MLB The Show: Steelerfan's Houston Astros Franchise

[steelerfan]

After losing 4 consecutive series since the All-Star Break, the Astros were able to take 2 of 3 from the Arizona Diamondbacks at Minute Maid Park.

The opener became a battle between each club's heavy hitter. Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt hit a pair of solo home runs, giving him 28 on the year. Not to be outdone at his home park, Houston's Chris Carter responded with 3 long balls to lead the Astros to a 5-3 win.

Asher Wojciechowski earned his 6th win as he put in another quality start. Wojo pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits. Jesse Crain notched his 28th save of 2015.

Stanley Knott went 3 for 5 with a double, a home run and an RBI in the second game of the 3-game set, but Houston lost 5-3.

Mark Appel did not factor in the decision but he did have another quality outing. Appel allowed 2 runs on 5 hits with 7 strikeouts and 5 walks in 6 innings on the mound. Reliever Mike Foltynewicz allowed 3 runs on 3 hits with a walk in just 0.1 innings to take his 3rd loss.

George Springer and Carlos Correa each went deep in the finale and Houston took a 4-0 victory.

Jarred Cosart and Brett Oberholtzer combined for the shutout. Cosart improved to 11-5 on the season, pitching 6 innings and allowing just 3 hits. Oberholtzer pitched the final 3 innings, allowing just 1 hit, to earn the first save of his career.

ARI 3-8-0
HOU 5-12-1

ARI 5-10-0
HOU 3-10-0

ARI 0-4-0
HOU 4-6-1

The Astros will begin a 9-game road trip on Monday as they will play 3 in Arlington, 4 in Oakland and 2 in San Francisco before returning home for 10 games.

[steelerfan]

Major League Baseball Standings (through August 2, 2015)

American League

East
Blue Jays 64-42
Rays 62-44
Red Sox 52-54
Orioles 51-53
Yankees 42-62

Central
Indians 59-46
Tigers 52-55
White Sox 46-58
Royals 46-59
Twins 40-64

West
Rangers 62-42
Astros 55-51
Mariners 53-53
Athletics 51-55
Angels 50-54

National League

East
Nationals 64-40
Braves 61-44
Marlins 58-47
Mets 48-57
Phillies 44-62

Central
Reds 58-47
Pirates 56-48
Brewers 54-52
Cardinals 53-52
Cubs 39-67

West
Dodgers 57-48
Diamondbacks 55-49
Padres 50-56
Giants 47-57
Rockies 47-58

[steelerfan]

Where Are They Now?

A look at players formerly in the Astros organization.

2B Tony Kemp
Kemp is currently on the DL with a calf injury but has 259 at-bats with the Yankees this season. Tony has hit .185 with 3 HR and 13 RBI and he has a .972 F%.

SP Scott Feldman
Scott has spent some time on the DL this season but he has made 15 starts for the Pirates. In 93.2 innings, Feldman is 4-5 with a 2.21 ERA. He has 61 K and has walked 19.

SP Collin McHugh
McHugh is being used in a relief role with Pittsburgh's AAA affiliate in Indianapolis. Collin has made 23 appearances and is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in 41.2 innings. McHugh has struck out 32 and walked just 4.

SP Jerome Williams
Williams won 13 Hanes for Houston last season but had only managed an occasional relief appearance in Tampa Bay this season. In 6 appearances, Jerome had pitched 7.1 innings and has no record and a 0.00 ERA.

SS Jonathan Villar
Vilar is currently on the Disabled List with a broken finger. He has 216 at-bats with the Marlins in 2015 and is hitting .227 with 10 runs batted in and a .982 F%.

RF Tim Belliard
Belliard is developing nicely at AAA Oklahoma City with the Dodgers. In 320 at-bats he's hitting .319 with 9 homers and 43 RBI.

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros Team Statistics through August 2, 2015 (MLB Rank in parenthesis)

Batting .255 (13)
Runs 462 (5)
Doubles 178 (T-10)
Triples 24 (T-6)
Home Runs 115 (T-5)
RBI 445 (6)
Stolen Bases 66 (9)
SB % .606 (29)
Bases on Balls 305 (20)
Strikeouts 919 (27)
Slugging % .413 (7)
On-Base % .314 (20)
GIDP 88 (30)

Assists 1016 (1)
Put Outs 2856 (T-14)
Errors 61 (25)
Fielding % .984 (25)

ERA 4.14 (27)
Complete Games 5 (T-24)
Shutouts 6 (T-24)
Saves 35 (T-5)
Blown Saves 15 (T-20)
HR Allowed 123 (30)
Walks Allowed 285 (5)
Strikeouts 802 (T-17)

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (55-51) at Texas Rangers (62-42)
August 3-5, 2015
Globe Life Park - Arlington, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Jeff Locke (6-7, 4.61) vs Derek Holland (6-4, 3.53)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Alex White (8-6, 4.15) vs Yu Darvish (8-4, 2.48)

Game Three - Wednesday 2:05 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (6-4, 5.29) vs Tanner Scheppers (10-2, 1.70)

[steelerfan]

The Houston Astros have begun to find the form that they lost over the last six weeks. They also showed their instate rivals that they are not conceding the division as the Astros won 2 out of 3 in Arlington over the Texas Rangers.

In the opener, Dominic Brown drove in a pair of runs to hello Houston to a 3-0 win. The real story, however, was the pitching of Jeff Locke.

Locke notched Houston's second consecutive shutout and he did it with a 5-hit complete game. It was the lefties second shutout of the season as he improved to 7-7.

In the second game Alex White ran the Astros pitching staff's consecutive scoreless innings streak to 25 before a grand slam ended the streak and beat Houston.

On a positive note, Brown hit his first home run since joining the club and Carlos Correa went deep as well.

Houston, sparked by the return of Dexter Fowler who had been out with a fractured arm, jumped all over Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers who came in with a 10-2 record.

By time Scheppers was chased with nobody out in the second inning, he had allowed 6 hits and 2 walks and the Astros held a 7-0 lead.

Asher Wojciechowski was brilliant on the hill for Houston again as the rookie earned his 7th win of the season. Wojo allowed just 1 run on 5 hits in 7.1 innings.

Dexter Fowler was among three Astros who homered, the others being Jason Castro and Matt Dominguez. Fowler's was unique in that it was an inside-the-park homer as the center fielder went 2 for 4 with a walk, a homer, 2 runs and 2 RBI in his return.

The Astros lineup looks very dangerous with an outfield trio of Brown, Fowler and George Springer and manager Bo Porter is hopeful that the recovery of Fowler and the addition of Brown will lift Houston to its first playoff berth in a decade.

Note: To make room on the Major League roster for Fowler, the Astros optioned Alex Presley back to AAA Fresno. Presley, in two stints with the big club this season, was hitting just .204 with 6 HR and 31 RBI in 265 AB. The biggest news about that move is that the Astros have kept Jon Singleton in Houston. Singleton is hitting .289 with a homer and 3 RBI in 45 AB for the Astros this season.

HOU 3-6-0
TEX 0-5-1

HOU 2-5-0
TEX 5-11-0

HOU 8-8-0
TEX 2-6-0

AL West Standings through Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Rangers 63-44
Astros 57-52
Mariners 55-54
Athletics 53-56
Angels 51-56

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (57-52) vs Oakland Athletics (53-56)
August 6-9, 2015
O.co Coliseum - Oakland, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Thursday 7:05 PM
Mark Appel (0-1, 4.32) vs Sonny Gray (8-7, 3.81)

Game Two - Friday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (11-5, 3.18) vs Jarrod Parker (5-7, 3.79)

Game Three - Saturday 12:35 PM
Jeff Locke (7-7, 4.29) vs AJ Griffin (9-7, 3.06)

Game Four - Sunday 12:35 PM
Alex White (8-7, 4.27) vs Scott Kazmir (8-5, 3.34)

[steelerfan]

The Astros offense dried up in the last 3 games in Oakland but Bo Porter's club found a way to earn a spilt.

Matt Dominguez homered, doubled and drove in 3 runs in the series opener to help Houston to a 5-1 win.

Mark Appel earned his first win of the season and recorded his third consecutive quality start. Appel pitched a complete game and had a shutout for 8.2 innings. Regardless, his final line included one run on 8 hits with 4 punch outs and 2 walks.

The A's turned the tables in game two with Oakland winning 5-1.

Jarred Cosart surrendered just 2 runs on 6 hits on 7 innings. However, he dropped to 11-6 as he took the loss.

On Saturday the story was Houston's pitching. Jeff Locke ran his scoreless-innings streak to 19 as he combined with Brett Oberholtzer, Scott Atchison and Jesse Crain to shutout the A's.

Locke went 6 innings and allowed just 4 hits with a pair each of walks and strikeouts to improve to 8-7. Crain pitched a perfect ninth and grabbed save number 29.

George Springer and Dominic Brown each hit a solo home run to provide all of Houston's runs.

In Sunday's finale, it was the Astros who were shutout victims as the A's win easily, 8-0.

Alex White suffered his 8th defeatof the season as he surrendered 4 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits in 5 innings.

HOU 5-11-0
OAK 1-8-3

HOU 1-8-0
OAK 5-9-0

HOU 2-4-0
OAK 0-6-0

HOU 0-3-1
OAK 8-11-1

The Astros have a pair of games in San Francisco up next, with the games being sandwiched between off days on Monday and Thursday.

AL West Standings through Monday, August 10, 2015

Rangers 65-45
Astros 59-54
Mariners 56-57
Athletics 55-58
Angels 54-57

2015 Houston Astros Team Leaders

Home Runs
Carter 23
Springer 15
Brown 15
Correa 13
Altuve 12
Dominguez 10

Wins
Cosart 11
Locke 8
White 8
Wojciechowski 7

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (59-54) vs San Francisco Giants (51-60)
August 11-12, 2015
AT&T Park - San Francisco, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 7:15 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (7-4, 4.96) vs Matt Cain (10-5, 2.75)

Game Two - Wednesday 1:05 PM
Mark Appel (1-1, 3.16) vs Ervin Santana (5-4, 3.15)

[steelerfan]

The Astros swept the short 2-game series in San Francisco to finish their 9-game road trip with a strong 6-3 record.

In the first contest Matt Dominguez hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 9th to lift Houston to a 3-2 win.

Asher Wojciechowski had another quality start, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings, but he did not factor in the decision. Josh Fields was the winner, improving to 2-1, as he threw 2 perfect innings out of the bullpen. Jesse Crain closed the door to get save number 30.

In game two Dexter Fowler went 3 for 5 with a home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored to lead the Houston charge.

Mark Appel got his second win of the season as the rookie went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 8 hits while walking one and striking out 4. Crain came on in the 9th to notch save number 31.

HOU 3-9-1
SF 2-6-0

HOU 5-10-0
SF 3-10-0

The Astros will have Thursday off before returning to Houston for a 10-game home stand that will see the Tigers, Rays and Dodgers come calling.

AL West Standings through Thursday, August 13, 2015

Rangers 66-47
Astros 61-54
Mariners 58-57
Athletics 58-58
Angels 54-60

2015 Houston Astros Team Leaders

Runs
Altuve 62
Springer 60
Carter 57

Complete Games
Cosart 3
Locke 2
Wojciechowski 1
Appel 1

[steelerfan]

Astros Team Statistics (MLB Rank in parenthesis)

Batting .252 (15)
Runs 491 (T5)
Doubles 185 (15)
Triples 25 (T8)
Home Runs 125 (T5)
RBI 474 (8)
Stolen Bases 72 (9)
SB % .621 (28)
Walks 333 (21)
Strikeouts 998 (27)
Slugging % .408 (6)
On-Base % .312 (20)
GIDP 99 (30)

Assists 1104 (1)
Fielding % .985 (19)

ERA 4.04 (26)
Shutouts 8 (T20)
Saves 38 (T5)
Blown Saves 15 (T19)
HR Allowed 130 (T28)
BB Allowed 304 (T3)
Strikeouts 849 (24)

[steelerfan]

Detroit Tigers (55-61) vs Houston Astros (61-54)
August 14-16, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Max Scherzer (6-6, 2.86) vs Jarred Cosart (11-6, 3.15)

Game Two - Saturday 1:10 PM
Drew Smyly (7-8, 4.46) vs Jeff Locke (8-7, 4.10)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Rick Porcello (5-4, 3.96) vs Alex White (8-8, 4.25)

[steelerfan]

The Astros home stand got off to a tough start as the Tigers took the first 2 games of a 3-game weekend series. Houston did manage a walk off win in extra innings to salvage a win in game 3, however.

George Springer homered in the bottom of the 1st inning to get the Astros an early lead in the opener. It was all the offense Houston would manage but Springer would finish the day 3 for 3 as he added a walk, a single and a double to his line before the game's end.

Jarred Cosart took his 7th loss of the year as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings.

Springer provided a first inning bomb again in game two and, again, it was the only run the Astros would score. Springer had another good game at the dish, going 3 for 4.

Jeff Locke allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits in 7 innings to take his 8th loss.

George Springer went 0 for 5 in the finale and that was just what the offense needed. Houston got home runs from Dexter Fowler, Dominic Brown, Matt Dominguez and a 2-run walk off bomb from Chris Carter add they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Detroit on 10 innings.

Starter Alex White was lucky to get a no-decision after he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings. Josh Fields was the winner out of the bullpen as he is now 3-1.

Notes: Scott Atchison left game 2 with a sprained ligament in his throwing elbow and was put on the 15-day DL. Luis Cruz was recalled to replace Atchison in the Houston bullpen but Cruz would spend just one day with the big club before being optioned back to Fresno. Cruz was debt back down because the club activated Brad Peacock from the 60-day DL. Manager Bo Porter said Peacock (3-1, 3.00) would be inserted immediately back into the starting rotation and that Alex White (8-8, 4.36) would go to the bullpen.

DET 4-8-0
HOU 1-6-1

DET 3-7-0
HOU 1-6-3

DET 4-8-0 F/10
HOU 6-13-0

Tampa Bay will be in town on Monday for the first of 4 between the 2 clubs that currently hold the two American League Wildcard spots. Following the series with the Rays, the defending world champion Los Angeles Dodgers will spend the weekend in Houston, playing three with the Astros.

AL West Standings through Sunday, August 16, 2015

Rangers 66-50
Astros 62-56
Mariners 60-58
Athletics 59-60
Angels 55-62

[steelerfan]

Tampa Bay Rays (70-47) vs Houston Astros (62-56)
August 17-20, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Chris Archer (6-3, 3.30) vs Asher Wojciechowski (7-4, 4.83)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Alex Cobb (6-7, 4.93) vs Mark Appel (2-1, 3.23)

Game Three - Wednesday 7:10 PM
Jeremy Hellickson (10-9, 4.85) vs Jarred Cosart (11-7, 3.26)

Game Four - Thursday 1:10 PM
Zack Greinke (13-3, 2.85) vs Jeff Locke (8-8, 4.03)

[steelerfan]

With Brad Peacock coming off the 60-day DL, the Astros 40-man roster was at 41. To make room on the 40-man roster, Houston has removed outfielder Jared Mitchell from the 40-man and placed him on outright waivers. Mitchell, 26, is hitting .215 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 107 AB for AA Corpus Christi.

[steelerfan]

Following an absolute demolition of Tampa Bay in the series opener (more on that when the series concludes), the Astros made some more roster moves.

First, first baseman Jesus Guzman was placed on outright assignment waivers to remove him from the 40-man roster.

Houston then purchased the contract of outfielder LJ Hoes from Fresno and recalled him to the big league club.

To make room for Hoes, Houston optioned first baseman Jon Singleton back to Fresno.

Singleton hit .237 with a homer and 3 RBI in 59 AB since being called up to Houston. Hoes was hitting .319 in Fresno and he hit .268 with a homer and 23 RBI in 228 AB with Houston last season. He is a .274 career hitter.

[steelerfan]

The Astros lost three straight to Tampa Bay, after winning the opener in a laugher, to lose the four game series at Minute Maid Park, 3-1.

In the opener Houston got home runs from George Springer, Marwin Gonzalez and Matt Dominguez and also had 7 doubles among their 26 hits as the Astros embarrassed the Rays, 19-1.

11 Astros scored, 6 of them more than once, 10 got a hit, 7 had more than 1 and 9 drove a run in with 6 getting multiple RBI. Dexter Fowler, Chris Carter and Dominic Brown each had 4 hits to lead the way.

Asher Wojciechowski got his 8th win, allowing a run on 6 hits with 8 strikeouts in 6 innings.

Jason Castro went 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI in the loss in game two.

Mark Appel took his second loss in the 6-4 decision. Appel surrendered 4 runs on 4 hits with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks in 6 innings on the hill.

Former Astro Jerome Williams earned a hold for the Rays as he struck out Chris Carter with runners on the corners and two away in the 8th.

The Astros couldn't muster a run until there were 2 away in the bottom of the 9th in game three as they were 4-1 losers.

Jarred Cosart got a quality start, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk with 7 strikeouts in 6 innings, but he was tagged with his 8th loss.

Marwin Gonzalez broke up a Zack Greinke no-hit bid and spoiled his shutout effort with a pinch-hit solo homer with one away in the eighth but Tampa won the finale easily, 8-1


Jeff Locke suffered his 9th defeat after allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 5.2 innings of work.

TB 1-7-0
HOU 19-26-0

TB 6-6-1
HOU 4-12-0

TB 4-8-1
HOU 1-8-0

TB 8-13-1
HOU 1-2-0

The Astros are 2-5 on their current 10-game homestand and will close things up with 3 against the defending world champion Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend.

AL West Standings through Thursday, August 20, 2015

Rangers 67-53
Astros 63-59
Mariners 62-59
Athletics 60-62
Angels 58-63

[steelerfan]

Following the Tampa Bay series, Houston made another set of roster moves.

The Astros optioned pitchers Alex White and Mike Foltynewicz to Fresno and recalled pitchers Matt Albers and Paul Clemens from Fresno.

White was 8-8 with a 4.55 ERA and had not adjusted well to his new long relief role with Houston.

Foltynewicz went 2-3 with 2 saves and a 4.81 ERA in Houston. He struggled for large stretches of 2015 and never returned to his 2014 form.

Albers was 5-1 with a pair of saves and a 1.36 ERA in Fresno. The 32-year-old veteran was 3-5 with a 5.54 ERA in Houston last season and will take up a setup role this go-round.

Clemens was 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA for the Grizzlies. Paul was 1-4 with a 6.90 ERA in Houston in 2014. He will fit in as a long reliever for Bo Porter this time around.

[steelerfan]

Los Angeles Dodgers (66-54) vs Houston Astros (63-59)
August 21-23, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Clayton Kershaw (12-7, 2.46) vs Brad Peacock (3-1, 3.00)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
David Price (11-6, 2.54) vs Asher Wojciechowski (8-4, 4.63)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Hyun-Jin Ryu (10-6, 3.46) vs Mark Appel (2-2, 3.68)

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros Organizational Injury List

Day-to-day
3B Matt Dominguez (MLB) Bruised Arm
SP Thomas Shirley (AAA) Pulled Leg Muscle

15-day DL
RP Scott Atchison (MLB) Sprained Elbow Ligament
2B Emil Arnez (AAA) Fractured Forearm
SP Lucas Harrell (AAA) Fractured Forearm
RP Jason Motte (AAA) Broken Arm
RP Shawn Armstrong (AA) Torn Finger Ligament
RF Preston Tucker (AA) Torn Groin
SP Vincent Velasquez (AA) Head Contusion

60-day DL
LF Robbie Grossman (MLB) Fractured Hand
RF Domingo Santana (AAA) Torn ACL
CF Alex Presley (AAA) Torn Hamstring
LF Danry Vasquez (AA) Torn ACL
C Max Stassi (AA) Fractured Wrist