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Everyone talks about how great of a franchise the New York Yankees are. Of course they’ve won more World Series than any other team. No other team has won even half as many World Series as the Yankees have.

I want to talk about Yankee losses. The Yankees have lost over 7,618 games. The Astros have only lost 4,459 games. The Astros would have to lose 3,159 games in a row and the Yankees would have to win 3,159 games in a row before the Astros could be as big of losers as the Yankees are. My friends, that ain’t happening. I think it is safe to say the Yankees will always be bigger losers than the Astros.

Monday and Tuesday the Yankees attempted to make a dent in the deficit by winning the first two games of the series. Wednesday, the Astros Lance McCullers said he’d seen enough and with Wotan’s blessing, he went out and pitched a gem. McCullers worked 6 innings, striking out 10 while surrendering 5 hits and two base on balls, giving up only one run on a solo homer by Brian McCann. Ken Giles, Luke Gregerson, and Will Harris were all outstanding, each working an unblemished inning with Harris picking up his 11th save.

The Astros scored all four of their runs off Yankee starter Masahiro Tanaka who lasted 5 innings. Colby Rasmus broke out of his 0 for 30 slump with a 2 run dinger, Carlos Correa drove in his 65th RBI. Carlos Gomez knocked in his 29 RBI before leaving the game with a hammy injury. Jose Altuve picked up 2 more hits and his average is at .357, his OPS is .988.

The Rangers lost on Wednesday, the lead over the Astros is now 2.5. No game on Thursday. Astros travel to Detriot and face the Tigers in a game that starts at 6:10 pm CST. Colin McHugh starts for the Good Guys and Matt Boyd for the Tigers.

WP: Fister (10-6)

LP: Mendgen (1-5)

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Jake Marisnick and the Astros pounded the Daniel Mendgen and the A’s Wednesday to avoid sweep. After dropping this year’s first three Wednesday games, the Astros have now won 12 Wednesdays in a row.

Fast working Doug Fister limited the A’s to 4 hits and gave away 2 free passes while striking out 5 in 7 solid innings to become the first Astro pitcher to reach double figures in wins. The Astros are 13 and 6 in Fister’s 19 starts. Chris Devenski followed Fister with a perfect 2 innings of relief, striking out 3.

The Astros opened an early lead with one run in the first and 2 runs in the second inning. Jake Marisnick led the hit parade with 2 hits, Jose Altuve and George Springer also added 2 hits apiece. Carlos Correa drove in three runs and in the post game interview mentioned Altuve getting on base so often as the reason he is leading the team in RBI.

Altuve is something like 12 for last 17. He went 8 for 12 with 2 walks for the three games in Oakland and extended his road hitting streak to 19 games. He is amazing, he is hitting like you used to see Rod Carew or Tony Gwynn hit, but with more power than they ever displayed.

The Astros are 20-14 in day games this season.

The Astros are off on Thursday, this is good, they are horrible on Thursdays with a 1-8 record. On Friday, the Astros will  host the Angels. Lance McCullers (4-4) takes the mound against the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker (5-9).

A’s 4, Astros 3 (10 innings)

W: Rzepczynski (1-0) L: Neshek (2-2)

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Win Probability – boy, that escalated quickly

Well, things started out well.  Valbuena got himself the rarely seen “bat flip on a single in the third inning” to take a 1-0 lead, driving in Altuve.  Springer managed to homer to dead center.  Correa brought in Altuve after a triple.  Keuchel was cruising.  Through 6, it was 3-0.

Damn, things fell apart faster than the GZ thread.

Manager Jake Marisnick left Keuchel in for over 110 pitches, which put runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out.  He then decided to call on key offseason acquisition Jake Marisnick, who immediately allowed a double to make it 3-2.  Some chump in CF cut off a liner to get the second out, allowing him to escape the inning without further damage.

In the 9th, the Astros turned to All-Star closer Jake Marisnick, who promptly allowed back-to-back doubles with one out, tying the game.

In the 10th, the Astros loaded the bases with 2 outs, but Other Jake Marisnick (at DH instead of CF last night) grounded out to end the inning – at least he didn’t hurt himself swinging.

In the bottom of the 10th, two out and a man on first, the Astros turned to their only lefty in the pen, Jake Marisnick.  His season-long troubles continued as he issued a walk, then an infield grounder between Jake Marisnick and Jake Marisnick.  Shortstop Jake Marisnick fielded it, double clutched, then threw wide of the plate, allowing the winning run.

Hopefully, Jake Marisnick will have been removed from the roster by the afternoon conclusion of this series so that the Astros can salvage their season.

Astros 7, Mariners 3

W – Fister (9-6)
L – Paxton (2-4)

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GameZone thread

I’d like to think that most of the bad puns we come up with around here are not nearly as bad as the title of this recap, which was originally the link to MLB’s official recap from the Astros.com front page.  Some flunky in a cubicle somewhere at MLB Advanced Media was really reaching on this one.  I mean, there are logistical concerns here.  If the Mariners were CC’ed, who was the e-mail sent to?  The AL West?  The AL at large?  If this pun were an airplane I wouldn’t get on it.

Springer led off the game with an opposite field bomb to give Doug Fister an early lead, and from there they pretty much just played pile-on.  Sure, the Mariners got three runs off Fister in the 5th inning, but the Astros were already up 6-0 (thanks to a five-run top of the 5th) at that point.  It also wasn’t a particularly good day for the guys behind the plate, with three runners (two of them Astros) scoring on wild pitches.  One of them, a Paxton offering to Gomez in the 5th, caromed off Chris Iannetta and dribbed about 75 feet away at the dugout, allowing Correa to score from second without a throw.  Correa had plated two runs on a double to left center that narrowly missed leaving the yard.

Fister worked five innings for the win, and Feliz, Giles, Gregerson, and Devenski all contributed scoreless innings in relief.  Can’t ask for a much better start to the second half, especially with the Rangers getting blanked in Chitown.

WP: Giles (1-3)

LP: Diaz (0-2)

Save: Gregerson (14)

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Game Zone

Facing Mariners starter and forgotten Astro Wade LeBlanc, the Astros scored three runs in the first, and one run in both the second and third innings. Carlos Gomez contributed a double and a triple, Carlos Correra added a double, and Evan Gattis swatted a homerun. Leading 5 to 0 going in to the fourth inning, it looked like the Astros were cruising. Then Mike Fiers started throwing meat and couldn’t make it out of the inning before surrendering 4 runs, making the score 5-4.

Chris Devenski took over for Fiers and stemmed the tide shutting down the Mariners over the next 2.2 innings. In the bottom of the 6th inning the Astros pounced on Nathan Karns, Gomez scored from third on a fielders choice by Gattis when Kyle Seager fielded the ball and subsequently threw to the visitors on-deck circle instead of the home plate. J.R Reed scored the second run of the inning on a single by George Springer. The Astros ended the 6th inning leading 7 to 4, once again things were looking comfortable for the Good Guys.

Enter Michael Feliz for the 7th inning, the good news–he struck out three, the bad news–he surrendered three runs and the lead after Seth Smith homered driving in Ketel Marte and Leonys Martin and tying the game at 7-7. Ken Giles took over in the 8th inning and made it out unscathed, he got Pulgasari to ground out to short, and then struck out both Adam Lind and Chris Iannetta.

Facing Edwin Diaz in the bottom of the 8th, Jason Castro led off with his second double of the night and was promptly replaced at second by pinch runner Jake Marisnick. After Springer K’d on a foul tip, Luis Valbuena gave the Astros a 2 run lead when he smashed a homer to the upper deck in RF to make the score 9-7 in favor of the Astros. It was close to a carbon copy of Valbuena’s previous night’s HR.

A.J. Reed decided Will Harris needed the night off and gave the ball in the 9th to former closer Luke Gregerson for a chance at his 14th save of the year. After getting Ketel to ground out, he walked the next two batters and the gave up a run scoring double to Robinson Cano. With the score now 9-8, Gregerson got Nelson Cruz out on strikes for the second out. Kyle Seager owns Gregerson, so Hinch ordered him walked to load the bases for Pulgasari. The big Korean was unable to do any damaged and Gregerson got him out on strikes to end the game and preserve the dramatic win.

With the win coupled with the Rangers loss the Astros are now 6.5 games back from first place in the AL West. Thursday the Astros welcome the Oakland A’s to town for a four game series. Doug Fister will start for the Astros and Rich Hill will be the A’s starter. The game will start at 7:10

Astros 5, Mariners 2

W: Keuchel (6-9) L: Walker (4-7) S: ALL-STAR Harris (9)

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I didn’t have to endure the Ashby Show tonight, because I was at Minute Maid Park.  We went as a family, to celebrate our son’s 7th birthday.  There was much to celebrate.

We walked hand in hand from the parking lot, into the stadium, up the stairs, and to our seats.  This boy – who needed months and months of intensive physical therapy just to learn to walk – walked, skipped, and ran his way in without complaint.

We searched the stadium in the 3rd inning for a snow cone.  (They’re on the concourse, most of the way up the first base line.)  This boy – who was classified as “failure to thrive” because of his many digestive issues – got to seek out one of his favorite treats at the ballgame.

We celebrated the fireworks and scoreboard show with each of the Astros’ three home runs.  This boy – who we were warned would likely have sensory problems his entire life – relished the noise and couldn’t wait to see the train go.

We talked about whether Dallas Keuchel was a good pitcher, whether Altuve or Correa could hit better, and when they would throw out the t-shirts.  This boy – who we had wondered if he would ever be able to talk – couldn’t stop talking the entire game.

We came home, and I tucked him into bed.

This boy, who we were told might never make eye contact, might never be able to connect with people around him, might never have a normal life… this boy kissed me good night, looked at me, and told me he loved me.

Yeah, it was a pretty good win.

W: Keuchel (5-9)

L: Weaver (6-7)

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Starting off with a 1 run lead, Dallas Keuchel threw 55 pitches in the first two innings. He didn’t look like a Cy young award winner. After flirting with disaster and surrendering 2 runs, he settled down and watched his team score in 6 of 9 frames, three of those with crooked numbers. In the end it was not close and for the second week in a row the Astros sweep the Angels in a three game series

Jose Altuve continues to amaze, he had another 4 hit night, 2 singles, a double, and a triple. His on-base streak now stands at 32 games. He is second in the league in OPS at 1.004, first in batting average at .357, first in OBP, fourth in slugging, and second in WAR, first in hits. I think he must be the leading MVP candidate.

It’s been quite an offensive turnaround the past couple of weeks. It went from famine to feast. It seemed like Luis Valbuena was 0 for April, now he is hitting .259 and counting the one he hit Wednesday, he now has 9 home runs. George Springer hit his 17th HR and is making a strong case to be added to the All-Star roster.

All hail Wotan, the Astro have now won 10 Wednesday games in a row!

The Astros are off Thursday and Friday open a three game series with the White Sox. Mike Fiers (5-3) will go against Miguel Gonzalez (1-3) in a 7:10 pm CST start time.

Astros 7, Angels 1

W: Feldman (5-3) L: Lincecum (1-2)

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Win probability

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

The leader of the A-Team would say that at some point during every episode, and you knew then that the A-Team was ready to kick ass and take names.

The Astros have their A-Team ready. The plan is coming together.

Oh, you lost a starting pitcher for a night due to a blister? No problem, Scott Feldman is ready to come in and throw five innings.  Would have been shutout innings, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids Valbuena’s bobble of a routine grounder.

Want to score runs? George Springer and Jose Altuve are drawing walks, and Carlos Correa is hitting homers.  Boom, 3-0 lead.

Want to keep your lead? Michael Feliz and Pat Neshek can slam the door for you – and they’re not even in your top 3 bullpen options.

Oh, and the top 6 guys in the order were all finally hitting over .250.  Doesn’t seem like much, but then again, it doesn’t seem like too long ago that 7 guys in the lineup were around .200.

Tuesday’s win guaranteed a winning record for the first half of the season.  April was a long time ago. Let’s go sweep these guys.

Baseball in America, the game was aired on ESPN along with Roots. Since I was given the option of listening to Ashby or not, I chose not. It was rather like sitting with a lot of you guys watching the game, Aaron Boone and friends were trying to guess what the pitcher was going to toss, whether Marisnick would run, and what the batter would do. They did not seem to be intrigued by a game they had once played. Hmmmm.

Overall, McHugh had a decent outing. He did not receive any run support until Shoemaker left the game and the Astros got into the bullpen, but he kept them in the game when at times he could have gotten into really bad situations. Will Harris gave a bit of a scare loading the bases with not outs, but cool as a cucumber that he is while pitching, he gets a strike out then game-ending double play. He seems like nothing bothers him when he is pitching.

Valbuena was in the #2 spot in the line-up, he did pretty good. Springer, Altuve, and Correa were productive, as was Jason Castro (at-bat, he had a bad night defensively).

Great game by the Astros who gained no ground on the stupid Rangers (ugh, they beat the Yankees in the 9th) but are definitely in the race for the wild card. Yeah, I know it is too early to worry about the wild card, but the Astros were one game back of .500 and are now three games over .500. I hope they keep winning series and just play great baseball so the rest can take care of itself.

WP: Gregerson (2-1)

L: Shoemaker (3-8)

Save: Harris (6)

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Game Zone

The 2nd place Astros waited until they were trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning before someone gave Wotan a wake up call and reminded him the Astros had a day game. He came through and the Astros worked their way back to tie the game. They scored two more in the 8th inning and the last run proved to be the game winner as Will Harris struggled in the ninth inning allowing 1 run before retiring the side and picking up his 6th save.

The Astros have won 9 Wednesday games in a row. Coincidence or Wotan?

Lance McCullers has all the tools but he lacks consistency and often gets himself in jams. However, he usually works his way out of those jams with minimum damage. Wednesday was no different. In spite of 6 hits and 3 walks he allowed jut 1 run in his 5.2 innings before giving way to Pat Neshek.

Scott Feldman took over for Neshek and continued to impress, giving up nothing but a hit in his 1 inning. Luke Gregerson picthed the 8th and picked up his second win against one loss.

Jose Altuve hit his 12th homerun and walked twice, one intentional. He is now hitting .343. I’m starting to think he might be legit. Correra drove in his 40th RBI and Marwin Gonzalez his 17th. Marwin hit a triple that would have been a homerun in like 27 other ballparks. Marwin can’t be kept down. He has continued to have to prove himself his whole career. He has reached apoint where he is more than just a really valuable utility guy.

No game on Thursday. Friday the Astros (37-36 2nd AL West) travel to Kansas City to face the World Champion KC Royals (38-33 2nd AL Central). Dallas Keuchel (3-9) takes the bump against Edison Volquez (7-6). The game starts at 7:15 pm CST.