May 13, 2016

Astros 7, Red Sox 6

W – Feldman (2-2)
L – Barnes (2-2)
S – Gregerson (8)

Box Score

GameZone thread

The Astros were down 5-1 after two innings.

And won.

Yes, that happened.

In a steady rain that lasted the entire game, the Astros staked a 1-0 lead in the 1st when Marwin singled in Altuve.  Making his 2016 debut, Lance McCullers looked pretty sharp in the 1st, but the wheels came off big time in the 2nd.  McCullers lost all semblance of control, giving up a single, two walks, back-to-back doubles, a run-scoring wild pitch, and an additional RBI single.  The Red Sox had five runs in before the Astros had even recorded an out in the inning.  We were going to let our seven-year-old son stay up to watch the entire game, but at 5-1 I asked him if he wanted to do something else instead.  To his credit he still wanted to watch the game, so I settled in for seven innings of shit.

I’m glad I didn’t try to talk him out of it.  McCullers regained his control, facing the minimum in the 3rd and 4th innings.  This was thanks in part to Travis Shaw trying to leg out a double to left but getting gunned down by a Rasmus/Correa alleyoop at second.  Then the Astros got payback in the top of the 5th: Castro led off with a double, Marisnick bunted a single between the mound and first, Altuve drove in Castro with a double, and Springer doubled home Marisnick and Altuve to cut Boston’s lead to 5-4.  It was particularly nice to see Houston bang up Steven Wright, a pitcher who has had the Astros’ number and has pitched very well this year.  After Correa walked and Rasmus advanced both runners on a groundout, Wright left the game and Marwin lined a single up the middle off Matt Barnes to knock in Springer tie it up.

McCullers got two outs to start the 5th, but after Xander Bogaerts doubled to center Big Papi was intentionally walked with first base open.  With McCullers’ pitch count already at 88 pitches and with the team probably wanting to be careful with him, Hinch ended McCullers’ night.  Feldman induced a routine grounder to get out of the jam.

Castro led off the top of the 6th with another knock and three batters later Springer blasted off over the Green Monster for a 7-5 lead.  The Red Sox got one back from Feldman in the bottom half on a solo shot to center by Shaw, but they didn’t manage anything else.  Although the Red Sox threatened in the 7th with a couple runners on, Feldman, Sipp, and Giles combined for a scoreless inning.  Harris and Gregerson made the Sox look absolutely silly in the 8th and 9th innings, combining for five strikeouts.

Altuve (3×4), Springer (3×5), Marwin (2×5), and Castro (2×4) all had multi-hit games.  Carlos Gomez was 0x5 with… sigh… three K’s.

May 12, 2016

Red Sox 11, Astros 1

W: Price (5-1) L: Keuchel (2-5)

Abbreviated Game Zone – where was everyone?

Box score

Win probability

Doc Luhnow answers the door

Don’t say a word!

Dallas Keuchel, clearly flustered: Doc, Doc, it’s me, Dallas.  Doc, you gotta help me…

Doc: Don’t tell me anything.  Quiet, quiet. I’m gonna read your thoughts.  Let’s see now… you’ve come a great distance?

Dallas: Yes, exactly!

Doc: Don’t tell me! Uh… you want me to buy a subscription to Baseball Prospectus?

Dallas: No!

Doc: Not a word, not a word now! Donations… you want me to make a donation to buy out Carlos Gomez’s contract?

Dallas: Doc… I’m from the past.  I came here in a time machine that you invented.  Now, I need your help to get back to the year 2013.

Doc: My God… do you know what this means? It means that my plan didn’t work at all! 4 years of work!!

Other notes:

• Keuchel’s ERA is now 5.58, placing him 41st out of 49 qualified AL starters.
• David Price, who completely dominated the Astros for 6 2/3, has an ERA of 6.00, placing him tied for 45th (with Sonny Gray, supposedly the best pitcher available for trade).
• Keuchel’s 1.60 WHIP is 45th of 49, so it’s not like it’s bad luck.
• In 2013, those numbers for Keuchel for the season: 5.15 and 1.54.  He missed qualifying by 8 innings, otherwise he would have been 3rd-to-last and next-to-last in those categories.
• Congratulations to Eric Kratz, who not only avoided a well-deserved Designated for Assignment, but actually got a hit last night! With this hit, he no longer holds the worst BA or OPS in last night’s lineup, which now belong to…
• Jake Marisnick, who has posted an impressive 1-21 for .048/.091/.048 start!
• Josh Fields absorbed the last 2 innings on the bullpen’s behalf before catching a (well-deserved) flight to Fresno.  But thanks to Marwin’s error, 2 of the 3 runs he allowed were unearned, so he lowered his ERA to 6.89!

Editorial note:

Seriously, if you could have picked one thing to guarantee that the Astros’ season would collapse, “Keuchel pitches like complete garbage” would have been at or very near the top.

Gonzales walk-off ends game in the 16th. Astros win 6

WP: Michael Feliz (1-0)

LP: Cody Anderson (0-3)

Box Score

Game Zone

Danny Salazar had a rough start walking 6 batters in 4 innings. As nice as that was, the Astros couldn’t take advantage, choosing instead to keep leaving the runners on base. Lobster was the main course Wednesday afternoon. The Astros set season-highs for drawing walks with 12, and by leaving 17 runners on base.

Doug Fister pitched well again and is starting to look like a darn good signing. He worked 6 inning, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts. Will Harris, worked the eighth inning, and Luke Gregerson pitched the ninth with a chance to pick up his 8 save, instead blew his first of the year.

The Astros and Indians battled in extra innings, Scott Feldman (1 inning), Ken Giles (1), Tony Sipp(1.1), and Pat Neshek(0.2) all shut down the Indians before giving way to Michael Feliz who continues to impress. Feliz pitched three innings allowing 1 hit, striking out 5, and picked up his first win.

I guess by the time the bottom of the 16th came around Marwin Gonzales had had his fill of the clawed crustaceans and decided to put an end to seafood dinner by knocking a walk off 2 run homer that sent the Indians back to the kitchen for good.

The Astros now have 10-10 .500 home record. They’ve won 7 of last 11 games.  Michael Feliz threw three scoreless innings for his first big league win. Springer’s homer in the 4th, his 7th was the 1500 home team homer at MMP. They finished the home stand 6 and 4.

Thursday the Astros are in Boston, Dallas Keuchel’s (2-4 4.70 ERA) mound opponent will be David Price (4-1 6.75 ERA) and the game will start at 7:10 pm CST.

Game Time: 5:09

Umpires: HP-Dale Scott. 1B-Bob Davidson. 2B-Lance Barrett. 3B-Dan Iassogna.

Weather: 70 degrees. Roof Closed.

Wind: 0 MPH.

Attendance: 24,453

May 10, 2016

Indians 4, Astros 0

W: Bauer (3-0) L: Devenski (0-2)

Game Zone

Box score

Win probability

This was, to be honest, a dull affair.  Devenski made the mistake of allowing two leadoff hitters in the 2nd inning, and that was basically the ballgame.  Why?  I’ll just let the facts speak for themselves.

AL average 7-8-9 hitters, 2016: .235/.296/.354

NL pitchers, 2016: .136/.162/.174

Last night’s 7-8-9 Astros, 2016: .186/.246/.271

Slash line allowed by Bauer vs. Astros, career: .141/.240/.196

Slash line allowed by Bauer vs. all other teams: .241/.315/.393

Runs allowed by Ken Giles, designated whipping boy, 2016: 12

Runs allowed by Josh Fields, last night’s 8th inning pitcher, 2016: 11

fin

Or, “Do Not Adjust Your TV Set; The Unis Actually Are Pink”

May 8, 2016

Astros 5, Mariners 1

W – McHugh (4-3)
L – Iwakuma (1-4)

Box Score

GameZone thread

It’s hard to complain too much about splitting a four-game series with the first-place team in the division.  It stings a little that the Astros had a legitimate chance at sweeping the series if just a couple of things had gone differently, but at least they’re not any worse off than they were Thursday afternoon.

Collin McHugh turned in what was undoubtedly his best outing of the season aside from his appearance in the home opener.  A 4th inning solo homer by Robinson Cano was the only black mark on a pretty good day on the mound, throwing seven innings of one-run ball.  (Speaking of Cano, can we get a break from this guy?  Dude is 13×26 with 16 RBI and slugging 1.000 against Houston this year.)  The Mariners got a runner to third in the 3rd inning but weren’t able to plate him, and they never really put up much of a fight otherwise.  Sipp pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings to seal the win.

Offensively, the Astros relied on smallball: singles, doubles, and stolen bases were the order of the day.  Back-to-back doubles by Luis Valbuena and Tyler White started the scoring in the 2nd.  They put up another pair of runs in the 3rd.  Altuve reached base on a single, stole second and then third; Correa walked and stole second; and back-to-back singles by Rasmus and Marwin scored them both.  They added a pair of insurance runs in the 7th, largely aided by some Mariners brain farts.  Altuve stole second and advanced to third on a high throw, then Springer hit a grounder right to Ketel Marte at short; Marte didn’t even get his glove on the ball and the ball dribbled into left-center, allowing Altuve to score easily.  Springer then stole second and scored when Correa singled to center.

One last thing: I think we can all agree that moms are great and breast cancer is bad, but can the pink uniform/equipment trend please stop once and for all?  I turned on the game and thought my TV’s color chip had failed when I saw pink “ASTROS” lettering and a pink “H” on a gray cap.  Yes, the only good thing about today’s unis were that the Astros got a win while wearing them.  The cynical part of me also feels like organizations do this largely for self-serving purposes, saying, “Hey, look at us, we respect women and hate cancer too!”  At least it certainly feels that way when the NFL turns the shield pink for the entire month of October.

May 7, 2016

Mariners 3, Astros 2 (10 innings)

W – Cishek (2-1)
L – Sipp (0-2)

Box Score

GameZone thread

No matter your elevation above mean sea level when you read this, be advised: if someone throws a baseball your way, MLB umpire Ben May is probably going to call it a strike.  Hitters for both teams jawed about the strike zone – particularly its generous upper and lower borders – all night long, and this came to play a pretty large role as the game wore on.

First of all, let’s calm everyone down about one thing: Keuchel looked much, much better than his recent starts.  Despite allowing a solo shot in each of the 2nd and 3rd innings, he settled in well and lasted seven innings while striking out eight.  I’m not going to spend a lot of time on Keuchel here, though.

Given that, it figures that Houston wouldn’t have much going offensively for much of the early game: Nathan Karns had a two-hit shutout through five innings.  It didn’t help that Jose Altuve didn’t start the game, sitting due to a sore finger (he would later pinch-run, stay in defensively, and take one at-bat).  The Astros finally broke through in the 6th, though – Marwin Gonzalez and Carlos Correa notched back-to-back 1-out singles, and Colby Rasmus drove in Marwin with a double down the first base line.  With runners at 2nd and 3rd with only one out, Karns predictably got out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts of Preston Tucker and Carlos Gomez.  Houston again stranded runners at second and third in the 7th inning, and stranded another at second in the 8th.

It was during the 8th that things had gotten interesting, though.  Leading off the inning with a 3-2 count, Correa took a pitch that was easily at least 3-4 inches below his knees; Ben May, umpiring behind the dish, rung him up.  While Correa incredulously returned to the dugout, A.J. Hinch came out to argue and got tossed, probably as much in an effort to light a fire under his team as it was to argue the call itself.  That low strike continued to be called repeatedly for the remainder of the game, prompting several hitters to turn around and likely question May’s parents’ marital status at the time of his birth.

Anyway, Josh Fields and Tony Sipp combined to hold the Mariners scoreless in the 8th and 9th innings and the stage was set for the Astros to go out with a whimper.  Leading off the bottom of the 9th, Luis Valbuena hit his first homer into the second deck in right field, tying the game and giving M’s closer Steve Cishek his first blown save of the season.

There was also a bizarre moment between the 9th and 10th innings where Carlos Gomez, as he was taking the field in the top of the 10th, made a beeline for first base umpire Jeff Nelson and started arguing about something.  Maybe it was about the strike zone, maybe it was about his 0x4 night, maybe Gomez is having buyer’s remorse about his shaved head – who knows, but Gomez got himself tossed.  Kind of a dumb thing to do, especially since that left only one player – the indomitable Eric Kratz – on the bench.  Had the game gone longer than 10 innings it could have played a big factor.

Well, it didn’t go 10 innings.  Sipp stayed on the mound for the 10th and gave up a 1-out solo blast to Robinson Cano, his second of the night.  And after that is when the Astros went quietly; Cishek pitched a perfect 10th, nailing down quite possibly the ultimate “look at all the fucks I give” stat combo of a blown save and a win.