Monday Morning Hot Links

Pablo Lopez (whose parents are both doctors and, you may be aware, was accepted to medical school at 16) was good. Framber was not. It's the Astros' first home loss in the division series since Game 4 of the 2015 ALDS, a streak of 12 straight wins. They managed to snatch a game at Minute Maid Park and finally go back on the road in what is now a Best-Of-Three. So there's that. Game 3 is Tuesday. 

*FanGraphs: Houston 55.7 - 44.3 Minnesota.

Twins outfielder Michael A. Taylor:

We're in the driver's seat now.

*The Astros' 2 runs scored are the lowest scored in a playoff home game since Game 6 of the 2021 World Series. 

*Framber Valdez was...not good. Framber goes as his mindset goes. And while I am certainly not one to say that Framber - the winning pitcher in two of the 2022 World Series games - is "mentally weak" or a "basket case," it's pretty well-known that if Framber gets in his head, it's going to be an uphill battle for him. And ALDS G2 looked like Framber had the incline setting to Max thanks to D.J. Reyburn's "strike" "zone." 

Framber's seven hits allowed were tied for the second-highest he's allowed in 14 postseason starts, and the most since 2021 World Series G1. 

Framber, by postseason: 

2020: 24IP, 14H/5ER, 26K:10BB, 1.88 ERA / 1.00 WHIP

2021: 19.2IP, 28H/17ER, 16K:7BB, 7.78 ERA / 1.78 WHIP

2022: 25IP, 14H/4ER, 33K:8BB, 1.44 ERA / 0.88 WHIP

2023: 4.1IP, 7H/5ER, 5K:3BB, 10.38 ERA / 2.31 WHIP

It's not fair to put one start up against three full postseasons, but the point is the Astros need Framber's Even-Year Bullshit to come back. 

*That strike zone was wild for both sides, so let's not pretend that it was a total screw-job on the Astros. But if I remember the home plate umpire's name the morning after the game, it's safe to say that the home plate umpire needs to look in the mirror and re-evaluate some things. 

*How Pablo Lopez, whose parents were doctors and was accepted to medical school at 16, stymied the Astros to tie up the ALDS. Szymborski:

Houston's lineup, despite the dangerous hitters in the top half, mostly just watched their demise pass them by, only swinging at 52% of Lopez's in-zone pitches; Lopez is at 70% for his career and has never had a game in which opponents swung less often at his in-zone offerings. The result was seven strikeouts on just 12 whiffs the entire game, against 22 called strikes. To put that into context, of the 251 games in 2023 in which a pitcher struck out seven batters, only 17 featured fewer swings-and-misses.

Were you aware that Pablo Lopez has two doctors for parents, and was accepted to medical school at the age of 16?

Dusty, on Lopez, whose parents are doctors and who himself was accepted to medical school at the age of 16:

There's nothing you can say. The guy was dealing tonight.

*Yordan hit a two-run homer and is responsible for five of Houston's eight runs in the ALDS, and eight of their last 12 postseason runs. He has four homers and eight RBIs in his last three postseason games. Yordan also has a five-game postseason RBI streak, which has only happened 53 times in MLB postseason history. Astros with 5-game postseason RBI streaks:

Carlos Beltran: 5 (2004)

Alex Bregman: 5 (2017)

George Springer: 5 (2017-2018)

Carlos Correa: 5 (2020)

Yordan Alvarez: 5 (2022-2023)

*Speaking of Carlos Correa, he had 3RBI in G2 of the 2023 ALDS. He had five regular season games in 2023 of 3+ RBI. It was his 8th postseason 3+ RBI game. 

Framber:

I thought Correa got a little bit lucky with the sinker there. It was going down to the ground, he was able to get to it.

How Correa prepared for the AB that knocked Framber out of the game.

*Jose Altuve was 2x4, the 32nd multi-hit postseason game of his career. Jose Altuve is the greatest Astro of all-time, and it's not even close.

*In the seven postseason games since Kyle Tucker went 3x5 with 2HR/4RBI in 2022 World Series G1, he's hitting .087/.214/.174.

*The Astros have "parted ways" with Assistant GM Bill Firkus and Farm Director Sara Goodrum.

*Baltimore is going to "reset" after losing their two home games to Six Flags.

What To Watch, October 9:

Cambridge United @ Burton Albion: 2pm Central

Phillies @ Braves, 5:07pm

Packers @ Raiders? I think?, 7:15pm

We're 24 hours from NHL Opening Night, and 48 hours from my beloved Montreal Canadiens' 2023 season opener. 

Diamondbacks @ Dodgers: 8:07pm

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Night Hot Links

Doing this tonight so I have time to do something else in the morning. Nothing has changed in the FanGraphs Playoff Odds. Here's what else is going on in and around the Astros...

*Justin Verlander will start Game 1 on Saturday at 3:45pm, Framber Valdez will start Game 2 on Sunday at 7:03pm. We don't know who starts Game 3, but it will be Tuesday in Minneapolis at 3:07pm.

Verlander, career, ALDS Game 1: 23.1IP, 21H/12ER, 25K:11BB

This is clouded, somewhat, by his 2022 ALDS G1, in which he gave up 10H/6ER, 3K:1BB in 4IP against Seattle - the game that Yordan walked off when the Mariners hilariously threw Robbie Ray. 

*Dusty, on Minnesota:

Nobody gave them a chance to beat Toronto, I don't think. They've got good pitching, they've got good defense, they've got a number of left-handed hitters, which poses a problem. They've got a good manager. I mean, they're a good team.

*The Chronicle's Matt Kawahara has a good piece on the Astros' ALDS roster decisions, which have to be finalized Saturday morning,

*Chandler Rome's Notes Column in The Athletic runs down the following:

-Michael Brantley is available for the ALDS

-Get ready to watch a lot of Yainer Diaz on the bench in the ALDS

-Jose Urquidy will shift to the bullpen, which pretty much ensures Cristian Javier will start Game 3. 

-There will be some promotions in the front office this offseason

*Dusty Baker would very much like everyone at MMP to be quite loud.

*Here is MLB.com's position-by-position breakdown between the Astros and Twins.

*Hector Neris has been fined for his actions "against" Julio Rodriguez, but he won't be suspended.

*FanGraphs: The 30/30 Season That Wasn't, Then Was, Then Wasn't (And Still May Be)

*A former Astros video room employee answered questions on Reddit about the Ben Reiter doc on PBS.

*Minnesota's Byron Buxton and Nick Gordon are enjoying the Twins' ride, despite just sitting there wanting to play. Click the link for other notes from Minneapolis. 

*Former Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons STFU Challenge.

*ESPN: Which impending free agents have made - or lost - the most money in the playoffs so far?

*The Mets and the very-recently-resigned Billy Eppler are under investigation for abusing IL rules.

*Jose Altuve, by postseason series, career:

2015 AL Wild Card vs New York: .250/.250/.250, 1RBI, 1K:0BB

2015 ALDS vs Kansas City: .136/.174/.136, 1RBI, 2K:1BB

2017 ALDS vs Boston: .533/.632/1.133, 3HR/4RBI, 2K:4BB

2017 ALCS vs New York: .320/.414/.560, 2HR/4RBI, 5K:4BB

2017 World Series vs Los Angeles: .194/.219/.452, 2HR/6RBI, 7K:1BB

2018 ALDS vs Cleveland: .286/.286/.571, 1HR/2RBI, 2K:0BB

2018 ALCS vs Boston: .250/.348/.300, 2RBI, 4K:3BB

2019 ALDS vs Tampa: .350/.381/.900, 3HR/5RBI, 3K:1BB

2019 ALCS vs New York: .348/.444/.652, 2HR/3RBI, 1K:4BB

2019 World Series vs Washington: .303/.294/.394, 1RBI, 3K:0BB

2020 Wild Card vs Minnesota: .000/.222/.000, 1RBI, 0K:2BB

2020 ALDS vs Oakland: .400/.526/.800, 2HR/5RBI, 3K:3BB

2020 ALCS vs Tampa: .462/.563/.885, 3HR/5RBI, 5K:6BB

2021 ALDS vs Chicago: .313/.476/.625, 1HR/3RBI, 5K:4BB

2021 ALCS vs Boston: .125/.214/.375, 2HR/4RBI, 3K:3BB

2021 World Series vs Atlanta: .222/.250/.482, 2HR/2RBI, 9K:1BB

2022 ALDS vs Seattle: .000/.059/.000, 6K:1BB

2022 ALCS vs New York: .188/.278/.250, 5K:2BB

2022 World Series vs Philadelphia: .308/.333/.385, 3K:1BB

*Astros Postseason Record When Altuve Gets...

0 Hits: 13-16

1 Hit: 21-11

2 Hits: 16-6

3 Hits: 6-3

*Astros Postseason Record When Altuve Homers: 16-5

*Most Career Postseason Home Runs, MLB History:

1. Manny Ramirez: 29

2. Jose Altuve: 23

3. Bernie Williams: 22

4. Derek Jeter: 20

5. Albert Pujols / George Springer: 19

7. Carlos Correa / Nelson Cruz / Reggie Jackson / Mickey Mantle: 18

*Esquire: The Scout Who Found Patrick Mahomes

*The Ringer: Inside the Ugly Standoff Between James Harden and Daryl Morey.

*Rolling Stone: The 50 Best Latin American Rock Albums

*In the wake of Kevin McCarthy's historic ousting as Speaker of the House of Representatives, I took a look at the last time the House tried to body-check the Speaker (all the way back in 1910).

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Okay, so we now know who the Astros will welcome to Houston on Saturday at a time to be determined: The Minnesota Correas. Minnesota took the first two games from Toronto to win this ridiculously-short, idea-which-should-immediately-be-abandoned idea of a "postseason series."

Anything can happen in a three-game series (see: A's, Oakland; Royals, Kansas City) but the Twins held the Blue Jays - who had the 5th-highest AVG, 4th-highest OBP, and 6th-highest OPS in the AL to one single, solitary run...but only scored five runs themselves, so who knows. 

Games 1&2 will be in Houston on Saturday and Sunday

Games 3&4 will be in Minneapolis on Tuesday and Wednesday

Game 5 will be in Houston on Friday. 

The Twins won their first postseason series since beating Oakland in the 2002 ALDS before dropping in five games to the eventual World Series winners Anaheim Angels in the ALCS. Prior to this series, the Twins had lost 18 straight postseason games. In fact, from 2003-2023 the Twins went 4-21 in the postseason. Carlos Correa has won 47 postseason games from 2015-2023. 

Correa:

This is a young, talented group that really wants it. I tell everybody this reminds me a lot of the '15 Astros, when the young talent came up, matched with the veterans that were there already and then they started going off. That's how I feel about this organization or the squad that we have right now. 

In six games against the 2023 Astros, the Twins went 4-2, outscoring Houston 29-25. 

The first time the Twins faced Houston was in Minneapolis from April 7-9. Altuve was injured. Verlander wasn't even a thought. 

April 7: 3-2 Twins in 10 innings. It was 47 degrees at first pitch. Jose Urquidy got the start on the mound, David Hensley started the game at 1B. Ryne Stanek blew the save after Houston took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 10th. 

April 8: 9-6 Twins. Minnesota put up a 4-spot in the 2nd and 8th innings. Yordan hit a grand slam, Jeremy Pena hit 10% of his season home runs. Luis Garcia struggled, Ronel Blanco allowed four hits and two walks in the 8th. 

April 9: 5-1 Astros. Hunter Brown threw 7IP, 2H/0ER. Chas McCormick had 4RBI. 

The second time the Astros and Twins rumbled was Memorial Day Weekend, May 29-31. The series opener was Altuve's 8th game of the 2023 season. 

May 29: 7-5 Twins in 10 innings. Houston had a 5-4 lead going into the top of the 9th, thanks mainly to Altuve's 7th Inning Grand Slam. J.P. France was okay. Abreu and Pressly blew it in the 9th and 10th. 

May 30: 5-1 Astros. Brandon Bielak threw 5.1 solid innings. Bregman and McCormick homered. 

May 31: 8-2 Twins. Altuve did not play. Jake Meyers and Yainer Diaz homered (it was just Diaz's 2nd homer of the season). Hunter Brown and Parker Mushinski allowed 7ER in the first six innings. 

Not much to examine. Altuve didn't play in three of the games. Verlander hadn't shown up yet. Urquidy, Brown, France, and Bielak likely won't get a start in the postseason. Garcia is out until next season. That's all six starters in the season series. 

*Here's Twins fans chanting "We want Houston" as they leave the stadium.

*Old Friend Alert (Twins who used to be with the Astros): Carlos Correa, Dallas Keuchel, Christian Vazquez, Hank Conger (1B Coach), Kevin Golstein (Special Assistant to the GM, Player Personnel).

*FanGraphs already has it Houston 56.8 - 43.2 Minnesota. And Six Flags 54.8 - 45.2 Baltimore. Of course, FanGraphs thought Tampa and Toronto to win the Wild Card rounds. 17 of ESPN's MLB Experts picked Toronto over Minnesota. 22 of the 27 picked Tampa over Six Flags. FanGraphs' Playoff Odds missed three of the four Wild Card series, only getting Philadelphia/Miami correct. 

*ESPN: What to know about the eight remaining playoff teams.

*The Astros are 27-11 at Minute Maid Park in the postseason since 2015 (not including 2020 but, sadly, including the 2019 World Series). 

*The most important player to the Astros' October? Cristian Javier. Pitching Coach Josh Miller:

I've said to numerous people the last couple of months he's been close. He's shown glimpses of the 2022 version of himself. It just hasn't been put together. He certainly finished the season strong. He seems to have gotten his fastball shape back in line which is what we've been searching for all year, and that bodes well going into a postseason.

*McTaggart: Can the Astros figure out their home-field blues?

*There's a good shot that the Astros at least have a late-afternoon/evening slot on Saturday, as Game 1 of the Rangers/Orioles series will start at 1pm thanks to a Billy Joel concert at Camden Yards that night. 

*A.J. Blubaugh is the Astros' sleeper prospect in the Arizona Fall League.

*What's it like to be recruited by Deion Sanders?

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Well the Astros did what the Astros do: follow up a historic performance with a loss. But this time it wasn't the bats that went cold, it was the bullpen (whom I effusively praised in this space yesterday - thanks, guys). The Astros had a 5-4 lead with two outs in the 9th and Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly combined to mess that up. Minnesota wins 7-5, the Astros are 31-22. 

*Jose Altuve hit a grand slam in the 7th to temporarily put the Astros up 5-4. It was his 194th career home run, and his 7th career grand slam - his first since July 30, 2021. Altuve is 30 home runs away from passing Jimmy Wynn for 4th all-time. He also became the 8th Astro to cross the 700 career RBI mark, and he's 17 RBI short of Jimmy Wynn for 7th all-time in franchise history. Bregman, on Altuve:

He's incredible. He can barrel up any pitch, any spot, any time. We've seen it for the last decade...He's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of guy.

*Jose Abreu was 1x3 with a walk, singling off of a 103.6mph Jhoan Duran pitch - the 4th-fastest pitch anyone has taken for a hit since they started keeping track of that thing.

*J.P. France was aight - 6IP, 7H/4ER, 8K:3BB. It was his second-longest start in the Majors, and he tied a career high in strikeouts, set the last time he pitched. France has struck out 16 of the last 51 batters he has faced.

*Ryan Pressly blew the save in the 9th, his first since July 30, 2022 - a span of 50 appearances, postseason included. 

*Bryan Abreu took the L, his first since May 18, 2021 - a span of 93 appearances. It's also the second appearance in a row in which he has allowed an earned run. Three of the six earned runs he's allowed this season have come since May 27. 

*Carlos Correa is 2x25 with 10K:2BB against the Astros in his career.

*Totally missed that Minnesota's 1B/C coach is Hank Conger.

*Christian Vazquez will get his ring tonight.

*Lance McCullers Jr is no longer throwing off a mound, only further leading me to believe that they're really slow-walking the "Yeah okay he had Tommy John Surgery again last fall" announcement. A timeline of Lance's "rehab:"

February 18: LMJ gets shut down with "soreness in his throwing arm."

February 19: Dana Brown says LMJ is "day-to-day" and that Brown is "not alarmed at all."

February 22: LMJ tells reporters he has a "small muscle strain" with no structural damage to his arm or UCL.

March 11: LMJ is playing catch.

March 15: LMJ is cleared to resume lifting weights and throwing. It's described as a forearm strain.

March 28: Dana Brown is non-committal on the idea that LMJ will go on the 60-Day IL.

March 30: LMJ is "pain-free."

April 4: LMJ is "ahead of schedule," throwing from 90 feet on flat ground, and is close to throwing on back-to-back days. It's also now described as an elbow strain.

May 13: Dusty isn't sure when LMJ will face live batters.

May 21: Astros hope LMJ can return "closer to the All-Star Break, or after."

May 29: No longer throwing off a mound.

*Great story in Chicago as Liam Hendriks returned to the mound for the first time since beating cancer.

*Gary Sanchez is now a Padre, his third organization in the last two months.

*USMNT's Brenden Aaronson has a clause in his contract where he could leave if Leeds United got relegated, and...welp.

*NY Times: 47 Literary Escapes for This Season.

*How two mad scientists and a small school in Iowa changed college football.

*The Ringer: How the rarest music in the world comes back.

*And with that, a Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat the Twins 3-1 to clinch the first spot in the Division Series round. It was a masterful pitching performance by the Astros that featured some absolutely bone-headed mistakes from the Twins, which you need sometimes to advance. Houston's next game is in Los Angeles on Monday against either the White Sox or A's, whichever one wins today. 

Let's just put this in the proper context:

At 24-7, no MLB team won more games at home than the Minnesota Twins.

At 9-23, Houston had the third-worst road record in MLB.

Houston had not won two consecutive road games since August 19-20, 2020. Minnesota had not lost two consecutive home games since September 11-12, 2019.

Minnesota has now lost 18 straight postseason games dating back to October 5, 2004. The day after that Twins win over the Yankees, the Astros got home runs from Brad Ausmus, Lance Berkman, Carlos Beltran, and Jason Lane to take a 1-0 lead in the NLDS over the Braves. Roger Clemens, Chad Qualls, and Mike Gallo locked it down.

MLB playoff wins since 2013, when the Astros joined the American League:

LA Dodgers: 34

Houston: 30

Boston: 23

Kansas City: 22

Chicago Cubs: 19

St. Louis: 18

Washington: 17

NY Yankees: 15

San Francisco: 14

Cleveland: 12

Toronto: 10

NY Mets: 8

Tampa Bay/Milwakee: 6

Detroit/Atlanta: 5

Oakland/Pittsburgh/Baltimore: 3

Arlington: 2

Arizona/Chicago White Sox/Colorado/Miami: 1

Anaheim/Cincinnati/Minnesota/Philadelphia/San Diego/Seattle: 0

*On Monday I picked Cleveland to win the AL Pennant, so of course they got swept by the Yankees in the 1st Round.

*Jose Altuve was hitless for the second straight game. The last time he didn't get a hit in consecutive postseason games was Game 6/7 of the 2017 World Series. Houston is 6-9 in postseason games when Altuve doesn't get a hit.

The Astros had two extra-base hits in two games: Brantley's double on Tuesday and Correa's home run, his 12th postseason home run. The Astros' postseason HR leaderboard:

14: George Springer

12: Carlos Correa

11: Jose Altuve

10: Alex Bregman

7: Carlos Beltran

6: Lance Berkman

5: Yuli Gurriel, Mike Lamb

4: Jason Lane, Colby Rasmus

3: Brad Ausmus, Ken Caminiti, Robinson Chirinos, Marwin Gonzalez, Jeff Kent

2: Alan Ashby, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Chris Burke, Morgan Ensberg, Carlos Gomez, Martin Maldonado, Josh Reddick, Daryle Ward

1: Yordan Alvarez, Derek Bell, Michael Brantley, Chuck Carr, Chris Carter, Vinny Castilla, Raul Chavez, Glenn Davis, Bill Doran, Tony Eusebio, Evan Gattis, Billy Hatcher, Art Howe, Tony Kemp, Brian McCann, Dickie Thon, Luis Valbuena.

Correa:

I know a lot of people are mad. I know a lot of people don't want to see us here. But what are they going to say now?

More Correa:

We had a tough year since the start of Spring Training, but now it's all about playing great baseball. I think we showed everybody we have a solid team. Minnesota, in a lot of brackets, was supposed to win the World Series. We swept a great team in Minnesota, and I think we deserve a lot of respect as a team. We played great baseball, our pitching staff did a great job, we got some clutch hits and we were able to win the series.

The Astros are getting dunked on for "not being remorseful" and "not owning their Transgressions against the Very Game of Base Ball." I sort of get it, but got dang, just...

Maldonado:

We're excited. A lot of guys didn't have us winning this series. We did what we had to do to win this series. We're happy. We wanted it. This is a team that knows how to win in the playoffs, and we showed one more time what we are capable of.

Of course I don't like what happened in 2017, and I hold Carlos Beltran and Alex Cora responsible, but everyone on that team was also responsible. If you hate them, you don't have to move on. There is no one who can help you move on besides yourselves. And if you decide not to, then Godspeed.

*FanGraphs: Twins postseason woes continue as Astros sweep.

*Brian T. Smith: Astros look like playoff Astros again with easy knockout of Twins. Ehhhhh I don't know about that. 

*McTaggart: Dusty Baker has unfinished business. Dusty:

I've still got some things I want to accomplish, and a championship is one of them...I didn't think I'd ever get another chance. Even when I was winning, I was still losing at the end. I know that in my heart and I know that in my mind I've always been a winner all my life. You've got to continue to think positive, continue to persevere, and I built a lot of character along the way. They said that perseverance builds character. Well, I got enough character now to [give some away].

Dusty Baker has managed five different teams to the playoffs. He's now 12-13 in the postseason. 

*Kyle Tucker had two different RBI singles. He is in for 2021 and beyond. Tucker, on his 1st Inning RBI single:

That was the first fastball they had thrown me in the series. I figured in that situation they would try to throw it 96(mph), and they did. It kinda worked out for us.

*Chandler Rome: Inside the pivotal pickoff of Byron Buxton. Never forget that 2012 1-1 pick Carlos Correa hit a home run in Game 2 and 2012 1-2 pick Byron Buxton got picked off at the worst time.

*Shoutout to 21 of the 30 ESPN Baseball Experts who picked Minnesota, and every single one of the MLB.com experts who picked Minnesota over Houston.

*Martin Maldonado:

After the game Strommy came up to me & said you did an unbelievable job with those young guys. I told him, from the bottom of my heart, the reason why we are here is because of them.

*The incredible story of Andrew Watson, the first Black international soccer player.

*NY Times Magazine: Up, Up, and Away From It All - A climb in the Tetons with Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker, Savannah Cummins, and Manoah Ainuu.

*The Guardian: Is the USMNT in danger of developing into a world-class outfit?

*You can get Out of the Park Baseball 21 for $9.99.

*A Musical Selection. Fare thee well, Minnesota:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Wow. After the first six innings, I didn't expect that. The Astros beat the Twins in Game 1 4-1, and there was great rejoicing. FanGraphs gave the Twins a 57.6-42.4 edge in Game 1, and a 62.5-37.5 edge on the series. Well! Now it's 65.5-34.5 Astros (even though the Twins have the edge in the next two games? I don't understand FanGraphs' Hard Math.) It was the Astros' 10th road win of the season. What happened to the Twins in the 9th usually happens to the Astros. God bless us, everyone. The Astros face Jose Berrios today at 12pm Central on ESPN2. If there's a Thursday game, it'll be at 12:08pm Central.

*Elsewhere in the playoffs: Chicago beat Oakland, Tampa Bay beat Toronto, New York beat Cleveland. All sixteen teams play today. There is baseball from 11am Central until midnight. 

*You could hear music during Dusty's post-game Zoom media availability. Dusty:

It is loud, should be loud. Hasn't been loud in a while. Let them party. Let them enjoy themselves. Savor the victory.

*There were a lot of "game-saving moments" but Alex Bregman's throw to first in the 1st Inning was a massive one. Brantley, on that throw:

When they challenged it I got really nervous. I thought initially he was out, but any time [you] go to replay, you got to hold your breath a little bit. It was a phenomenal play. Big momentum swing.

*Greinke, Inning by Inning:

1st: 30 pitches, 1H/0ER, 0K:2BB

2nd: 11 pitches, 0H/0ER, 0K:0BB

3rd: 22 pitches, 1H/1ER, 1K:1BB

4th: 16 pitches, 0H/0ER, 0K:0BB

Greinke had three walks in four innings. He had issued walks to three batters in his previous 33.2IP. The last time he struck out exactly one batter was August 23, 2019, also an Astros win. It was Greinke's fourth straight postseason start of allowing two or fewer earned runs.

*Zack Greinke, 1st time through the order: .208/.222/.358

Zack Greinke, 2nd time through the order: .283/.330/.404

Zack Greinke, 3rd time through the order: .298/.305/.491

Jake Kaplan: How the Framber Game came to pass. Kaplan:

[Dusty's] proactive decision to not let Zack Greinke face the Minnesota lineup a third time and hand the game over to the rubber arm of Framber Valdez exemplified the type of aggressive, creative bullpen management the Astros will need this postseason.

"Aggressive, creative bullpen management" and "Dusty Baker" have not often collided in the same sentence before...

*Michael Brantley, on Framber:

He's been throwing the ball great all year. He's been attacking the strike one. He's got plus pitches across the board. I love hearing the opponents talk about how nasty he is. I'm glad he's on our side because I don't want to face him.

Shoutout to Framber, about to be A Dad for a second time. Give him, like, six months, and he's gonna have some Wilco on vinyl and get really into "Jesus, Etc."

Chandler Rome: Framber is the first relief pitcher to throw five scoreless innings in a playoff game since Madison Bumgarner in the 2014 World Series. Rocco Baldelli:

We weren't exactly expecting their lefty to go out there and throw all of those innings.

*The Astros allowed four hits. It's the 18th time in franchise postseason history that the Astros' opponent has been held to four or fewer hits. Ten of those games have been since the beginning of the 2015 postseason. The Astros are 14-4 in postseason games allowing four or fewer hits.

*FanGraphs: Defensive misplays plagued the Twins.

*Ryan Pressly did get up and got loose in the 9th. 

*Jose Altuve was 0x3 with 2BB and an RBI. It was his 4th 2BB postseason game, and his 30th postseason RBI. 

Astros' Postseason RBI leaderboard:

Carlos Correa: 33

Jose Altuve: 30

George Springer: 29

Alex Bregman: 28

Lance Berkman: 26

Yuli Gurriel: 24

Morgan Ensberg: 18

Carlos Beltran: 15

Marwin Gonzalez: 13

Jeff Bagwell: 13

Craig Biggio: 11

*Michael Brantley got a massive 2RBI single in the 9th inning. It's the 2nd 2RBI postseason game of his career - the last coming in 2019 World Series Game 3.

*The Minnesota Twins' last postseason win was October 5, 2004. They're 0-17 in the postseason since. God bless those Lake Wobegon Twins fans. 

*As cool as Nelson Cruz's story is, don't forget he was a Biogenesis guy who took - and got suspended 50 games for taking - PEDs because he said he had a GI infection. Oh, that was a few years ago and shouldn't be brought up again? Tell that to Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez. 

*Kenta Maeda threw 5IP and allowed 0ER. The last time he did that and his team lost was April 29, 2019.

*Pat and I are recording a special postseason postgame show for patrons of Lima Time Time. Last night's was originally going to be 20 minutes long where we just clapped for Greinke and Framber the whole time, and then it turned into dropping as many 90s Twins as we possibly could. It was impossibly fun, and for $5/month, you can get at least two more of these shows (though, I think it'll be more). Join our Patreon! It's literally the only monetary request I've made of you in the last 12 years, other than, like, helping people in a disaster. 

*Brent Strom's day wasn't done after the Game 1 win.

*Before Game 1 the Astros announced that they have extended Yuli Gurriel for 2021 with a $6.5m deal, and a club option for 2022 for $8m. He'll get $250,000 for each of his 300th and 350th Plate Appearances in 2021, $350,000 for 400 and 450 PAs, $400,000 for 500 and 550 PAs.

*Freaking Joe Biagini got DFAd, and I'm quite fine with this. Among pitchers in franchise history with a minimum of 10IP, Joe Biagini's 10.42 ERA is the 5th-worst.

*Chas McCormick - owner of a .276/.360/.400 MiLB slash line - made the playoffs roster. Here's why.

*Wired: Your photos are irreplaceable, get them off your phone.

*In a letter to Amnesty International, these idiots tried to dismiss accusations about their actions and instead accidentally admitted to them. 

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

First things first: Shoutout to Dem Apollo Boiz:

🔥 Here Come The Astros 🔥

Astros 2020 Playoffs Hype Vid #ForTheH pic.twitter.com/B2xrFWuDNS

— Apollo Media (@ApolloHOU) September 28, 2020

Now: Well the Astros didn't lose last night, so that's a good thing. Houston begins a best-of-three series at Minnesota in the 1st Round. My official preview of the series: It doesn't matter what the pitching staff does if the offense can't string together hits, and occasionally for power. In a September in which the Astros went 10-17, the pitching staff as a whole posted a 4.45 ERA / 1.26 WHIP and struck out 2.975 batters for every one they walked (and if you take out those idiotic last two games - which I know you're not supposed to do - against the Trinity River Rangers, it's a 4.19 ERA). Pitching wasn't the liability. Hitting was and is. If the 2020 Astros want to see Friday as a team, Jose Altuve has to find something, as does Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, and Yuli Gurriel. September numbers for those cats:

Altuve: .237/.308/.461, six extra-base hits, 11K:6BB

Correa: .235/.267/.341, five extra-base hits, 23K:2BB

Bregman: .197/.315/.377, six extra-base hits, 11K:10BB

Gurriel: .154/.168/.209, three extra-base hits, 9K:2BB

If these four dudes, specifically, keep this up, they'll have plenty of time to start preparing for 2021 on, say, Wednesday or Thursday. Astros in Three. 

*FanGraphs' Jake Mailhot: AL Wild Card Series Preview - Houston @ Minnesota. The Twins have the edge in pretty much every major metric...so far [puts on sunglasses...but pokes self in eye in doing so].

*We will find out if the Twins have Josh Donaldson and Byron Buxton in the lineup today.

*FanGraphs: Presenting the low-seed dark horses. Eric Longenhagen:

Every single hitter in the starting lineup has an in-zone contact rate above league average but only George Springer and Kyle Tucker have barrel rates above the league average. Can they do enough damage to give the bullpen cushion? I'm doubtful.

*ESPN: Everything you need to know about the postseason.

*ESPN: Expert picks for the 2020 Postseason. 21 out of 30 experts picked Minnesota. Not a single one picked the Astros to win their 3rd Pennant in four years. Not a single MLB.com expert picked Houston over Minnesota.

*The Athletic: Beat-writer Breakdown of the Twins/Astros series.

*Josh James is back with the team. This - presumably - is good news, if it means September Josh James is back with the team and not August Josh James. Also, Martin Maldonado is good to go.

*Chandler Rome: Is this the last hurrah for the Core Four?

*The Astros do not feature at all in SI's World Series predictions.

My predictions, and I already regret this:

NL 1st Round

Dodgers/Brewers: Dodgers

Padres/Cardinals: Cardinals

Cubs/Marlins: Cubs

Braves/Reds: Braves

NL 2nd Round

Dodgers/Cardinals: Dodgers

Cubs/Braves: Braves

NLCS

Dodgers/Braves: Braves

AL 1st Round

Rays/Blue Jays: Rays

Spiders/Yankees: Spiders

Twins/Astros: Astros

A's/White Sox: A's

AL 2nd Round

Rays/Spiders: Spiders

Astros/A's: Astros

ALCS

Spiders/Astros: Spiders

World Series

Braves/Spiders: Braves

Looking forward to this being null and void by next Tuesday.

*Bill Withers: The Soul Man Who Walked Away.

*Ready for another COVID-19 surge? Or is it not raining anywhere because you're not currently wet?

*Vice: What you need to know about the obscure occult group linked to a Toronto murder.

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

The Astros just love to crap the bed. At 29-31, the 2020 Houston Astros will be the first team in MLB history to make the playoffs with a record below .500. The 1993 Giants went 103-59 (.636) and missed the playoffs. The worst winning percentages to make the postseason in MLB History.

1: 2020 Houston Astros - .483

1. 2020 Milwaukee Brewers - .483

2: 2005 San Diego Padres - .506

3: 2006 St. Louis Cardinals - .516

4: 2008 Los Angeles Dodgers - .519

4: 1997 Houston Astros - .519

*I'm not even messing with breaking down this game. The Astros retain the Silver Boot. Though they split the season series 5-5, the Astros' out-scored the East Fort Worth Rangers 42-37.

*The Astros went on an eight-game winning streak from August 12-20 to improve to 15-10, then the 6th-best record in the AL. After that the Astros went 14-21 to close out the season - with the easiest schedule in baseball. 14-21 is tied with the Detroit Tigers for the 3rd-worst record in the AL. They had more regulars in the lineup with an OPS under .730 (5) than above (4). They went 9-23 on the road, 4-14 on the road in September, a September in which they went 10-17. The Astros finished the season with a +4 run differential.

*Tomorrow I will not be as pissed off as I am right now. 

*The Astros will need to win two out of three on the road against Minnesota. The last time the Astros won two out of three on the road against the same opponent was July 31-August 2 in Anaheim. The matchup is Zack Greinke vs. Kenta Maeda. FanGraphs currently has it 53-47 Twins.

Game 1: Tuesday at 1pm Central on [squints] ABC

Game 2: Wednesday at 12pm Central on ESPN2

Game 3: Thursday at TBD on Some ESPN Network

Dusty:

I hope we can turn it on. We'll see when we get there. These guys have certainly been there, and they know what's at stake.

*Carlos Correa thinks the previous experience the Astros have in the postseason means he thinks they're "going to be fine."

*David Barron: The postseason presents an opportunity for a fresh start. 

*On last night's Lima Time Time, Pat & I talked to Robert Flores about, well, the Astros.

*McTaggart: How the Astros can beat the Twins.

*ESPN: This could be the wildest postseason ever.

*Two months after the Angels gave him a 1-year extension, the Angels have apparently fired GM Billy Eppler. Former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto is rumored to be trading for him. Honestly: the Angels have had Mike Trout since 2011. In 1252 games, Trout has hit .304/.418/.582, 302 HR with 201 SBs. And all you get for him is a three-and-out in the ALDS once? Eppler can't control the state of Shohei Ohtani's elbow, but come on, man. Also, Dipoto is as much on the hook for this as Eppler is. 

*Don't rule out an Alex Cora return to Boston.

*Leeds United 1 Sheffield United 0. An 88th-minute header from Patrick Bamford got the three points. Somehow Leeds is still at 21% to get relegated by The Bastards FiveThirtyEight. A date with Manchester City looms on Saturday. The Ringer: Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United form a perfect union.

*Why Netflix keeps canceling your favorite shows after two seasons.

*A Playoff Musical Selection:

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:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros lost to the ice men 1-0, wasting a perfectly good Justin Verlander start in the process. Amazing he wanted to sign an extension to get Roger Clemens'd down here. Houston is 17-12. This season just feels stupid. Prove me wrong.

*Houston lost two 1-0 games in 2018, both at home: June 22 against Kansas City, and May 11 against Arlington. Both the Royals and the Rangers were last in their division in 2018. The last Astros' 1-0 road loss was July 16, 2016 at Whatever Seattle Calls Their Stadium Now.

*Minnesota got their only run when 8-hole hitter Ehire Adrianza, now sporting a fresh .188/.270/.281 slash line, hit his first home run of the season, one pitch after probably not checking his swing that would have rung him up. [Walks into the sea]. Verlander:
This game isn't played in slow motion, and these umpires have a difficult job to do. In live speed, I thought it was a very questionable 50-50 call. Adrianza did a good job of not breaking his hands so it didn't look like the bat went as far as it actually did. You hate to see the game come down to something like that and for [3B umpire Doug Eddings] to be questioned on something that was so close.

*The Twins got three hits total. And won. They're the 6th MLB team to win a game in 2019 despite getting three or fewer hits. The Astros lost a game in which they allowed three hits for the 10th time since the beginning of the 2010 season. The last time it happened was a bullpen game against the Blue Jays on September 26, 2018. Prior to that it happened on August 28, 2015 against....the freaking Twins. I spend between 1-3% of my time even thinking about Minnesota, as a team, as a state, but they're starting to piss me off.

More Verlander:
One run felt like 10 tonight the way [Odorizzi] was pitching. When guys have it going, they have it going. I was the first one to slip up.

*Since the beginning of the 2017 season until last night, Odorizzi has a 4.33 ERA and a 99 ERA+. So, sure.

*Justin Verlander's seven strikeouts give him 2,759 strikeouts for his career, 23rd in MLB history. Fifteen more strikeouts (2,774) would move him past Frank Tanana for 22nd all-time. He needs 241 more strikeouts to get to 3,000.

It was Verlander's 38th career appearance vs. Minnesota and only the 9th time against them that he's taken a Loss. He's held the Twins to 0-1 earned runs 19 times in his career.

Last night was the 11th time in Verlander's 46 starts that the Astros have scored 0-2 runs.

Astros pitch count vs. Odorizzi, per inning:
1st: 18
2nd: 14
3rd: 7
4th: 6
5th: 6
6th: 20
7th: 14

Recording nine outs on 19 pitches is some efficient stuff, I guess. Odorizzi, on the differences between last night and his start last week:
I went with the curveball less. I think I only threw like two or three of them. I think the last game I threw like 20. So, we went more cutter, slider today. It's tough to go with the same look twice against a team of that caliber.

*The Astros went 0x4 w/RISP.

*Jose Altuve was 0x4, giving him one hit in his last 33 ABs. I doubt that holds up over the course of the year.

*Tyler White was 0x3 with 3K. It's the 9th 3K game of his career, and three of those have come in April 2019.

*Brian McTaggart: Ryan Pressly returned to Minnesota, where he started his MLB career. Since coming to Houston he has the record for most consecutive scoreless innings by a reliever, and is close to setting the franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings. Hinch:
Our front office did a good job identifying him and his strengths.

The current franchise records:
1. Roy Oswalt: 32.1IP (Aug 27 - Sept 11, 2008)
2. J.R. Richard: 31IP
3. J.R. Richard: 31IP
4. Ryan Pressly: 30.1IP

J.R. Richard had a 40IP stretch from August 18-September 11, 1979, a 34IP stretch from May 26-June 11, 1980 where he didn't allow an earned run, so I guess those don't count.

*Chandler Rome: Despite Robinson Chirinos' offensive surge, and Max Stassi's offensive struggles, the Astros are sticking to the plan to keep Chirinos fresh.

*Check Jake Kaplan's live mailbag from yesterday.

*George Springer was on Buster Olney's podcast yesterday morning, talking about his strong first month of 2019.

*From TX Sports Nation: Who's surging, who's struggling in the Astros' minor leagues.

Best part about calling the game from the Crawford boxes? Having a catch during the break! Thanks to @tonykemp for throwing with me. pic.twitter.com/MYfhzDSQ4y

— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) April 29, 2019

*Some sad news to report: Bill McCurdy, an OG Houston Baseball historian who also maintained the excellent Pecan Park Eagle blog, passed away last weekend. Click the link for details on visitation and service.

*MLBTR: After the recent flurry of extensions, Gerrit Cole leads the 2019-2010 free agent power rankings.

*SI's Tom Verducci has 30 nuggets that tell the story of the 2019 MLB season so far.

*Tigers prospect Casey Mize made his Double-A debut last night and threw a complete game no-hitter Maddux.

*Literary Hub: The History Behind Baseball's Weirdest Pitch.

*The Athletic's Kelly Iko: The Rockets' Game One officiating rage is rooted in research.

*A Fire's Unfathomable Toll: How a California Wildfire Changed Everything.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Houston lost last night in the Return of Marwin. The Astros are 13-9, 1.5 games behind Seattle and 0.5 ahead of Arlington. Houston has lost four of its last five games since the ten-game winning streak. They're 6-1 at home.

*The Astros have given up 29 runs in their last three games. A quick check of Baseball-Reference indicates that this is not ideal. From June 3-6, 2018 Houston allowed 21 runs. You have to go back to September 9-10, 2017 to find a three-game stretch (Sept 9 was a doubleheader) in which the Astros allowed more runs, with 31.

*Marwin got a warm ovation in his return to Minute Maid Park.

Thank you Marwin! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/2rT1PFS4d4

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 22, 2019

*Brad Peacock gave up three runs in the first two innings, but settled down for a 5IP, 6H/3ER, 2K:3BB performance. Hinch:
It's a few games in a row for us where we really haven't gotten into the game very easily. I was happy with how (Peacock) responded to it and got through five innings.

Reddick:
I think if we get past the point of the first where we're not down, I think we have a good shot going into it. This thing will pass. 

*Houston has allowed 19 runs, and an MLB-leading 18ER, in the 1st inning in 2019. Opponents are hitting .308, also an MLB-worst, in the 1st inning. They are now 4-5 when beginning the 2nd inning behind.

*It was 3-1 Minnesota in the top of the 6th when Josh James decided to allow 4H/4R (3ER), 3K:1BB.

Josh James, 2019: 12.2IP, 10H/11R (10ER), 17K:8BB, 3HR. 7.11 ERA / 1.42 WHIP.

*It was 7-5 Minnesota when Chris Devenski gave up a 2-run home run, giving him a 2H/2ER, 0K:1BB outing. He does not get to be called "The Dragon" for the time being.

*Eight of the Twins' nine runs came with two outs.

*Jason Castro hit his first home run since March 31, 2018. It's his second home run against the Astros, making Brad Peacock and Tony Sipp the sole members of a very not-special club.

*Brian Arbour asks where the Astros' DH production is.

*Last night was the 11th time this season the Astros have recorded 10+ hits. They're 7-4 in those games.

*Michael Brantley was 2x5 with an RBI and two runs scored. He has an 8-game hitting streak and nine multi-hit games on the year.

*Carlos Correa hit the 85th home run of his career. It was his 9th career 3-run homer. Correa has home runs on consecutive days for the first time since May 31-June 1, 2018.

*Josh Reddick was 3x4. He's hitting .365/.403/.476, and has three 3-hit games in his last five. Reddick has made a point since Spring Training of trying to go the other way with the ball. All three of his hits were to opposite field. Reddick:
It's too cliche, but I'm not trying to do too much. I'm just going up there and using what they're going to give me, and I had a pretty significant hole over there on the left side today. If they keep pitching away, I'm going to try to keep going that way until they come in. It's a matter of just riding that wave as long as I can because eventually it will come crashing down and I've got to get back up on that board and go again.

*The Astros were 2x8 w/RISP. They're now 42x187 (.225) with runners in scoring position.

*Yordan Alvarez was the first minor-league player to 10HR with his 9th inning blast as Round Rock beat Memphis 9-4. Taylor Jones hit two home runs, and Jack Mayfield added another shot. Alvarez is hitting .339/.451/.915 with 11K:11BB. Not bad, I guess. He has 18 home runs in 62 games at Triple-A. He's 21 years old.

*Seth Beer is the Carolina League Player of the Week, after hitting .391 with three home runs. Through 16 games, Beer is hitting .333/.403/.540. Jake Adams, Bryan De La Cruz, Beer, and Colton Shaver are all OPSing over .900.

*Man, the rules changed pretty quickly around here. Rangers manager Chris Woodward - who came to Arlington from the Dodgers - is celebrating how well his team has been stealing signs. Woodward:
You know what you are holding. Now, if you had a chance to know what both cards the dealer has are, wouldn't that increase your chances of success? And if you knew (what) the dealer had with those two cards before you even placed your bet, wouldn't that increase your wager?

I'm old enough to remember when the Astros were blitzed in the media for having a guy near a bullpen.

*Emma Baccillieri: Pirates pitcher Nick Burdi's injury is a cruel reminder of how fleeting success is for baseball players.

*Shoutout to Towson University, who upset Grand Valley State to win the NCAA Dodgeball Championship.

*SI: Has anyone ever Googled Jerrod Mustaf?

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros play today. I'm going out of town with the family later this morning until tomorrow (Sunday). The Hot Links will likely be on the 1-Day DL with discomfort for Sunday. There you have it.

*Marwin F. Gonzalez signed a 2yr/$21m deal with Minnesota. I do not have a rational explanation for the reason why the Astros could not re-sign him for a similar deal. A $10.5m deal for Marwin is $2.7m less than what Dallas Keuchel made last year. Clearly the Astros believe that Aledmys Diaz - and his 2019 salary that is approximately $10m cheaper than what Marwin just signed - can at least come close to replicating Marwin. Who am I to disagree? Maybe this is why I am a disaster of an owner after five years of OOTP, because I reward past performance and nostalgia. Maybe don't let a history teacher be the GM of your team. Still. Gonna miss Marwin. Good for him.

You cannot tell the complete story of the Houston Astros without Marwin Gonzalez:


Revisit Jenny Dial Creech's column on Marwin's Game 2 Homer.

*But this is when MFG became a True Astros Hero:



*Here's the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Patrick Reusse with a Houston-based scouting report of Marwin. Basically what's not to like about a guy who can play 6-7 positions with decent-to-good defense at all of them and a good bat.

The only good thing that can come out of this is the Twins keeping Cleveland and the Extremely Problematic Tyler Bauer out of the playoffs. Reminder that Tyler doesn't think climate change is a thing, likes Chief Wahoo, is an Obama Birther, and thinks the Astros cheat.

*Unlike Tyler, Alex Bregman is not an actual corn-filled chunk of crap and did a really cool thing for a 9-year old kid.

*Bleacher Report's Joon Lee writes about Alex Bregman wanting it all. Bregman:
I don't find that much wrong with baseball...Stop saying no. Start saying yes.

*Ken Rosenthal: Alex Bregman means Bidness.

*Here's a 16-minute SportsRadio 610 (or whatever the spacing is) segment about whether Dallas Keuchel could return to the Astros.

*Chandler Rome: Brady Rodgers has come full-circle for the Astros.

*Jake Kaplan: Myles Straw wants to steal all the bases.

*The Houston Press' Jeff Balke asks if Kyle Tucker can take the next step in 2019, comparing Tucker's limited PAs to Bregman's limited PAs to open his MLB career.

*Catcher Scott Manea - acquired in the J.D. Davis trade with the Mets - handled a Verlander spiked curve and caught an "Attaboy" and felt very good about himself. Manea:
For [Verlander] it's a low-stress situation, but for me it's probably the most stressful situation I've been in so far this year.

*The Crawfish Boxes have a "Where Are They Now" edition for the 2012 Astros' Top Prospects.

*Should you be a subscriber, and I am decidedly not, of Baseball America, they have an "If Every AL West Team Was Homegrown" article.

*The New York Times' Tyler Kepner takes a look at the new direction of the Baltimore Orioles, which is similar to the New Direction of the Houston Astros But Seven Years Later.

*FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan has accepted a position with the Rays, and we are all worse for it.

*Facts & Figures from SI's Top 100 MLB Players list.

*Christopher Hasson plotted attacks from his desk.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. It is officially now Not Summer, which has been indicated by temperatures precisely the same as they were yesterday, but with flooding. The Astros took care of the Twins yesterday behind home runs from Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel, and a gem from Dallas Keuchel. Houston is 85-53. Oakland beat New York in a preview of the Wild Card Game to remain 2.5 games back with 24 games to play.

*The Astros first played Minnesota from April 9-11 (Games 11-13) and dropped two out of three. Since April 11, Houston is 75-49. Oakland is 77-48, 1.5 games better, in that span.

*Houston has won 10 of their last 13 games.

*The Astros have now recorded four or fewer hits in a game 15 times this season, and are 4-11. Five of those games have come since August 3.

*Dallas Keuchel: 6IP, 5H/1R (0ER), 6K:2BB. Keuchel:
I thought I was able to make some key pitches in big situations. I kind of put myself in a few uncomfortable moments. This team is not a good matchup for me because they take, take, take, and I'm going to try to make the perfect pitch every time. 

Since July, Keuchel has made 12 starts: 77.1IP, 70H/21ER, 56K:18BB, 2.44 ERA/1.14 WHIP.

*Collin McHugh threw 2IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:0BB. It's the 5th time this season McHugh has recorded at least four of his six outs via strikeout. McHugh vs Minnesota, 2018: 4IP, 2H/0ER, 10K:0BB. It's his first scoreless outing of 2+ IP since July 29.

*Gurriel hit his first home run since August 19. Since the All-Star Break, Gurriel has nine extra-base hits and is hitting .199/.240/.312 in those 37 games.

*Alex Bregman has hit a home run in three straight games, and is hitting .301/.402/.548 since the All-Star Break. He has a hit in 23 of his last 26 games. Bregman's 31-game on-base streak is the longest active streak in the Majors. Bregman:
I have a lot of room to improve and I'm definitely not satisfied...I think I need to get a lot better.

Hinch, on Bregman:
This is the best I've seen him play in a short career. He's just very locked in...he's very under control...He knows a ball from a strike. He's hunting the right pitches. He's laying off the right pitches. He's a pretty elite performer. 

McTaggart notes that Bregman's 72 extra-base hits are the most by an Astros since Lance Berkman's 78 in 2008.

*After taking a liner to the hand, Hector Rondon is expected to be okay.

*RIP Marwin Gonzalez, who left the game with "oblique discomfort."

*Charlie Morton played catch for the 2nd straight day and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session this week. If he's feeling good, he'll start against Boston on Saturday. If not, the Astros will go with Big Flames Josh James.

*Minor-League Playoff Update: Five of the six domestic affiliates made the playoffs:

-Fresno will open at El Paso tomorrow night.
-Corpus won both halves of the Texas League South and will play San Antonio tomorrow night.
-Buies Creek will open the postseason tomorrow night against Winston-Salem.
-Quad Cities will play Peoria tomorrow night.
-Tri-City will play Mahoning Valley tomorrow night.

*Corpus' Ryan Hartman won the Texas League Triple Crown, leading the league in ERA, strikeouts, and wins.

*From The Athletic, how the MLBPA got so big.

*Jacob de Grom is making history, and not in a fun way thanks to his trash team.

Thursday Morning Hot Links

There is absolutely no way that today isn't Friday. I refuse to believe that it's not Friday.

Anyway, the Astros/Twins rubber match yesterday sucked hard, then it was cool, then it was bad again. Twins win on a walk-off after the Astros storm back from an 8-1 deficit. They have not (and still haven't, I guess) won a game in which they have trailed by more than one run. This feels impossible, but I'm tired and will just accept Baseball-Reference's word for it.

*Lance McCullers crapped the bed in the 4th with the following sequence:
-Kepler walk
-Buxton walk
-Castro (JSD) strikeout
-Adrianza single (1-1 tie)
-Dozier single (2-1 MIN)
-Mauer walk
-Rosario triple (5-1 MIN)
-Morrison single (6-1 MIN)
-Escobar flyout
-Kepler 2-run homer (8-1 MIN)

McCullers:
It all goes back to those two walks, and I tried to minimize the damage to do what I could to get out of it and it didn't work out that way.

McCullers' Game Score of 15 was the lowest of his career since August 3, 2015 when he allowed 7H/6ER in 0.1IP at Arlington. Game Score: 13. The 2017 Astros had three starts with a 13 Game Score or lower, the last being on September 13 against Anaheim in what would be Tigers Great Mike Fiers' last career appearance with the Astros.

*Chandler Rome says that McCullers' game plan of throwing elevated four-seamers at the Twins' lefty-heavy lineup might not have been ideal:
Let's call a spade a spade, I don't throw four-seamers up very often. I didn't execute them. And that's what's so frustrating. You put so much work in mid-weeks and you study the hitters a lot, Verlander spent a lot of time with me looking at the hitters and kind of breaking them down, and I didn't execute.

*It was Alex Bregman's first career 4-hit game and included his first home run of the 2018 season. Bregman, who was a triple shy of the cycle (wink):
I felt good really all year, barreling up the baseball. [In the] first series in Texas, I hit a lot of balls at people and kind of started to chase some hits after that instead of chasing some good pitches to hit, and today I was just looking for some good pitches to hit and was fortunate enough to put some good swings on the ball. Unfortunately, we came up short.

The 7-run deficit would have been the largest Astros' comeback win since July 18, 1994, when the Astros overcame an 11-0 deficit after three innings to beat the Cardinals 15-12. But, alas...

*Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak at Minnesota to 17 games, the longest streak at The Fridge.

*The Astros' eight runs match the total number of runs scored in the previous four games combined.

*With the 10-3 Angels winning again last night, the 9-4 Astros are out of first place in the AL West for the first time since - holy crap what sorcery is this - April 12, 2017, a span of 164 games.

*Off-Day Playoff Odds Check:
-FanGraphs: 97.8% to make the playoffs, 91.6% to win the division, 34.5% to win the Pennant. Projected record: 100-62
-FiveThirtyEight: 85% to make the playoffs, 65% to win the division. Projected record: 98-64.
-Baseball Prospectus: 93.2% to make the playoffs, 82% to win the division. Projected record: 95-67.

*Don't miss ClintShane's look at the Astros as The Avengers.

*Former Astro (blank) Jason Castro thinks that Minnesota's rebuild will be shorter than the Astros' rebuild was. Castro:
We should have won that Royals series (Ed. Note: /nods) That would have put us even deeper into the postseason. I definitely think (the 2018 Twins) is easily capable of that. I'd say compare this team to the playoff team we had in '15.

Oh hey here's Bob Grossman:
This core is more talented than the core they had, the core of guys I played with coming up. There's more of them over here. It's crazy how quick it can happen. A couple guys here, a couple guys there - you never know.

Please let the Twins feel the most heartbreak ever. I hate them.

*Yuli will be back on Friday when the Astros face the Southeast Snyder Rangers of Arlington.

*MLB.com's Mike Petriello: Houston's 2018 rotation could be better than 2017. Yesterday's game made pretty much all of the stats included within this article invalid.

*SI's Michael Beller highlights Gerrit Cole's knuckle-curve.

*Chandler Rome writes that Hector Rondon and Joe Smith's results have been mixed, at best.

*Oakland's top pitching prospect needs Tommy John Surgery. Houston's top pitching prospect is eating Chee-tos and craving some No-Doz right now.

*Do you like the Devil's Juice (booze)? Here's Craig Hlavaty's guide to drinking at Minute Maid.

*With a series in Houston starting tomorrow, and soon after the Rangers put both Rougned Odor and Doug Fister on the DL, Elvis Andrus has a fractured right elbow.

I maintain that the most dangerous time to be alive in America in the late '90s/early '00s was in the hour after Jackass. There's a multiplier in effect if you were in college. Thanks to that dumb show my buddies and I shot bottle rockets into the open windows of the freshmen dorm across from ours. We rode mattresses down the stairs. And I decided that the skateboard should be my primary mode of transportation.

(Note: when I graduated from college I weighed about 305 pounds. In the year after graduation I got down to 205. Got married and got back up to 270 and 15 years later am about 230 pounds with an eye on getting back to 205 by the end of the summer. This story takes place on the 305-pound spectrum.)

So I went to Atlanta right before my senior year of college started to see my aunt and cousin. I told my parents I was going to buy a skateboard and their eyes narrowed as they tried to picture me on a skateboard doing anything. They advised against it. "I'm a grown man," I timidly said to myself.

I bought a skateboard at Target at about 3pm. My aunt had to work and so I just went with her for about an hour and a half while she finished up. There was a lovely empty parking lot for me and my new skateboard. It's north Atlanta, Roswell-area. Lots of trees. Gorgeous. Hilly, too. First time down the parking lot went okay. "Now I shall try to turn left," I announced to no one.

I put a little too much weight on the back of the skateboard, which is not hard to do when you're north of three bills. The skateboard shot out from under me as though it was fired from a cannon. Falling towards the ground my brain decided, "This will likely hurt. You should try to stop yourself from falling." And my body obliged. I put my arm out to try to break the fall and succeeded in slamming my elbow into the concrete. A school letting out nearby heard me shout all my Emergency Words.

I retrieved my skateboard (which would never be used again) from about a mile deep into a forest and waited outside my aunt's office, pale, sweating, and cradling my elbow, trembling as I did. "This is decidedly not good, and something is Wrong." I thought. It was 3:15pm.

My aunt came out a short while later and immediately asked, "What's wrong?" Not wanting to go to an emergency room (even as a college senior I knew that the hospital would try to screw me over), we went to a chiropractor friend of hers who had an X-Ray machine. His name was Lee. Still is. X-Rays didn't pick up any issues but, Lee cautioned, your elbow is a pretty dense bone and (he motioned at my general physical shape) "you know."

"Maybe it's just dislocated!" he suggested, and then proceeded to yank on my wrist in an effort to get it to slip back into place. Fighting off unconsciousness, I screamed, "I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT IT IS, LEE!" I was put in a sling and sent back to Texas a few days later.

Six weeks later I was going into our laundry room. The house I rented with three of my buddies had a detached laundry room. It rained in September, which was weird in Abilene. My flip-flops were wet. As I stepped down (for some reason it was one step down) my wet flip-flops hit that smooth concrete and it was basically a repeat of The Atlanta Episode, sans skateboard. Exact same fall, exact same bracing action, exact same impact on exact same elbow. This time I did go to the doctor. "How long have you been walking around with a broken elbow?" he asked. "About six weeks, I guess," I responded. "Do I need surgery?" I asked. "You certainly could," he said. "But I mean..." (he motioned at my general physical shape), "You know."

Now obviously Elvis Andrus is in far better shape than I was when I broke my elbow. But he's also eight years older than I was, not that that makes up for the 100-pound difference. Point is, Elvis Andrus' elbow is going to hurt when it gets cold or if he holds the phone to his ear for too long. Sorry, Elvis.

*Tom Verducci wonders if Baseball is ready for Gabe Kapler to do loud sex to your mom.

An Astros World Series mural with the final score from Game 7. What a beauty! @PhilHecken @UniWatch pic.twitter.com/Ww3c3G2Mcn

— Ignacio (@igTXSalazar) April 12, 2018