2015 Astros Regular Season Thread

[Big T]

That was an interesestin 5-4 win last night for the Stros. 0-0 through nine innings Astros score 2 in the top of the tenth and Gregerson gives it up in the bottom. Stros score three in the top of the 11th and Nechek tried to give it up in the bottom by they held on for the win. You figured that the bullpen was due for a bad night after being so good to start out the year. Lets hope that they have it out of their system now. BTW, Dallas was lights out again and had a 0.63 ERA. Holy Shit. He sure is shutting my mouth.

[eagle eye]

That was an interesestin 5-4 win last night for the Stros. 0-0 through nine innings Astros score 2 in the top of the tenth and Gregerson gives it up in the bottom. Stros score three in the top of the 11th and Nechek tried to give it up in the bottom by they held on for the win. You figured that the bullpen was due for a bad night after being so good to start out the year. Lets hope that they have it out of their system now. BTW, Dallas was lights out again and had a 0.63 ERA. Holy Shit. He sure is shutting my mouth.

 

Interesting is not what I'd call what happened last night. What would you guess if I told you the starting pitcher for team when 9 innings, gave up 0 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks and 4 K's? I'll bet you a paycheck you'd say that the guy was the winning pitcher and that the team notched a win as well. AAAAAAA. The buzzer sound means you are wrong. If you saw the TV shot of Dallas Keuchel walking away after Luke Gregerson blew the save in the bottom of the 10th last night you would have to know he was pissed to the max. After dominating the A's for nearly 3 hours the offense got him the lead in the top of the 10th and it took Gregerson about 8 minutes to flush it all down the toilet. Keuchel should be 4-0 but the bullpen has blown 2 of those games including last night. A two out 1-1 pitch that was a mistake by Gregerson that Josh Reddick crushed into left-center field. It was just a heads up play that, after the relay throw got away from Hank Conger that enticed Reddick to try to score, Houston was able to nail Reddick at home plate or the game would have been over right then and there. Big T is right, the bullpen tried like hell to give the game back to the A's but they were just not quite able to do it. You gotta feel for Keuchel. It's the second time he pitched a complete game, or rather 9 innings, and came away with no decision. Last season he left a tie game and the bullpen gave it away in the 12th if memory serves. If I could remember the team, my day would be complete. Keuchel had an MLB leading 5 - 9 inning (complete) games and was 4-0. This season Houston relievers have had 8 save opportunities and they have converted 6. Guess who was the victim of the two blown saves was---you guessed it---Dallas Keuchel. Chad Qualls has one and now Gregerson. He should be tied for the MLB lead in wins with the Mets Bartolo Colon and Detroit's Alfredo Simon with the 4. His 0.62 ERA is second only to the Rangers Nick Martinez who has one less start than Keuchel. Keuchel's 29.0 innings pitched is tied with Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto and Cueto is 1-2 in 4 starts. He's also top 10 in WHIP and BAA. If I was Qualls and Gregerson I couldn't look Keuchel in the eye without feeling like crap about it.

 

Scott Feldman is cruising through today's afternoon game with Oakland. Right now it's the top of the 5th with runners on the corners, two outs and a suddenly effective Chris Carter at the plate. Ooops. Wild pitch scores Jed Lowrie from 3rd and advances Rasmus to 2nd. Right now it's 6-0. Wow, Carter HBP on a terrible curve ball. Men on 1st and 2nd with Jason Castro at the plate. First pitch, high lazy fly ball to right-center. Inning over.

Edited April 25, 2015 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

Three weeks are in the books and could you have hoped for a better start to a season? How about an 11-7 record, first place in the West and up 2-1/2 games on the Angels who lost today to Texas. How about the fact they have played 6 series so far and they are 4-2. They just completed their first series sweep today with an improbable comeback win over the A's. The only smudge so far has been the poor showing by Asher Wojciekowski. In 3 starts and 4 appearances this season he has demonstrated that he's clearly not ready for the bigs. During the broadcast of today's game it was noted that Houston has the 2nd best staff ERA in the bigs. If not for Wojo's struggles we probably would be #1.

 

Could it be that Evan Gattis is finally breaking out of his early season hitting funk? Gattis came up to bat twice in today's game with the bases loaded and he singled in two runs on both occasions. The last time was in the top of the 9th with Houston down 6-5. Gattis' hit gave the Astros the lead and eventually the win. The second time was the ugliest AB I've seen in a while. A's closer Tyler Clippard had him swinging at balls up around his eyes. On a 1-2 count Gattis hit a pitch so high I could read "Astros" on Gattis' uniform clear as day when he swung at the pitch. He made solid contact and drove the ball over the center fielder's head to the wall plating Jake Marisnick and Jose Altuve. He's been long overdue and a day like Gattis had today can do wonders for a player's confidence. Lord knows Houston will need him and the rest of the offense to show up against the surprisingly powerful San Diego Padres as they close out the current road trip beginning tomorrow.

 

Despite struggling on offense George Springer shows how a player can contribute to his team by playing good, solid defense. At times Springer has elevated that to spectacular. Springer made one of his patented running catches, and I mean on the dead run today to save extra bases in the bottom of the eighth. That was to go along with the rock solid play the rest of the game but, there was a particular play he made that showed his baseball smarts. In the bottom of the 4th Ike Davis doubled to right-center advancing Steven Vogt to third base. Vogt had led off the inning with a walk. What was impressive about the play was that the ball was headed straight for the wall and would surely have scored Vogt and probably ended up a triple for Davis. Instead Springer chased down the ball and deflected it strait to Jake Marisnick who was able to get the ball in preventing a run from scoring. Totally impressive play for Springer and even though it's not in the highlights, it should be.

 

This week was a week of firsts. George Springer hit his first HR of the season. Chris Carter got his first hit of the season, first HR of the season and first multi-hit game of the season. Evan Gattis got his first mult-hit game of the season and he drove in 4 of his 5 RBI's this week. Today, as a matter of fact. Some firsts not so good like Luke Gregerson blowing his first save in the 10th inning of the Dallas Keuchel gem against the A's Friday night. Stuff like that I don't like to dwell on.

 

Of all the moves A J Hinch has made so far none has panned out like putting Jake Marisnick in the 9th spot in the batting order. He has been terrific. I called him the best 9 hitter in the bigs earlier this week and I haven't seen anything to make me crawfish on that opinion yet. His team high .364 BA is just the tip of the ice berg. The way the lineup shakes out a good bit of the time Marisnick is leading off innings which means you've got another leadoff man in the lineup and it allows Altuve to shine as a 2 hole hitter. To illustrate the point, in today's game Marisnick led off the 9th inning with a single up the middle. With the hit-and-run on Jose Altuve smashes a shot to 3B Brett Lawrie who tried to cut Marisnick down at second. The replay clearly showed that even if the throw hadn't gotten away from SS Marcus Semien Marisnick clearly beat Lawrie's throw. Speed kills and it became evident while George Springer was up after Altuve. Hinch called a double steal executed perfectly by Marisnick and Altuve with Marisnick sliding under the tag at 3B. Springer struck out bringing up the newest weapon in the 3 hole, Jed Lowrie, who has garnered enough respect at the plate lately that the A's intentionally walked him to load the bases and get the double play back on the table. Then came the Gattis AB I decribed earlier that resulted in the RBI's that won the game. The point was two guys who are fast, have terrific bat control and are proving to be clutch as hell put the A's behind the 8 ball before an out was recorded. Marisnick was kind of an oh-by-the-way addition to the Jarred Cosart trade with Miami last season and he's turning out to be a steal. The real prize Houston was targeting was 3B Colin Moran who was a top notch prospect in the Marlins system. I'm sure KABrother88 is going to update us on Moran and the Astros other top minor league prospects but it's Marisnick who is looking like the steal in that trade. Despite a crowded outfield in spring training Marisnick elevated himself to become the starter in center field against the odds against it and he's done nothing to cause Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow to regret the decision.

 

I like this team and they seem to have a chemistry about them. Even when they struggle in one phase the pick it up in another. There are already games where Houston has pulled out wins that would have been losses in the last few years. They are a team that brings their lunch pails to work and they don't quit until the last out. That, to me, it going to be the identity of this team. GO 'Stros!

Edited April 27, 2015 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

Asher Wojociewski is not ready for the bigs. That's not me saying that. The Astros made it clear when they sent Wojo to AAA Fresno Monday. Wojo was 0-1 in 4 starts with an ERA over 7. He pitched just 4 innings in all of his outings and as A J Hinch said, "It was clear that Asher didn't have the same stuff he showed in spring training. The stuff that earned him a spot in the starting rotation." It's good it's being done now before his confidence is totally shot. To fill Wojo's spot in the roster Houston called up L J Hoes who's been on a torrid pace in AAA. He was hitting .418 with a .458 on-base percentage and 12 RBIs in 15 games, including a five-hit game last week. He'll be used primarily off the bench as an extra outfielder.

 

In last night's 9-4 win over San Diego SS Jed Lowrie injured his thumb sliding into home scoring a run in the 8th inning. He will fly to Houston today to have an MRI to help determine the extent of the injury. He said that his thumb is sore and swollen but he isn't jumping to any conclusions about how bad his thumb could be. Lowrie, who has been hitting 3rd or 4th in the lineup the past week went 2-3 last night with with 2 runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a K, has been hot as any of the Astros have been in their recent offensive outburst. When was the last time you heard of a shortstop batting cleanup? Hopefully, this will neither keep Lowrie out of the lineup for long or cool him off at the plate.

 

Had Collin McHugh not stumbled in the 5th inning allowing 3 runs to San Diego that allowed them to tie the game it's quite likely McHugh would have won his ninth straight game which would have tied him with Roy Oswalt's 2002 9-0 run of consecutive wins which is most in team history. He ended up with a no-decision which isn't a bad thing all things considered. McHugh was in line for the win after going 6 innings giving up just the 3 runs to a powerful San Diego offense when Houston scored a run to break a 3-3 tie in the top of the 7th but Josh Fields took care of that by giving up the tying run to the Padres in the bottom of the inning when Yangervis Solarte doubled in Alexi Amarista who led off the inning with a single. Houston did score 3 runs in the 8th and 2 more in the ninth but by then McHugh was long gone.

 

This from Astros.com:

By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com | @brianmctaggart | 12:54 AM ET When the Astros face Tyson Ross and the Padres on Tuesday night at Petco Park, they'll try to do something they haven't done this year: win a game started by Roberto Hernandez.

Hernandez (0-2, 3.57 ERA) hasn't pitched poorly with two consecutive quality starts to his name. In fact, his ERA is his best through three starts since 2008. Meanwhile, Ross makes his fifth start of the season and first in his career against Houston. He's been very good at times but has scuffled with his command.

[Big T]

May we play the Padres bullpen every night? Please?! BTW the Astros are winning 14-3 bottom of the 9th! Looks like the Stros are going to go 13-7 and four game up in the AL West! Springer has had a 2 hit, 5 rbi night and Altuve has gone 4-6 with 2 doubles and a RBI. Carter, Gattis, and Springer all have homered. Valbuana and Marisnick both have multi hit games tonight.

[eagle eye]

May we play the Padres bullpen every night? Please?! BTW the Astros are winning 14-3 bottom of the 9th! Looks like the Stros are going to go 13-7 and four game up in the AL West! Springer has had a 2 hit, 5 rbi night and Altuve has gone 4-6 with 2 doubles and a RBI. Carter, Gattis, and Springer all have homered. Valbuana and Marisnick both have multi hit games tonight.

 

The past two weeks have been amazing for the turnaround the Astros have shown on the offensive side of the team. At the end of week 1 Houston was dead last is every conceivable category and now, at least before last night's game, they have climbed to 8th. Houston did win last night by a score of 14-3 that featured 3 home runs by the Astros. One each by Chris Carter, Evan Gattis and George Springer. The funniest thing last night was in the in the top of the 5th. Starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez led off the inning by drawing a 4 pitch walk by Padres starter Tyson Ross. Jose Altuve came up and just drilled a ball to straight away center field for a double. Not only didn't Hernandez score on the hit he barely made it to third base! There was no play at the 3B bag but it was funny seeing Hernandez chuck around the bases at long last reaching base safely. Honestly, if it hadn't been for Hernandez holding him up Altuve would have had a triple. The funny part was how much the Astros broadcasters Alan Ashby and Geoff Blum were teasing Hernandez for his lack of speed. They both agreed that if the next hitter, which was Luis Valbuena, hit a similar shot as Altuve's Hernandez MIGHT be able to score from 3rd. Houston had 2nd and 3rd with no outs and Hernandez did score on a fielder's choice by George Springer but that was it. Evan Gattis and Colby suffered back to back K's to end the inning. That was about the only time Houston sticks failed to do damage to Padres pitching. A season high 17 hit attack left the Padre pitchers beaten and bloody (figuratively speaking) on the night. Hernandez was in the game for more than comic relieve, he pitched another solid game to earn his first win of the season. He went 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits with a walk and 6 K's. The difference tonight was the run support he got on the night. Tony Sipp (1 inning) and Will Harris (2 innings) effectively shut the door on the Padres offense and preserved the easy Astros win.

 

So, in their last ten games Houston is 9-1 and they are on a 5 game winning steak AND they have won the series with San Diego with the sweep possible today with Dallas Keuchel on the hill this afternoon at 3 PM. I hope there is still some runs left in the Astros bats because a little run support for Keuchel would be greatly appreciated I'm sure.

 

I know why I'm sick. No, it's not the sinus infection I have that caused me to get a shot and some prescriptions from my doctor yesterday, it because the results of the MRI on Jed Lowrie's thumb revealed a torn ligament in the thumb that will require surgery resulting in Lowrie being out until the All Star break. It's a real shame considering how well Lowrie was playing both in the field and at the plate. Jonathan Villar has been brought up to replace Lowrie.

 

Another mystery to me was that Evan Gattis was pulled out of the game last night after the Astros half of the 5th inning in favor of Jake Marisnick. I can't find anything saying he was hurt. Maybe I'm just an old worry-wart.

 

Chris Carter on current 7 game hitting streak is hitting .346.

George Springer and Jose Altuve each have 8 stolen bases and are tied for the AL lead. the Reds Billy Hamilton leads the majors with 13 steals. (small ball Big T)

After a 1-11 start to his season Jose Altuve is hitting .385 in his last 17 games.

It's looking like the break throughs last week that Chris Carter, George Springer and Evan Gattis had have really gotten them on track.

Jonathan Villar came in as a pinch hitter in the 8th and he went 1-2 with a run scored.

Edited April 29, 2015 by eagle eye

[Big T]

Gattis was not injured. At the time the Astros had a sizable lead and in the hopes of keeping it they wanted to play the best defensive players. Marisnick is obviously the better fielder therefore he went into left field. Then he racked up two hits including a triple, batted in a run and scored a run. Not a bad move by Hinch lol

[eagle eye]

Gattis was not injured. At the time the Astros had a sizable lead and in the hopes of keeping it they wanted to play the best defensive players. Marisnick is obviously the better fielder therefore he went into left field. Then he racked up two hits including a triple, batted in a run and scored a run. Not a bad move by Hinch lol

 

Thx, bro. Now I can come in off the ledge.

[Big T]

Astros do it again! They scored 4 runs in the ninth stretching a 3-1 lead to 7-1 and holding on for the 7-2 victory. Colby Rasmus added another homer today and Jose Altuve upped his BA to .355 with yet another multi-hit performance going 2-4 with a single, double, and a RBI. Jake Marisnick added two more hits and a RBI to up his BA to .388. Unfortunately, the lone run given up by Dallas caused his ERA to rise to 0.73. I really hope this guy gets back on track in his next start. We cannot have him giving up a run like that! Lol Oh, if you didn't know by now the Astros are 14-7 and 4.5 games in first place! Yeah yeah, 21 games into a 162 game season blah blah blah. Oh, and one more thing the Astros have averaged almost 7 runs per game in the last 11 games and 8.5 runs in the past 6 games. Looks like the offense is starting to come around!

[Big T]

Astros face the Mariners in a 4 game set this weekend and lets just say that they started it off in style! Astros won game one 3-2 in ten inning. Jose Altuve went 3-5 with a double two singles the second of which was off of the Crawford Box's wall for the walk-off victory. Feldman struggled quite a bit onight but gutted it out going 7 inning giving up two runs. Astros are 15-7!!!

[eagle eye]

The month of April is over and in some ways that's too bad because of how well Houston began the season. It's been so good in fact that you have to go back to 1986 to find a better April for the Astros. You remember 1986 right? Sure you do. That was the year that Houston won the NL West and won it on the last game of the regular season with Mike Scott tossing a no-freaking-hitter against the San Francisco Giants. That was also the year that Houston lost that heartbreaking NLCS series with the Mets who went on to beat Boston in the World Series. You remember THAT one--Bill Buckner--ball between his legs to allow the Mets to win Game 6 that led to a Game 7 win for those lucky-assed Mets? Yeah, you remember.

Houston went 15-7 in April winning 8 of 9 on the longest road trip so far this season, and they ended the month with a gritty, hard fought win last night over the Mariners. The Astros won 10 of their final 11 games of the month and in the process took 1st place in the AL West by 4 games over the Angels who are at standing at 11-11 on the season. The Astros have won 4 series in a row, two by sweeping the M's and the Padres. This is after weathering a truly horrendous beginning week and a half of poor offense. The Astros were able to survive that 10 day stretch by going .500 in their first 12 games because of some really good starting pitching particularly by Dallas Keuchel and Colin McHugh who were, until the 15th game of the season the only starters with a win on the season.

The fact is the only starting pitcher who really struggled this season so far is Asher Wojciekowski who was 0-3 in 4 starts lasting no more that 4 innings in any outing. This past Monday he was sent down to AAA Fresno after another poor start last Sunday.

That's the only real bad thing that happened to Houston in April except for the loss of SS Jed Lowrie who injured his thumb sliding into a base suffering a torn ligament that required surgery to repair. Lowrie will be out of the lineup until the All Star break. It's a shame because he was playing his usual good defense and he was on fire at the plate. It's not often you see a SS hitting 3rd or clean up in an MLB batting order. Until his injury Lowrie was. Another pleasant surprise was the play of Jake Marisnick who earned a starting center field job in spring training and has been tearing the cover off the ball hitting primarily in the 9 spot. He has the best BA on the team at .373 and despite AJ Hinch moving him up to 7th in the batting order last night he still went 1-4. Three players really struggled in April at the plate, Chris Carter, Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus but all 3 are showing signs of breaking out. In fact Gattis was responsible for driving in 2 or the 3 runs Houston scored last night without recording a single hit. His ability with his bat control allowed him to hit a Sac fly and FC ground out that plated the two runs that allowed Houston to even get to extra innings last night. George Springer has struggled some too but he shows flashes every single day of why he is going to be, heck already is, a special player for the Astros. What can you say about Jose Altuve. The guy is just amazing. 2nd on the team in BA, leads the team and is 1st in the AL in stolen bases with 9 and he already has stacked multi-hit games like cord wood. Last night he had his 8th multi-hit game IN A ROW going 3-5 and driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning with a rocket line drive off the left field wall. I vote we start calling Altuve The Atom because he's truly a super hero.

Onward and upward we hope. In years when Houston starts off the season well they usually make the playoffs. I'm serious here. Heck, even in spring training Astros owner Jim Crane said he was really happy with the make up of this team and he felt there was a real chance they could make a run at the playoffs. I'll bet people laughed at that given the Astros recent history but I'll also bet there aren't so many people laughing now.

[KABrother88]

End of April AAA Prospect Report:

 

Note: The #.) before the name represents where player is ranked in MLB.com's Astros top 30 list.

 

3.) Domingo Santana - OF: 18 G, .279/.362/.623, 17 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 13 R, 26K/8BB

 

15.) Preston Tucker - OF: 20 G, .329/.371/.683, 27 H, 2 2B, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 18 R,

 

17.) Nolan Fontana - SS: 18 G, .250/.394/.411, 14 H, 4 2B, 1 3B 1 HR, 3 RBI, 14 R, 16K/14BB

 

18.) Max Stassi - C: 16 G, .216/.293/.314, 11 H, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R, 19K/4BB

 

24.) James Hoyt - RHP: 9 G, 0-1, 3 SV, 9.72 ERA, 8.1 IP, 9 ER, 12 H, 9K/3BB, 1.80 WHIP

 

26.) Brady Rodgers - RHP: 3 G, 1-1, 8.22 ERA, 15.1 IP, 14 ER, 26 H, 11K/3BB, 1.89 WHIP

 

27.) Andrew Aplin - OF: 12 G, .282/.417/.410, 11 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 9 R, 10K/9BB, 4SB/2CS

 

28.) Ronald Torreyes - 2B: 16 G, .190/.203/.206, 12 H, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 5 R, 8K/1BB

 

NR.) Tommy Shirley - RHP: 4 G, 3-0, 2.70 ERA, 16.2 IP, 5 ER, 14 H, 14K/3BB, 1.02 WHIP

 

NR.) Jordan Jankowski - RHP: 10 G, 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 2 ER, 12 H, 12K/6BB, 1.54 WHIP

[eagle eye]

End of April AAA Prospect Report:

 

Note: The #.) before the name represents where player is ranked in MLB.com's Astros top 30 list.

 

3.) Domingo Santana - OF: 18 G, .279/.362/.623, 17 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 13 R, 26K/8BB

 

15.) Preston Tucker - OF: 20 G, .329/.371/.683, 27 H, 2 2B, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 18 R,

 

17.) Nolan Fontana - SS: 18 G, .250/.394/.411, 14 H, 4 2B, 1 3B 1 HR, 3 RBI, 14 R, 16K/14BB

 

18.) Max Stassi - C: 16 G, .216/.293/.314, 11 H, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R, 19K/4BB

 

24.) James Hoyt - RHP: 9 G, 0-1, 3 SV, 9.72 ERA, 8.1 IP, 9 ER, 12 H, 9K/3BB, 1.80 WHIP

 

26.) Brady Rodgers - RHP: 3 G, 1-1, 8.22 ERA, 15.1 IP, 14 ER, 26 H, 11K/3BB, 1.89 WHIP

 

27.) Andrew Aplin - OF: 12 G, .282/.417/.410, 11 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 9 R, 10K/9BB, 4SB/2CS

 

28.) Ronald Torreyes - 2B: 16 G, .190/.203/.206, 12 H, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 5 R, 8K/1BB

 

NR.) Tommy Shirley - RHP: 4 G, 3-0, 2.70 ERA, 16.2 IP, 5 ER, 14 H, 14K/3BB, 1.02 WHIP

 

NR.) Jordan Jankowski - RHP: 10 G, 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 2 ER, 12 H, 12K/6BB, 1.54 WHIP

 

Poor Ronald Torreyes a 2nd baseman with absolutely nowhere to go in this organization. No wonder his numbers are so poor.

[KABrother88]

He is a little more of a utility infielder if it makes any difference...he also had a very good year last year at the same level hitting .298. His best attribute is he (prior to this season) just doesn't strike out. Coming into this year he had struck out just 122 times in 1883 ABs and just 26 times is 460 ABs last year in AAA.

[KABrother88]

End Of April AA Prospect Report

 

1.) Carlos Correa - SS: 19 G, .385/.455/.744, 30 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 19 R, 5SB/0CS

 

2.) Mark Appel - RHP: 4 G, 2-0, 4.00 ERA, 18 IP, 8 ER, 17 H, 11K/4BB, 1.17 WHIP

 

4.) Vincent Velasquez - RHP: Has Not Played Due To Lat Injury

 

6.) Colin Moran - 3B: 20 G, .268/.318/.378, 22 H, 9 2B, 17 RBI, 9 R

 

8.) Teoscar Hernandez - OF: 17 G, .133/.212/.217, 8 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 12 R, 2SB/1CS

 

9.) Josh Hader - LHP: 4 G, 1-1, 4.20 ERA, 15 IP, 7 ER, 14 H, 15K/6BB, 1.33 WHIP

 

10.) Lance McCullers - RHP: 3 G, 1-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 14 IP, 10 H, 21K/6BB, 1.14 WHIP

 

14.) Tony Kemp - 2B: 20 G, .347/.462/.387, 26 H, 3 2B, 10 RBI, 12K/16BB, 2/3 SB/CS

 

19.) Kyle Smith - RHP: Has Not Played Due To Tommy John Surgery.

 

29.) Jandel Gustave - RHP: 6 G, 0-0, 1.13 IP, 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2K/2BB, 0.88 WHIP

 

NR.) Chris Devenski - RHP: 4 G, 2-0 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 19.1 IP, 8 H, 16K/4BB, 0.62 WHIP

 

NR.) Kyle Westwood - RHP: 4 G, 1-1, 2 SV, 3.12 ERA, 17.1 IP, 6 ER, 25 H, 6K/4BB, 1.67 WHIP

[KABrother88]

End Of April A+ Prospect Report

 

5.) Michael Feliz - RHP: 4 G, 1-1, 5.14 ERA, 14 IP, 8 ER, 13 H, 17K/7BB, 1.43 WHIP

 

7.) Brett Phillips - OF: 20 G, .341/.379/.634, 28 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 17 R, 13K/3BB

 

12.) A.J. Reed - 1B: 20 G, .208/.356/.417, 15 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 14 R, 24K/17BB

 

13.) J.D. Davis - 3B: 18 G, .324/.378/.507, 23 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 19K/7BB

 

20.) Danry Vasquez - OF: 17 G, .257/.316/.371, 18 H, 6 2B, 6 RBI, 10 R, 9K/6BB

 

25.) Adrian Houser - RHP: 4 G, 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 13.1 IP, 8 ER, 12 H, 18K/8BB, 1.50 WHIP

[KABrother88]

End Of April A Prospect Report

 

11.) Derek Fisher - OF: 14 G, .314/.397/.647, 16 H, 2 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 12 R, 13K/7BB, 3SB/1CS

 

16.) Joe Musgrove - RHP: 4 G, 3-1, 0.87 ERA, 20.2 IP, 2 ER, 17 H, 20K/1BB, 0.87 WHIP

 

22.) Daniel Mengden - RHP: 4 G, 1-1, 2.04 ERA, 17.2 IP, 4 ER, 17 H, 22K/3BB, 1.13 WHIP

[eagle eye]

End Of April AA Prospect Report

 

1.) Carlos Correa - SS: 19 G, .385/.455/.744, 30 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 19 R, 5SB/0CS

 

2.) Mark Appel - RHP: 4 G, 2-0, 4.00 ERA, 18 IP, 8 ER, 17 H, 11K/4BB, 1.17 WHIP

 

4.) Vincent Velasquez - RHP: Has Not Played Due To Lat Injury

 

6.) Colin Moran - 3B: 20 G, .268/.318/.378, 22 H, 9 2B, 17 RBI, 9 R

 

8.) Teoscar Hernandez - OF: 17 G, .133/.212/.217, 8 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 12 R, 2SB/1CS

 

9.) Josh Hader - LHP: 4 G, 1-1, 4.20 ERA, 15 IP, 7 ER, 14 H, 15K/6BB, 1.33 WHIP

 

10.) Lance McCullers - RHP: 3 G, 1-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 14 IP, 10 H, 21K/6BB, 1.14 WHIP

 

14.) Tony Kemp - 2B: 20 G, .347/.462/.387, 26 H, 3 2B, 10 RBI, 12K/16BB, 2/3 SB/CS

 

19.) Kyle Smith - RHP: Has Not Played Due To Tommy John Surgery.

 

29.) Jandel Gustave - RHP: 6 G, 0-0, 1.13 IP, 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2K/2BB, 0.88 WHIP

 

NR.) Chris Devenski - RHP: 4 G, 2-0 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 19.1 IP, 8 H, 16K/4BB, 0.62 WHIP

 

NR.) Kyle Westwood - RHP: 4 G, 1-1, 2 SV, 3.12 ERA, 17.1 IP, 6 ER, 25 H, 6K/4BB, 1.67 WHIP

 

Today Astros.com reported that Moran is out indefinitely due to a broken jaw suffered when he was hit by a thrown ball diving back into 2nd back on a pickoff play. Bad break for the young man who was turning things around after a slow start to the season.

[Big T]

Astros keep on trucking! They just took game two from the Mariners tonight by a score of 4-3. Astros scored all of their runs on long balls tonight which is not surprising as they are leading the entire Majors in Home runs. Gattis opened up the scoring with a two run shot followed by Jake MArisnick. Springer capped it off in the bottom of the eighth by hitting a solo shot for some much needed insurance. Geregerson come on for the save and gave up two solo shots to Cruz and LoMo but was able to get the last two batters out for the eighth straight Astros win! How about those 16-7 Astros?!

[puddin tane]

Marisnick is playing good ball. Would like to see Tucker brought up, but that would probably mean sending Springer down...and I don't see that happening

[puddin tane]

We may never lose again!? 155-7

[eagle eye]

Not trying to throw a monkey wrench into the machine but there is a bit of an item of concern. The last 3 times Luke Gregerson has gone out to pitch he's given up at least one run per outing and the 2 home runs he allowed the Mariners last night in the ninth made a fairly easy save situation a nail biter. In those same 3 outings I mentioned, if they had been one run games Gregerson would have had 3 blown saves and last night's game would have been a loss. Before that it was a one run situation after Dallas Keuchel pitched nine innings of shut out ball and after taking a two run lead in the 10th Gregerson blew it. Your closer isn't supposed to be giving up runs like that. I hope that his issues can get resolved and soon.

 

Another item of concern is that despite getting a couple of hits and a home run this past week his struggles at the plate continue with him looking more like the Carter of 2013 that set an MLB strikeout record. So far against the M's in this home series he's 0-8 with 5 K's. At some point you wonder if his confidence is in the toilet. Credit A J Hinch for sticking with Carter despite his struggles trying to allow him to hit his way out of his slump. If I was Carter I go to the guy who helped Jose Altuve become one of the best hitters in baseball. Or I'd get a voodoo doll name Jo-bu, or I'd do something different to break this bad luck cycle. I know power hitters have a certain mindset but it's been my belief you can't left your ego step in the batter's box with you. Be willing to get a hit, use the whole field and because his is a power hitter the home runs will come without forcing the issue. That said, when you are in a slump you press and when you press usually things don't get better, they get worse. Maybe Carter needs to ride pine for a couple of games just to give him a different perspective.

 

BTW, the Angels lost last night to San Francisco meaning Houston's division lead is now 5 games.

[Big T]

The Astros haven't said anything, but I think he is going through a bit of a dead arm phase. His pitches just don't seem as crisp and he is leaving balls up. Now the HR to LoMo was down and he just hit a good pitch out.

[Big T]

Nine in a row?! I think so! Astros win again 11-4 on the strength of FIVE home runs. Collin McHugh battled through some early struggles as the Astros were down 3-0 after an inning and a half. BTW, did y'all know Jose Altuve was a beast? Ok, just making sure. How about them 17-7 Astros?!

[eagle eye]

The Astros haven't said anything, but I think he is going through a bit of a dead arm phase. His pitches just don't seem as crisp and he is leaving balls up. Now the HR to LoMo was down and he just hit a good pitch out.

 

Dead arm? In May? I'm assuming you're talking about Gregerson. I would be worried if his arm is "dead" a month and only 5 appearances into the season. You never know, it could be but isn't that a reason for some concern?

 

As for the streaking Astros, the only bad thing was the end of the 9 game multi-hit game streak Altuve was on. He went "only" 1-4 yesterday but what a one it was! A three run bomb to left center that took the life out of the M's who were still in the game at 5-3 when the blast occurred. McHugh wasn't exactly sharp as a tack and allowing 4 solo home runs, two to Nelson Cruz, didn't do his ERA any good (3.41) but his 4-0 record is the most important stat and his slate is still perfect.

 

Did you guys notice that when standings pages list the W/L record they also include the team record over the last 10 games as well as the current streak whether it's in wins or losses. For the last 5 games the Astros streak has been 9-1. Why because at the end of the last 4 game streak was a loss then the current streak began. If we win again today that streak number will be 10-0. Absolutely impressive but only slightly more impressive than the 9-1. Ironically enough if we lose today that streak in the standings will still be 9-1. W/L streak will change to L1. Hopefully, Roberto Hernandez can lead the way to a tenth win in a row!

Edited May 3, 2015 by eagle eye