Astros @ Pirates August 24, 2016

[Mr. Happy]

Your lineups for today's matinee:

Astros

RFGeorge Springer (R)
3BAlex Bregman (R)
2BJose Altuve (R)
SSCarlos Correa (R)
CEvan Gattis (R)
LFMarwin Gonzalez (S)
1BA.J. Reed (L)
CFT. Hernandez (R)
PCollin McHugh (R)

HOU: Collin McHugh (R)  (7-10, 4.99)

Pirates

2B Josh Harrison (R)
RF Matt Joyce (L)
CF Starling Marte (R)
LF Gregory Polanco (L)
1B Josh Bell (S)
C F. Cervelli (R)
3B Sean Rodriguez (R)
SS Jordy Mercer (R)
P Gerrit Cole (R)

PIT: Gerrit Cole (R)  (7-8, 3.30)

[hostros7]

Gattis! Mashed one into the center field hedges.


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[MusicMan]

After a scoreless first, the Astros start the second with a Correa single and a Gattis HR.

2-0 good guys.

[MusicMan]

Teo's 2-out double goes for naught due to the pitcher's spot.

[HudsonHawk]

B2:

Bell grounds out 6-3
Cervelli flies out F7
Rodriguez strikes out swinging

2-0 Astros

[HudsonHawk]

T3:

Springer pops out F4
Bregman lines out to RF
Altuve strikes out swinging

2-0

[HudsonHawk]

B3:

Mercer homers to LF
Cole grounds out 3U
Harrison flies out F7
Joyce taps back to the mound

2-1 Astros

[hostros7]

Nice rip by Marwin and heads up base running to extend to 3rd in that situation.


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[HudsonHawk]

Marwin with an RBI triple!

[HudsonHawk]

T4:

Correa reaches on E6 and moves to 2B as the throw goes into the stands...now ruled a single and TE-6
Gattis grounds out 6-3, Correa has to stay at 2B
Marwin triples to RCF, Correa scores
Reed...infield in...strikes out swinging
Hernandez intentionally walked
McHugh strikes out on three pitches

But the Astros get the run back...lead 3-1

[HudsonHawk]

Damn that pitcher's spot again

[HudsonHawk]

B4:

Marte breaks his bat in half as he grounds out 6-3
Polanco strikes out swinging
Bell reaches on an infield single
Cervelli doinks a single to RF, Springer bobbles it, but Bell isn't paying attention and stops at 2B
Rodriguez grounds back to the box...1-3 to end the inning

3-1 Astros

[HudsonHawk]

Single and double have Astros at 2B and 3B with nobody out...

[MusicMan]

Damn that pitcher's spot again

I knew they should have let Correa pitch.


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[MusicMan]

Single and double have Astros at 2B and 3B with nobody out...

GameDay says Bregman doubled to SS... that doesn't seem quite right.


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[MusicMan]

Pair of SF makes it 5-1.


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[doyce7]

GameDay says Bregman doubled to SS... that doesn't seem quite right.


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It hit 3B and then dropped in LF where it was picked up by SS

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[HudsonHawk]

Back to back sac flies make it 5-1 Astros...nice job of not wasting base runners.

[HudsonHawk]

T5:

Springer singles to CF
Bregman doubles off the 3B bag, Springer to 3B
Altuve sac fly to CF, Springer scores, Bregman to 3B
Correa sac fly to RF, Bregman scores
Gattis grounds out 6-3

5-1 Astros

[chuck]

GameDay says Bregman doubled to SS... that doesn't seem quite right.

The ball bounced off the third base bag and shot into the air landing basically perfectly among the third baseman, the shortstop and the left fielder.

[HudsonHawk]

GameDay says Bregman doubled to SS... that doesn't seem quite right.


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Hard hit ball that hit the bag then went over the third baseman's head...SS fielded in in shallow LF.  It would have been down the line had it not hit the bag.

[MusicMan]

Thanks, all.


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[HudsonHawk]

Cole lifted for a pinch hitter in the 5th...

[HudsonHawk]

Back to back 2-out RBI singles makes it 5-3...still two on, two out

[MRaup]

I wish I could've found a bookie willing to let me bet on the odds McHugh was going to give up multiple runs this inning. Money. In. The. Bank. after the good guys score a few.

[HudsonHawk]

B5:

Mercer singles up the middle
Jaso, pinch hitting for Cole...singles to LF, Mercer to 2B
Harrison sacrifice bunt 1-3, Mercer to 3B, Jaso to 2B
Joyce strikes out swinging
Marte singles to CF, Mercer scores, Jaso to 3B...Hernandez actually hits the cutoff man so Marte stops at 1B

Hinch out to give McHugh a pep talk

Polanco singles to LF, Jaso scores, Marte to 2B
Bell strikes out swinging

5-3 Astros

Polanco

[HudsonHawk]

T6:

Hughes on the mound for the PRats

Marwin grounds out 4-3
Reed grounds out 5-3
Hernandez strikes out looking

5-3 Astros

[JimR]

So, now Gomez is gone, Hernandez is the whipping boy.

Polanco's was a shift single.

[HudsonHawk]

So, now Gomez is gone, Hernandez is the whipping boy.

Polanco's was a shift single.

Who is whipping on Hernandez?

[HudsonHawk]

B6:

Neshek in...

Cervelli grounds out 6-3
Rodriguez singles to CF
Mercer flies out F9

Double switch...Marisnick and Devenski in...Marisnick will go into CF and bat in Neshek's spot, Hernandez will move to LF and Marwin will move to 1B...Devenski will be in Reed's spot
Frazier, pinch hitting for Hughes...flies out F9

5-3 Astros

[HudsonHawk]

T7:

Nicasio in for the Pirates...

Marisnick strikes out swinging
Springer strikes out swinging
Bregman...full count...lines out to CF

5-3 at the stretch

[MusicMan]

Two out triple makes it 5-4. Cmon, Devo.


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[HudsonHawk]

Double, triple, walk and the Pirates have the go-ahead run on base...

[HudsonHawk]

B7:

Harrison flies out F8
Joyce doubles to RF
Marte strikes out swinging at a pitch in the dirt, blocked by Gattis who throws to first to complete the 2-3 putout

Strom out....

Polanco triples to RF, Joyce scores
Bell walks
Cervelli grounds out 3U

5-4 Astros

[MusicMan]

Walks Bell but gets a Cervelli grounder to end the inning.


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[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

Gomez a whipping boy? Not sure about that. Any prior behavioral issues aside, most everyone wanted him to do well. He sucked. Would had loved for him to have lived up to the billing. Really I would. But he just sucked. To think how some people made Hunter Pence a whipping boy but Gomez is just misunderstood.

[Knoxbanedoodle]

Polanco murdering us.

[HudsonHawk]

A couple of 2-out walks, brings up Gurriel as a pinch hitter...

[HudsonHawk]

T8:

Rivero on the Pirates

Altuve flies out F9
Correa strikes out swinging
Gattis...3-0...walks
Marwin walks
Gurriel, pinch hitting for Devenski...flies out F7 on the first pitch

5-4 still

[HudsonHawk]

B8:

Will Harris in...

Rodriguez flies out F9
Mercer strikes out swinging
McCutchen, pinch hitting for Rivero...singles to RF
Harrison...3-0...3-1...3-2...strikes out swinging

To the 9th...Astros up 5-4

[JimR]

Is Gregerson still hurt or hurt again?

[HudsonHawk]

T9:

Watson in...

Hernandez flies out F9
Marisnick flies out F8
Springer flies out F8

We head to the bottom of the 9th...Astros up 5-4

[HudsonHawk]

Is Gregerson still hurt or hurt again?

Not sure.  He hasn't pitched since the first game in Baltimore.

[JimR]

Shift wins one!

[HudsonHawk]

B9:

Giles in to try to close it out...

Joyce lines out to SS...diving grab by Correa!
Marte strikes out swinging
Polanco...0-2...1-2...strikes out swinging

Astros win!!!!

[Bench]

Woo hoo!  Nice road trip.

[pots]

Astros win!!!!

Huge road trip.  Against 2 good teams.   

[MusicMan]

They need to win all their series.


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[NeilT]

I wasn't able to watch the game, but it looks like Altuve hit a sacrifice fly. His box score reads 3 at bats, no walks, no hits, one sac fly.  I thought sac flies were an at-bat (unlike sac bunts), and if that's right he's missing two plate appearances.  What happened?

[Knoxbanedoodle]

A sacrifice fly for an RBI doesn't count as an AB. A sac fly that advances a runner otherwise does.

Right?

[MRaup]

A sacrifice fly for an RBI doesn't count as an AB. A sac fly that advances a runner otherwise does.

Right?

Right.

[HudsonHawk]

A sacrifice fly for an RBI doesn't count as an AB. A sac fly that advances a runner otherwise does.

Right?

Technically it's only a "sacrifice fly" if a run scores. If a runner advances without scoring, it's just a fly ball out.  And Altuve only had four plate appearances today.

[HudsonHawk]

They need to win all their series.


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Winning the rest of their series puts them at 91-71. The Astros have won 90 games or more six times in the franchise's history. And that might not be enough.

[NeilT]

Got it, thanks.

[MusicMan]

Winning the rest of their series puts them at 91-71. The Astros have won 90 games or more six times in the franchise's history. And that might not be enough.

Right. They dug this hole in April and three weeks of summer.


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[HudsonHawk]

Right. They dug this hole in April and three weeks of summer.


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If they don't make the post season, we'll be able to look back at any number of games and say "damn, that's the one..."  But the Astros can have one of the five or six best seasons in franchise history and still not make the post season this year. 

[JimR]

A sacrifice fly for an RBI doesn't count as an AB. A sac fly that advances a runner otherwise does.

Right?

What HH said. It is a fly ball out only even if a runner advances. To be a sac fly and no AB, it must score a run.

[Aussie Astro]

What HH said. It is a fly ball out only even if a runner advances. To be a sac fly and no AB, it must score a run.

But a sac bunt only has to advance the runner?

Do productive outs get tracked anywhere?  Seems like almost everything is measured in this game, I never have too much success hunting for stats even though there are plenty out there.

[NeilT]

But a sac bunt only has to advance the runner?

Do productive outs get tracked anywhere?  Seems like almost everything is measured in this game, I never have too much success hunting for stats even though there are plenty out there.

I knew there was a difference. I think I read once that a sac bunt was always intended only to advance the runner so it wasn't an AB, and a sac fly that only advances the runner is probably a failed hit so it is.I guess a sac fly that produces a run is probably intentional as well. I've never heard of a stat that took productive outs into account, but I'm not sure that sac bunts or flies are either, except in rbi.

[HudsonHawk]

But a sac bunt only has to advance the runner?

Correct.  If a sac bunt advances a runner, it does not count as an at bat.  However, if a runner other than the batter is put out, it's ruled a fielder's choice and the batter does not get credit for a sacrifice and is charged an at bat. 

Do productive outs get tracked anywhere?  Seems like almost everything is measured in this game, I never have too much success hunting for stats even though there are plenty out there.

Not officially, but there are lots of stats that are not officially scored and tracked, but are kept by others.  I'm sure someone out there keeps track of productive outs.  Like you said, baseball is the most documented sport in the world.  Every cup adjustment is recorded in a book somewhere. 

[JimR]

Correct.  If a sac bunt advances a runner, it does not count as an at bat.  However, if a runner other than the batter is put out, it's ruled a fielder's choice and the batter does not get credit for a sacrifice and is charged an at bat. 

Not officially, but there are lots of stats that are not officially scored and tracked, but are kept by others.  I'm sure someone out there keeps track of productive outs.  Like you said, baseball is the most documented sport in the world.  Every cup adjustment is recorded in a book somewhere.

"productive outs" is one of Augie Garrido's favorite concepts. I do not know if he recorded and tracked them, but he certainly made note of them, or the lack thereof, for his post-game interviews. His concept included both moving runners and scoring them with outs.

[juliogotay]

"productive outs" is one of Augie Garrido's favorite concept. I do not know if he recorded and tracked them, but he certainly made note of them, or the lack thereof, for his post-game interviews. His concept included both moving runners and scoring them with outs.

do you sometimes feel like the productive out has been lost among today's ML players? Obviously some get it but so many are ripping away at everything regardless of the situation.

[JimR]

do you sometimes feel like the productive out has been lost among today's ML players? Obviously some get it but so many are ripping away at everything regardless of the situation.

absolutely it is. situational hitting is rare.

[HudsonHawk]

"productive outs" is one of Augie Garrido's favorite concept. I do not know if he recorded and tracked them, but he certainly made note of them, or the lack thereof, for his post-game interviews. His concept included both moving runners and scoring them with outs.

One of mine too.  I think situation hitting is one of the things sorely lacking on this Astros team, and it's cost wins.  Yesterday's example of both Altuve and Correa driving in runners on outs when they had the chance is an example of what happens when it works for you.  If they had both struck out, or popped up, it's a different ballgame. 

[juliogotay]

One of mine too.  I think situation hitting is one of the things sorely lacking on this Astros team, and it's cost wins.  Yesterday's example of both Altuve and Correa driving in runners on outs when they had the chance is an example of what happens when it works for you.  If they had both struck out, or popped up, it's a different ballgame.

I wonder if the lack of situational hitting is driven by the players being stat-driven (HR hitters make more) or by management deciding the 3-run HR gets a team further than a lot of advancing runners.  Of course the players are larger and stronger so that is somewhat of a natural evolution.

[HudsonHawk]

I wonder if the lack of situational hitting is driven by the players being stat-driven (HR hitters make more) or by management deciding the 3-run HR gets a team further than a lot of advancing runners.  Of course the players are larger and stronger so that is somewhat of a natural evolution.

I think there's a natural evolution of players, but there's no doubt the Astros' management does not emphasize situational hitting, and has constructed a roster with it not being a consideration.  Hinch even comes out and says they don't care about strikeouts, they're perfectly content to live and die by the 3-run home run.