Thursday Morning Hot Links

Well that week was not ideal. The Astros, who didn't lose their 5th road game of the year until May 5, or Road Game #15 in 2018, drop to 2-5.

*The Astros are currently 4x42 w/RISP, "hitting" .095/.220/.238 on a .103 BABIP. That's stupid. In 2018 Houston hit .285/.362/.499 on a .311 BABIP w/RISP. Had the Astros matched their average from last year, they'd have eight more hits w/RISP, which maybe turns 2-5 into 4-3 or 5-2. Whatever. This level of futility is unsustainable even for the worst teams in baseball.

*It sure looked like the Astros were simply frustrated last night, writes Alyson Footer. Bregman:
We got it shoved hard this road trip. We need to figure it out.

Hinch:
We obviously had a disagreement with the strike zone early in both the top of the first and the bottom of the first. Our dugout will always be involved. [When] Cintron got thrown out - I didn't know what happened, which is why I went out the first time. The next couple pitches later, I'm out of the game. We know when you argue balls and strikes, it's one thing. When you get ejected more aggressively, it's disappointing. 

I guess umpires can push players now? Right. https://t.co/K4A7qLCPsc

— Josh Reddick (@RealJoshReddick) April 4, 2019

*Be sure to check out a quick look at jackass umpire Ron Kulpa's strike zone, courtesy of the Masked Marvel, making his season debut.

*Crew Chief Jerry Meals answered questions from a pool reporter...while Kulpa was standing right there.

*Hinch:
We're not apologists or blaming anybody. We have to hold ourselves accountable for the game and the stretch. It was a bad week.

*Despite a 50% success rate so far, the Astros plan to stay aggressive on the basepaths.

*Alex Bregman pledged to donate $1000 to his AB For Autism foundation for every Astros win in April. Insert joke about a 2-5 start here.

*Get ready to see Aledmys Diaz play first this series, for the first time in his career.

*The Minor-League season kicks off today. Here are the matchups:
Round Rock @ New Orleans
Amarillo @ Corpus. Opening Day SP Jose Hernandez now goes by Jose Urquidy.
Fayetteville @ Potomac
Quad Cities @ Burlington - this was originally a homestand, but has been moved due to flooding in the Midwest.

*MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has five things we've learned so far about the AL West.

*Former Astros Great Bud Norris has been released by Toronto.

*Uproxx: Bruce Hornsby toured with the Grateful Dead, played Allan Iverson in pickup basketball and won, and now is an indie rocker.

*Outside Magazine: Inside the mind of a hurricane hunter.

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros did not play yesterday. What am I even going to put here? It's going to feel like mid-January again.

Roster Moves (via Chandler):
Optioned out of major league camp: Brady Rodgers and Francis Martes
Reassigned to minor league camp: Lorenzo Quintana, Ryan Hartman, Erasmo Pinales, and Jose Hernandez.

These three Astros hitters are trending up in spring.

Lookout Landing (the Mariners people) did their preview of the Astros to try and look at things from an unbiased perspective.

George Springer should look to steal more bases in 2019. Keep this in mind as you draft your fantasy teams.

Michael Brantley seems to be fitting right in with the Astros.

Jessica Mendoza now works for the Mets but will also still work for ESPN.

MLB is looking to add a 26th man to the rosters in 2020 as well as putting someone on second base in extra innings.

Somebody tried to smuggle approximately $86,770 worth of turtles in the Manila airport.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*I actually can't believe the Astros are back at .500. Last night's walk-off win put the Astros at 36-36, the first time they've been at .500 since 1-1. The Masked Marvel has your recap.

*The Rangers lost to the Reds, the Mariners lost to the Tigers, and the A's beat the Brewers. The division looks as such:

*North Oak Cliff: -

*Seattle: -9.5

*Houston: -10

*Anaheim: -14.5

*Oakland: -16

1st WC: -4

2nd WC: -3

*FanGraphs puts the Astros' division odds at 15.3% and 24.8% to win the Wild Card.

*Carlos Correa just recorded his league-leading third walk-off hit. The Astros scored three runs and Correa drove them all in. Correa:

I want to be in that situation every day. To feel that pressure, that drives me. I feel comfortable in that situation.

Since the beginning of the Arizona series on May 30, Correa is hitting .313/.439/.567. Correa has 6RBI in his last two games, having recorded 6RBI total from June 1-June 19.

*George Springer's top speed on his 9th inning stolen base was 20.2mph.

*The Astros did it to Huston Street again. Alden Gonzalez wrote about Street and "the process."

*Now that the Astros are back to .500, Richard Justice has decided to put down the shiny new Rangers and write about the Astros. Hinch:

If you had told me we'd be .500 on this date, I would have said we should be better. I want to keep it in proper perspective...I wasn't encouraging a couple of times.

McHugh:

I think all of us are excited. We have expectations of ourselves. It's plain and simple. We're starting to finally put complete games together and maybe live up to those expectations a little bit.

*Danny Worth fixed his swing by obsessively watching video and replicating other dudes' swings.

*Luis Valbuena's turnaround started with a homer off lefty Dana Eveland in Tampa.

*Surprise! More people are going to Astros games this season.

*A.J. Reed was 2x4 with a double and an RBI in Fresno's win last night. In his last six games he's 11x26 with two homers and 6RBI.

*Edison Frias and Evan Grills have been named Texas League All-Star replacements, and they will join Alex Bregman, Derek Fisher, Teoscar Hernandez, J.D. Davis, David Paulino, and Keegan Yuhl on the South Squad roster. 

*Bregman was hit in the head by a pitch two nights ago but walked off under his own power. Luhnow addressed Bregman's development, and it's worth noting that with Correa going nowhere and Valbuena heating up, he's going to spend more time in the minors.

*Quad Cities' Jose Hernandez was named the Midwest League's Pitcher of the Week.

*2nd Round pick Ronnie Dawson hit his first pro homer last night, but Brooklyn scored eight unanswered runs in a Tri-City loss.

*Roy Oswalt is among a number of pro athletes who were defrauded out of millions of dollars.

PreStros Morning Report: July 23

Fresno (57-42, 11.0 up)

Fresno had a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 4th at Las Vegas before Asher Wojciechowski's wheels fell off in a 9-4 loss. Wojciechowski threw 4.2IP, 9H/7ER, 2K:3BB.

Three 'Stros of the Game:

3. Robbie Grossman: 2x4, 2B

2. Tyler White: 1x2, 2B, 2BB, RBI

1. Matt Duffy: 2x3, 2B, HR, BB, 2RBI

Corpus (61-36, clinched playoff berth)

Corpus and Frisco were in a downright Homerthon, hitting a combined six home runs, but Frisco got the last laugh in a 6-5 win over the Hooks. 

Three 'Stros of the Game:

3. Jack Mayfield: 1x3, BB, HR, 2RBI

2. Juan Minaya: 2.1IP, 0H/0ER, 5K:0BB

1. Jon Kemmer: 2x3, 2B, HR, BB, 2RBI

Lancaster (50-46, 13-13 in 2nd half - tied)

Lancaster stopped a five-game losing streak with a 6-1 win over Stockton in which Jacob Nottingham went 1x4 for Stockton after walking across the field to the visitor's dugout. 

Three Stros of the Game:

3. Chase McDonald: 2x3, 2B, BB, RBI

2. Mott Hyde: 2x4, 2B, 3RBI

1. Yuhl/Radziewski: 9IP, 7H/1R (0ER), 9K:1BB

Quad Cities (61-35, clinched playoff berth)

It was 0-0 heading into the bottom of the 6th, but Kane County pulled away with three unearned runs in a 5-2 win over Quad Cities

Three 'Stros of the Game: 

3. Alex Bregman: 0x2, BB, SB, RBI

2. Jason Martin: 1x4, 3B, RBI

1. Justin Ferrell: 6IP, 4H/1ER, 1K:1BB

Tri-City (18-15, 1.0 up)

Tri-City gave up two 1st inning runs, but scored four unanswered in a 4-2 win at Lowell to reclaim the division lead.

Three 'Stros of the Game:

3. Anthony Hermelyn: 0x4, RBI, two runners thrown out

2. Aaron Mizell: 2x4, 3B, RBI, outfield assist

1. Scott Weathersby: 4IP, 4H/0ER, 7K:0BB

Greeneville (16-12, 2.0 up)

Greeneville scored eight unanswered runs in an 8-1 win over Bluefield. 

Three 'Stros of the Game: 

3. Ford Stainback: 2x3, BB, SB

2. Marlon Avea: 3x4, 2B, BB, 3RBI

1. Jose Hernandez: 4IP, 2H/0ER, 8K:0BB

Note: Hernandez, pitching in his 3rd game for Greeneville, has thrown 7.2IP, 5H/1ER, 13K:1BB in his last two appearances.

GCL Astros (9-19, 5.5 back)

Once again the GCL Astros fell apart late, carrying a 2-1 lead over the GCL Braves into the 9th, then allowing the tying run in the top of the 9th and the go-ahead run(s) in the 10th for a 4-2 loss. 

Three 'Stros of the Game:

3. Frankeny Fernandez: 2x4, 2B

2. Daz Cameron: 0x2, BB, 2SB, Outfield Assist

1. Enrique Chavez: 4IP, 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB