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Weekly Roundup – June 4
WEEK IN REVIEW – MAY 28 – JUNE 3
ASTROS (3-4, 37-24 overall)
Monday, May 28 – Astros 5, Yankees 1
Tuesday, May 29 – Yankees 6, Astros 5
Wednesday, May 30 – Yankees 5, Astros 3
Thursday, May 31 – Astros 4, Red Sox 2
Friday, June 1 – Astros 7, Red Sox 3
Saturday, June 2 – Red Sox 5, Astros 4
Sunday, June 3 – Red Sox 9, Astros 3
We knew the honeymoon with the team’s ERA would end at some point, and it took eleven straight games against some of baseball’s best offenses (Indians, Yankees, Red Sox) for it to happen. The team’s ERA is up to 2.81, still best in the AL by a long shot but with a much lesser lead over the next seven NL teams. Morton turned in his worst start of the season against the Sox. The bullpen got pantsed a couple of times. And yet, the Astros pretty much broke even against the AL’s two best teams, which means the AL’s two best teams broke even against the Astros. As painful as the bullpen gagging was, I’ll still take it.
THE WEEK AHEAD – JUNE 4-10
Mariners @ Astros – June 5-6
Season series: 3-1 Astros
Exactly how is it that the Astros will play 19 games against the Mariners this year, but only six of them will be before the All-Star break? Thanks, Gerry.
Schedule and Probables
Tuesday, June 5, 7:10pm CDT
James Paxton (4-1, 3.13) vs. Dallas Keuchel (3-7, 3.65)
Wednesday, June 6, 7:10pm CDT
Wade LeBlanc (1-0, 2.60) vs. Lance McCullers Jr. (7-3, 3.89)
In case you have concerns about the Mariners hanging with the Astros, consider this: the Astros are just now about to wrap up a tough string of games against good teams, while the Mariners have played precisely three games against teams over .500 since May 6. Credit them for going 18-8 in that stretch. But the script is about to flip, as the Astros are due a bit of a reprieve while the Mariners have ten straight games against Boston and New York later this month.
Paxton had a good month of May with a 1.67 ERA, and took home a win against the Astros in April with a quality start. LeBlanc was moved to the M’s rotation in May and has allowed a .577 OPS, but he’s also had the benefit of starting nearly all of his games against some less-than-good teams (Rangers, Twins x 2, Tigers, and Blue Jays). The Astros also lit him up for four runs in two relief innings in April. Keuchel was on the losing end of that Paxton start despite eight great innings, and McCullers held the Mariners to just one hit over seven innings in the same series.
Astros @ Rangers – June 7-10
Season series: 6-4 Astros
Schedule and Probables
Thursday, June 7, 7:05pm CDT
Gerrit Cole (6-1, 2.20) vs. Cole Hamels (3-5, 3.63)
Friday, June 8, 7:05pm CDT
Justin Verlander (7-2, 1.24) vs. Doug Fister (1-6, 4.13)
Saturday, June 9, 6:15pm CDT
Charlie Morton (7-1, 2.84) vs. Mike Minor (4-4, 5.76)
Sunday, June 10, 2:05pm CDT
Dallas Keuchel (3-7, 3.65) vs. Matt Moore (1-5, 7.85)
The Astros pitchers listed above have a 1.65 ERA against Arlington this season.
Fuck the Rangers.
Weekly Roundup – May 28
Abbreviated version this week due to the holiday and Monday’s early first pitch.
WEEK IN REVIEW – MAY 21-27
ASTROS (4-2, 34-20 overall)
Tuesday, May 22 – Astros 11, Giants 2
Wednesday, May 23 – Astros 4, Giants 1
Thursday, May 24 – Astros 8, Indians 2
Friday, May 25 – Astros 11, Indians 2
Saturday, May 26 – Indians 8, Astros 6
Sunday, May 27 – Indians 10, Astros 9 (14 innings)
The Astros offense acquitted itself well, scoring 49 runs, stealing a game from the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and taking advantage of a weak Indians bullpen. That they scored that many runs and only split the series in Cleveland stings a bit, but what are you gonna do. The team’s ERA ticked up to 2.61, but it’s still 0.72 runs better than the next best team.
Jose Altuve saw his average dip to .306 after Thursday’s 0x5 game against the Indians, then set – and later broke – his own team record with 10 hits in consecutive ABs. He left town on Sunday with a .330 average. Badass. Gattis also raised his average 21 points this week.
THE WEEK AHEAD – MAY 28 – JUNE 3
The American League’s #3 team plays the #2 and #1 teams.
Astros @ Yankees – May 28-30
The Yankees (33-16) are coming off a 3-3 week against the Rangers (against whom they allowed 23 runs in three games) and Angels.
Schedule and Probables
Monday, May 28, 12pm CDT
Justin Verlander (6-2, 1.08) vs. Domingo German (0-2, 5.59)
Tuesday, May 29, 6:05pm CDT
Charlie Morton (7-0, 2.04) vs. CC Sabathia (2-1, 3.55)
Wednesday, May 30, 5:30pm CDT
Dallas Keuchel (3-6, 3.39) vs. Luis Severino (7-1, 2.28)
Severino hasn’t really pitched a bad game since early April and tossed a complete game shutout against the Astros in early May. German has only started three games this season, two of which were back-to-back 6 ER performances against the Rangers and A’s. He no-hit the Indians for six innings and pitched four shutout innings against the Astros last time around. Sabathia entered May with a sub-2 ERA but has given up 13 earned runs in his last three starts, including seven earned runs to the Rangers in his last start.
Keuchel, Verlander, and Morton have all pitched well-to-excellent against the Yankees this season, but the offense got shut out in two of their three starts.
Red Sox @ Astros – May 31 – June 3
The Red Sox (36-17) picked up series victories against the Rays and Braves.
Schedule and Probables
Thursday, May 31, 7:10pm CDT
Drew Pomeranz (1-2, 6.75) vs. Lance McCullers Jr. (6-3, 3.98)
Friday, June 1, 7:10pm CDT
Chris Sale (5-2, 2.76) vs. Gerrit Cole (5-1, 2.05)
Saturday, June 2, 6:15pm CDT
David Price (4-4, 4.08) vs. Justin Verlander (6-2, 1.08)
Sunday, June 3, 6:30pm CDT
Rick Porcello (6-2, 3.74) vs. Charlie Morton (7-0, 2.04)
Pomeranz has pitched enough innings to qualify in less than half of his starts and has never had an ERA below 5.23 this season. Sale has been his typical excellent self, but the Braves tagged him for six earned runs this past weekend. Price has had ups and downs but has been solid lately. Porcello sported a 6.00 ERA in the month of May. All except Porcello have done well against Houston in the past.
Weekly Roundup – May 21
WEEK IN REVIEW – MAY 14-20
ASTROS (4-2, 30-18 overall)
Monday, May 14 – Angels 2, Astros 1
Tuesday, May 15 – Astros 5, Angels 3
Wednesday, May 16 – Astros 2, Angels 0
Friday, May 18 – Astros 4, Indians 1
Saturday, May 19 – Indians 5, Astros 4
Sunday, May 20 – Astros 3, Indians 1
The Astros held two of baseball’s best offenses to an average of two runs a game this week. Neat.
I was also pleased to see some fight in the team during Saturday’s game. Even though they ended up losing, the almost-comeback was very reminiscent of last year’s team.
ELSEWHERE IN THE AL WEST…
The Mariners (27-19) went 4-2 against the Rangers and Tigers, and have risen to second place in the division.
After dropping the series to the Astros, the Angels (26-21) dropped three of four to the Rays.
The A’s (25-22) went gangbusters on the AL East, winning two of three in Boston and then sweeping the Blue Jays in four games in Toronto.
In addition to splitting a two-game series with the M’s, the Rangers (18-30) dropped four games to the lowly White Sox. Sad trombone.
ELSEWHERE IN MLB…
Since taking two out of three against the Astros, the D’Backs (25-21) have lost 11 of 13, including sweeps by the Nationals (four games) and Mets. Suddenly, the Rockies have pulled into a first-place tie in the NL West.
Speaking of first place ties, the Yanks and Sawks are running away with the AL East and baseball’s offensive stats.
THE WEEK AHEAD – MAY 21-27
Giants @ Astros – May 22-23
Schedule and Probables
Tuesday, May 22, 7:10pm CDT
Andrew Suarez (1-3, 4.88) vs. Gerrit Cole (4-1, 1.75)
Wednesday, May 23, 1:10pm CDT
Jeff Samardzija (1-2, 6.30) vs. Justin Verlander (5-2, 1.05)
The Giants (24-24) have been a streaky team. After sinking to 8-12 on the season in late April, they won 11 of their next 14, then lost nine of their next 14 (including six straight losses). The San Fran offense is pretty much average or slightly better in a number of categories, although their .261 team average is the fourth best in the sport. The pitching is less average, with a 4.20 ERA placing them 20th. Only one starter (Johnny Cueto) has an ERA below 4.
Suarez made his major league debut with just one start in April before being sent down to AAA for the better part of the month. He came back up in early May and allowed two earned runs over his next 12.1 innings, but now has allowed nine runs over his last ten innings. Despite his struggles he has maintained a healthy 28:5 K:BB ratio. Samardzija is on pace for his worst big league season as a starter, sporting a 1.60 WHIP, nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (23), and having allowed five runs or more three times while just twice pitching past the 5th inning.
Cole has given Giants hitters fits, keeping them to just a .314 slugging percentage. Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen are the only SF batters that Verlander has a decent sample size against, and they make up 55 of the 71 total ABs against him. Overall, he’s held them to a .197 average.
Astros @ Indians – May 24-27
Schedule and Probables
Thursday, May 24, 5:10pm CDT
Charlie Morton (6-0, 1.94) vs. Mike Clevinger (3-1, 2.87)
Friday, May 25, 6:10pm CDT
Dallas Keuchel (3-6, 3.43) vs. Corey Kluber (7-2, 2.36)
Saturday, May 26, 6:10pm CDT
Lance McCullers Jr. (6-2, 3.20) vs. Carlos Carrasco (5-3, 3.65)
Sunday, May 27, 12:10pm CDT
Gerrit Cole (4-1, 1.75) vs. Tyler Bauer (3-3, 2.59)
We literally just saw three of these exact same matchups, so there’s not much sense in doing another deep dive. But Sunday’s Cole/Bauer matchup is new, and it’s the matchup every baseball writer in North America has been hoping and praying for for the last few weeks.
Bauer is off to a good start, with only one clunker against the Royals. One particularly depressing statistic about Bauer is that he has won all seven of his starts against the Astros in his career dating back to 2014. That even included last season when he allowed seven runs (and four homers) to Houston in 11.2 innings.
Cole does not have significant experience against Indians hitters, but in 25 ABs they are hitting .320 against him despite just two extra-base hits and no walks or home runs.
Weekly Roundup – May 14
WEEK IN REVIEW – MAY 7-13
ASTROS (5-1, 26-16 overall)
Monday, May 7 – Astros 16, A’s 2
Tuesday, May 8 – Astros 4, A’s 2
Wednesday, May 9 – Astros 4, A’s 1
Friday, May 11 – Rangers 1, Astros 0
Saturday, May 12 – Astros 6, Rangers 1
Sunday, May 13 – Astros 6, Rangers 1
The Astros largely took care of business against teams they would expect to beat, holding their bottom two division opponents to just eight runs the entire week. With that 1.33 ERA for the week under their belt, the overall team ERA stands at 2.49, with the nearest challenger being from the Diamondbacks at 3.16. The rotation ERA is down to 2.24. It may get repetitive reading about the pitching in this space from week to week, but I refuse to not continue to acknowledge the outstanding mound work this team is doing.
The offense had a very good week as well. Of course, a 16-run game will skew the weekly stats but Friday’s shutout aside, 20 runs in five games is not bad either. Springer was having a monster week (.643/.706/1.000) before taking that pitch off his elbow on Friday night. Gattis showed that he has a pulse, going 6×17 with two bombs. Fisher contributed a couple of huge homers. In all, five players finished the week with a 1.000 OPS or higher, and Correa narrowly missed that by .003.
The next 20-game stretch will be a bit of a challenge, as 18 of those games will be played against teams that are either currently leading their division and/or are over .500.
ELSEWHERE IN THE AL WEST…
The Angels (24-16) split both a four-game series with the Twins and a two-game set with the Rockies, causing them to sag into second place in the division.
The Mariners (22-17) also went 3-3 last week against the Blue Jays and Tigers. Robinson Cano stands to miss significant playing time after a pitch broke a bone in his hand on Sunday.
After the Astros beat dat ass in Oakland, the A’s (19-21) lost two of three to the Yankees in New York.
The Rangers (16-26) started their week with a series victory against the Tigers. Adrian Beltre is likely going back to the DL with a hamstring injury, only a week after coming off the DL for the same injury.
ELSEWHERE IN MLB…
Some ins, some outs, some what have yous. Sorry, pretty busy the last couple days.
THE WEEK AHEAD – MAY 14-20
Astros @ Angels – May 14-16
Season series: Angels 2-1
Schedule and Probables
Monday, May 14, 9:07pm CDT
Lance McCullers Jr. (5-1, 3.72) vs. Andrew Heaney (1-2, 4.78)
Tuesday, May 15, 9:07pm CDT
Gerrit Cole (4-1, 1.43) vs. Jaime Barria (3-1, 2.45)
Wednesday, May 16, 8:40pm CDT
Justin Verlander (4-2, 1.21) vs. Garrett Richards (4-1, 4.08)
The Angels remain one of baseball’s best offenses with 202 runs scored (tied with the Astros for 4th in MLB). Trout, Simmons, and Ohtani are all hitting over .300 and getting on base a lot (Trout’s OBP is .450!). Anaheim’s overall pitching has also improved since the last Angels-Astros meeting, with their 3.88 ERA getting them up to 11th in MLB.
Thanks to the Angels’ freaky-deaky rotation, none of these three have pitched against the Astros yet this season. Heaney is getting his first extended big league work since 2015, having spent much of 2016 and 2017 dealing with an elbow injury and the subsequent Tommy John surgery. In five games he has been mostly solid (his ERA is mostly skewed by a 7-run outing against the Giants in April), although he has only pitched more than five innings twice. Barria is a 21-year-old newcomer to the big club and has started four games for the Angels. Of particular note, he threw 77 pitches in only two innings against the Giants, yet only allowed two runs. He most recently held the Rockies scoreless for 5.1 innings. Richards will be making his first start against Houston this year, and he has pitched well for the most part this season despite a couple of clunkers. In 2017 Richards was 0-1 with a 0.82 ERA against the Astros.
Verlander and Cole both went seven innings against the Angels in April; both allowed two runs; Verlander got the W while Cole got an L. Last year McCullers was 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA in three starts (17 innings) against LAA.
Indians @ Astros – May 18-20
Schedule and Probables
Friday, May 18, 7:10pm CDT
Mike Clevinger (3-0, 2.70) vs. Charlie Morton (5-0, 2.03)
Saturday, May 19, 3:10pm CDT
Corey Kluber (6-2, 2.34) vs. Dallas Keuchel (3-5, 3.10)
Sunday, May 20, 1:10pm CDT
Carlos Corrasco (5-1, 3.61) vs. Lance McCullers Jr. (5-1, 3.72)
What a difference a year makes. Whereas the Indians’ starting pitching is keeping about the same top 5 pace that they did last season (their 3.44 ERA is 4th in MLB), 2017’s best bullpen has been one of 2018’s biggest bullpen disasters. Cleveland relievers have a whopping 5.26 ERA, third worst in MLB, and that jumps up to 5.71 just by removing Andrew Miller from the equation. The Indians have a top 10 offense so they’ll once again be a force if they can get their relief pitching worked out.
Clevinger has been very good this year and should have more wins to his name if not for lack of run support or bullpenanigans after he leaves the game. He has thrown seven or more innings four times, including a complete game two-hit shutout of the Orioles. Kluber looks every bit the defending Cy Young winner: seven of his nine starts are of seven innings or more, and his next non-quality start will be his first of the year. Corrasco has been prone to some bad outings (6 runs vs. Blue Jays, 5 runs vs. Mariners) but has also already pitched two complete games. Last year Clevinger shut out the Astros while Kluber picked up a win after seven innings of work. Corrasco hasn’t faced the Astros since 2016.
Keuchel pitched a complete game against the Indians last year, while McCullers took the loss on five runs over five innings. The Indians did a number on Verlander last year: in four starts, his 8.14 ERA against them was his worst against any other team by a full three runs. In April and July he allowed 16 earned runs in just 7.1 innings against them; his other two starts were quality starts.
Weekly Roundup – May 7
WEEK IN REVIEW – APRIL 30 – MAY 6
ASTROS (2-5, 21-15 overall)
Monday, April 30 – Astros 2, Yankees 1
Tuesday, May 1 – Yankees 4, Astros 0
Wednesday, May 2 – Yankees 4, Astros 0
Thursday, May 3 – Yankees 6, Astros 5
Friday, May 4 – Astros 8, D’Backs 0
Saturday, May 5 – D’Backs 4, Astros 3
Sunday, May 6 – D’Backs 3, Astros 1
More solid-to-brilliant starting pitching, solid-to-bad relief work, and the same old hot-and-cold-but-mostly-cold shit from the offense. Not gonna bore you with much more than that.
Nods approvingly at… the starters, once again. Houston’s rotation averaged 7+ innings and almost 9 K’s per game, posted a 1.99 ERA, and left each game with the team in a more than winnable position. (Honorable mention: Yuli Gurriel, whose .393/.393/.464 line for the week was the best of precious few individual offensive contributions that weren’t total shitburgers.)
Looks down nose at… the offense. It’s not often that your pitchers’ ABs don’t significantly drag down your team’s batting average, especially on an AL team… and yet! Astros pitchers combined for a batting average (.222) that was almost identical to the rest of the team (.2227) for the week. In fact, Charlie Morton and career American League pitcher/non-hitter Justin Verlander tallied the same number of hits (two) in four plate appearances that Gattis, Stassi, and Fisher did in 24 plate appearances.
ELSEWHERE IN THE AL WEST…
The Angels (21-13) now have a one-game lead in the division after sweeping the Orioles and winning a three-game series against Mariners (19-14). The M’s opened the week by winning two out of three against Oakland (18-16), who also swept the Orioles this week. The Rangers (13-23) were mostly outclassed by first place teams this week, going 2-5 against the Indians and Red Sox.
ELSEWHERE IN MLB…
The Dodgers (15-19) may have thrown a no-no this week, but they’re as good as done with Corey Seager out for the year and Kershaw now headed for the DL. Kershaw’s stint isn’t expected to be disastrous, but it’s still yet another injury piled onto an already banged up Dojer squad. Also, fuck the Dodgers.
The fucking Yankees stayed hot after going to Houston, sweeping the Indians and pulling to within a game of Boston. The Indians have sunk to .500, yet still maintain first place in a sorry AL Central that has a total run differential of -141.
Three divisions (AL West, NL Central/East) have four teams above .500.
Fuck the Cubs, who have lost five straight. And while we’re at it, fuck the NL Central-leading Turds.
THE WEEK AHEAD – MAY 7-13
The Astros get a chance to lick their wounds against teams currently looking up at them in the standings, before beginning a very challenging stretch of games that lasts well into June.
Astros @ A’s – May 7-9
Season series: Astros 2-1
Schedule and Probables
Monday, May 7, 9:05pm CDT
Dallas Keuchel (1-5, 3.98) vs. Brett Anderson (0-0, 2.84)
Tuesday, May 8, 9:05pm CDT
Lance McCullers Jr. (4-1, 3.73) vs. Sean Manaea (4-3, 1.63)
Wednesday, May 9, 1:35pm CDT
Gerrit Cole (3-1, 1.42) vs. Daniel Mengden (2-3, 4.30)
Anderson is a new face this time around, having been called up from the minors within the past week after Kendall Graveman was demoted. His first major league action of the season went well, lasting into the 7th inning and giving up two runs on just 80 pitches. The Astros have very limited work (only 19 AB) against Anderson, but the small sample size is good: .368/.400/.947. Manaea kept the Astros in check for seven innings en route to an 8-1 victory, and since then he gave up four runs to the Mariners over six innings. The Astros gave Mengden a moustache ride teed off against Mengden, not allowing him to escape the third inning. He held the Orioles to one run in five innings last week.
Keuchel was the losing pitcher against Manaea, allowing six runs in seven innings. McCullers blanked the A’s for seven innings while the bats broke out the lumber, and Cole took a no-decision after three runs and 12 K’s in 6.2 innings.
Rangers @ Astros – May 11-13
Season series: Astros 4-3
Schedule and Probables
Friday, May 11, 7:10pm CDT
Cole Hamels (1-4, 3.94) vs. Charlie Morton (4-0, 2.16)
Saturday, May 12, 6:10pm CDT
Doug Fister (1-3, 4.02) vs. Justin Verlander (4-1, 1.17)
Sunday, May 13, 1:10pm CDT
Matt Moore (1-4, 7.67) vs. Dallas Keuchel (1-5, 3.98)
Hamels has faced the Astros twice now and both starts were decent, at or near quality-start level. His lone win is the only game of his that the Rangers have won. Fister went only five innings against the Astros in the second game of the season but got the win anyway. He spent two weeks on the DL in mid-April, and since coming back he had two decent/good starts before getting lit up by the Red Sox this past weekend. Moore allowed four runs to the Astros over four innings to start the season. In six starts he has pitched past the fifth inning just once and allowed fewer than three earned runs just once (same game). The Indians blasted off against Moore last week, notching ten earned runs on eleven hits in just four innings.
Morton has not seen the Rangers yet this season, but in 2017 he was 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA in two starts against them. Verlander has fucking owned everyone Arlington this year, allowing just one run on five hits and three walks in 14 innings. Keuchel lost a quality start in his only appearance against the Rangers this year.