find a spot for him...
WAIT. KHOU's Jason Bristol is saying the Astros will call up Fisher today.
*The Astros are being "very conservative" with Dallas Keuchel.
*Lance McCullers said his lower back is tight and stiff, and the DL is to help that and his arm.
*Corpus was swept by Midland and are eliminated from 1st Half title contention.
*Buies Creek put four players on the Carolina League All-Star roster: pitchers Franklin Perez, Nick Hernandez, Yoanys Quiala, and outfielder Myles Straw.
Draft Updates
*2nd Round pick Corbin Martin is pumped about getting drafted, but is focused on the College World Series and won't start negotiations until A&M's run is over. But:
I was more excited about the Astros picking me than where I got picked in the draft.
*75th overall pick JJ Matijevic, on getting drafted:
Just pure happiness. When it was called, everybody just went crazy...Tears. It was pretty awesome.
He'll sign, but it will come down to money:
I'm ready to go. They know I'm ready to go. We've just got to come to terms.
*The Astros are pretty excited about 6th Round pick Jake Adams' power. Mike Elias:
We think he's for real. If you dig up his junior college numbers, he hit a ton of home runs at that level, too. Our scouts liked him, and we're going to see if his power plays in professional baseball.
Great quote from Adams:
They have me at 6'2" 250, and they think I'm slow, but I'm actually 230 and can run pretty good.
*Adams will sign. His dad:
You know this is probably the best case scenario - you got to take, take the leap of faith and go.
*Check our quick write-ups on the draftees from yesterday:
3rd Round: Tyler Ivey
4th Round: Peter Solomon
5th Round: Nate Perry
6th Round: Jake Adams
7th Round: Parker Mushinski
8th Round: Corey Julks
9th Round: Mike Papierski
10th Round: Kyle Serrano
*Stay on top of the draft pick signings over here.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
*Well yesterday mostly sucked. The Astros got shut down by Yu Darvish and the Grand Saline Rangers, losing 6-1. The Astros were held to two hits as it figured to be another long bullpen night, what with Joe Musgrove coming off the DL. Hinch:
He was good. We were very cautious with his pitch count, obviously. Seventy-five was as high as we wanted to go, so I went out to get him.
Musgrove threw exactly 75 pitches, leaving after 4.2IP, with 5H/2ER, 2K:1BB. The question for Musgrove will be how he feels today, the day after his start. As of last night soreness hadn't yet set in. There's a chance that the Astros could achieve the Golden Cringe: five starting pitchers on the DL at the same time.
Chris Devenski, Tony Sipp, and Dayan Diaz all made appearances, and all allowed at least one earned run.
*And if that wasn't enough, the Astros lost Lance McCullers to the 10-Day DL with lower-back soreness. Hinch thinks it's a short stint:
It's something that would've made him miss his start (scheduled for today). So then we decided to put him on the DL, give him complete rest and hope that he comes back after those 10 days.
So now Brad Peacock will pitch on three days rest, allowing Frankie Tuesday to make his first career MLB start on Wednesday.
I understand the question about the Astros' playing the 10-Day DL as a way to rest starters, but I don't think they'd do it with Keuchel and McCullers at the same time.
*Oh, and Josh Reddick was diagnosed with a mild concussion, but he told Correa he was fine. The Astros sent him home after the diagnosis, and he'll be reevaluated today. Things are going great, why?
*The Astros have lost five of their last seven games, still have an 12-game lead in the division. It doesn't feel like it, but it's true.
*The Astros, who considered him an early-1st round talent, see a lot of Sonny Gray in their 1-15 pick J.B. Bukauskas:
Being what some people have called an undersized right-hander, it's really special to be compared to (Gray) because I've grown up watching him and modeling my game after him a little bit. It's just really cool to be mentioned in that caliber.
*Here's FanRag's Tommy Stokke on 75th overall pick JJ Matijevic's adjustments.
*If you're interested in the financials of the MLB draft, with more-frequent updates, czech our 2017 Astros MLB Draft tracker.
*Check David J. Roth's MLB Draft Names: Real or Fake?
*Vice: An oral history of Oakland's Moneyball Draft.
He was good. We were very cautious with his pitch count, obviously. Seventy-five was as high as we wanted to go, so I went out to get him.
Musgrove threw exactly 75 pitches, leaving after 4.2IP, with 5H/2ER, 2K:1BB. The question for Musgrove will be how he feels today, the day after his start. As of last night soreness hadn't yet set in. There's a chance that the Astros could achieve the Golden Cringe: five starting pitchers on the DL at the same time.
Chris Devenski, Tony Sipp, and Dayan Diaz all made appearances, and all allowed at least one earned run.
*And if that wasn't enough, the Astros lost Lance McCullers to the 10-Day DL with lower-back soreness. Hinch thinks it's a short stint:
It's something that would've made him miss his start (scheduled for today). So then we decided to put him on the DL, give him complete rest and hope that he comes back after those 10 days.
So now Brad Peacock will pitch on three days rest, allowing Frankie Tuesday to make his first career MLB start on Wednesday.
I understand the question about the Astros' playing the 10-Day DL as a way to rest starters, but I don't think they'd do it with Keuchel and McCullers at the same time.
*Oh, and Josh Reddick was diagnosed with a mild concussion, but he told Correa he was fine. The Astros sent him home after the diagnosis, and he'll be reevaluated today. Things are going great, why?
*The Astros have lost five of their last seven games, still have an 12-game lead in the division. It doesn't feel like it, but it's true.
*The Astros, who considered him an early-1st round talent, see a lot of Sonny Gray in their 1-15 pick J.B. Bukauskas:
Being what some people have called an undersized right-hander, it's really special to be compared to (Gray) because I've grown up watching him and modeling my game after him a little bit. It's just really cool to be mentioned in that caliber.
*Here's FanRag's Tommy Stokke on 75th overall pick JJ Matijevic's adjustments.
*If you're interested in the financials of the MLB draft, with more-frequent updates, czech our 2017 Astros MLB Draft tracker.
*Check David J. Roth's MLB Draft Names: Real or Fake?
*Vice: An oral history of Oakland's Moneyball Draft.
Monday, June 12, 2017
CB-75: J.J. Matijevic
With the Competitive Balance pick (75th overall), the Astros selected 6'0" 200lbs lefty-hitting 2B J.J. Matijevic, a junior out of the University of Arizona. He was drafted in the 22nd Round of the 2014 draft by Boston.
Matijevic got on the radar in the Cape Cod League last summer, hitting .357 with 5HR/25RBI in 31 games for Falmouth.
Tucson.com profiled Matijevic and noted his bat speed, as well has his maturity:
JJ Matejevic's bat speed is preposterous. Opposite-field home runs at cavernous Hi Corbett Field are as rare as cool summer days in Tucson. Matijevic's team-leading 10 homers for the Arizona Wildcats included an opposite-field shot.
Matijevic:
I've worked for everything I've accomplished in my life, and I will continue to work as hard as I can. I know I still have a long way to go. But I'll always be that good teammate.
An unnamed AL scout said:
One of the best college hitters in the country, and that's a very valuable commodity, especially in this draft. The concerns over what position he is going to play are what's primarily holding him back at this point.
For Arizona this season, Matijevic played in 59 games (240 ABs), hitting .383/.436/.633 with 30 doubles, ten home runs, 38K:23BB. Matijevic:
In the Cape, it's the top guys in the country and the coaches are unbelievable. The whole competition was my biggest takeaway.
MLB.com wrote:
Scouts always thought he had raw power, and he's finally learning to turn on the ball and pull it, showing the pop needed for his profile. He'll need to hit because as a below-average runner and below-average defender, he is likely limited to first base, with an outside shot of being able to handle left field.
John Sickels wrote:
Matijevic is the type of polished hitter who will make short work of A-Ball, but whether he becomes a possible regular first baseman or just a good role player may not become apparent until he reaches Double-A or Triple-A.
On playing 2B, Matijevic said:
I'm a lot farther ahead this year at second than I was last year. I'm not there yet, I still have a lot more work, but I've definitely gotten better at it. Just getting that first quick step is really it for me.
Matijevic is a 2nd-Team All-American...as a DH, and had him ranked as the 70th-best prospect going into the draft.
The slot for the 75th overall pick is $767,400.
Matijevic got on the radar in the Cape Cod League last summer, hitting .357 with 5HR/25RBI in 31 games for Falmouth.
Tucson.com profiled Matijevic and noted his bat speed, as well has his maturity:
JJ Matejevic's bat speed is preposterous. Opposite-field home runs at cavernous Hi Corbett Field are as rare as cool summer days in Tucson. Matijevic's team-leading 10 homers for the Arizona Wildcats included an opposite-field shot.
Matijevic:
I've worked for everything I've accomplished in my life, and I will continue to work as hard as I can. I know I still have a long way to go. But I'll always be that good teammate.
An unnamed AL scout said:
One of the best college hitters in the country, and that's a very valuable commodity, especially in this draft. The concerns over what position he is going to play are what's primarily holding him back at this point.
For Arizona this season, Matijevic played in 59 games (240 ABs), hitting .383/.436/.633 with 30 doubles, ten home runs, 38K:23BB. Matijevic:
In the Cape, it's the top guys in the country and the coaches are unbelievable. The whole competition was my biggest takeaway.
MLB.com wrote:
Scouts always thought he had raw power, and he's finally learning to turn on the ball and pull it, showing the pop needed for his profile. He'll need to hit because as a below-average runner and below-average defender, he is likely limited to first base, with an outside shot of being able to handle left field.
John Sickels wrote:
Matijevic is the type of polished hitter who will make short work of A-Ball, but whether he becomes a possible regular first baseman or just a good role player may not become apparent until he reaches Double-A or Triple-A.
On playing 2B, Matijevic said:
I'm a lot farther ahead this year at second than I was last year. I'm not there yet, I still have a lot more work, but I've definitely gotten better at it. Just getting that first quick step is really it for me.
Matijevic is a 2nd-Team All-American...as a DH, and had him ranked as the 70th-best prospect going into the draft.
The slot for the 75th overall pick is $767,400.
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