No Astros action last night, and we did the Playoff Odds earlier this week, so we'll skip it for a while. The Astros are on pace for 106 wins. Reminder that Houston is 75-40 with a 10-game lead and 47 regular season games left.
If Houston goes 23-24, they'll finish 98-64. Here's what would have to happen for the Astros to lose the division:
Oakland: 34-14
Arlington: 41-7
Anaheim: 43-3
Seattle: Could win out and lose the division by four games.
Do your own math accordingly to project what other teams would have to do if the Astros went XX-XX. The Astros are officially at 100% to win the division.
*Big News of the Day was that the Astros are extending the nets. And if you're upset, then the decision was made by the organization with the sole intent of pissing you empathy-less idiots off.
Never mind that the move could be 20% about fan safety and 80% protection from legal liability for failing to protect fans from Yordan Alvarez Rockets. I'm still for it. The fact that it's safer for thousands of more fans is great. By the way, the girl who got drilled in the Cubs game is still on anti-seizure medication but is improving. If you don't want the net, you probably don't care.
Notables approving of the Astros: Lance McCullers. The Astros: Fan experience is always a top priority for the Astros. The Astros have followed Major League Baseball's guidelines regarding netting while providing fans with a choice as to whether they sit in areas with or without protective netting. These changes will improve the fan's experience and increase the number of seats behind protective netting. Fans will continue to have the option to sit in areas without netting.
By "improving the fan's experience" they mean "making sure you don't leave the game in an ambulance."
*Jake Kaplan says ($) Aaron Sanchez's work with Brent Strom is just beginning.
*Check Chandler Rome's mailbag for the chances of re-signing Gerrit Cole, who gets let go when Peacock returns, Myles Straw's postseason roster spot, Forrest Whitley, and a potential matchup issue with the Dodgers.
*The only contender with an easier schedule than the Astros down the stretch is the Twins. Matt Kelly: The Astros have dominated the A's, winning nine of their first 11 head-to-head matchups. Take at least three of these four games at the Coliseum (Aug 15-18), and Houston can really begin mapping out their stars' rest days before October.
The Astros needed a home run from Josh Reddick to tie the game and a home run from Yuli Gurriel to walk it off against the Mariners. This offense is - at present - a joke. Houston is 51-32 with a 4.5 game lead over Southeast Denton. Houston is 3-9 in their last 12 games. It's Verlander Day.
*The Astros are 7-1 against Seattle in 2019. They were 9-10 against the Mariners in 2018.
*Yuli Gurriel hit his 3rd homer of the week, and his first career walk-off home run to go with his first career home run in extra innings. Four of his eight home runs this season have been go-ahead homers. Gurriel: We've had a couple tough games here and to win gives us a lot of confidence moving forward. I didn't feel great my previous at-bats, but in that at-bat, I remained focused, locked in. I hit a foul ball. I knew I could hit a fastball, and then I got the next one. Hit it out.
Hinch: Really an emotional win for us in a game where it felt like we were in so many positions to win and we needed the win.
*Josh Reddick tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the 8th, his 10th home run of the year and his 40th career home run with the Astros. It's his eighth straight season with 10+ home runs. Reddick: It felt like one of our biggest hits in the last week and a half. That's the swing we've been waiting on to pick up not only ourselves, the team, the ballpark. It was a completely different atmosphere when I came across the plate and saw our dugout going crazy. It felt good.
*More Hinch: It's a big win for us, the way that it all went down. With all the missed opportunities, I could easily sit here and say we needed one big hit. You could script it with the way the game was going, and then 'Redd' picks us up and ties the game.
*Last three games, Astros' offense: 27 hits, five extra-base hits, seven walks, four runs, 36 left on base.
*As a team, the Astros are hitting .267/.342/.471 overall. But with runners in scoring position (Houston was 1x8 last night) they're hitting .248.
*Alex Bregman was 3x5. It is his 6th 3-hit game of the season. Five of those have come against AL West opponents. Houston is 6-0 when Bregman gets three hits in a game. Bregman has raised his OPS from .910 to .929 in the last four games.
*Jose Altuve was 0x5 with 0K:0BB. It was the 36th 0x5 game of his career. Here they are, by season:
*Wade Miley was excellent: 6IP, 3H/1ER, 2K:2BB. Twelve of his 18 outs were groundball outs. It's Miley's 10th start of the season out of 17 with 18+ outs.
*Brad Peacock was placed on the 10-Day IL due to "shoulder discomfort." It is a joke by now. Reymin Guduan was recalled to Houston. What is dead will never die. Hinch: He probably could keep giving us 100 percent of what he's got, but obviously it didn't go well [Thursday] and we feel like with the off-days and the All-Star Break we can get ahead of this and avoid any more missed time. We expect him to be back in the rotation after the All-Star Break. A little bit of rest does everybody good, and we hope he can mend quickly.
So who will take Peacock's spot in the rotation? As Jake Kaplan points out, Cy Sneed would be on normal rest the next time Peacock's spot comes up. The All-Star Break begins after the games of Sunday, July 7. Here's the Astros' schedule until that point:
Saturday, June 29: Seattle
Sunday: Seattle
Monday: Off
Tuesday: At Colorado
Wednesday: At Colorado
Thursday: Off
Friday: At Anaheim
Saturday: At Anaheim
Sunday: At Anaheim
Peacock's last five starts (Thursday included): 25.1IP, 28H/18ER, 28K:7BB, 8HR. 6.39 ERA / 1.38 WHIP. The Astros are 1-4 in these last five starts, but also scored 1, 10, 0, 1, 0 runs in those starts.
*Yordan Alvarez didn't play last night in what has been described as a "precautionary" move after doing something to his knee.
*Aledmys Diaz took BP on the field prior to last night's game and could travel with the team to Colorado.
*Joe Smith threw a scoreless 7th for Round Rock in their 9-2 win, throwing nine of 10 pitches for strikes. Cionel Perez threw 5.2IP, 3H/1ER, 4K:2BB. Drew Ferguson (HR, 4RBI), Alex DeGoti, Nick Tanielu, and Chas McCormick (HR, 2BB, 3RBI) had two hits each.
*Fayetteville lost 3-2, but Shawn Dubin (13th Round - 2018) threw 7IP, 2H/1ER, 9K:2BB. He has 55 strikeouts in 46IP in 2019, including a 30K:6BB line in his last 20IP.
*Quad Cities is enjoying a W3 with a 7-2 win over Burlington last night. Jonathan Bermudez and Cody Deason combined on the tandem start to throw 9IP, 4H/2ER, 18K:5BB.
*Tri-City has lost five straight games following a 3-0 loss to Aberdeen in which they were held to two hits.
*Jim Crane says extending the netting is "a possibility," but the Astros will wait to get "more information." A 2-year old kid got a fractured skull from a foul ball. That's the information I need.
*Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says they have time to evaluate where they are before pulling the trigger on a major trade (i.e., Scherzer).
*Last night was the 12th anniversary of Craig Biggio's 3000th hit. We were in New York, so we weren't there, but did watch it on tv. My father-in-law tried to play the odds. Going into that game against Colorado, Biggio was hitting .238/.278/.387, stuck on 2,997 hits. My father-in-law bought tickets to all games in the series but the 1st game. Biggio had enjoyed six 3+ hit games in 2007 (including a 3x5 performance against Arlington on June 24), but it was a defensible decision to make. Colorado would end up pretty good - they would go on to get swept by the Red Sox in the World Series - but they were 38-40 going into the June 28 game, having lost six in a row, two of those by walk-off (and would lose on June 28 AND June 29 via Astros' walk-offs.) Anyway, Biggio got his 2nd - and last - 5-hit night of his career that night, my Father-in-Law got to see the next three games. Here's the SABR article by Frederick C. Bush on Biggio's 3000th hit.
It wasn't as bad as it looked. Maybe it was, I don't know - I mercifully didn't get to watch. Though...I am IN Houston (wasn't at the game). Does the Astros County jinx extend to me simply being within the boundary of Harris County? I won't be leaving until after the game starts today, so we'll just have to see. Halfway through the regular season the Astros are 50-31. Their lead is 5.5 games.
*Framber Valdez was simply Frambushed by the Pirates: 3IP, 8H/6ER, 2K:1BB. Hinch: He was battling himself from the very beginning of the game. The home run by Bell, which he was done a lot this year, puts you down, and we just could never get on the good side of the game while he was in there. Six runs in three innings and 70 pitches. It just looked like he was out of sync.
Framber was optioned to Triple-A basically within 30 seconds of the end of the game. Valdez: I understand why they did it and I understand what I need to do to get better, so that's what I'll be focusing on. It's been frustrating, but at the same time I know I need to improve my two-seamer and improve my command to get back here and help the big league club.
Framber's first two starts: 51 batters faced, 39 outs, 9H/3ER, 15K:2BB, 1HR.
Framber's last two "starts:" 35 batters faced, 19 outs, 12H/11ER, 5K:4BB, 3HR.
*Chris Devenski ate three innings, allowing 3H/2ER, 3K:0BB, 1HR.
*Rondon walked two but didn't allow any runs, McHugh threw a perfect 8th.
*Tyler White got the 9th, or at least part of the 9th, getting two outs but also allowing 4H/6ER, 0K:4BB. He now has the distinction being the first Astros "reliever" to allow four hits, four walks, all in less than three outs. At least Harris, Pressly, and Osuna didn't have to pitch. I guess. Hinch, on White pitching: It's brutal. It's embarrassing. I feel bad for White. I apologized to him on the way off the field because I never want to use him. It's not funny. I know it's entertaining for the masses when you see something unique or something that's not there, but I think it sucks. I don't want to hurt him. I think it was way too many pitches.
*I don't know the last time an Astros pitching staff allowed two players in the same lineup to get four hits, and I'm not interested in finding out.
*Hinch, on the state of the Astros' bullpen right now: I pitched two position players, so that tells you where our bullpen is. We'll have to take a look at all of our options and see how we navigate. We have four more games in a row [before a day off] and the two games at Coors Field that are looming which are always difficult. And then a couple of days off sprinkled in.
So who comes up? Reymin Guduan, Cionel Perez, and Rogelio Armenteros haven't been in the minors long enough (10 days) to be recalled. Dean Deetz and Brady Rodgers are on the IL. Forrest Whitley is in West Palm rehabbing, and won't join a full-season team for at least a few weeks. Corbin Martin is on the IL (with no update on his issue). Nice little corner the Astros have painted themselves into.
*The offense was dead after George Springer's 30th career leadoff home run. Someone who goes by the name "Dario Agrazal" made his second career start, 11 days after allowing three runs to the Got Dang Marlins, and held the Astros to 5H/1ER, with 3K:3BB.
*Houston was 0x6 w/RISP.
*The Astros only struck out six times last night, marking the 9th time in their last ten games with nine or fewer strikeouts.
*Springer was 3x4 on the night. It's his 3rd 3+ hit night of the season, and the first since he went 5x5 on May 12 against the East Weatherford Rangers.
*Alex Bregman knocked a double, giving him back-to-back games with an XBH for the first time since June 3-4.
*Chandler Rome: Unsurprisingly, a little over a month before the trade deadline the Astros are focused on pitching. Expect the action to come closer to July 31.
*The Astros saluted the work of 2017 Game 5 Winner/Legend Joe Musgrove on the scoreboard last night. Musgrove faces the Astros this afternoon.
*Peter Gammons says the Astros did as much background work on Marcus Stroman in 2017 as they did on Justin Verlander, and Stroman would make sense. Damn near anyone would make sense.
*Francis Martes is back on the Restricted List because he can't get a visa. He won't pitch for the Astros this season, anyway (Tommy John surgery).
*David Barron has an update on the 2-year old Astros fan who suffered a fractured skull and continues to have seizures well after getting smoked by a foul ball. I am going to do A Stupid in the next 24 hours and patiently explain why I think the Astros need to extend the netting. Thank God I have already set the precedent of disabling the comments. Related: please do keep in mind that, on the cursed web site Twitter dot com, I am under no obligation to debate you if we disagree on an issue.
*Baseball America: The July 2 international signing period is an absolute mess.
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.
*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, well, it didn't go so well. Houston got a run in the first and then didn't do much of anything against Mike Leake (after getting handled by Wade LeBlanc earlier in the series!). And then the wheels fell off the pitching. Seattle won 14-1, though it was 2-1 Seattle at the end of the 5th. Congratulations to the Mariners for winning the World Series. Houston is 42-21 with a 9-game lead and 99 games to play.
Loss Stuff
*Last night was the fifth time in the last six series in which the Astros won the first two games, and then lost the third.
*The Astros had allowed 14 runs in their previous five games combined.
*The 13-run margin is the largest defeat for an Astros team since May 4, 2013, and just the 25th time in franchise history that the Astros lost by 13 runs.
*It's the second time this season the Astros have allowed their opponent to hit five home runs. They're 1-1 in those games.
*Brad Peacock did not deserve the loss: 5IP, 4H/2ER, 6K:2BB. Hinch, on Peacock: It's a tough loss for him because he pitched better. The score is going to look up on the board that it was a blowout and it was actually really close when he was in there. Peacock has allowed 2ER or fewer in ten of his 13 starts. Since allowing 7ER against the Twins on May 2, Peacock: 34IP, 21H/5ER, 41K:11BB. 1.32 ERA / 0.94 WHIP.
*Brady Rodgers became the 3rd reliever in 2019 to allow 8ER in 2IP, joining Milwaukee's Taylor Williams and Miami's Wei-Yin Chin. Williams did it all the way back on Tuesday night. Rodgers is just the 2nd Astros reliever to ever do it, the last being Xavier Hernandez on May 2, 1990. Rodgers gave up a 3-run pinch hit home run to a guy who had been released by the Giants, signed to a minor-league deal, and was making his first PA for Seattle. Hinch: I was going into it not trying to use our primary guys. We've worked them a ton, so some other guys haven't got to pitch on a daily basis. They struggled tonight and it got really ugly.
*Reymin Guduan was handed a 2-1 game and allowed two hits and a walk. All three runners scored. Guduan has made four appearances in which he has recorded one out. Those four appearances: 1.1IP, 6H/5ER, 0K:3BB. Guduan's lone good appearance of 2019 came on April 20 when he threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:0BB in a 9-4 loss to the Rangers. Guduan, a "lefty specialist" has faced lefty hitters eight times in 2019 and allowed a single, double, home run, and a walk. He has not struck out any of them. Guduan: My command has been good. Just the slider today wasn't falling the way I wanted it to. Unfortunately, that's part of the game. I need to do better next time around. These are things that happen in baseball and I need to maintain my confidence...and (keep) my head high and attack the zone and keep doing my job.
Chandler Rome: The Astros do not have a reliable lefty in the bullpen.
*Houston was 1x10 with runners in scoring position.
*The Astros are hitting .271/.351/.489 with the bases empty, and .253/.331/.457 w/RISP.
*Jack Mayfield is 0x22 since hitting a double in his MLB debut.
Multiple injured superstars? The @astros train KEEPS ROLLIN' 🚂
*While there wasn't the in-depth coverage of yesterday's Rounds 11-40 of the 2019 MLB Draft, you can at least get the latest news and financials over at this here page. Some notable draftees from the late rounds:
37th Round: Max Dias, son of Astros VP Gene Dias.
38th Round: J.C. Correa, brother of ol broke rib head lookin ass boiiiii Carlos Correa, whom they drafted in 2018, as well.
*Rob Manfred addressed the potential for more netting at ballparks, but probably just went back to trying to figure out how to negatively affect Baseball right after.
We'll get to all the [waves hands wildly above my head] other stuff in a minute. The Astros lost 2-1 to Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs, thanks to two home runs. The Cubs, who lost the series, hit ten home runs against the Astros in three games. Houston is 37-20, 22-8 at home. Today is the first off-day since May 16, and only the third off-day in May. Their next one is June 10. The Astros are 6-5 since posting their 2nd 10-game winning streak of the season.
*Hinch: It doesn't feel good to talk about it after a loss, but we won another series. We beat some good teams, and we continue to play pretty good baseball. They've been struggling with some adversity. Our guys are staying upbeat, they're staying positive, we're playing with energy. I'll never complain about a series win, I don't care what order you go in.
*Wade Miley pitched well! 7IP, 6H/2ER, 9K:1BB. Two pitches to Schwarber and Bryant were the difference. Miley's nine strikeouts are a season-high, and he also extended his career-high of games allowing a home run to nine.
*The Astros' offense got four hits for the 8th time this season, and for the 4th time in the last week. Michael Brantley had two of those hits (Bregman and White had the other two). For the 12th time this season the Astros did not hit a home run. They're 2-10 in those games.
*Cherry-picking a little here, but Derek Fisher and Tyler White combined to go 1x8 with 6K:0BB.
*McTaggart notes that, if Bregman can homer at Oakland tomorrow night, he'll tie the franchise record for home runs in a calendar month, with 13, set by Jeff Bagwell in 1994.
*A girl was hit somewhere in the head by an Albert Almora foul ball. Prior to the 2017 season the Astros extended the netting from dugout to dugout, so good for them. There's no reason not to have netting from foul pole to foul pole. And the people who are all, [stamps feet] "But I don't WANNA watch a game through a net!" are exactly the same kind of people who will lead me to celebrate at 12pm today a successful fifth year of not getting shot at school.
Sources told ESPN's Jesse Rogers that the little girl's outlook was "positive." Almora, a Good Person: Right now, I'm just praying and I'm speechless. I'm at a loss of words. Being a father, two boys...but God willing, I'll be able to have a relationship with this little girl for the rest of my life. But just prayers right now, and that's all I really can control.
Astros president of baseball operations and general manager Jeff Luhnow discusses Carlos Correa breaking a rib while getting a massage. pic.twitter.com/EM20bzDBhY
Carlos Correa: 1.8 fWAR
George Springer: 2.7 fWAR
Jose Altuve: 0.7 fWAR
Aledmys Diaz: 0.5 fWAR
Collin McHugh: 0.2 fWAR
That's 5.7 fWAR from the offense currently on the IL. The offense has put up 14.2 fWAR, so 40.1% of the offense's fWAR is injured, with no serious chance of coming back in the next couple of weeks, save for Diaz. Also, that 5.7 fWAR on the IL is more than the fWAR of 13 MLB teams.
That said, it's not the worst stretch of the schedule to lose your Three Legitimate MVP Candidates (drinks bottle of Jack Daniels with a straw). Tweeted this out yesterday, but it's 39 days until the All-Star Break. Houston's opponents until then: @Oakland, @Seattle, vs Baltimore, vs Milwaukee, vs Toronto, @Cincinnati, @New York Yankees, vs Pittsburgh, vs Seattle, @Colorado, vs Anaheim.
While nothing about this entire situation is ideal - losing three of your best players isn't ideal in any way - the schedule gives you some flexibility to make sure. And their seasons just got shorter by 4-6 weeks, which is fine if you're planning on playing through the end of October. And it gives Bregs a chance to win an MVP. Also, good call to have Myles Straw play 25 games at SS (to 23 games in CF), as he got called up to replace Correa. Here's Jake Kaplan on how the Astros can ride out the wave of injuries.
Luhnow did not rule out a trade to replace some of the firepower. For now, Luhnow: We're going to have some combination of the Houston Astros and Round Rock Express playing in the month of June. We're going to mix and match, and I'm going to leave it up to A.J. and Espada to evaluate Straw and see if they feel he can help in the infield. We knew he's a great defensive center-fielder and outfielder and a right-handed bat, which fits well.
A.J. Hinch: The sky is not falling. *May 12: Altuve placed on IL
May 21: McHugh placed on IL
May 25: Springer placed on IL
May 26: Stassi placed on IL
May 27: Diaz placed on IL
May 29: Correa placed on IL
May 29: Forrest Whitley placed on Minor League IL
Oh yeah, as if everything about the last 24 hours hasn't been rough enough, Forrest Whitley was sent to the IL with "right shoulder fatigue." He's headed to the Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach to begin a rehab regimen. Luhnow: Any time a young player, especially a pitcher, reports any sort of soreness or fatigue, we err on the side of caution, especially with him. That, combined with the fact that he wasn't having any success in Triple-A, made it a good time for us to send him to Palm Beach...This will be a good opportunity to take stock of where everything is and work with our pitching coaches and not
*Round Rock had the lead at Nashville in the 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th, and 13th...and won 13-12 in 13 innings. They had 22 hits. Josh Rojas, making his Triple-A debut, had a single/double/triple/walk. Yordan Alvarez was 3x6 with a walk and an HBP from Tim Dillard. Kyle Tucker was 1x7. Reminder that Nashville is the Rangers' affiliate.
*Luhnow mentioned Jose Urquidy as a possible September call-up. Urquidy was Corpus' Opening Day starter, now with Round Rock, and has 67 strikeouts in 47.1IP (27K:1BB in 14.1IP for TRIPLE-A ROUND ROCK).
*The MLB Draft is next week! Who knew?! I'm old enough to remember when Draft Day was like Christmas Day, and we all just had to kind of pay attention to the Major League team out of respect. FanGraphs' current Mock Draft 3.0 has the Astros taking Clemson SS Logan Davidson with the 1-32nd Pick. After taking Seth Beer last year, Luhnow loves him some Clempsun. With the 2-68 Pick, FanGraphs has the Astros taking Arkansas RHP Isaiah Campbell.
*Cool stories from Ken Rosenthal on Bregman's quest for greatness as well as Alex Cora giving Brent Strom the pitching chart from G7 of the 2017 World Series which, if you didn't remember, the Astros won.
*FanGraphs: Current Toronto Great Ken Giles is back, but what has changed?
