MLB The Show: Steelerfan's Houston Astros Franchise

[steelerfan]

Thank you, Bigshooter, and welcome to TGT. I am looking forward to picking up this Franchise next Spring when MLB 15 releases.

Right now, I'm too consumed with my Chelsea Manager Career on FIFA 15 to even consider MLB or getting started on a BAGM with NHL.

If you ever decide that you want to have your own thread like this one, go for it! We could always use a few more of these. :up:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A

[jaymo76]

Steeler, you playing the Show 14 again??? I saw on my PS4 homepage you have been in MLB 14.

[steelerfan]

Steeler, you playing the Show 14 again??? I saw on my PS4 homepage you have been in MLB 14.
Just playing a little RTTS. I think I'll play a little between now and MLBTS15 just to get back in the swing.

#TheScriptIsDead

[steelerfan]

It's just about time to get this cranked up again using MLB 15 The Show.

Here's a look at the Astros 2015 Opening Day roster:

STARTING LINEUP
2B Jose Altuve (84 OVR)
RF Dexter Fowler (81)
C Jason Castro (82)
1B Chris Carter (80)
CF George Springer (84)
DH Stanley Knott (72, Rookie)
SS Carlos Correa (77)
LF Alex Presley (71)
3B Matt Dominguez (77)

BENCH
OF Robbie Grossman (69)
IF Adeiny Hechavarria (72)
C/CIF Charlie Barbour (71, Rookie)
MIF Ronald Torreyes (73, Rookie)

PITCHING ROTATION
R Jarred Cosart (86)
L Brett Oberholtzer (79)
Asher Wojciechowski (75, Rookie)
L Jeff Locke (76)
R Alex White (75)

BULLPEN
LRP R Mike Foltynewicz (74)
LRP L Luis Cruz (72, Rookie)
MRP R Jason Motte (80)
MRP R Josh Fields (72)
SU L Darin Downs (70)
SU R Scott Atchison (73)
CP R Jesse Crain (82)

Notable players in Minors:
AAA Fresno Grizzlies
SP Brad Peacock
SP Mark Appel
SP Paul Clemens
CP Chad Qualls
RP Matt Albers
SS Marwin Gonzalez
1B Jon Singleton
RP Jason Stoffel
RF Domingo Santana
LF LJ Hoes

AA Corpus Christi Hooks
SP Dallas Keuchel
AA Vincent Velasquez
RP Bruce Rondon

[steelerfan]

Cleveland Indians at Houston Astros
April 6, 8-9
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters
Game One - Monday 1:10 PM
Justin Masterson vs Jarred Cosart

Game Two - Wednesday 7:10 PM
Danny Salazar vs Brett Oberholtzer

Game Three - Thursday 1:10 PM
Francisco Liriano vs Asher Wojciechowski

[steelerfan]

The opening series of 2015 is in the books and the Astros managed to take 2 of 3 from the Cleveland Indians at Minute Maid Park.

Houston staff ace Jarred Cosart was masterful on Opening Day, going 7.2 innings of shutout ball while allowing 6 hits and a walk to go with 5 strikeouts.

As good as Cosart was in the opener, Brett Oberholtzer was equally awful in the second game. The lefty allowed 5 runs on 7 hits in just 2.2 innings of work.

Last season's September Sensation Asher Wojciechowski got mixed reviews for his game 3 performance. Wojciechowski went 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits with 3 strikeouts and 3 bases on balls for a No Decision.

The biggest hit of the series came in the 7th inning of game 3 when Houston rookie Stanley Knott hit a 3-run pinch-hit homer to help the Astros overcome a 3-1 deficit and take the series. Knott was 2 for 7 with a homer and 3 RBI in the series.

First baseman Chris Carter was the star of the series at the dish for Houston. The 28 year old was 5 for 12 with a long ball and 2 RBI.

Jesse Crain was 2 for 2 in save opportunities, despite allowing a home run in his first outing.

CLE 1-7-0
HOU 2-9-0

CLE 7-12-0
HOU 1-3-0

CLE 3-8-1
HOU 5-7-1

The Astros hit just .207 in the series, compared to Cleveland's .260 and had just 4 extra base hits to the Tribe's 9. Those numbers will have to improve if Houston wants to keep winning.

The Astros pitching staff struck out 17 and walked 7, while Cleveland registered 19 and 6.

Houston will travel to Arlington to play 3 with the Rangers (4-0) beginning Friday.

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (2-1) at Texas Rangers (4-0)
April 10-12, 2015
Globe Life Park - Arlington, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 2:05 PM
Jeff Locke (NR) vs Gavin Floyd (NR)

Game Two - Saturday 2:05 PM
Alex White (NR) vs Yu Darvish (1-0, 2.25)

Game Three - Sunday 2:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (1-0, 0.00) vs Tanner Scheppers (1-0, 2.16)

[JBHuskers]

I see Altuve and Springer are 84 OVR in your RTTS. What are they OVR on the regular 15 roster?

[steelerfan]

I see Altuve and Springer are 84 OVR in your RTTS. What are they OVR on the regular 15 roster?
Altuve is a 91. Not sure about Springer.

[steelerfan]

Following the Astros 6-5 loss to the Rangers in Arlington on Friday afternoon, reports surfaced that Houston has shown interest in trading for Dodgers reliever JP Howell. We'll keep you posted as this story develops.

[steelerfan]

The Astros were 8-2 losers to the Rangers on Saturday, falling to 2-3 on the season.

The big news, however, followed the game when the club announced that they have traded outfield prospect Tim Belliard, 20, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for veteran left-handed reliever JP Howell, 31.

Howell (75, C) will move into a setup role for the Astros and will give Manager Bo Porter a much-needed third lefty in his bullpen. Howell made 2 appearances for LA this season, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings despite allowing opponents to hit .357 against him. He has no record this season but is 33-31 with 22 saves and a 4.01 ERA in just over 8 seasons of service time in his career.

To make room on the big league roster for Howell, Houston has optioned reliever Josh D. Fields to AAA Fresno. Fields pitched 3 scoreless innings for the Astros this season and the 29 year old righty (72, C) is 2-5 with 5 saves and a 4.71 ERA in his career.

Belliard (62, C) will join the Dodgers AAA affiliate in Oklahoma City.

[steelerfan]

Following the acquisition of JP Howell from the Dodgers, Houston was forced to make room for him on their 40-man roster as well. To do so, the club placed 24 year old reliever Bruce Rondon (currently with AA Corpus Christi) on outright waivers.

Rondon can be claimed by any other club in the next 48 hours. If he is unclaimed, Rondon will remain with the Astros. Rondon (65, B) was originally acquired with Jeff Locke from Pittsburgh in exchange for SPs Scott Feldman and Colin McHugh during the Spring.

[steelerfan]

Jason Castro was the star, going 2 for 4 with a double, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, in the series finale in Arlington as Houston rallied from a 3-0 deficit to hand Texas their first loss of 2015 on Sunday, 10-5.

Jarred Cosart improved to 2-0 despite a very ordinary outing. Cosart went 6 innings allowing 4 runs on 4 hits with 5 Ks and 2 walks. Luis Cruz pitched the final 3 innings to earn the first save of his Major League career.

In game two, a 8-2 loss, Alex White had a rough day on the mound going just 3.1 innings allowing 8 runs on 9 hits with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks.

In the opener, Houston lost 6-5 despite 6 doubles and homers from Dexter Fowler and Jason Castro. Jeff Locke struggled in his Astros debut, allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits in 6 innings. Locke did register 8 punch outs to go with a pair of walks.

HOU 5-14-1
TEX 6-7-1

HOU 2-4-0
TEX 8-12-0

HOU 10-10-0
TEX 5-7-2

The Astros will return home for 6 games beginning on Monday when they face the Oakland A's in the first of three games. After taking Thursday off, the Astros will host the Angels in a weekend series before hitting the road again.

[steelerfan]

Oakland Athletics (1-6) at Houston Astros (3-3)
April 13-15, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - 7:10 PM Monday
AJ Griffin (0-1, 3.00) vs Brett Oberholtzer (0-1, 16.88)

Game Two - 7:10 PM Tuesday
Scott Kazmir (0-1, 4.05) vs Asher Wojciechowski (0-0, 4.50)

Game Three - 1:10 PM Wednesday
Jesse Chavez (1-0, 3.18) vs Jeff Locke (0-0, 4.50)

[steelerfan]

AL West Standings through Sunday, April 12, 2015

Rangers 6-1
Angels 3-3
Mariners 3-3
Astros 3-3
Athletics 1-6

[steelerfan]

In the second game of the series with Oakland, second baseman Jose Altuve suffered a finger contusion sliding into third base in the first inning. Altuve is expected to miss 2 to 3 weeks while the finger heals and, as a result, Houston has placed Altuve on the 15-day DL.

To replace Altuve, the Astros recalled infielder Marwin Gonzalez from AAA Fresno. Gonzalez (70, C), 25, is a career .229 hitter with 12 home runs and 60 RBI in 785 AB. Last season Gonzalez hit .231 with 6 homers and 34 RBI in 376 AB with the Astros.

In related organizational news, reliever Bruce Rondon has cleared waivers and been sent outright AA Corpus Christi after being removed from the 40-man roster following Houston's acquisition of reliever JP Howell from the Dodgers.

[steelerfan]

The Astros took 2 of 3 from the Oakland Athletics as both clubs hit better than .300 (.302 and. 306 respectively) in a high scoring offensive barrage.

The Astros took game one with a walk-off single by Jose Altuve, 8-7. Brett Oberholtzer allowed 5 runs on 6 hits with 3 strikeouts and Scott Atchison ultimately earned his first win for Houston out of the bullpen. George Springer (2), Carlos Correa (2) and Alex Presley (3) were the stars at the plate for Houston as each drove in multiple runs and each hit one out.

In game two, the Astros fell 7-4 despite a huge day from CF Dexter Fowler. Fowler, who missed most of 2014 with a torn MCL, went 3 for 5 with a double, a triple and 4 RBI. Rookie Asher Wojciechowski took his first loss in the Majors, despite a quality start. Asher went 6 innings allowing 5 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits with 4 punch outs and 3 walks. Wojciechowski was the victim of 3 errors by the Houston defense.

Houston bounced back in a big way on Wednesday afternoon, taking the rubber match 13-2. Lefty Jeff Locke, acquired from Pittsburgh in the Spring, earned his first win as an Astro allowing 2 runs on 7 hits with 4 Ks and 4 walks in 6 innings of work. 4 Astros hitters drove in multiple runs including rookie Charlie Barbour who hit a 3-run homer, the first of his career, in his only at-bat.

OAK 7-12-1
HOU 8-10-0

OAK 7-11-1
HOU 4-9-3

OAK 2-10-1
HOU 13-13-0

The Astros have Thursday off before the Los Angeles Angels visit for a 3 game weekend series.

AL West Standings through Thursday, April 16, 2015

Angels 6-3
Rangers 6-4
Astros 5-4
Mariners 4-5
Athletics 2-8

[steelerfan]

Los Angeles Angels (6-3) at Houston Astros (5-4)
April 17-19, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Tyler Skaggs (1-0, 2.16) vs Alex White (0-1, 21.60)

Game Two - Saturday 1:10 PM
Jered Weaver (0-1, 4.76) vs Jarred Cosart (2-0, 2.63)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
CJ Wilson (0-1, 3.09) vs Brett Oberholtzer (0-1, 11.74)

[steelerfan]

Here's a look at the Astros Team Statistics through the first 10 games of the season (beat the Angels 5-2 in the opener of that series). I'm posting these for no other reason than to track the validity of the numbers, with respect to my sliders.

(MLB Rank in Parenthesis)

Batting .257 (16)
Runs 55 (T-4)
Doubles 21 (T-10)
Triples 3 (T-4)
Home Runs 11 (T-11)
RBI 52 (5)
Stolen Bases 4 (T-16)
SB% .800 (T-13)
BB 31 (T-17)
K 84 (T-21)
Slugging .435 (8)
On-base% .319 (17)
GIDP 4 (T-3)

Assists 104 (4)
Put Outs 266 (22)
Fielding% .987 (15)
ERA 4.36 (21)
Saves 4 (T-5)
Blown Saves 1 (T-8)
Hits Allowed 99 (22)
Runs Allowed 48 (20)
Earned Runs 43 (20)
Home Runs Allowed 12 (T-22)
BB Allowed 26 (T-4)
Strikeouts 68 (T-28)

There's a few things that I need to keep an eye on but it's most important that I'm not the runaway best or the clear worst at anything. I'm not. It's a small sample though.

I'll try to keep posting these every 10 games.

[steelerfan]

In an important early season weekend series, the Astros took 2 of 3 from the Angels.

In game one on Friday night, Houston rode the pitching of Alex White who went 7 innings allowing just 1 run on 9 hits with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk to earn his first win of 2015. Jesse Crain notched his 3rd save, closing the 5-2 win.

On Saturday, newly called up infielder Marwin Gonzalez fueled a comeback from a 6-3 deficit with an 8th inning grand slam providing 4 of his 5 RBIs with a single swing of the bat. Scott Atchison recorded his 2nd win for the Astros and Jesse Crain earned his 4th save in an 8-6 victory.

Houston lost game 3 in 11 innings, but got a nice Orting from starting pitcher Brett Oberholtzer who allowed just 3 runs on 4 hits and recorded 7 Ks to go with 4 walks in 7 innings of work. Mike Foltynewicz was tagged with the loss in the 4-3 game.

LAA 2-13-1
HOU 5-8-0

LAA 6-10-1
HOU 8-14-1

LAA 4-10-2 F/11
HOU 3-12-0

The Astros will play the first of 9 straight on the road on Monday night in Seattle. After 3 with the Mariners, Houston will take Thursday off before playing 3 each in Oakland and San Diego.

[steelerfan]

AL West Standings through Sunday, April 19, 2015

Astros 7-5
Angels 7-5
Rangers 7-6
Mariners 6-6
Athletics 3-10

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (7-5) at Seattle Mariners (6-6)
April 20-22, 2015
Safeco Field - Seattle, Washington

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (0-1, 3.75) vs Taijuan Walker (1-1, 5.11)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Jeff Locke (1-0, 3.75) vs Erasmo Ramirez (0-1, 4.91)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Alex White (1-1, 7.84) vs Adrian Laker (0-0, 1.42)

[steelerfan]

The Astros limped out of Safeco Field with a Game Three win that kept them from being swept by the Mariners.

Houston lost the first game, 8-6, as Asher Wojciechowski left after 5.2 innings. The rookie allowed 5 runs on 8 hits with 4 Ks and no walks and was credited with a no-decision.

In game two, the Astros took a 3-2 loss despite the best efforts of Jeff Locke who fell to 1-1. Locke went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and struck out 2.

The Astros exploded for 9 runs in game three, starting with 4 in the first inning. Ronald Torreyes had 3 hits, including his first big league long ball and Alex White (2-1) Earned his second win of the season despite an average outing. White allowed 3 runs on 9 hits with a walk and 4 strikeouts in 5 innings of work.

HOU 6-15-0
SEA 8-15-1

HOU 2-6-0
SEA 3-8-0

HOU 9-13-0
SEA 5-14-1

The Astros will take Thursday off before playing 3 in Oakland beginning Friday.

Note: I've started to make some slider tweaks, slowly. Too many runs and hits for both sides.

AL West Standings through Thursday, April 23, 2015

Mariners 8-7
Rangers 8-7
Astros 8-7
Angels 8-8
Athletics 6-11

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (8-7) at Oakland Athletics (6-11)
April 24-26, 2015
O.co Coliseum - Oakland, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (2-0, 3.60) vs AJ Griffin (0-2, 8.79)

Game Two - Saturday 12:35 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (0-1, 7.98) vs Scott Kazmir (2-1, 3.48)

Game Three - Sunday 12:35 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (0-1, 5.09) vs Jesse Chavez (2-1, 2.41)

[jaymo76]

When do you have the Blue Jays on your schedule? Wouldn't mind checking them out.

[steelerfan]

When do you have the Blue Jays on your schedule? Wouldn't mind checking them out.
I'm going to play in about 2 hours. When I do, I'll look at the schedule and let you know, buddy.

[steelerfan]

Here's the rundown, jaymo, of when I play Toronto this season (current date is April 24):

-4 games in Houston, beginning May 14

-3 games in Toronto beginning June 5

I'm sure we can work something out to either let you watch via Twitch or Share Play. We'll keep in communication as those days approach. :up:

[jaymo76]

Here's the rundown, jaymo, of when I play Toronto this season (current date is April 24):

-4 games in Houston, beginning May 14

-3 games in Toronto beginning June 5

I'm sure we can work something out to either let you watch via Twitch or Share Play. We'll keep in communication as those days approach. :up:

Sounds good bud!

[jaymo76]

Hey I just just thinking that you will need to give an update on Jerome Williams later on this season. I had to look it up but he went to TB as a free agent. Don't recall if he left for the money or if you didn't want to re-sign him though...

[steelerfan]

Hey I just just thinking that you will need to give an update on Jerome Williams later on this season. I had to look it up but he went to TB as a free agent. Don't recall if he left for the money or if you didn't want to re-sign him though...
Yeah. Good point. I have kept my eye on Scott Feldman in Pittsburgh (he was part of the Jeff Locke deal). I played against Humberto Quintero (former Astro now with Seattle) recently and it reminded me of Carlos Corporan (my backup catcher last year). I let Corporan walk and he is still a Free Agent (he's with the Rangers in real life this year).

I need to pick over my roster from last season and keep a running list on paper of former players and give updates as you suggested. :up:

[steelerfan]

Come to think of it, jaymo, I've been planning to give an in-depth statistical update on my players at the end of each month. I think I'll add former players to that update.

[steelerfan]

The Astros used a 4-run 8th inning to get a 5-2 win in the series opener in Oakland. Dexter Fowler went 2 for 5 at the plate with 2 runs scored to lead the charge, offensively. Jarred Cosart improved to 3-0 by allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 9 punch outs and a walk in 7 innings of work. JP Howell notched his first hold of the year and Jesse Crain earned his 5th save.

In game 2 the Astros were blown out, 10-3. George Springer and Adeiny Hechavarria were the bright spots at the plate as each went 2 for 4. Brett Oberholtzer fell to 0-2 as he lasted just 5 innings and surrendered 5 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits with a pair of strikeouts and 5 bases on balls.

Houston watched a 3-0 lead turn into a 7-3 deficit before rallying late for a 8-7 win in Sunday's rubber match as the Astros won a road series for the first time in 2015. George Springer had 3 hits to lead 4 Astros who had multi-hit games. Chris Carter drove in 3 runs and belted his 4th home run of the season and rookie Stanley Knott hit his first career long ball. Starter Asher Wojciechowski was hit hard, allowing 7 runs on 10 hits with 3 Ks and a walk in just 3.2 innings of work. Darin Downs notched the win out of the bullpen, Scott Atchison got his 3rd hold and Jesse Crain shut the door in the 9th for save number 6.

HOU 5-8-1
OAK 2-5-2

HOU 3-8-1
OAK 10-11-1

HOU 8-11-1
OAK 7-11-1

The Astros will play three in San Diego against the Padres beginning Monday.

AL West Standings through Sunday, April 26, 2015

Mariners 10-8
Rangers 10-8
Astros 10-8
Angels 9-10
Athletics 7-13

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (10-8) at San Diego Padres (9-11)
April 27-29, 2015
Petco Park - San Diego, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.79) vs Ian Kennedy (3-0, 0.00)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Alex White (2-1, 7.04) vs Andrew Cashner (0-0, 5.32)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Jarred Cosart (3-0, 3.33) vs Patrick Logan (0-3, 6.14)

[steelerfan]

After game 2 in San Diego, the Astros activated second baseman Jose Altuve (finger contusion) from the 15-day DL. Altuve, according to manager Bo Porter, will still miss a few days as he is working his way back from injury.

To make room on the big league roster, the Astros optioned second baseman Ronald Torreyes to AAA Fresno. Torreyes, 22, made the opening day roster but has been outplayed by Marwin Gonzalez who was called up from Fresno when Altuve was put on the DL.

Torreyes hit .259 with a homer and 3 RBI in 27 at-bats with Houston. Meanwhile Gonzalez, 25, has hit .323 with 2 long balls and 11 runs batted in in 31 ABs.

Altuve, 24, hit .258 with a pair of RBI before suffering the injury.

[steelerfan]

The Astros got their most impressive pitching performance of the young season on Monday in San Diego when lefty Jeff Locke threw a complete game 4-hit shutout and Houston beat the Padres, 4-0. Locke struck out 7, did not issue a walk and faced just one over the minimum in shutting down the San Diego attack. Houston got solo home runs from George Springer and Carlos Correa as Springer was one of 3 Astro batters to tally 3 hits on the day.

In game two Jason Castro went 3 for 4 at the plate with an RBI but the Houston pitching staff imploded and San Diego won easily, 12-4. The poor pitching began with starter Alex White who allowed 6 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts while lasting just 3 innings as the righty took his second loss of 2015.

In the rubber match, the Astros were 5-3 losers despite solo home runs from Dexter Fowler, Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez - his first of the campaign. In another first, Houston ace Jarred Cosart was tagged with his first loss as he allowed 5 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits with 8 punch outs and no walks in 6 innings on the hill.

HOU 4-12-0
SD 0-4-0

HOU 4-11-2
SD 12-17-1

HOU 3-7-1
SD 5-11-0

The Astros went 4-5 on the 9-game road trip and will return home on Thursday as they close the month of April with the first of 4 against the Seattle Mariners.

[steelerfan]

Even though April is not quite over, the next series starts on the last day of the month so I'm going to go ahead and give a bit of a statistical report on things through April 29, 2015.

Standings

American League

East
Toronto 14-8
Baltimore 11-11
Boston 10-12
Tampa Bay 10-12
NY Yankees 7-15

Central
Minnesota 13-8
Cleveland 11-9
ChiSox 11-10
Kansas City 10-12
Detroit 9-13

West
Texas 13-8
Houston 11-10
Seattle 10-11
LA Angels 9-12
Oakland 9-13

National League

East
Washington 17-5
Miami 13-9
Atlanta 12-9
NY Mets 9-13
Philadelphia 9-13

Central
Cincinnati 12-10
Pittsburgh 11-11
Milwaukee 10-12
ChiCubs 9-13
St. Louis 9-13

West
LA Dodgers 12-9
San Francisco 12-11
Arizona 11-10
Colorado 11-11
San Diego 11-12

[steelerfan]

Astros Statistics

Position Players
Chris Carter .225, 5 HR, 14 RBI
George Springer .346, 3 HR, 15 RBI
Dexter Fowler .297, 2 HR, 11 RBI
Alex Presley .194, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Jason Castro .348, 2 HR, 8 RBI
Matt Dominguez .274, 1 HR, 11 RBI
Robbie Grossman .226, 0 HR, 4 RBI
Carlos Correa .264, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Stanley Knott .286, 2 HR, 9 RBI
Marwin Gonzalez .314, 2 HR, 11 RBI
Jose Altuve .258, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Charlie Barbour .367, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Adeiny Hechavarria .261, 0 HR, 1 RBI

Now in AAA
Ronald Torreyes .259, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Starting Pitchers
Jarred Cosart 3-1, 3.55, 31 K, 8 BB
Brett Oberholtzer 0-2, 7.78, 16 K, 9 BB
Asher Wojciechowski 0-1, 7.17, 14 K, 7 BB
Jeff Locke 2-1, 2.57, 21 K, 6 BB
Alex White 2-2, 8.35, 15 K, 6 BB

Relievers
Mike Foltynewicz 0-1, 5.02, 15 K, 5 BB
Scott Atchison 2-0, 2.31, 1 BSV, 3 HLD, 4 K, 4 BB
Luis Cruz 0-2, 5.06, 1 SV, 1 BSV, 1 HLD, 7 K, 0 BB
Jesse Crain 0-0, 1.23, 6 SV, 0 BSV, 5 K, 0 BB
JP Howell 0-0, 1.29, 1 BSV, 1 HLD, 5 K, 2 BB
Jason Motte 1-0, 10.29, 3 K, 2 BB
Darin Downs 1-0, 2.70, 1 HLD, 6 K, 2 BB



Former Astros
C Carlos Corporan (Free Agent)
2B Tony Kemp (NYY - MLB) .182, 0 HR, 1 RBI
SP Scott Feldman (PIT - MLB) 0-2, 3.20, 12 K, 6 BB (on DL with Sprained Elbow Ligament)
SP Collin McHugh (PIT - AAA Indianapolis) 0-0, 1.50, 10 K, 0 BB
SP Jerome Williams (TB - MLB) 0-0, 0.00, 0 K, 2 BB
SS Jonathan Villar (MIA - MLB) .240, 0 HR, 6 RBI

[steelerfan]

Seattle Mariners (10-11) vs Houston Astros (11-10)
April 30 - May 3, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Thursday 7:10 PM
Hisashi Iwakuma (3-1, 3.28) vs Brett Oberholtzer (0-2, 7.78)

Game Two - Friday 7:10 PM
Taijuan Walker (1-2, 4.98) vs Asher Wojciechowski (0-1, 7.17)

Game Three - Saturday 1:10 PM
Erasmo Ramirez (1-2, 4.37) vs Jeff Locke (2-1, 2.57)

Game Four - Sunday 1:10 PM
Adrian Laker (0-2, 3.32) vs Alex White (2-2, 8.35)

[steelerfan]

Houston took 3 of 4 from Seattle at Minute Maid Park and got some much-needed strong performances from the weakest of their starting pitchers.

In game one the Astros got a pair of 2-run home runs from Alex Presley and Dexter Fowler with Fowler's providing the difference in the 7th inning in the 4-3 win.

Brett Oberholtzer did not factor in the decision but he had his best outing to date, going 6 innings and allowing just 3 runs on 7 hits with 7 strikeouts and a walk. Scott Atchison earned his 3rd win, JP Howell and Darin Downs each notched their second hold and Jesse Crain shut the door for save number 7.

In game two, Stanley Knott went 2 for 3 including a bases-clearing triple and Asher Wojciechowski allowed just 2 runs on 3 hits in 7 innings to earn his first win of 2015 as the Astros were 6-2 victors.

Houston dropped game three, 7-3. Dexter Fowler hit a solo home run to provide Houston's biggest hit of the day. Mike Foltynewicz was given a spot start in favor of Jeff Locke who was deemed to need additional rest after his complete game shutout in San Diego.

Foltynewicz pitched admirably, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits with 2 walks and 5 Ks in 5 innings of work. However, reliever Jason Motte took his first loss of the year after he allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in 2 innings of work. Motte's ERA rose to 11.00 and, after a poor Spring, is under assault from fans and media alike after being Houston's prize free agent acquisition.

George Springer have Houston a 2-1 lead with a 6th inning solo homer in Houston's 3-1 game four win. Alex White lasted 7 innings and allowed just one run on 2 hits with a walk and 8 punch outs to improve his record to 3-2. Scott Atchison earned his 4th hold and Jesse Crain posted save number 8.

SEA 3-9-0
HOU 4-6-1

SEA 2-4-3
HOU 6-11-3

SEA 7-14-0
HOU 3-10-0

SEA 1-2-0
HOU 3-8-0

The Texas Rangers will come to town for a 3-game set beginning on Monday in a series between the top two clubs in the American League West. The Rangers, who lead Houston by 1.5 games, took 2 of 3 games from Houston at Globe Life Park last month.

AL West Standings through Sunday, May 3, 2015

Rangers 15-9
Astros 14-11
Angels 11-14
Mariners 11-14
Athletics 11-15

[steelerfan]

Texas Rangers (15-9) at Houston Astros (14-11)
May 4-6, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Derek Holland (2-1, 2.55) vs Jarred Cosart (3-1, 3.55)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Yu Darvish (2-0, 2.21) vs Brett Oberholtzer (0-2, 7.01)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Tanner Scheppers (3-0, 1.98) vs Asher Wojciechowski (1-1, 6.04)

[jaymo76]

Even though April is not quite over, the next series starts on the last day of the month so I'm going to go ahead and give a bit of a statistical report on things through April 29, 2015.

Standings

American League

East
Toronto 14-8
Baltimore 11-11
Boston 10-12
Tampa Bay 10-12
NY Yankees 7-15

Central
Minnesota 13-8
Cleveland 11-9
ChiSox 11-10
Kansas City 10-12
Detroit 9-13

West
Texas 13-8
Houston 11-10
Seattle 10-11
LA Angels 9-12
Oakland 9-13

National League

East
Washington 17-5
Miami 13-9
Atlanta 12-9
NY Mets 9-13
Philadelphia 9-13

Central
Cincinnati 12-10
Pittsburgh 11-11
Milwaukee 10-12
ChiCubs 9-13
St. Louis 9-13

West
LA Dodgers 12-9
San Francisco 12-11
Arizona 11-10
Colorado 11-11
San Diego 11-12


That AL West Division looks right for the picking this season. If you can dominate the division (like the Jays did in your franchise last season) you could see the 'Stros making a post season appearance this year.

[steelerfan]

That AL West Division looks right for the picking this season. If you can dominate the division (like the Jays did in your franchise last season) you could see the 'Stros making a post season appearance this year.
We'll see where it goes. I think I'm still a year away but I wouldn't be disappointed with getting in this year.

[steelerfan]

The Astros blew a 4-1 lead on game one with the Rangers when Mitch Moreland hit a 3-run homer in the 8th inning, eventually forcing extra innings. The Astros would lose in 11 innings, 5-4.

Jarred Cosart did not factor in the decision as he allowed 3 runs on 2 hits with 5 walks and 8 Ks in 7.2 innings. JP Howell was charged with his second blown save after he allowed the Moreland long ball. Jeff Locke, interestingly, pitched a scoreless 10th inning, to keep loose after getting skipped over in his last scheduled start. Luis Cruz was tagged with his 3rd loss of 2015.

Jason Castro hit a 3-run home run, the biggest blow in a 5-run 3rd inning, as Houston prevailed 6-4 in game 2.

Brett Oberholtzer earned his first win of 2015 as he allowed 3 runs on 9 hits with 4 punch outs and a walk in 5.1 innings. Jason Motte notched his first hold, Darin Downs his third; and closer Jesse Crain closed things out in the top of the 9th, despite surrendering a solo homer, for his 9th save of the year.

Jason Castro hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 9th inning of game three, providing the only opportunity for Astros fans to cheer in an ugly 13-1 loss.

Asher Wojciechowski gave up 8 runs on 8 hits with 5 strikeouts and 5 walks in just 3 innings of work.

Following the dreadful outing, Wojciechowski (1-2, 7.76) was optioned to AAA Fresno and Brad Peacock was recalled to replace him in the rotation.

Peacock, 27, (74, C) was 6-5 with 2 saves and a 3.38 ERA with Houston last season. In his career, Peacock is 13-11 with an ERA of 3.88.

TEX 5-7-1 F/11
HOU 4-10-0

TEX 4-10-0
HOU 6-6-0

TEX 13-19-1
HOU 1-5-0

The Astros finished the 7-game home stand with a 4-3 record, despite dropping 2 of 3 to Texas. The Astros will travel to Los Angeles to play 4 with the Angels, before returning home for 9.

[steelerfan]

AL West Standings through Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Rangers 17-11
Astros 15-13
Mariners 14-14
Athletics 13-17
Angels 11-17

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (15-13) at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (11-17)
May 7-10, 2015
Angel Stadium of Anaheim - Anaheim, California

Game One - Thursday 7:05 PM
Jeff Locke (2-1, 2.48) vs Hector Santiago (1-2, 5.40)

Game Two - Friday 7:05 PM
Alex White (3-2, 6.39) vs Tyler Skaggs (2-3, 5.02)

Game Three - Saturday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (3-1, 3.54) vs Jered Weaver (1-3, 3.00)

Game Four - Sunday 12:35 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (1-2, 6.68) vs CJ Wilson (0-3, 3.68)

[jaymo76]

For whatever reason the Rangers have had your number these past two seasons. Let's hope for a big performance versus the Angels.

[steelerfan]

The Astros split the 4 games in Anaheim with the Angels.

In game one, the offensive highlight was provided by Adeiny Hechavarria. Hechavarria hit his first homer as an Astro, a 3-run shot in the 4th inning. He hit 5 with the Marlins last year before joining Houston in a midseason trade.

Jeff Locke improved to 3-1 with another very strong outing. He went 6 innings allowing just one run on 7 hits with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks. Locke has 5 starts and 5 quality starts this season and, thus far, looks to be a great addition, coming from Pittsburgh in a Spring trade.

Jesse Crain earned his 10th save and Brad Peacock and JP Howell each got a hold.

Carlos Correa hit a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning of game two to provide Houston's only runs. It was nearly enough as Alex White allowed just 1 run on 3 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks in 6.1 innings.

However, the bullpen imploded in the ninth as Jesse Crain took a loss and Darin Downs got a blown save. Anaheim won 3-2.

Dexter Fowler hit a 3-run homer off of the right field foul pole in the 6th inning and George Springer and Chris Carter went back-to-back with 10th inning long balls as Houston took game 3, 7-5 in 10 innings.

Starter Jarred Cosart went 6 innings, allowing one run on 9 hits with 4 punch outs but did not factor in the decision as the bullpen fell apart for the serving night in a row.

Jesse Crain (1-1) eventually got the win and Scott Atchison earned his first save as an Astro.

The Astros lost game four, 4-2. Brett Oberholtzer took the loss but he deserved better. The lefty pitched just 5 innings and he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits with a walk and 4 Ks. However, only 2 of the runs were earned as a pair of errors by Robbie Grossman and Carlos Correa really hurt Houston on the scoreline.

HOU 6-10-0
LAA 5-12-2

HOU 2-4-1
LAA 3-4-0

HOU 7-11-0 F/10
LAA 5-15-1

HOU 2-5-2
LAA 4-6-1

The Astros took Monday off and will host the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday and Wednesday in a quick 2-game set.

Note: Astros rookie Stanley Knott pulled a leg muscle during the pregame warmup before game three in Anaheim and missed the final 2 games of the series. However, manager Bo Porter said that Knott will be ready and available on Tuesday.

AL West Standings through Tuesday, May 11, 2015

Rangers 18-14
Astros 17-15
Athletics 16-18
Mariners 14-17
Angels 13-19

[steelerfan]

San Francisco Giants (15-18) at Houston Astros (17-15)
May 12-13, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Scott Baker (1-2, 5.47) vs Jeff Locke (3-1, 2.31)

Game Two - Wednesday 1:10 PM
CC Sabathia (2-3, 4.76) vs Alex White (3-2, 5.40)

[steelerfan]

The Giants took the opener of a 2-game set in Houston on Tuesday night, winning 5-4.

Jeff Locke lasted 5 innings for the Astros and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits with 4 Ks and 2 walks to take his second loss of 2015.

Carlos Correa and Alex Presley each hit solo home runs for Houston, in defeat.

In game two, the Astros were winners in a wild 13-9 game. Matt Dominguez hit his second long ball of the season and Carlos Correa hit his second in as many days to lead the Astros attack that featured a season-high 17 hits.

Starter Alex White went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs on just 3 hits with 9 strikeouts and 1 walk but he did not factor in the decision. The win went to reliever JP Howell, his first victory with Houston.

SF 5-11-1
HOU 4-9-1

SF 9-10-0
HOU 13-17-0

The Astros will play 4 with the Toronto Blue Jays beginning Thursday night at Minute Maid Park.

AL West Standings through Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Rangers 20-14
Astros 18-16
Athletics 18-18
Mariners 16-17
Angels 14-20

[steelerfan]

Toronto Blue Jays (20-15) vs Houston Astros (18-16)
May 14-17, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Thursday 7:10 PM
Cole Hamels (4-3, 3.53) vs Brad Peacock (0-0, 13.50)

Game Two - Friday 7:10 PM
Shelby Miller (5-2, 2.72) vs Jarred Cosart (3-1, 3.28)

Game Three - Saturday 1:10 PM
Marcus Stroman (1-4, 3.61) vs Brett Oberholtzer (1-3, 6.25)

Game Four - Sunday 1:10 PM
Drew Hutchison (0-1, 2.84) vs Jeff Locke (3-2, 2.70)

[steelerfan]

Jaymo, I'm going to play the first game against the Blue Jays right now. Hit me up on PSN of you'd like to have a look. I'm not sure how many I'll play tonight so let me know what your availability is the next couple days.

Sorry for the short notice, this series kind of snuck up on me.

[jaymo76]

Steeler, if you want to stream a game or two today, I can check it out on my phone. Let me know if you are on twitch and I will check it out.

[steelerfan]

I'm on now. If you have the Playstation app on your phone, message me there and I will get on Twitch.

[jaymo76]

I'm on now. If you have the Playstation app on your phone, message me there and I will get on Twitch.

Too bad that things didn't work out today with twitch. Hope you had a great series buddy. Looking forward to your reports.

[steelerfan]

The Astros struggled in a 4-game series at Minute Maid Park against one of the American League's best teams. The defending AL Pennant winners, the Toronto Blue Jays, came to Texas and battered the Houston pitching staff.

The Jays hit .316 and totaled 23 extra base hits including 12 home runs in taking three of four from the Astros. Meanwhile, Houston hit just .233 with 8 extra base hits and only 2 long balls.

The Astros took game one despite being out hit 15 to 8 behind a first start of 2015 by Brad Peacock. Peacock lasted 6 innings and allowed just 1 run on 8 hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Jesse Crain notched his 11th save in the win.

In game two Chris Carter went 3 for 4 at the dish but Jarred Cosart had a tough time on the hill. Cosart took his second loss of the season as he allowed 7 runs on 7 hits in just 4.2 innings.

Brett Oberholtzer took the loss in the third game as he went 7.0 innings and allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits. However, he excited with a 2-1 deficit and Mike Foltynewicz promptly surrendered 5 runs (4 earned) on the 8th innings as Toronto pulled away.

The finale was a laugher. Toronto bombed starter Jeff Locke for 9 runs (8 earned) in his 5 innings of work. The bullpen shut down the Blue Jays, allowing just a single hit in 4 innings, but the damage was done.

TOR 4-15-0
HOU 7-8-0

TOR 12-15-0
HOU 3-12-0

TOR 7-9-0
HOU 3-7-1

TOR 9-9-2
HOU 1-4-1

The Astros will look to regroup as they host the Oakland A's in a three game set, before hitting the road again.

AL West Standings through Sunday, May 17, 2015

Rangers 23-15
Athletics 21-18
Astros 19-19
Mariners 18-19
Angels 17-20

[steelerfan]

Oakland Athletics (21-18) at Houston Astros (19-19)
May 18-20, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Sonny Gray (2-3, 5.49) vs Alex White (3-2, 5.50)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
AJ Griffin (3-2, 3.72) vs Brad Peacock (1-0, 3.68)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Jarrod Parker (2-4, 4.47) vs Jarred Cosart (3-2, 4.21)

[steelerfan]

After a series to forget, against Toronto, for Houston pitching, the Astros staff rebounded with brilliance against the Oakland Athletics and helped take 2 of 3 from the A's.

In game one Alex White improved to 4-2 as he allowed just one run on 5 hits in 7 innings of work. Jesse Crain got save number 12 to close out a 2-1 victory for the home 9.

Game two went to the A's, 4-2, despite a solid performance from Brad Peacock. Peacock pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits.

In the rubber match the Astros got multi-hit performances from Dexter Fowler, Jason Castro, Stanley Knott and Matt Dominguez but the real story was the outing turned in by starter Jarred Cosart. Cosart went 8 innings and just one run on 5 hits. JP Howell notched his 6th hold and Jesse Crain earned his AL-best 13th save for the Astros.

OAK 1-6-0
HOU 2-6-0

OAK 4-9-2
HOU 2-8-0

OAK 1-6-0
HOU 2-9-0

The Astros will hit the road for the next 7 days, beginning with the first of 4 games in Detroit on Thursday.

AL West Standings through Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Rangers 24-16
Athletics 22-20
Astros 21-20
Mariners 19-20
Angels 19-21

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (21-20) at Detroit Tigers (19-22)
May 21-24, 2015
Comerica Park - Detroit, Michigan

Probable Starters:

Game One - Thursday 7:08 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (1-4, 5.65) vs Max Scherzer (0-1, 3.18)

Game Two - Friday 7:08 PM
Jeff Locke (3-3, 4.00) vs Anibal Sanchez (4-2, 2.36)

Game Three - Saturday 1:08 PM
Alex White (4-2, 4.84) vs Drew Smyly (3-3, 4.15)

Game Four - Sunday 1:08 PM
Brad Peacock (1-1, 3.29) vs Luke Jackson (2-3, 4.82)

[steelerfan]

I forgot to mention that Dexter Fowler sprained a knee in warmups before, I believe, game 2 of the Toronto series. He missed the rest of that series and the beginning of the next.

[steelerfan]

Over the weekend, the Astros got more outstanding pitching in Detroit as Houston took 3 of 4 from the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Houston suffered a heartbreaking loss in game one. Trailing 5-2 in the 9th, the Astros were down to their last strike when Charlie Barbour hit a game-tying 3-run homer to right.

The Astros took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 10th but Jesse Crain failed to close the door and Detroit won, 7-6.

Houston took game two behind 6 strong innings from Jeff Locke. Locke earned his 4th win, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits. Scott Atchison recorded his 2nd save, in the win.

The Astros blew the Tigers out in the third game of the series, on Saturday on the strength of 15 hits.

Chris Carter led the charge, going 2 for 4 with his 8th long ball, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Alex White improved to 5-2 as he went 7 innings and allowed just 3 runs on 5 hits in the 10-4 decision.

On Sunday, 5 Houston pitchers combined for a 5-hit shutout. Brad Peacock struck out 8, walked 2 and allowed 3 hits in 6+ scoreless innings and Mike Foltynewicz bailed closer Jesse Crain out of a 2-out bases loaded jam to notch his first save of 2015.

HOU 6-11-0 F/10
DET 7-13-0

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

HOU 10-15-1
DET 4-7-0

HOU 2-8-1
DET 0-5-0

The Astros will play 3 in Baltimore beginning Monday, before taking Thursday off and facing the White Sox at Minute Maid Park over the weekend.

AL West Standings through Sunday, May 24, 2015

Rangers 25-19
Astros 24-21
Athletics 24-22
Mariners 21-22
Angels 20-24

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (24-21) at Baltimore Orioles (21-22)
May 25-27, 2015
Oriole Park at Camden Yards - Baltimore, Maryland

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (4-2, 3.79) vs Miguel Gonzalez (2-3, 4.24)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (1-4, 5.44) vs Chris Young (0-3, 4.46)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:35 PM
Jeff Locke (4-3, 3.71) vs Chris Tillman (4-3, 3.84)

[steelerfan]

The Astros extended their winning streak to four games with Monday night's 7-2 win in Baltimore.

Stanley Knott and Robbie Grossman each homered for Houston who put up 6 of their 7 runs in the first inning.

Jarred Cosart pitched his first complete game of 2015, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits with 6 Ks and 3 walks to improve to 5-2 this year.

Jose Altuve had a double, an RBI and scored twice in going 3 for 4 at the plate but Houston suffered a 6-4 setback to the Orioles on Tuesday night.

Brett Oberholtzer saw his record drop to 1-5 as he was charged with 6 earned runs on 8 hits in 5 innings of work.

Jason Castro and Alex Presley each hit solo homers for Houston in Wednesday's series finale in Baltimore and starting pitcher Jeff Locke surrendered just 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings on the mound. However, Darin Downs allowed another 2 runs in 1+ innings, including a walk off home run to Adam Jones to lead off the bottom of the 9th inning, as the Astros fell 4-3 and the O's took the series.

HOU 7-9-0
BAL 2-7-1

HOU 4-7-0
BAL 6-12-0

HOU 3-5-0
BAL 4-9-1

The Astros are off on Thursday and will begin a 7 game home stand on Friday night when the Chicago White Sox visit for a 3 game weekend series that will close out the month of May.

AL West Standings through Thursday, May 28, 2015

Rangers 26-22
Athletics 26-24
Astros 25-23
Angels 23-25
Mariners 21-26

[steelerfan]

Chicago White Sox (21-26) at Houston Astros (25-23)
May 29-31, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Jose Quintana (4-4, 3.54) vs Alex White (5-2, 4.70)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
Paul Maholm (3-4, 3.39) vs Brad Peacock (2-1, 2.29)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Edinson Volquez (1-1, 2.14) vs Jarred Cosart (5-2, 3.56)

[jaymo76]

Brett Oberholtzer saw his record drop to 1-5 as he was charged with 6 earned runs on 8 hits in 5 innings of work.


Ouch! This is a season to forget for him. You considering anything drastic like some bullpen duty to get his game back?

[steelerfan]

Ouch! This is a season to forget for him. You considering anything drastic like some bullpen duty to get his game back?
The issue is that I'm limited on lefties. There isn't one in the minors that is MLB ready and my only choice in the bullpen is Luis Cruz who hasn't pitched well as a long reliever.

Because I want 2 lefties in my rotation, I'm giving Oberholtzer a long leash. However, it can't go on forever and I have been thinking about my options.

[steelerfan]

The Astros bounced back from a series loss in Baltimore with a 3-game sweep of the White Sox in Houston.

Houston got a pair of two-run homers in game one - one apiece from both Dexter Fowler and George Springer. Fowler got a 3rd RBI when his walk off single drove in Jose Altuve, who had 3 runs on the day, in the bottom of the 10th.

Starting pitcher Alex White did not factor in the decision despite a very strong outing. White lasted 7 innings and allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits. Mike Foltynewicz, who pitched the final 2 innings, was ultimately credited with the victory - his first.

George Springer homered again on Saturday as the Astros were 3-2 winners.

Brad Peacock went 7.1 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits with 5 strikeouts and 5 walks for his 3rd win. Jesse Crain closed the game, earning save number 14.

Sunday brought another 3-2 Houston win. The Astros only offense came on solo home runs from Chris Carter, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve.

Houston ace Jarred Cosart pitched a complete game, surrendering 2 runs on just 3 hits while punching out 9 and walking one. Cosart is now 6-2 in 2015.

CWS 4-10-2 F/10
HOU 5-7-1

CWS 2-5-1
HOU 3-10-0

CWS 2-3-0
HOU 3-6-0

Houston will begin the month of June with 4 games against the Baltimore Orioles at Minute Maid Park before hitting the road to play Toronto and the White Sox.

Standings through Sunday, May 31, 2015

American League

East
Blue Jays 31-21
Rays 29-22
Red Sox 25-26
Orioles 24-25
Yankees 21-30

Central
Indians 30-20
Twins 23-26
Royals 23-27
Tigers 23-29
White Sox 21-29

West
Athletics 29-24
Rangers 28-23
Astros 28-23
Angels 25-26
Mariners 22-28

National League

East
Nationals 33-17
Marlins 29-22
Braves 26-24
Mets 24-27
Phillies 22-30

Central
Pirates 24-26
Brewers 24-27
Reds 22-28
Cardinals 22-29
Cubs 20-31

West
Diamondbacks 31-19
Dodgers 30-20
Rockies 26-24
Padres 24-28
Giants 22-30

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros Team Statistics through May 31, 2015 (MLB Rank in Parenthesis)

Offense
Average .262 (7)
Runs 237 (3)
Doubles 95 (T-7)
Triples 10 (T-12)
Home Runs 57 (T-7)
RBI 228 (T-5)
Stolen Bases 28 (11)
SB % .596 (29)
Walks 154 (18)
Strikeouts 428 (24)
Slugging % .427 (6)
On-base % .324 (12)
GIDP 49 (30)

Defense
Assists 501 (1)
Errors 25 (T-13)
Fielding % .987 (13)

Pitching
ERA 4.58 (30)
Saves 18 (T-5)
Blown Saves 9 (T-25)
HR Allowed 60 (T-27)
BB Allowed 128 (2)
Strikeouts 384 (17)

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros Player Statistics through May 31, 2015

Chris Carter .260, 9 HR, 26 RBI
George Springer .290, 8, 34
Matt Dominguez .248, 3, 19
Alex Presley .206, 5, 19
Carlos Correa .270, 6, 15
Jason Castro .275, 5, 19
Dexter Fowler .306, 7, 25
Stanley Knott .270, 3, 18
Robbie Grossman .233, 1, 11
Charlie Barbour .301, 3, 10
Jose Altuve .246, 2, 10
Adeiny Hechavarria .289, 2, 5
Marwin Gonzalez .237, 2, 14


Jarred Cosart 6-2, 3.38, 22 BB, 68 K
Brett Oberholtzer 1-5, 5.93, 15, 51
Alex White 5-2, 4.45, 16, 47
Jeff Locke 4-3, 3.63, 15, 46
Brad Peacock 3-1, 2.33, 9, 29

Mike Foltynewicz 1-1, 4.83, 11, 32, 1 SV, 2 HLD
Jesse Crain 1-2, 4.08, 6, 14, 14 SV, 2 BSV, 1 HLD
JP Howell 1-0, 2.41, 3, 13, 3 BSV, 7 HLD
Scott Atchison 3-0, 2.61, 6, 14, 2 SV, 2 BSV, 7 HLD
Jason Motte 1-1, 10.53, 5, 13, 4 HLD
Darin Downs 1-1, 2.37, 4, 18, 2 BSV, 5 HLD
Luis Cruz 0-3, 6.65, 3, 15, 1 SV, 1 BSV, 4 HLD

[steelerfan]

Key Performers in the Minor League System

AAA Fresno
LJ Hoes .310, 1, 18
Ronald Torreyes .309, 1, 13
Tyler Heineman .305, 1, 9
Austin Wates .300, 3, 16
Jon Singleton .299, 8, 38

Paul Clemens 4-2, 3.62, 22, 65
Luis Batson 5-3, 3.67, 29, 55
Nick Tropeano 4-3, 3.65, 19, 57

Chad Qualls 1-0, 2.30, 5, 9, 16 SV, 1 BSV
Jason Stoffel 0-0, 1.17, 6, 16, 1 SV, 7 HLD
Josh Fields 0-0, 2.08, 8, 20, 1 BSV, 8 HLD
Matt Albers 4-1, 1.63, 8, 19, 2 BSV, 3 HLD
Anthony Bass 2-2, 2.01, 11, 31, 1 BSV, 4 HLD


AA Corpus Christi
Rene Garcia .294, 0, 14
Marc Krauss. 287, 6, 23
MP Cokinos. 287, 5, 25

Rudy Owens 4-3, 2.63, 14, 38
Omar Espinoza 3-3, 3.20, 7, 42

Bruce Rondon 0-0, 1.86, 3, 14, 2 SV, 7 HLD
Vladimir Bradley 0-0, 3.71, 4, 21, 15 SV, 3 BSV, 3 HLD
Kevin Chapman 3-0. 0.00, 10, 15, 2 HLD

PCL Pacific North
Rainers 30-21
Grizzlies 28-23
Aces 24-27
River Cats 21-30

Texas League South
Hooks 31-19
Missions 28-22
RockHounds 22-28
RoughRiders 17-33

[steelerfan]

Baltimore Orioles (24-25) vs Houston Astros (28-23)
June 1-4, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Chris Young (1-3, 4.53) vs Brett Oberholtzer (1-5, 5.93)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Chris Tillman (4-3, 3.90) vs Jeff Locke (4-3, 3.63)

Game Three - Wednesday 7:10 PM
Kevin Gausman (3-2, 3.22) vs Alex White (5-2, 4.45)

Game Four - Thursday 1:10 PM
Ubaldo Jimenez (4-3, 2.85) vs Brad Peacock (3-1, 2.33)

[steelerfan]

The Astros have taken part in the 2015 First Year Player Draft. Here is a rundown of the players that Houston selected.

Round 1, Pick 15
3B Eric Gutierrez
Age 21, 4-yr. College
B/T R/R 6'4", 196 lbs
OVR 73 POT C
2nd Pos: None

Round 2, Pick 14
CP Will Looney
Age 19, 4-yr. College
B/T L/R 6'1", 194 lbs
OVR 61 POT B
2nd Pos: LF, CF

Round 3, Pick 15
LF Marco Pena
Age 21, 4-yr. College
B/T R/R 5'9", 173 lbs
OVR 63 POT B
2nd Pos: RF, CF

Round 4, Pick 15
SP Damon Huff
Age 20, 4-yr. College
B/T R/L 6'3" 204lbs
OVR 59 POT C
2nd Pos: CF, RF

Round 5, Pick 15
2B Emilio Vargas
Age 23, 2-yr. College
B/T R/R 5'11", 187 lbs
OVR 63 POT C
2nd Pos: None

Round 6, Pick 15
RF Juan Valencia
Age 21, 2-yr. College
B/T L/L 6'3", 201 lbs.
OVR 75 POT C
2nd Pos: None

Round 7, Pick 15
3B Pablo Ybarra
Age 22, 2-yr. College
B/T R/R 6'5", 185 lbs.
OVR 40 POT F
2nd Pos: None


The first overall selection was made by the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs selected 21-year-old shortstop Joaquin Ibanez who is a 58 OVR with A POT.

The best first round picks, in my opinion, were made #2 by the Mets (CP Willy Pulido - 64 OVR, A POT) and # 27 by the Royals (1B Jason Saito - 62 OVR, A POT)

The Angels made a nice selection with the 17th pick in Round 2 (SP Julio Fernandez - 57 OVR, A POT) and the Phillies faired nicely with the 3rd pick in the round (2B Darren Black - 65 OVR, B POT)

In the 3rd Round, Baltimore used the 5th pick to land CF Mike Burgess (52, A); the White Sox picked 1B Joaquin Ramirez (70, B) with the 6th pick; C Peter Greer (70, C) went 19th to the Giants and Milwaukee took 3B Joey Morgan (51, A) 29th.

Pittsburgh used the 4th pick in Round 4 to land 3B Jim Pedersen (68, B) and Atlanta got C Matthew Myers (72, C) 27th.

The White Sox took 1B Roger Saldana (75, C) with the 6th selection in Round 5 and the Padres got 1B Michael Lacey (74, C) 24th.

Houston's selection of Juan Valencia appears to be the best of Round 6.

Todd Lopez (68, D) would appear to be the only player of much quality taken in Round 7. He went 1st to the Cubs.

[steelerfan]

The Houston Astros are the hottest team in baseball, after completing a 4-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles to go 7-0 on their most recent home stand.

Jose Altuve and Robbie Grossman each homered in game one with Chris Carter hitting 2 long balls. Brett Oberholtzer earned his second win of the year as he pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits. Jesse Crain tallied his 15th save.

In game two, Jason Castro hit a solo home run and Dexter Fowler added a fifth inning grand slam as the Astros won, 8-5. Starter Jeff Locke did not factor in the decision as he went 6 innings and gave up 5 runs on 9 hits. It was JP Howell who earned the win, his second, and Jesse Crain got save number 16.

The Astros took game three by a 3-0 count. Alex White was brilliant before running into some trouble with walks in the 7th inning. His final stat line read: 6.2 innings, no runs, 1 hit, 5 walks and 7 strikeouts. White improved to 6-2 this season and Jesse Crain shut the door in the ninth for his 17th save.

Carlos Correa hit a two-runhomer in the 4th and Matt Dominguez hit a two-out blast on a 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth to give Houston a walk off 3-2 win in game four. Brad Peacock went 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 10. However, the win went to Jason Motte, his second. Motte walked one and struck out 4 in his 2 innings on the mound.

BAL 4-9-0
HOU 6-9-1

BAL 5-10-1
HOU 8-6-1

BAL 0-2-1
HOU 3-12-0

BAL 2-4-1
HOU 3-9-0

The Astros will hit the road for 6 games, beginning Friday with a weekend trip to Toronto. The Blue Jays took 3 of 4 in Houston last month, scoring 32 runs in the process.

AL West Standings through Thursday, June 4, 2015

Astros 32-23
Athletics 31-25
Rangers 30-24
Mariners 25-29
Angels 25-29

Note: Astros management has announced that their top 6 draft picks have been signed to one-year deals with the club.

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (32-23) vs Toronto Blue Jays (34-21)
June 5-7, 2015
Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontario

Probable Starters:
Game One - Friday 7:07 PM
Jarred Cosart (6-2, 3.38) vs Cole Hamels (6-4, 3.17)

Game Two - Saturday 1:07 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (2-5, 5.73) vs Shelby Miller (8-2, 3.09)

Game Three - Sunday 1:07 PM
Jeff Locke (4-3, 4.00) vs Drew Hutchison (2-2, 3.09)

[steelerfan]

The Astros and Blue Jays spent Friday and Saturday ending each other's 7-game winning streaks. On Sunday, Toronto took the rubber match and the series to finish 2015 with a 5-2 record against the AL West leaders.

In game one, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa each homered but reliever Luis Cruz allowed a 6th inning grand slam by Colby Rasmus which broke a 4-4 tie and wound up dropping the rookie to 0-4 this year.

In game two, Altuve and Chris Carter went deep for Houston. Altuve, who hit just 8 home runs last year, hit 4 long balls in the week and has 5 on the year.

Brett Oberholtzer had a much-needed consecutive strong outing. He went 6.1 innings and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits with 5 Ks and 2 walks to improve to 3-5.

The big offensive games that had dotted the meetings between the clubs were forgotten on Sunday add the Jays used a 4-run 6th inning to propel them to a 4-1 win.

Chris Carter provided the Astros only offense, hitting a solo homer in the 4th. For Carter, it was his 5th long ball in 8 days and club-leading 13th of the season.

Jeff Locke took the loss, dropping his record to 4-4. Locke was hit for all 4 runs as he pitched 6 innings and surrendered 6 base knocks.

HOU 7-14-2
TOR 9-12-1

HOU 10-13-0
TOR 3-10-1

HOU 1-5-0
TOR 4-6-0

The Astros head to Chicago next where they will play 3 with the White Sox beginning Monday.

AL West Standings through Sunday, June 7, 2015

Astros 33-25
Athletics 33-26
Rangers 32-25
Angels 28-29
Mariners 26-31

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (33-25) vs Chicago White Sox (23-33)
June 8-10, 2015
U.S. Cellular Field - Chicago, Illinois

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Alex White (6-2, 3.99) vs John Danks (3-3, 3.98)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Brad Peacock (3-1, 2.38) vs Jose Quintana (5-4, 3.42)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Jarred Cosart (6-2, 3.61) vs Paul Maholm (3-5, 3.68)

[steelerfan]

Updates of former Astros through June 7, 2015

2B Tony Kemp (NYY - MLB) 121 AB, .190, 2 HR, 7 RBI

SP Scott Feldman (PIT - MLB) 5/7 QS, 39.2 IP, 1-2, 3.40, 27 K, 9 BB

SP Collin McHugh (PIT - AAA Indianapolis) 28.0 IP, 0-1, 2.57, 20 K, 2 BB

SP Jerome Williams (TB - MLB) 3.0 IP, 0-0, 0.00, 1 K, 2 BB

SS Jonathan Villar (MIA - MLB) 182 AB, .236, 0 HR, 10 RBI

[steelerfan]

The Astros dropped the opener in Chicago but bounced back to take 2 of 3 from the White Sox.

In game one, Chris Carter hit yet another home run - a 2-run shot in the 6th - but it wasn't enough as the Sox won 4-3.

Alex White took the loss to fall to 6-3 as he allowed all 4 Chicago runs (3 earned) on his 5 innings of work.

In game 2, Jose Altuve went 3 for 5 with a home run to lead Houston to a 7-3 win.

The Astros bullpen had to put in some overtime as starter Brad Peacock excited after just 2+ innings when he separated the shoulder on his throwing arm after throwing a pitch in the 3rd inning. More on Peacock later.

Luis Cruz came in and went 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 bases on balls with 5 punch outs, to earn his first Major League win.

As for Peacock, the separated shoulder will have him on the shelf for 2-3 months and the Astros have placed him on the 60-day DL. Peacock has made 7 appearances for Houston (6 starts, 5 quality starts) and is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a hold.

The Astros recalled pitcher Asher Wojciechowski from AAA Fresno to replace Peacock in the rotation. Wojciechowski began the season as Houston's number 3 starter but was sent down to Fresno after going 1-2 with a 7.76 ERA in 6 starts.

Charlie Barbour hit a 2-run home run in game 3, his 4th, to help Houston to a 5-3 win in the finale.

Jarred Cosart was strong, again, on the mound for Houston. The staff ace pitched 7 innings, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits to improve to 7-2. Jason Motte earned his 7th hold and Jesse Crain recorded the final out to secure his 18th save.

HOU 3-8-1
CWS 4-7-0

HOU 7-12-0
CWS 3-8-0

HOU 5-10-0
CWS 3-8-1

The Astros will take Thursday off before returning home for 5 games, beginning with a 3-game weekend series with the Seattle Mariners.

Note: The Kansas City Royals have acquired reliever Richie Heil from the Atlanta Braves, in exchange for minor league pitcher Miguel Almonte.

RP Richie Heil
Age 29, B/T L/L
80 OVR, B POT
1-1, 2.79, 19.1 IP, 21 K, 12 BB

SP Miguel Almonte
Age 21, B/T R/R
69 OVR, B POT
*Has yet to play in the Majors and has been assigned to AAA Gwinnett.

[steelerfan]

AL West Standings through Thursday, June 11, 2015

Astros 35-26
Rangers 34-26
Athletics 34-28
Angels 30-30
Mariners 27-33

[steelerfan]

Seattle Mariners (27-33) vs Houston Astros (35-26)
June 12-14, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Felix Hernandez (5-3, 2.45) vs Brett Oberholtzer (3-5, 5.59)

Game Two - Saturday 1:10 PM
Hisashi Iwakuma (8-1, 2.85) vs Jeff Locke (4-4, 4.17)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.73) vs Alex White (6-3, 4.09)

[steelerfan]

Houston managed to win 2 of 3 against the Seattle Mariners to open a short 5-game home stand.

In the first game shortstop Carlos Correa was the star at the plate going 2 for 5 with a double, a home run and 5 runs batted in.

Brett Oberholtzer won for the third consecutive time to improve to 4-5 on the year. The lefty allowed 3 runs on 9 hits with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks in 7 innings.

Game two produced another Astros victory as Jeff Locke out-dueled Hisashi Iwakuma for a 2-1 win.

Locke (5-4) pitched 7 innings and surrendered just 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 6 and walking one. Jesse Crain closed the game out with a perfect 9th inning to earn his 19th save of 2015.

Game 3 was all Seattle as the Mariners new shortstop (more on that later) had a club debut to remember. Jordy Mercer went 2 for 4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI for his new team.

George Springer homered in the bottom of the 8th inning to avoid having Houston shutout for the first time this season while Alex White took the loss. White lasted 6 innings but allowed 4 runs on 7 hits.

SEA 3-8-1
HOU 8-11-0

SEA 1-5-0
HOU 2-8-0

SEA 6-12-0
HOU 1-7-2

The Astros will play 2 with Colorado beginning Monday, before traveling to Denver on Wednesday for 2 more with the Rockies to start an 8-game road trip.

AL West Standings through Sunday, June 14, 2015

Rangers 38-26
Astros 37-27
Athletics 35-31
Angels 33-31
Mariners 29-35

[steelerfan]

Note: The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded shortstop Jordy Mercer to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for second baseman Nick Franklin.

2B Nick Franklin
Age 23 B/T S/R
74 OVR, C POT
.149, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 147 AB

SS Jordy Mercer
Age 28 B/T R/R
75 OVR, B POT
.289, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 114 AB

[steelerfan]

Colorado Rockies (28-35) vs Houston Astros (37-27)
June 15-16, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:
Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Dustin McGowan (3-3, 4.91) vs Asher Wojciechowski (1-2, 7.76)

Game Two - Tuesday 1:10 PM
Jhoulys Chacin (3-7, 4.38) vs Jarred Cosart (7-2, 3.43)

[jaymo76]

Looks like your 1st round draft pick will be in the Bigs pretty quick. Too bad only a C potential though.

[steelerfan]

Looks like your 1st round draft pick will be in the Bigs pretty quick. Too bad only a C potential though.
I think I did good in Round 6.

[steelerfan]

The Rockies and Astros split the two games in Houston as the Astros were shut out for the first time this season.

In game one, Jason Castro and Chris Carter each homered as Houston belted out 15 hits for a convincing 10-3 win that saw 5 Astros have multi-hit games.

Asher Wojciechowski earned his second win of the season as the rookie went 6.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits.

In game two, it was a completely different story for Houston. They were limited to just 4 hits and, adding injury to insult, center fielder Dexter Fowler suffered a fractured arm diving back into first base on a pick off attempt in the bottom of the 9th.

Fowler, who missed virtually all of 2014 with a torn knee ligament, was having a fantastic season for the Astros. The 28 year old was hitting .295 with 8 homers and 32 RBI in 217 AB. Fowler is expected to miss 4 to 8 weeks.

Jarred Cosart pitched 7 shutout innings before giving way to Mike Foltynewicz. Foltynewicz gave up a solo home run to the first batter he faced - rookie shortstop Jose Pirela - then promptly reid the final 6 Rockies in order with 3 of them being struck out. However, Pirela's first career long ball held up to drop Foltynewicz to 1-2 on the season.

COL 3-7-1
HOU 10-15-0

COL 1-7-0
HOU 0-4-0

Both clubs will travel to Denver to play two more in the Mile High City, beginning Wednesday.

AL West Standings through Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Rangers 39-26
Astros 38-28
Athletics 35-32
Angels 34-31
Mariners 29-36

Notes: To replace Fowler, the Astros called up outfielder Domingo Santana from AAA Fresno. Santana, 22, debuted with Houston in 2014, hitting. 400 with 5 bombs and 17 RBI in 55 AB.

On Monday, Milwaukee traded shortstop Didi Gregorious to Minnesota for third baseman Trevor Plouffe.

3B Trevor Plouffe
Age 28 B/T R/R
76 OVR, C POT
.218, 5 HR, 23 RBI

SS Didi Gregorious
Age 25 B/T L/R
75 OVR, C POT
.240, 8 HR, 24 RBI

On Tuesday, it was Kansas City and Atlanta exchanging players. The Royals got catcher Ryan Doumit for minor league pitcher Sean Mora.

SP Sean Mora
Age 21 B/T L/R
63 OVR, B POT
2-1, 1.88, 16 K, 10 BB, 24.0 IP in AAA

C Ryan Doumit
Age 33 B/T S/R
77 OVR, C POT
.272, 13 HR, 37 RBI

The Royals were looking for a gap stop while Salvador Perez recovers from a broken arm.

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (38-28) vs Colorado Rockies (29-36)
June 17-18, 2015
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Wednesday 6:40 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (4-5, 5.42) vs Brett Anderson (7-4, 3.60)

Game Two - Thursday 2:10 PM
Jeff Locke (5-4, 3.91) vs Jon Gray (2-8, 5.51)

[SmoothPancakes]

Come on Rockies! :)

#TheScriptIsDead

[jaymo76]

I think I did good in Round 6.

Oh wow! Didn't see that at first. Nice job! I haven't done an MLB draft yet... well ever actually. How does it compare to Madden in terms of amount of information available?

[steelerfan]

Oh wow! Didn't see that at first. Nice job! I haven't done an MLB draft yet... well ever actually. How does it compare to Madden in terms of amount of information available?
The pertinent information is available (no question marks) but the validity of the information (accuracy) is what is unknown unless you scout the player.

It's a fair enough system. I don't feel like I'm screwing the CPU, I don't feel like I'm getting screwed, and I don't feel like I'm drafting blind.

It's pretty basic but I'm ok with the results.

[steelerfan]

The Astros and Rockies will each feel the effects of the 2-game series at Coors Field for several days to come. The clubs split the games, just as they did in Houston, but each contest was a 13 inning marathon that will certainly affect them going forward, at least from a fatigue standpoint.

In game one, the recently called-up Domingo Santana got a pinch-hit home run in the 13th inning to lift Houston to a 2-1 win in his first at bat of 2015 with the big club.

After Brett Oberholtzer went 7.1 innings, allowing just 1 run on 2 hits, the bullpen took over and eventually Luis Cruz, who scattered 3 hits over 3 innings, was rewarded with his 2nd win of the year. Jesse Crain closed the ball game out for save number 20.

In game two, Robbie Grossman's ninth inning, two-run inside the park homer forced extra innings and Houston eventually took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 13th.

However, Jesse Crain allowed a two-run homer to Pirela in the bottom half to take the loss.

Starter Jeff Locke went 6 innings and surrendered 3 runs on 6 hits with 6 punch outs.

HOU 2-8-0 F/13
COL 1-8-0

HOU 6-14-1 F/13
COL 7-12-1

Next up, Houston hits the second stop on their 8-game road trip with 3 games in Seattle against the Mariners.

AL West Standings through Thursday, June 18, 2015

Rangers 40-27
Astros 39-29
Angels 35-32
Athletics 35-34
Mariners 30-37

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (39-29) vs Seattle Mariners (30-37)
June 19-21, 2015
Safeco Field - Seattle, Washington

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Alex White (6-4, 4.24) vs Taijuan Walker (4-5, 3.48)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (2-2, 7.11) vs Erasmo Ramirez (2-5, 4.93)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Jarred Cosart (7-2, 3.18) vs Adrian Laker (3-4, 2.92)

[steelerfan]

The Astros trip to Seattle was an utter disaster. After playing 26 innings in two days in Denver, the last thing Houston needed was more extra innings and that's just what they got as game one was a 15 inning marathon.

After Houston took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the 15th, reliever Jason Motte allowed 4 runs (only 1 earned) and the Astros fell, 6-5.

In game 2, a 7-run 6th inning by the Mariners erased a 5-0 Houston lead, with Luis Cruz being tagged with the L, and Seattle won 7-5.

The Astros dropped game 3, 2-0, were swept for the first time this season and were shutout for just the second time in 2015.

Ace Jarred Cosart took the loss to drop to 7-3 despite allowing just one run on 3 hits in 6 innings. Cosart did, however, walk 8 batters.

The Astros have lost 4 straight and 6 of 8.

HOU 5-12-1 F/15
SEA 6-12-0

HOU 5-12-1
SEA 7-8-1

HOU 0-3-0
SEA 2-5-0

The Astros, and their exhausted bullpen, will close their 8-game road trip in Anaheim with 3 games with the Angels beginning Monday night.

AL West Standings through Sunday, June 21, 2015

Rangers 42-28
Astros 39-32
Athletics 38-34
Angels 35-35
Mariners 33-38

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (39-32) vs Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (35-35)
June 22-24, 2015
Angel Stadium of Anaheim - Anaheim, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (4-5, 5.04) vs CJ Wilson (6-4, 2.38)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Jeff Locke (5-4, 3.95) vs Tyler Skaggs (6-4, 3.33)

Game Three - Wednesday 12:35 PM
Alex White (6-4, 4.09) vs Garrett Richards (4-5, 3.79)

[steelerfan]

Following a fifth consecutive loss, with Monday's 7-5 loss in Anaheim to the Angels being the latest, the Houston Astros announced that they made several roster moves.

First, the club Optioned reliever Jason Motte to AAA Fresno. Motte was Houston's big free agent signing over the winter and has been a huge disappointment. In 30.1 innings, Motte is 2-2 with an 8.90 ERA and he has allowed an astonishing 13 home runs to go with 23 strikeouts and 8 walks. Motte signed a 4-year deal worth more than 3.6 million dollars per year.

To replace Motte, the Astros called up reliever Josh D. Fields from Fresno. Fields has a 1.85 ERA in AAA with 27 Ks and 9 BBs in 24.1 innings. Fields pitched 3 scoreless innings for the Astros early in the season and was 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA for Houston in 2014.

Next, Houston purchased the contract of former top draft pick Delino De Shields from AAA Fresno and added him to the 40-man roster. De Shields was promptly promoted to Houston and the 22-year-old could make his Major League debut as soon as Tuesday. De Shields hit .262 with 3 home runs and 19 RBI with the Grizzlies.

To make room for De Shields, the Astros Optioned Alex Presley to Fresno. Presley was hitting just .207 with 5 homers and 27 runs batted in with the big club. In 2014, Presley hit .264 and is a .256 career hitter in just over 1500 at-bats.

[steelerfan]

The Astros managed to take 2 of 3 in Anaheim, after dropping game one for their fifth consecutive loss and making some changes to their big league roster.

In that opener Jose Altuve and Charlie Barbour reach had 3 hits and Robbie Grossman hit a 2-run home run but the Astros fell short, 7-5.

Brett Oberholtzer took the loss to fall to 4-6. The lefty pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts.

Alex Presley and Jason Motte each appeared for Houston. Presley started in left field, going 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts and Motte allowed a long ball in his only inning of work.

Houston squeezed out a much-needed win in game two, 3-2. Jeff Locke allowed just 2 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings but newly-recalled Josh Fields got the win, pitching 2 scoreless innings. Jesse Crain notched his 21st save.

Robbie Grossman drove in Carlos Correa after the shortstop tripled in the 5th inning of game 3, providing the contest's only run.

Three Astros pitchers combined for the 1-0 shutout. Alex White got the win, improving to 7-4, scattering 6 hits over 6.1 innings. Josh Fields impressed again going 1.2 scoreless innings. Fields has not allowed a run in his 6.2 innings this season with Houston. Jesse Crain closed the door for save number 22.

It should be noted that Delino De Shields started both games after being called up. De Shields went 0 for 5 at the plate, in 2 games.

HOU 5-12-1
LAA 7-14-2

HOU 3-10-1
LAA 2-9-0

HOU 1-3-0
LAA 0-6-0

The Astros return home on Thursday where they begin a 4-game series with the New York Yankees.

AL West Standings through Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Rangers 44-28
Astros 41-33
Athletics 38-36
Angels 36-37
Mariners 34-39

[steelerfan]

New York Yankees (27-45) vs Houston Astros (41-33)
June 25-28, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Thursday 7:10 PM
Ivan Nova (2-6, 3.27) vs Asher Wojciechowski (2-2, 7.27)

Game Two - Friday 7:10 PM
David Phelps (5-6, 2.58) vs Jarred Cosart (7-3, 3.08)

Game Three - Saturday 1:10 PM
Rafael Montero (2-9, 4.25) vs Brett Oberholtzer (4-6, 5.17)

Game Four - Sunday 1:10 PM
Masahiro Tanaka (4-6, 3.80) vs Jeff Locke (5-4, 3.89)

[steelerfan]

The Astros announced that they have claimed 26-year-old CF Jared Mitchell (62, C) off of waivers from the Chicago White Sox. To make room on the roster, Houston has released 25-year-old reliever Jhonathan Ramos (49, C) from Class-A Lancaster. If Ramos is unclaimed, Houston will be required to pay $37,500 to buy out his contact. Mitchell will be assigned to AA Corpus Christi.

[steelerfan]

After winning the first two of their 4 games at Minute Maid Park with the Yankees the Astros had to be thinking of doing better than a split with the Bronx Bombers. A spilt, however, is what the Astros settled for as New York took the last 2 games to even the series.

Domingo Santana hit a 3-run homer in the 7th inning in the first game to provide the offense in game one's 3-1 win.

Asher Wojciechowski went 7 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits with a walk and 8 Ks for his 3rd win of the season and Jesse Crain pitched a perfect 9th for save number 23.

In game 2 Jose Altuve and George Springer each registered 3 hits, with Altuve and Robbie Grossman hitting home runs, as Houston prevailed 5-1.

Jarred Cosart went 6 innings and improved his record to 8-3 the Houston ace allowed just 1 run on 4 hits. Mike Foltynewicz recorded the final four outs for the Astros to earn his 2nd save.

Houston got solo homers from Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in have three, but not much else went the Astros way as the Yankees were 9-2 winners.

Brett Oberholtzer took his 7th loss as the southpaw allowed 4 runs on 9 hits in 5 innings of work.

Jeff Locke was the loser in a 6-2 decision in the series finale. Locke have up 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings on the mound.

NYY 1-5-0
HOU 3-5-1

NYY 1-5-0
HOU 5-9-1

NYY 9-17-0
HOU 2-6-1

NYY 6-13-0
HOU 2-6-1

The Astros will host Kansas City in a 3-game series that behind on Monday. After the series, Houston will take Thursday off before playing 10 games away from home, leading up to the All Star Break.

AL West Standings through Sunday, June 28, 2015

Rangers 44-32
Astros 43-35
Athletics 39-39
Angels 38-38
Mariners 35-41

Astros Team Leaders

Batting Average (min 3.1 AB per team game played)
George Springer .280
Chris Carter .260

Wins
Jarred Cosart 8
Alex White 7
Jeff Locke 5
Brett Oberholtzer 4
3 tied with 3

[steelerfan]

Kansas City Royals (35-40) vs Houston Astros (43-35)
June 29 - July 1, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
James Shields (11-2, 1.86) vs Alex White (7-4, 3.80)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Jason Vargas (4-5, 3.95) vs Asher Wojciechowski (3-2, 6.26)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Tyler Thornburg (2-6, 5.14) vs Jarred Cosart (8-3, 2.99)

[steelerfan]

The Kansas City Royals claimed relief pitcher Jhonathan Ramos, 25, who was released earlier in the week by Houston.

Houston's Class-AA affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks, have won the Southern Division in the first half of the Texas League season with a record of 47-29.

Among the Hooks named to the Texas League South All-Star team are SP Thomas Shirley (4-1, 3.22), RP Vladimir Bradley (0-0, 2.43, 28 SV), 1B MP Cokinos (.279, 6 HR, 33 RBI), LF Marc Krauss (.287, 8 HR, 34 RBI), C Rene Garcia (.269, 1 HR, 20 RBI), 3B Matt Duffy (.251, 6 HR, 26 RBI) and LF Leo Heras (.250, 2 HR, 15 RBI).

[steelerfan]

The Astros struggles continued with Kansas City in town as the Royals took 2 of 3 from the home 9. The Astros have lost 4 of their last 5 to limp to a 44-37 record at the midseason point.

In the series opener the Astros were limited to 5 hits with George Springer's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth being the bright spot.

Alex White had a decent outing but took his 5th loss after allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings on the hill for Houston.

The Astros closed the month of June with a 5-2 win in game two. Adeiny Hechavarria went 3 for 3 with a run, a double and 2 RBI to lead the attack and Asher Wojciechowski had perhaps his best game of the season. The rookie hurler earned win number 4, going 7 innings and allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with a walk. Surprisingly, Wojciechowski did not strike out a single batter.

JP Howell struck out 3 of the 6 batters he faced in 2 perfect innings out of the bullpen to earn his first save.

The Astros were 17-13 in the month of June.

July opened with a 10-4 loss to the Royals in the series' rubber match. Jarred Cosart had a very rough outing in the finale. The Houston ace surrendered 6 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts in just 4.1 innings. The loss dropped Cosart to 8-4.

KC 4-10-1
HOU 3-5-0

KC 2-5-0
HOU 5-12-0

KC 10-13-1
HOU 4-9-1

The Astros will take Thursday off and will begin a 10-game road trip on Friday in Boston. After 3 with the Red Sox, Houston will play 4 in Cleveland and then 3 in Tampa before the All-Star Break.

Note: Your Houston Astros Midseason Report will be published later today.

[steelerfan]

Major League Baseball Standings through July 2, 2015

American League

East
Blue Jays 49-32
Rays 47-34
Red Sox 39-42
Orioles 38-41
Yankees 30-49

Central
Indians 44-35
Royals 38-41
Tigers 37-43
White Sox 33-45
Twins 33-46

West
Rangers 47-33
Astros 44-37
Angels 40-39
Athletics 40-42
Mariners 38-41

National League

East
Nationals 52-27
Marlins 47-33
Braves 41-38
Mets 36-44
Phillies 34-47

Central
Reds 42-37
Cardinals 41-39
Pirates 39-39
Brewers 40-41
Cubs 27-54

West
Dodgers 46-34
Diamondbacks 43-37
Padres 41-40
Rockies 38-42
Giants 34-46

[steelerfan]

Major League Baseball Statistical Leaders through July 2, 2015

American League
Batting: Jose Bautista (TOR) .337
Doubles: Jose Reyes (TOR) 26
Triples: George Springer (HOU) 7
Home Runs: Jose Bautista (TOR) 24
RBI: Jose Bautista (TOR) 68
Runs: Jose Bautista (TOR) 52
Stolen Bases: Jacoby Ellsbury (OAK) 26
Bases on Balls: Mike Trout (ANA) 43
Slugging %: Jose Bautista (TOR) .650
OPS: Jose Bautista (TOR) 1.057

Note: Jose Bautista of Toronto had turned in Triple Crown and MVP numbers in the first half of the season. However, he was placed on the Disabled List on July 1st with a fractured forearm and will miss 4-8 weeks.

Wins: James Shields (KC) 12 (12-2)
Losses: Tanner Scheppers (TEX) 1 (8-1)
Saves: Casey Janssen (TOR) 30
ERA: Tanner Scheppers (TEX) 1.63
HR Allowed: Anibal Sanchez (DET), Tanner Scheppers (TEX) 4
Shutouts: James Shields (KC) 5
Strikeouts: Zack Greinke (TB) 121
Complete Games: James Shields (KC) 6
Innings Pitched: James Shields (KC) 124.1
Walks Allowed: Kevin Gausman (BAL) 16
WHIP: James Shields (KC) 0.95


National League
Batting: Miguel Montero (ARI) .348
Doubles: Daniel Murphy (NYM) 26
Triples: Everth Cabrera (SD) 6
Home Runs: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 20
RBI: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 62
Runs: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 63
Stolen Bases: Cameron Maybin (SD) 31
Bases on Balls: Anthony Rizzo (CHC) 48
Slugging %: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) .604
OPS: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 1.003

Wins: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 11 (11-4)
Losses: Lance Lynn (STL) 1 (6-1)
Saves: Aroldis Chapman (CIN) 28
ERA: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 1.74
HR Allowed: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 3
Shutouts: David Price (LAD) 4
Strikeouts: Stephen Strasburg (WAS) 141
Complete Games: David Price (LAD), Brandon McCarthy (ARI), Matt Carpenter (STL), Kyle Lohse (MIL) 4
Innings Pitched: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 119.0
Walks Allowed: Kyle Lohse (MIL), Cliff Lee (PHI) 15
WHIP: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 0.94

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros Team Statistics (MLB Rank in Parenthesis)

Batting: .259 (11)
Runs: 362 (2)
Doubles: 141 (T7)
Triples: 18 (T9)
Home Runs: 88 (T7)
RBI: 351 (4)
Stolen Bases: 45 (9)
Stolen Base %: .592 (29)
Bases on Balls: 228 (23)
Strikeouts: 699 (27)
Slugging %: .418 (4)
On-Base %: .317 (18)
GIDP: 68 (30)

Assists: 785 (1)
Put Outs: 2196 (7)
Errors: 42 (T17)
Fielding %: .986 (17)

ERA: 4.12 (28)
Complete Games: 3 (T27)
Shutouts: 4 (T23)
Saves: 29 (2)
Blown Saves: 13 (T23)
HR Allowed: 96 (29)
Bases on Balls Allowed: 217 (4)
Strikeouts: 619 (T16)
Win %: .543 (8)

[steelerfan]

In 2014 the Astros were 42-39 at mid-season and wound up winning 83 games as they were 41-40 in the second half of the season. At the midway point of 2015, Houston sits at 44-37, 3.5 games back of the division-leading Texas Rangers and the Astros currently hold the AL's 2nd Wildcard spot. On pace for 88 wins, Houston Manager Bo Porter knows that any slip-up in the second half of 2015 could cost him his job. Club ownership is looking for an improvement on last year's 83-79 mark.

The biggest surprises of the season have come from a pair of 2014 draft picks. Charlie Barbour has provided a right-handed compliment to Jason Castro and Stanley Knott has been steady as the Designated Hitter and has spelled Chris Carter at first base. Jason Motte has been Houston's biggest disappointment. Motte joined the Astros during the offseason and signed a 4-year deal worth $14.53M. He was supposed to provide consistency to the middle of the club's bullpen. Instead, Motte posted an 8.90 ERA and allowed 13 home runs in 30.1 innings before being optioned to AAA Fresno where he has pitched 4 scoreless innings and has a win and a save.

Here are the key numbers for Astros hitters half way through 2015:

George Springer
294 AB, .282, 46 Runs, 22 Doubles, 7 Triples, 10 Home Runs, 43 RBI, 14 Steals, 22 BB, 72 K, .839 OPS, .994 F%

Chris Carter
288 AB, .253, 42 R, 11 2B, 15 HR, 43 RBI, 35 BB, 111 K, .786 OPS, .995 F%

Jose Altuve
247 AB, .255, 42 R, 9 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 14 SB, 16 BB, 49 K, .701 OPS, .980 F%

Matt Dominguez
246 AB, .236, 21 R, 16 2B, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 19 BB, 67 K, .641 OPS, .972 F%

Dexter Fowler (on DL)
217 AB, .295, 28 R, 16 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 5 SB, 20 BB, 46 K, .863 OPS, 1.000 F%

Robbie Grossman
215 AB, .237, 25 R, 13 2B, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 2 SB, 12 BB, 52 K, .649 OPS, .991 F%

Jason Castro
215 AB, .265, 25 R, 15 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 1 SB, 19 BB, 49 K, .765 OPS, .992 F%

Stanley Knott
214 AB, .257, 20 R, 12 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 20 BB, 48 K, .716 OPS, .985 F%

Carlos Correa
213 AB, .254, 28 R, 11 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 1 SB, 22 BB, 58 K, .777 OPS, .974 F%

Marwin Gonzalez
118 AB, .297, 13 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 11 BB, 20 K, .763 OPS, .993 F%

Charlie Barbour
116 AB, .345, 23 R, 4 2B, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 2 SB, 6 BB, 28 K, .857 OPS, .993 F%

Adeiny Hechavarria
86 AB, .302, 11 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 6 BB, 19 K, .790 OPS, .977 F%

Domingo Santana
32 AB, .156, 5 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB, 3 BB, 13 K, .572 OPS, .967 F%

Delino DeShields
25 AB, .160, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 7 K, .400 OPS, 1.000 F%

Astros hitters who are now with AAA Fresno:

Ronald Torreyes
27 AB, .259, 1 HR, 3 RBI
In Fresno: 189 AB, .312, 1 HR, 18 RBI

Alex Presley
222 AB, .207, 5 HR, 27 RBI
In Fresno: 39 AB, .333, 2 HR, 5 RBI


And, the pitchers:

Jarred Cosart
17 GP, 8-4, 3.36, 17 GS, 12 QS, 2 CG, 112.2 IP, 12 HR, 44 BB, 98 K, 1.23 WHIP

Alex White
17 GP, 7-5, 3.94, 16 GS, 8 QS, 93.2 IP, 7 HR, 26 BB, 67 K, 1.22 WHIP

Jeff Locke
16 GP, 5-5, 4.06, 15 GS, 10 QS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 93.0 IP, 14 HR, 22 BB, 77 K, 1.26 WHIP

Brett Oberholtzer
16 GP, 4-7, 5.28, 16 GS, 7 QS, 90.1 IP, 13 HR, 30 BB, 87 K, 1.42 WHIP

Asher Wojciechowski
10 GP, 4-2, 5.81, 10 GS, 6 QS, 57.1 IP, 8 HR, 17 BB, 38 K, 1.40 WHIP

Mike Foltynewicz
33 GP, 1-2, 4.24, 1 GS, 2 SV, 4 HLD, 51.0 IP, 7 HR, 15 BB, 50 K, 1.41 WHIP

Luis Cruz
28 GP, 2-5, 5.67, 1 SV, 3 BSV, 4 HLD, 39.2 IP, 7 HR, 11 BB, 32 K, 1.71 WHIP

Brad Peacock (on DL)
7 GP, 3-1, 3.00, 6 GS, 5 QS, 1 HLD, 36.0 IP, 5 HR, 11 BB, 40 K, 1.08 WHIP

Darin Downs
30 GP, 1-1, 1.97, 2 BSV, 9 HLD, 32.0 IP, 3 HR, 8 BB, 31 K, 0.94 WHIP

Scott Atchison
32 GP, 3-0, 1.99, 2 SV, 3 BSV, 10 HLD, 31.2 IP, 2 HR, 9 BB, 25 K, 1.17 WHIP

Jesse Crain
33 GP, 1-3, 2.79, 23 SV, 3 BSV, 1 HLD, 29.0 IP, 4 HR, 8 BB, 24 K, 1.10 WHIP

JP Howell
28 GP, 2-0, 1.55, 1 SV, 3 BSV, 7 HLD, 29.0 IP, 1 HR, 8 BB, 20 K, 1.38 WHIP

Josh Fields
6 GP, 1-0, 0.87, 1 HLD, 10.1 IP, 0 HR, 2 BB, 9 K, 1.06 WHIP

Astros pitchers who are now with AAA Fresno:

Jason Motte
2-2, 8.90
in Fresno: 1-0, 0.00, 1 SV in 4.0 IP

[steelerfan]

The Astros lost a second consecutive series, dropping 2 of 3 to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

In the opener, Jose Altuve had 3 hits but the offense was relatively quiet aside from him. Brett Oberholtzer pitched well, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings, but was handed his 8th loss of the year.

Altuve, Stanley Knott and Chris Carter each homered for the Astros in game two as Houston punished Boston pitching for a 10-7 win.

Jeff Locke had a quality start and earned win number 6. The lefty went 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits with 6 Ks and 2 walks.

In the finale Altuve homered again, along with Adeiny Hechavarria, but Houston floundered offensively and were only able to manage 3 base hits, allowing Boston to take the series.

Alex White had a decent outing as he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks in 6 innings on the mound but he did not factor into the decision. The loss went to JP Howell who allowed a David Ortiz home run in the bottom of the 8th, breaking a 3-3 tie.

HOU 2-8-1
BOS 4-7-0

HOU 10-10-1
BOS 7-11-1

HOU 3-3-1
BOS 4-9-0

The Astros head to Cleveland next where they'll play four with the Indians beginning Monday.

AL West Standings through Sunday, July 5, 2014

Rangers 50-33
Astros 45-39
Athletics 42-43
Angels 40-42
Mariners 39-43

Astros Team Leaders

Doubles
Springer 23
Dominguez 16
Fowler 16
Castro 15

Quality Starts
Cosart 12
Locke 11
White 9
Oberholtzer 8

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (45-39) vs Cleveland Indians (45-37)
July 6-9, 2015
Progressive Field - Cleveland, Ohio

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (4-2, 5.81) vs Zach McAllister (7-2, 3.39)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (8-4, 3.36) vs Danny Salazar (4-7, 3.47)

Game Three - Wednesday 7:05 PM
Brett Oberholtzer (4-8, 5.14) vs Jason Masterson (7-7, 3.29)

Game Four - Thursday 1:05 PM
Jeff Locke (6-5, 4.09) vs Josh Tomlin (6-2, 5.03)

[steelerfan]

In a wild series in Cleveland that featured 2 grand slams, an ejection, 2 complete-game shutouts and a game with 27 total hits, the Astros managed a split with the AL Central leaders.

In the opener the Astros bats were hot but rookie Asher Wojciechowski was hotter. Wojciechowski improved to 5-2 with a complete game shutout as he allowed just 3 hits, while walking 4 and punching out 9.

In game two, the Astros were on the receiving end of a complete game shutout from Cleveland's Danny Salazar.

Houston's pitching was atrocious, the defense was equally bad and ace Jarred Cosart had his second consecutive rough outing. Cosart allowed 7 runs on 5 hits in just 5 innings.

Mike Foltynewicz was tossed in the 8th inning after hitting 3 Indians batters, in apparent retribution for Jason Castro having been hit by Salazar.

Delino DeShields starred in game 3 as he delivered a pair on RBI doubles. It was George Springer, however, that plated the winner in the 10th inning as he and Charlie Barbour led off the inning with back-to-back doubles.

Brett Oberholtzer had another stellar night on the mound as he allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits with 8 strikeouts. The win, however, went to Scott Atchison (4-0) and Jesse Crain got his 24th save s he pitched a perfect 10th that included 2 punch outs.

Jeff Locke took the loss in the series finale, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits with 4 walks and just 3 strikeouts in 4 innings.

HOU 8-13-0
CLE 0-3-1

HOU 0-7-3
CLE 11-8-0

HOU 3-9-0
CLE 2-6-0

HOU 4-11-0
CLE 8-16-0

Houston will visit Tampa next where they will play their final 3 games before the All-Star Break.

AL West Standings through Thursday, July 9, 2015

Rangers 51-34
Astros 47-41
Angels 41-44
Athletics 42-46
Mariners 41-45

Astros Team Leaders

Runs
Altuve 50
Springer 47
Carter 43
Correa 30
Grossman 29

Complete Games
Cosart 2
Locke 1
Wojciechowski 1

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (47-41) vs Tampa Bay Rays (50-38)
July 10-12, 2015
Tropicana Field - Tampa, Florida

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Alex White (7-5. 3.97) vs Alex Cobb (4-4, 4.32)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (5-2, 5.02) vs Jeremy Hellickson (7-6, 4.66)

Game Three - Sunday 1:40 PM
Jarred Cosart (8-5, 3.75) vs Zack Greinke (10-2, 2.79)

[steelerfan]

A pair of players in the Astros organization have been named to the MLB All-Star Futures game squads.

Starting pitcher Omar Espinoza, 18, was the first overall pick in the 2014 draft and was recently promoted to AAA Fresno. Espinoza (69, A) has pitched 53.1 innings in AA Corpus Christi this season and has compiled a 4-3 record with an ERA of 3.21 with 58 K and 12 BB. He will represent the Astros as part of the USA squad.

Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, 22, will play for the World team. Hernandez (60, B) has hit .275 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI in 109 AB in Corpus Christi.

[steelerfan]

Jon Singleton has been named to the PCL All-Star team and will participate in Monday's AAA All-Star Game. Singleton, 23, has made a strong case this season to be called back up to Houston. Singleton spent all of 2014 with the Astros, hitting .251 with 14 homers and 56 runs batted in. This season, in Fresno, Jon is batting .263 with 15 long balls and 67 RBI.

[steelerfan]

The Astros took 2 of 3 from Tampa Bay to wrap up their pre-All-Star Break schedule on a positive note.

In game one the Astros went deep 4 times as Jose Altuve, George Springer, Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez all hit home runs.

Starter Alex White left after 4.2 innings with an undisclosed arm injury and was hit very hard, surrendering 4 runs on 10 hits. Darin Downs was credited with the win and Jesse Crain got his 25th save.

Asher Wojciechowski pitched well, but took the loss in game two. The rookie righty gave up just 3 hits in 6 innings but 2 of this his were homers that accounted for all 4 Rays runs.

In the finale, Jarred Cosart bounced back from consecutive bad starts to come one out from a complete game shutout. Cosart went the full 9 innings allowing just 1 run on 3 hits with 7 strikeouts and 2 walks. A two-out long ball in the 9th prevented the shutout.

Offensively, Jason Castro was the star. Castro went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple. He also drive in two of Houston's runs, while scoring the other.

HOU 7-11-1
TB 4-11-0

HOU 1-3-0
TB 4-3-0

HOU 3-7-0
TB 1-3-0

MLB Standings through Thursday, July 16, 2015 (All-Star Break)

American League

East
Blue Jays 56-35
Rays 51-40
Red Sox 45-44
Orioles 44-44
Yankees 35-53

Central
Indians 48-41
Tigers 46-44
Royals 42-47
White Sox 36-52
Twins 34-55

West
Rangers 53-35
Astros 49-42
Mariners 44-45
Athletics 44-47
Angels 41-47

National League
East
Nationals 55-33
Marlins 50-39
Braves 49-40
Phillies 40-51
Mets 38-51

Central
Reds 49-40
Pirates 48-40
Cardinals 46-44
Brewers 44-46
Cubs 32-58

West
Dodgers 51-39
Diamondbacks 47-41
Padres 42-48
Rockies 41-48
Giants 39-50

[steelerfan]

Three Astros have been named to the American League All-Team.

Chris Carter, 28, is hitting .247 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI. Carter participated in Monday's Home Run Derby and lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Robinson Cano of Seattle.

George Springer, 25, was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2014 and is hitting .274 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI. Springer also leads the Majors with 7 Triples.

Jesse Crain, 33, is 1-3 with a 2.61 ERA and 25 saves. Crain recorded 47 saves for Houston last season, despite missing about a month.

The American League won the All-Star Game, 3-1, to secure home field advantage in the 2015 World Series.

[steelerfan]

The Anaheim Angels have acquired Jonathan Herrera from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a Kaleb Cowart.

3B Kaleb Cowart
Age 22 B/T S/R
OVR 67 POT C

2B Jonathan Herrera
Age 30 B/T S/R
OVR 75 POT C
.231, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 173 AB

[steelerfan]

Texas Rangers (53-35) vs Houston Astros (49-42)
July 17-19, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Robbie Ross (8-4, 3.31) vs Brett Oberholtzer (4-8, 4.92)

Game Two - Saturday 1:10 PM
Derek Holland (4-4, 4.07) vs Jeff Locke (6-6, 4.63)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Yu Darvish (8-3, 2.51) vs Alex White (7-5, 4.14)

[steelerfan]

Following a loss in the opener of the series with Texas (more on that when the series concludes), the Astros made a few moves that affected the Major League roster.

First, outfielder Robbie Grossman was placed on the 60-day DL after he fractured his right hand diving into first base on a pick off attempt during the aforementioned contest with the Rangers. Grossman is expected to miss 2 to 3 months, so his season may be done. He has hit .233 with 5 homers and 25 RBI in 249 at-bats to date this season.

To replace Grossman, the Astros recalled outfielder Alex Presley from AAA Fresno. Presley hit .280 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in 75 at-bats with the Grizzlies. Prior to being sent down, Alex had 222 ABs with Houston this season and hit .207 with 5 long balls and 27 runs batted in.

Houston also optioned rookie pitcher Luis Cruz to AAA Fresno and manager Bo Porter announced that struggling starter Brett Oberholtzer would be taking over Cruz's role as a left-handed long reliever. Cruz was 2-5 with a 5.04 ERA in Houston and Oberholtzer is 4-9 with a 5.27 ERA this season.

To replace Cruz on the roster, and Oberholtzer in the rotation, the Astros recalled Mark Appel from AAA Fresno. Appel, a former number one overall pick, was 3-2 with a 3.63 ERA with the Grizzlies this season and the 23-year-old was 2-1 with a 2.31 earned run average last September.

[steelerfan]

A couple more trades to report.

The Royals acquired CF Denard Span from the Mariners for RP Aaron Crow.

RP Aaron Crow
Age 28 B/T R/R
78 OVR, B POT
3-2, 3.81 in 49.2 IP

CF Denard Span
Age 31 B/T L/L
79 OVR, C POT
.209, 5 HR, 21 RBI in 354 AB

The Rangers acquired SP Ethan Martin from the Phillies in exchange for 2B Jorge Polanco.

SP Ethan Martin
Age 25 B/T R/R
69 OVR, B POT
3-8, 5.25 in 104.2 IP in AAA
Assigned to AAA Round Rock

2B Jorge Polanco
Age 21 B/T S/R
68 OVR, C POT
.297, 5 HR, 19 RBI in AAA
Assigned to AAA Lehigh

Oakland acquired 1B Brandon Belt from the Giants for 1B Matt Olson.

1B Brandon Belt
Age 26 B/T L/L
80 OVR, B POT
.337, 5 HR, 18 RBI in 163 AB

1B Matt Olson
Age 21 B/T L/R
58 OVR, A POT
Assigned to AAA Sacramento

[steelerfan]

The Astros dropped 2 of 3 to the team they are chasing in the AL West, their instate rivals, the Texas Rangers.

George Springer went 3 for 5 with a home run and 2 RBI in leading a charge back from a 7-0 deficit that came up a run short in game one.

Brett Oberholtzer took his 9th loss as the lefty allowed 7 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings. The outing was the final straw for management as the Astros sent Oberholtzer to the bullpen, Luis Cruz to AAA Fresno and recalled Mark Appel from Fresno to take Brett's place in the rotation.

In game two Springer had 2 more RBI but Houston came up short again, 5-3.

Jeff Locke was the loser, falling to 6-7. The southpaw allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings.

Stanley Knott went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, an RBI and a run while Matt Dominguez hit a solo homer, his 6th, to lead the Astros to a 4-2 win in the series finale.

Alex White pitched 6 innings and surrendered just 2 runs on 7 hits but did not factor in the decision. Reliever JP Howell earned his 3rd win and closer Jesse Crain got the final two is 2 for his 26th save.

TEX 7-14-2
HOU 6-11-1

TEX 5-11-3
HOU 3-9-0

TEX 2-9-1
HOU 4-8-0

Following Sunday's game, Astros manager Bo Porter announced that the club would option outfielder Domingo Santana back to AAA Fresno and would call up first baseman Jon Singleton.

Singleton was named to the PCL All-Star team after a stellar first half of the season while Santana was hitting just .186 with 2 long balls and 7 RBI in 43 at-bats with Houston.

Porter went on to say that Singleton would get the majority of the time at first base and that All-Star Chris Carter would be playing the corner outfield positions.

The Astros are off on Monday and will conclude their 6-game home stand with 3 games against the Boston Red Sox beginning Tuesday.

AL West Standings through Monday, July 20, 2015

Rangers 55-37
Astros 50-44
Mariners 46-47
Athletics 46-47
Angels 43-48

2015 Houston Astros Team Leaders

Triples
Springer 7
Fowler 3
Castro 2
Hechavarria 2

Innings Pitched
Cosart 126.2
White 110.1
Oberholtzer 109.1
Locke 109.0

[steelerfan]

Boston Red Sox (47-46) vs Houston Astros (50-44)
July 21-23, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Jake Peavy (8-4, 3.96) vs Mark Appel (NR, 0.00)

Game Two - Wednesday 7:10 PM
Henry Owens (3-8, 5.19) vs Jarred Cosart (9-5, 3.55)

Game Three - Thursday 1:10 PM
Jon Lester (9-5, 2.57) vs Jeff Locke (6-7, 4.71)

[steelerfan]

The Astros finished up their dreadful 2-4 home stand by losing 2 of 3 to the Boston Red Sox.

In the opener Houston lost despite 4 homers as Jon Singleton hit one out in his first plate appearance of the season. Joining him were George Springer, Alex Presley and Matt Dominguez.

Mark Appel was roughed up in his season debut, lasting just 4.2 innings. Appel allowed 9 hits and 6 runs (4 earned) but did not get a decision. The loss ultimately went to Scott Atchison who fell to 4-1.

Jarred Cosart won his 10th game as the Astros beat Boston 4-2 in game 2. Cosart went 7.2 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits.

Chris Carter hit career home run number 100 in the victory.

Carter and shortstop Carlos Correa each homered in the finale but the Astros were 8-5 losers.

Josh Fields took the loss in relief of Jeff Locke. Locke surrendered 4 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings of work for Houston.

BOS 9-15-0
HOU 7-8-1

BOS 2-5-1
HOU 4-3-0

BOS 8-11-1
HOU 5-9-1

The Astros will play a 3-game weekend series in Kansas City before returning home next week.

AL West Standings through Thursday, July 23, 2015

Rangers 57-37
Astros 51-46
Mariners 48-48
Athletics 48-49
Angels 44-51

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (51-46) vs Kansas City Royals (43-52)
July 24-26, 2015
Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City, Missouri

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Alex White (7-5, 4.08) vs James Shields (13-2, 2.17)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (5-3, 5.10) vs Jason Vargas (5-7, 4.51)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Mark Appel (0-0, 7.71) vs Tyler Thornburg (3-8, 5.29)

[jaymo76]

Damn! A bit of a cold streak hey buddy? Those losses to the Rangers hurt. Let's hope you rebound nicely against KC.

[steelerfan]

Damn! A bit of a cold streak hey buddy? Those losses to the Rangers hurt. Let's hope you rebound nicely against KC.
I've been struggling since Dexter Fowler went down. I think I'm 14-20 since that injury and I was 38-28 to that point. Fowler was hitting .295 with 8 HR, 32 RBI, 5 SB a .356 OBP and 1.000 F%. That has proven impossible to replace.

Add to Fowler going down, Robbie Grossman went down too which further depleted my outfield.

The good news is that Fowler is due back in 1-2 weeks.

[steelerfan]

Houston lost a third consecutive series since the All-Star Break, dropping 2 of 3 in Kansas City.

In game one Chris Carter hit his 20th bomb of the season as the Astros were 9-4 winners, pounding out 6 extra base hits as a team.

Starter Alex White earned his 8th win, going 5 innings and allowing 4 runs on 7 hits.

Matt Dominguez went 4 for 5 with a double and 2 runs in the second game but Houston fell, 7-4.

Asher Wojciechowski was chased from the game early, lasting just 2.1, innings after allowing 5 runs on 10 hits as the rookie saw his record fall to 5-4.

The good news from game three was that Mark Appel got a quality start. Appel pitched 6 innings and allowed just 2 runs on 7 hits with 5 strikeouts.

The bad news was that the Astros were shutout.

HOU 9-13-0
KC 4-10-1

HOU 4-9-2
KC 7-12-2

HOU 0-5-0
KC 2-9-0

AL West Standings through Monday, July 27, 2015

Rangers 59-39
Astros 52-48
Mariners 50-50
Athletics 49-51
Angels 46-52

[steelerfan]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (46-52) vs Houston Astros (52-48)
July 28-30, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Jered Weaver (7-5, 2.75) vs Jarred Cosart (10-5, 3.42)

Game Two - Wednesday 7:10 PM
CJ Wilson (7-7, 3.12) vs Jeff Locke (6-7, 4.82)

Game Three - Thursday 1:10 PM
Garrett Richards (5-7, 3.26) vs Alex White (8-5, 4.21)

[steelerfan]

Big news following the Astros 2-1 win in the opener of their 3-game series at Minute Maid Park with the Angels. Houston announced that they have completed a 6-player deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Astros have traded the prospects: 1B MP Cokinos, SP Keith Dolan and SP Josh Hader to the Phillies for LF Dominic Brown and minor leaguers RF Cord Sandberg and 1B Chris Serritella.

1B MP Cokinos
Age 25 B/T R/R
63 OVR, C POT
Assigned to AAA Lehigh

SP Keith Dolan
Age 18 B/T R/R
55 OVR, B POT
Assigned to AA Reading

SP Josh Hader
Age 21 B/T L/L
67 OVR, B POT
Assigned to AAA Lehigh

LF Dominic Brown
Age 27 B/T L/L
83 OVR, B POT
.333, 13 HR, 38 RBI in 258 AB with Philadelphia

RF Cord Sandberg
Age 20 B/T L/L
53 OVR, C POT
Assigned to A Lancaster

1B Chris Serritella
Age 24 B/T L/R
52 OVR, D POT
Assigned to AA Corpus Christi

To make room on the Major League roster, the Astros optioned outfielder Delino DeShields to AAA Fresno. DeShields hit .257 with 6 RBI in 70 AB in Houston.

[jaymo76]

Sad to see Deshields departure. Looks like you need to shake things up though. Out of curiosity is Cord Sandberg related to Ryne Sandberg?

[steelerfan]

Sad to see Deshields departure. Looks like you need to shake things up though. Out of curiosity is Cord Sandberg related to Ryne Sandberg?
I don't think he is. His dad did play in the Red Sox organization though.

As for DeShields, he was simply sent back to the minors. He was not traded.

[steelerfan]

Houston lost a fourth consecutive series and fell to 15-22 since Dexter Fowler went on the DL as the Angels won 2 of 3 at Minute Maid Park.

Matt Dominguez and Jose Altuve each hit a solo homer in the opener and the Astros managed a 2-1 win.

Jarred Cosart allowed the Angels only run as he went 7 strong innings and gave up 6 hits. However, Mike Foltynewicz earned his serving win out of the pen and Jesse Crain shut the door for save number 27.

Crain turned right around and lost game 2 after Jeff Locke allowed just 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits in 7 innings of work. The Astros lost 5-3 in 10 innings.

The Astros could muster just 2 hits and were shutout in game 3, 3-0. Alex White took the loss after a quality start. White went 6 innings and surrendered 2 runs on 5 hits with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks.

Also of note, Dominic Brown has gone 0 for 7 at the plate since joining the Astros before game 2. On a positive note Brown did fly out to the warning track 3 times and he has turned in a pair of nice performances in the field.

LAA 1-7-0
HOU 2-6-2

LAA 5-7-1
HOU 3-7-2

LAA 3-8-0
HOU 0-2-1

Houston third baseman Matt Dominguez was responsible for 4 of the club's 5 errors in the series.

The Astros will close the month of July and begin the month of August with a 3-game weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks before they hit the road for 9 games.

[steelerfan]

Arizona Diamondbacks (54-47) vs Houston Astros (53-50)
July 31 - August 2, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Brandon McCarthy (8-6, 2.26) vs Asher Wojciechowski (5-4, 5.54)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
Kyle Zimmer (3-2, 4.43) vs Mark Appel (0-1, 5.06)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Wade Miley (8-2, 2.89) vs Jarred Cosart (10-5, 3.31)

[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

[jaymo76]

How are you doing in the playoff hunt? Are you at the top of the Wildcard race?

[steelerfan]

How are you doing in the playoff hunt? Are you at the top of the Wildcard race?
No. I'm about 9 games behind the top Wildcard team but I do hold the second Wildcard spot. I have about a 2 have lead for that spot.

[steelerfan]

After starting their 10-game homestand with a 2-5 mark, the Astros salvaged a 5-5 record with an impressive 3-game sweep of the defending world champion Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend.

In game one Brad Peacock made his return and improved to 4-1 as he outdueled Clayton Kershaw for a 2-1 win. Peacock pitched 7.2 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits. Jesse Crain earned his 32nd save of the season.

Dominic Brown hit a 2-run home run in game two to help the Astros secure a 5-3 victory.

Asher Wojciechowski went 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, but did not factor in the decision. The win went to Darin Downs as manager Bo Porter used 6 pitchers. Downs is now 3-1 and closer Jesse Crain notched his 33rd save.

George Springer hit a solo homer in the 8th inning to provide some insurance for closer Jesse Crain who got his 34th save in the series finale.

The win went to Paul Clemens, in his first outing for Houston this season. Clemens was given a spot start ahead of rookie Mark Appel who Porter said was still showing signs of fatigue from his last start.

Clemens allowed one run on 4 hits with 4 punch outs and 2 walks in 6 innings of work. Also of note, setup man JP Howell earned a hold in each of the 3 games against his former club and now has 15 on the year to lead the Astros.

LAD 1-6-0
HOU 2-5-0

LAD 3-10-0
HOU 5-12-0

LAD 1-7-0
HOU 3-8-0

The Astros will hit the road next for 6 games in 7 days as they will visit the Yankees and Twins for 3 games with each. The Yankees and Minnesota are the two worst teams in the American League (49-74 and 47-77 respectively) so it is a huge opportunity for Houston to gain groping on the Texas Rangers.

AL West Standings through Sunday, August 23, 2015

Rangers 70-53
Astros 66-59
Mariners 62-62
Athletics 62-63
Angels 60-64

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (66-59) vs New York Yankees (49-74)
August 24-26, 2015
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, New York City, New York

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (11-8, 3.25) vs Rafael Montero (6-13, 4.25)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Jeff Locke (8-9, 4.06) vs Bryan Mitchell (0-2, 12.27)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:05 PM
Brad Peacock (4-1, 2.68) vs Masahiro Tanaka (8-8, 3.29)

[steelerfan]

After watching Carlos Beltran hit career home runs number 399 and 400 in leading the Yankees to a win in the opener, Houston rebounded to take 2 of 3 from New York.

Chris Carter hit his 25th long ball of the season and drove in all 3 Astros runs in New York's game one win.

Jarred Cosart lasted 5.2 innings and he allowed 5 runs on 7 hits with 7 strikeouts in the loss. Cosart is now 11-9 on the season.

George Springer and Jason Castro each homered in game 2, leading the Astros to a 6-2 win.

Jeff Locke got his 9th win of the season, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits in 6 innings. Jesse Crain retired the Yankees final 2 batters to snuff a 9th inning rally and earn his 35th save.

In the finale, Brad Peacock pitched 5.1 innings and surrendered 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits with 8 punch outs and 6 walks. However, the win went to Brett Oberholtzer (5-9), his first as a reliever, and Jesse Crain locked down save number 36 in the 5-2 win.

HOU 3-7-0
NYY 7-9-1

HOU 6-12-2
NYY 2-4-4

HOU 5-8-1
NYY 2-8-1

Houston will have a Thursday off before playing a 3-game weekend series in Minnesota against the Twins.

AL West Standings through Thursday, August 27, 2015

Rangers 71-55
Astros 68-60
Athletics 64-64
Mariners 64-64
Angels 62-65

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (68-60) vs Minnesota Twins (48-79)
August 28-30, 2015
Target Field - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (8-4, 4.56) vs Alex Morgan (1-15, 6.04)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
Mark Appel (2-2, 3.68) vs Ricky Nolasco (2-4, 2.49)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Jarred Cosart (11-9, 3.40) vs Lucas Giolito (5-11, 4.19)

[steelerfan]

Houston wrapped up a disappointing 6-game road trip by dropping 2 of 3 in Minnesota to finish the trip at 3-3.

In the opener, Jose Altuve provided the only offense with a solo home run in the 4th inning s the Astros lost, 3-1.

Asher Wojciechowski had a quality start but also took his 5th loss. The rookie allowed 3 runs on 7 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts.

A Matt Dominguez solo homer was the only offense for Houston in a 2-1 loss in 10 innings in game two.

Mark Appel allowed just one run on 5 hits in 7 innings but did not factor in the decision. The loss was tagged to Paul Clemens who fell to 1-1.

In the finale, Chris Carter hit his 26th long ball and Dexter Fowler drove in 2 runs as the Astros were 5-2 victors.

Jarred Cosart improved to 12-9 by allowing 2 runs on 6 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. Jesse Crain notched save number 37, pitching a perfect 9th and striking out 2.

HOU 1-3-1
MIN 3-8-0

HOU 1-6-0 F/10
MIN 2-10-1

HOU 5-9-2
MIN 2-7-1

A series of minor injuries have plagued the Astros in past couple of series, with Matt Dominguez, Jose Altuve and Dominic Brown all missing time. Brown is still day-to-day with a bruised triceps muscle.

The Astros will close August and begin September with a 3-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park.

[steelerfan]

MLB Standings through Sunday, August 30, 2015

American League

East
Blue Jays 79-51
Rays 76-54
Red Sox 67-63
Orioles 63-67
Yankees 50-79

Central
Indians 72-57
Royals 62-69
Tigers 60-71
White Sox 58-72
Twins 50-80

West
Rangers 72-57
Astros 69-62
Athletics 66-65
Mariners 66-65
Angels 64-66

National League

East
Braves 76-54
Nationals 74-56
Marlins 71-60
Mets 56-74
Phillies 55-76

Central
Reds 72-58
Pirates 70-60
Brewers 67-63
Cardinals 66-64
Cubs 47-84

West
Dodgers 71-58
Diamondbacks 70-61
Padres 64-67
Rockies 62-68
Giants 58-72

[steelerfan]

Seattle Mariners (66-65) vs Houston Astros (69-62)
August 31 - September 2, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Hisashi Iwakuma (16-3, 2.80) vs Jeff Locke (9-9, 4.02)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Erasmo Ramirez (8-8, 4.23) vs Brad Peacock (4-1, 2.57)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Adrian Laker (9-6, 2.67) vs Asher Wojciechowski (8-5, 4.51)

[steelerfan]

The Houston Astros 2015 campaign may have hit rock bottom as August turned to September. After losing 2 of 3 in Minnesota to the bottom-feeding Twins, Houston was swept at home by the Seattle Mariners and have dropped out of an American League Wildcard spot.

Dexter Fowler and Carlos Correa each homered for Houston in the opener but the Astros bullpen collapsed in the ninth, allowing Seattle to get a 7-5 win.

Jesse Crain was hit with his 5th loss after he left the game when he was hit in the chest with a hard chopper through the box. Starter Jeff Locke pitched admirably in a no-decision, going 7 innings and allowing just 3 runs on 7 hits.

In game two, the Astros got home runs from Charlie Barbour and LJ Hoes but fell, 4-3.

The loss went to reliever Paul Clemens after starter Brad Peacock allowed 2 runs in 5.1 innings.

Houston fell 8-4 in the finale as Seattle center fielder Loan Morrison hit 2 of his 4 home runs in the series. Hoes homered for Houston, as did Chris Carter who leads the team with 27.

Asher Wojciechowski was hit hard, falling to 8-6. The rookie righty surrendered 8 runs on 9 hits in 6 innings on the hill.

SEA 7-12-0
HOU 5-10-0

SEA 4-11-0
HOU 3-9-0

SEA 8-11-1
HOU 4-5-0

When Houston Manager Bo Porter was more than half an hour late to his postgame press conference following the Astros loss in the finale, the gathered media suspected that change was coming. Those feelings were correct. Porter never addressed the media and, instead, General Manager Jeff Luhnow eventually came out to make an announcement.

Luhnow, in a brief statement, said that pitching coach Bill Kydd had been relieved of his duties with club and that a replacement would be announced within the next 12 hours.

The Astros will host the Minnesota Twins in a 3-game weekend series beginning on Friday, after a much-needed day off on Thursday.

AL West Standings through Thursday, September 3, 2015

Rangers 72-60
Mariners 69-65
Astros 69-65
Athletics 67-67
Angels 66-67

AL Wildcard Standings

Rays 77-56
Red Sox 70-63

Mariners 69-65
Astros 69-65

[steelerfan]

On Thursday morning the Astros announced that they have hired 48-year-old Stephen Vasquez as their new pitching coach. Vasquez will replace Bill Kydd who was terminated Wednesday night.

Despite the pitching staff having its best month of the season in August, the Astros team ERA sits at 3.99 which ranks 26th in the Majors. The club is also tied for 23rd with 19 blown saves, is tied for 28th with 568 runs allowed, 27th with 533 earned runs allowed and is tied for last with 148 home runs allowed.

Bill Kydd
-1 STA
-1 VEL
-1 BB/9
-2 HR/9

Stephen Vasquez
+2 Clutch
+2 BB/9
+3 STA
-2 H/9

[steelerfan]

Minnesota Twins (52-81) vs Houston Astros (69-65)
September 4-6, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Ricky Nolasco (2-4, 2.32) vs Mark Appel (2-2, 3.30)

Game Two - Saturday 7:10 PM
Lucas Giolito (5-12, 4.17) vs Jarred Cosart (12-9, 3.39)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Alex Meyer (8-8, 3.96) vs Jeff Locke (9-9, 4.03)

[steelerfan]

Houston responded, at least immediately, to the change on their coaching staff by sweeping the Minnesota Twins over the weekend at Minute Maid Park.

In the opener the Astros got long balls from Chris Carter, Jason Castro and Matt Dominguez to earn an 8-5 win.

Rookie Mark Appel ran into some 6th inning trouble and wound up with a no-decision after going 5.1 innings and allowing 5 runs on 6 hits with 7 strikeouts and 2 walks. Brett Oberholtzer came out of the pen and struck out 5 in 2.2 innings to get the win, while Jesse Crain closed the door to get save number 38.

Carter homered again in game two, giving him 29 homers on the year but the story was the pitching.

Jarred Cosart struck out 8 and walked 2 while allowing just 5 hits in a complete game shutout as the Astros were 6-0 winners.

It was Castro and Jose Altuve who went deep in the finale for the Astros and Houston went the last 21 innings of the series without allowing a run.

In an 8-0 decision, Jeff Locke got the club's second consecutive complete game shutout. Locke struck out 6, walked 2 and surrendered 7 hits and earned his team-best 3rd shutout of the season.

MIN 5-8-1
HOU 8-13-0

MIN 0-5-0
HOU 6-10-2

MIN 0-7-1
HOU 8-13-0

The Astros will start a 10-game road trip with 3 in Oakland beginning on Monday. They will be without Dexter Fowler whose regular season appears to be over after he fractured his right wrist early in the finale with the Twins. Houston recalled outfielder Delino DeShields to replace Fowler.

AL West Standings through Sunday, September 6, 2015

Rangers 74-61
Astros 72-65
Athletics 70-67
Mariners 69-68
Angels 67-69

AL Wildcard Standings

Rays 79-57
Astros 72-65

Red Sox 71-65
Athletics 70-67

NOTE: With all of the ups and downs and all of the craziness of the season, I just wanted that I have not touched the sliders in a VERY long time. My guess is at least 50 games but probably more like 75-100 games. All of the peaks and valleys are completely organic.

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (72-65) vs Oakland Athletics (70-67)
September 7-9, 2015
O.co Coliseum - Oakland, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Brad Peacock (4-1, 2.65) vs Scott Kazmir (10-6, 2.84)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (8-6, 4.89) vs Jesse Chavez (4-8, 4.39)

Game Three - Wednesday 12:35 PM
Mark Appel (2-2, 3.86) vs Sonny Gray (11-8, 4.16)

[steelerfan]

On Monday the minor league regular seasons came to an end meaning that on Tuesday the Major League rosters will expand to 40.

However, the Astros roster will sit at just 26 because both their Double and Triple-A affiliates have made the playoffs. Scott Atchison came of the DL, being player number 26 on the big league roster.

The Corpus Christi Hooks finished last in the Texas League's South Division in the second half of the season but won the first half, earning their spot in the postseason. The Hooks will face the Frisco RoughRiders in the first round.

The Fresno Grizzlies finished 84-60 and won the PCL Pacific North Division and will face the Albuquerque Isotopes to begin the playoffs.

Jon Singleton starred for the Grizzlies this season. In 116 games he hit .259 with 19 HR, 27 2B and 81 RBI. Bobby Doran was the star on the mound going 12-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 18 starts. Veteran Chad Qualls conveyed 42 of 47 saves and had an ERA of 2.40.

In 90 games for the Hooks, Marc Krauss hit .253 with 15 homers and 59 RBI. Lance McCullers made 27 stats and went 8-6 with a 3.01 ERA. Vladimir Bradley, like Qualls in Fresno, converted 42 of 47 saves. Bradley's ERA was 3.07.

[steelerfan]

Just as an update, I've decided to play all of my AAA and AA playoff games. I will report on these games one at a time, as they happen, while continuing to report on the Astros on a series by series basis.

[steelerfan]

Houston started an important 10-game road trip against division opponents by losing 2 of 3 in Oakland against the A's.

The Astros bats were silenced in have one as the did not get a hit until Jose Altuve doubled with 2 away in the 8th.

Brad Peacock took his second loss of the season, allowing a run on 5 hits in 6 innings.

The Astros bats were awakened in the second game as Houston had 6 players get multiple hits. Stanley Knott led the way going 4 for 5 with a double, a homer and a career-high 6 RBI. Chris Carter also homered giving him 30 on the year.

Asher Wojciechowski improved to 9-6 as he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in 7.2 innings.

The Astros offense disappeared again in the finale, with the only run coming on a Dominic Brown solo home run.

Starter Mark Appel fell to 2-3 as he surrendered 3 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings of work.

HOU 0-2-0
OAK 1-5-1

HOU 12-20-0
OAK 3-7-2

HOU 1-2-0
OAK 3-6-0

Houston will take Thursday off before beginning a 3-game weekend series in Anaheim against the Angels on Friday.

AL West Standings through Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Rangers 75-63
Astros 73-67
Athletics 72-68
Mariners 71-69
Angels 69-70

AL Wildcard Standings

Rays 81-58
Astros 73-67

Red Sox 72-67
Athletics 72-68
Mariners 71-69

[steelerfan]

Corpus Christi won their opener in Frisco against the RoughRiders, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

Lance McCullers was dominant for the Hooks on the mound. McCullers pitched a complete have 5-hit shutout as he struck out 9 and walked 2.

Four Hooks batters had multi-hit games, led by third baseman Jonathan Meyer who was 3 for 5 with an RBI.

CC 5-11-0
FRI 0-5-0

[steelerfan]

With the Astros off on Thursday, the organization's entire focus was squarely set on Minor League Playoff action.

In Frisco, the Hooks rallied from a 6-1 deficit to take a 2-0 series lead over the RoughRiders with a 12-6 win. The series now shifts to Corpus Christi where the home 9 will need to win just one of three to advance.

First baseman Erik Castro led the Hooks attack going 4 for 5 with 2 runs, a double, a home run and 6 runs batted in. Teoscar Hernandez hit a majestic 418-foot long ball to center that nearly left the stadium.

Starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel lasted just 4 innings and allowed 6 runs on 8 hits. Reliever Aaron West pitched a pair of scoreless innings to earn the win.

CC 12-15-0
FRI 6-9-3

Meanwhile in Albuquerque, Fresno opened their series with the Isotopes in front of a sellout crowd of 18,200. The fans were treated to a great pitching duel with the Grizzlies winning 2-1 in 10 innings.

Jesus Guzman went 3 for 5 at the plate with the game-winning RBI as he drive in Jon Singleton who led off the 10th with a double.

Alex White was unbelievable on the mound for Fresno. The right didn't factor in the decision bit in 8 innings he allowed just one run on 3 hits while walking one and striking out an astonishing 16.

Lucas Harrell wound up earning the win or of the bullpen and Chad Qualls pitched a perfect 10th to record a save.

FRE 2-11-0
ALB 1-4-1

[steelerfan]

On Friday, the Hooks would return home to play Game 3 of the Texas League South Division Championship Series with a chance to complete a 3-game sweep of the Frisco RoughRiders. Corpus Christi was greeted by a raucous sellout scripted, a big change from the sparse crowds of less than 5000 in Frisco.

Marc Krauss went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI in leading the Hooks right out of the gate. With a pair of runs in the 1st and two more in the 4th, Corpus had built a 4-0 lead.

However by the middle of the 6th, it was 4-3 and the bullpen would have to hold on.

Starter Vincent Velasquez excited after 5.1 innings, turning to his bullpen for a bailout. Velasquez allowed 3 runs on 5 hits but ultimately earned the win after the 'pen have him 3.2 scoreless innings with Vladimir Bradley sitting the door in the 9th for the save.

The Hooks will visit the Springfield Cardinals on Tuesday for Game 1 of the best-of-five Texas League Championship Series.

FRI 3-7-0
CC 4-10-0

Fresno could not match Corpus Christi's success as they feel in game two of their series with Albuquerque, 3-2. The loss evens the series at 1-1 with the remaining 3 games (if necessary) to be played in Fresno.

Andrew Aplin hot a solo home run in a two-run 2nd inning that gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead that would not be able to hold.

Starting pitcher Luis Cruz lasted 6.1 innings and surrendered 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits but he did not factor in the decision. The loss went to reliever Jake Buchanan would was on the hill when an unearned run scored in the bottom of the 8th to provide the difference.

FRE 2-8-2
ALB 3-8-2

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (73-67) vs Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (69-70)
September 11-13, 2015
Angels Stadium of Anaheim - Anaheim, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (13-9, 3.23) vs CJ Wilson (11-8, 3.60)

Game Two - Saturday 12:35 PM
Jeff Locke (10-9, 3.82) vs Garrett Richards (8-9, 2.86)

Game Three - Sunday 12:35 PM
Brad Peacock (4-2, 2.54) vs Tyler Skaggs (12-10, 3.51)

[steelerfan]

Saturday night in Fresno was the swing as a sellout crowd of 10,500 watched the Grizzlies take a 2-1 series lead over Albuquerque with a convincing 6-0 win.

Jon Singleton was a single short of the cycle as he went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and a long ball to go with 3 RBI and a pair of runs scored.

Meanwhile, Bobby Doran hurled a complete game shutout. The big righty struck out 10 and allowed 7 hits and 2 walks in blanking the Isotopes.

ALB 0-7-0
FRE 6-10-0

[steelerfan]

On Sunday afternoon in Anaheim the Angels completed a 3-game sweep of the Astros, dumping Houston to 1-5 on the most important road trip of the season.

It took 13 innings on the series opener but the Angels were 4-3 winners. Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez each homered for Houston in the loss.

Jarred Cosart got a No-Decision, lasting 6 innings and allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits. The loss went to Paul Clemens as he pitched 3+ innings out of the bullpen. The only hit Clemens allowed was a leadoff solo homer to Albert Pujols in the 13th.

George Springer and Carter each hit solo homers for the Astros in game two but it was all the offense Houston got in an 11-2 drubbing.

Starter Jeff Locke was hammered for 7 runs on 10 hits in just 3.1 innings as his record dipped back to .500 at 10-10.

Houston was blanked in the series finale, 3-0. Speculation persists that Manager Bo Porter will not be employed by the club when they return from the trip, should the woes continue in Arlington.

Brad Peacock took the loss; he lasted 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits.

HOU 3-9-3 F/13
LAA 4-10-1

HOU 2-9-0
LAA 11-18-0

HOU 0-5-0
LAA 3-7-1

Houston will travel to Arlington next for four games with the division-leading Rangers beginning Monday.

[steelerfan]

Sunday night saw Omar Espinoza, the Astros 18-year-old phenom take the hill in Fresno with a chance to end the Isotopes season. Houston's first overall pick in the 2014 Entry Draft was fantastic on the mound.

Espinoza went 8 innings, he allowed just 3 hits, he struck out 7 and walked 2. However, Albuquerque also got 2 unearned runs to beat him, 2-1.

The Grizzlies loss forces a decisive Game 5 in Fresno on Monday night, with the series even at 2-2.

ALB 2-4-0
FRE 1-6-2

[steelerfan]

AL West Standings through Sunday, September 13, 2015

Rangers 77-65
Athletics 74-69
Astros 73-70
Angels 72-70
Mariners 71-73

AL Wildcard Standings

Rays 81-61
Red Sox 75-67

Athletics 74-69
Astros 73-70
Angels 72-70

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (73-70) vs Texas Rangers (77-65)
September 14-17, 2015
Globe Life Park - Arlington, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (9-6, 4.81) vs Robbie Ross (16-4, 2.79)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Mark Appel (2-3, 3.93) vs Matt Harrison (3-6, 3.94)

Game Three - Wednesday 7:05 PM
Jarred Cosart (13-9, 3.18) vs Nick Tepesch (1-5, 5.36)

Game Four - Thursday 2:05 PM
Jeff Locke (10-10, 4.11) vs Yu Darvish (10-6, 2.62)

[steelerfan]

In Game 5 on Tuesday night in Fresno, the Grizzlies eliminated Albuquerque with an 8-4 win.

The deciding game was decided, in part, by home runs from Jesus Guzman and Jon Singleton. Ronald Torreyes added 4 hits in 5 trips with 3 RBI in the victory.

Nick Tropeano got the win as he pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits. Jason Stoffel was credited with a save after recording the final 4 outs.

ALB 4-10-0
FRE 8-14-0

Having won the Pacific Coast League Pacific Conference Championship, the Grizzlies will face the Iowa Cubs in the Pacific Coast League Championship Series. Game 1 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Wednesday night in Iowa.

[steelerfan]

The Hooks opened their best-of-five series with the Cardinals in Springfield on Tuesday night with a tough 1-0 loss in 11 innings.

Springfield starter Cory Jones struck out 14 Hooks and allowed just 1 hit in 8 innings.

His counterpart David Martinez went 6 innings for Corpus Christi allowing 5 hits. Jose Cisnero took the loss out of the bullpen, pitching the final 1.1 innings.

CC 0-2-1
SPR 1-6-2

Game 2 will be Wednesday night in Springfield.

[steelerfan]

On Wednesday night the Hooks were back in action in Springfield for Game 2 of their series with the Cardinals, trailing one game to none.

After being blanked for the first 5 innings of game 2 just one night after being shutout in extra innings, the Hooks had to wonder if they had left their run production back in Corpus Christi. However a 3-run 6th inning, that included a 2-run double by Jonathan Meyer, have then all the ruins they would need to even the series.

Starter Rudy Owns earned the win as he limited Springfield to just one run on 5 hits in 6 innings. Vladimir Bradley came on in the 9th inning and notched his second save of the postseason.

CC 3-6-0
SPR 1-7-1

Game 3 will be played on Thursday night in Corpus.

[steelerfan]

It took 14 innings to decide Game 1 of the PCL Championship Series but, in the end, Iowa took the first game from Fresno, 5-4.

Carlos Perez hit a 2-run home run for Fresno and Tyler Heineman went 4 for 6 with a triple, and RBI and a run scored for the Grizzlies in the loss.

Lucas Harrell started the game on the mound after Luis Cruz was still not recovered from his start against Albuquerque and Harrell allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 5.1 innings. The loss, however, was taken by reliever Jason Stoffel who gave up a run on 3 hits in just 0.1 innings.

FRE 4-13-1
IOWA 5-15-2

Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday night in Iowa.

[steelerfan]

The 10-game road trip that was being billed as the most important trip of the season for the Astros ended on Thursday afternoon in Arlington. The Astros split with the Rangers to finish the road trip with a 3-7 record, hardly inspiring postseason dreams.

In the series opener with Texas, Houston came up short, 5-4, in 15 innings. George Springer homered and drove in 2 while Carlos Correa had 3 hits in the loss.

The Astros used 9 pitchers as starter Asher Wojciechowski went 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits with just 1 strikeout and 5 walks. The loss eventually went to Scott Atchison who surrendered a run on 2 hits in 1.1 innings. The Astros staff finished with 4 punch outs and 9 walks.

Houston bounced back for a 4-2 win in the second game, ending a 5-game skid.

Mark Appel improved to 3-3, allowing one run on 6 hits in 6 innings on the mound. Jesse Crain earned his 39th save out of the 'pen.

Chris Carter drove in 3 runs on Wednesday night as Houston made it 2 in a row with another 4-2 victory.

Jarred Cosart ran his record to 14-9 as the staff ace gave up just 2 runs on 3 hits in 7+ innings and Jesse Crain got save number 40.

Prince Fielder hit a walk-off grand slam off of Brett Oberholtzer to earn a series split for Texas in the finale as the Rangers won 5-2.

Jeff Locke had a strong outing, pitching 6 scoreless innings and allowing just four his. It went to waste though as the bullpen could not hold the lead and Scott Atchison was tagged with his 3rd loss of the season.

HOU 4-14-0 F/15
TEX 5-19-0

HOU 4-8-0
TEX 2-9-1

HOU 4-10-1
TEX 2-4-0

HOU 2-8-0
TEX 5-8-0

The Astros return home next as they begin a 9-game homestand that will close out the home portion of the 2015 schedule. Houston will begin a 3-game weekend series with the A's on Friday.

[steelerfan]

Corpus Christi has lost home field advantage and now faces elimination after the Hooks lost to Springfield, 4-2, on Thursday night giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Preston Tucker had a double and a triple and drove in both of the Hooks' runs. But the offense simply could not produce after the 2-run 3rd inning.

Starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel took the loss after allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits in 6 innings. In a bit of an oddity, Keuchel did not walk or strikeout a single batter over those 6 innings.

SPR 4-9-1
CC 2-4-1

Game 4 is slated for Friday night in Corpus.

[steelerfan]

It took extra innings again, in game 2, to decide a winner between Fresno and Iowa on Thursday night. The Cubs pulled out a 7-6 win to take a 2-0 series lead with the series moving to Fresno for Ganges 3-5 (if necessary).

Carlos Perez hit a 2-run home run to help the Grizzlies rally from a 5-1 deficit to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the 6th inning but the Cubs tied it in the 7th and eventually won on a 2-out single to center with the bases loaded by Kris Bryant.

Starter Luis Cruz lasted just 5 innings and allowed 5 runs on 9 hits. The eventual loser was Anthony Bass. Bass surrendered a run on 6 hits in 2.1 innings.

FRE 6-11-1
IOWA 7-17-0

The series will resume in Fresno on Saturday night.

[steelerfan]

AL West Standings through Thursday, September 17, 2015

Rangers 79-67
Angels 75-71
Astros 75-72
Athletics 75-72
Mariners 72-75

AL Wildcard Standings

Rays 83-63
Red Sox 75-70

Angels 75-71
Astros 75-72
Athletics 75-72

[steelerfan]

Oakland Athletics (75-72) vs Houston Astros (75-72)
September 18-20, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Scott Kazmir (11-7, 2.78) vs Brad Peacock (4-3, 2.71)

Game Two - Saturday 1:10 PM
Jesse Chavez (4-10, 4.85) vs Asher Wojciechowski (9-6, 4.69)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Sonny Gray (12-9, 4.10) vs Mark Appel (3-3, 3.69)

[steelerfan]

In an ugly game on Friday night in Corpus Christi, the Hooks season came crashing to an end as the Springfield Cardinals blasted the home 9, 11-4.

Shortstop Dawel Lugo went 4 for 5 with 3 home runs, 3 RBI and 4 runs scored to lead the Springfield onslaught.

Meanwhile the Hooks committed 3 errors (all 3 by 2B Enrique Hernandez) and hit 3 batters in the embarrassing defeat.

Vincent Velasquez took the loss. He lasted just 3 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits though only 1 run was earned.

Preston Tucker homered for the Hooks.

SPR 11-15-2
CC 4-8-3

Springfield wins the series, 3-1.

Starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez, 23, is the only Hooks player on Houston's 40-man roster. He will join the Astros immediately and will push their current roster size to 28.

[jaymo76]

Damn buddy! You have a razor thin margin of error for that wildcard. Go 'Stros!

[steelerfan]

Damn buddy! You have a razor thin margin of error for that wildcard. Go 'Stros!
Yeah, it's not looking good right now. Once Dexter Fowler got injured again, this team started fading fast. With so few games remaining in not sure a playoff spot is in the cards.

If the playoffs are missed, I can't see Bo Porter surviving.

[steelerfan]

On Saturday night in Fresno, California the Grizzlies kept their season alive winning, 2-1 , against the Iowa Cubs in a game in which all of the runs were scored in the 1st inning.

Fresno got a leadoff homer from Austin Wates in the bottom of the first that was later followed by an RBI single from Jon Singleton.

After that the Grizzlies relied on starter Alex White. White went 8 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits with 4 punch outs and 2 walks. Chad Qualls came on to pitch the ninth and earned his second save of the postseason.

IOWA 1-6-2
FRE 2-7-0

With the Cubs leading the best-of-five series, 2-1, game 4 is slated for Sunday night in Fresno.

[steelerfan]

It's getting difficult to decide which is fading faster - the 2015 Houston Astros playoff chances or manager Bo Porter's chances of being employed by the club in 2016. Both took a hit over the weekend as the Astros lost 2 of 3 to the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park.

In the opener Houston fell behind 6-0 by the middle of the 3rd inning en route to a 10-5 loss.

Brad Peacock was the losing pitcher. Peacock lasted just 2.1 innings and he allowed 6 runs on 6 hits in his worst outing of the season.

Chris Carter and Dominic Brown each hit a homer in game 2 with Carter also driving in 3 runs as the Astros rebounded for a 6-2 win.

Asher Wojciechowski earned his 10th win of the season and JP Howell got his second save after going the last 1.2 innings.

The only highlight for Houston in the finale was Brown going 4 for 4 with a double and 2 long balls. The home runs give him 21 on the season.

The pitching was atrocious and starter Mark Appel lasted just 2.2 innings after giving up 3 homers and surrendering 6 runs on 6 hits.

OAK 10-15-1
HOU 5-9-1

OAK 2-7-0
HOU 6-10-0

OAK 14-13-0
HOU 2-9-1

The Astros will host the Angels in the first of 3 between the club's beginning Monday.

[steelerfan]

The Grizzlies fell to the Iowa Cubs 4-2 on Sunday night giving the PCL Championship to the Cubs and ending the season for Fresno.

Nick Tropeano took the loss. He lasted 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 10 hits.

About half of the Grizzlies team will fly to Houston and join the Astros for the remainder of the 2015 season as part of the expanded 40-man rosters.

IOWA 4-13-0
FRE 2-5-0

Iowa wins the series, 3-1.

[steelerfan]

AL West Standings through Sunday, September 20, 2015

Rangers 80-69
Angels 78-71
Athletics 77-73
Astros 76-74
Mariners 74-76

AL Wildcard Standings

Rays 84-65
Angels 78-71

Athletics 77-73
Red Sox 76-72
Astros 76-74

[steelerfan]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (78-71) vs Houston Astros (76-74)
September 21-23, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
CJ Wilson (12-8, 3.53) vs Jarred Cosart (14-9, 3.16)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Garrett Richards (10-9, 2.72) vs Jeff Locke (10-10, 3.97)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Tyler Skaggs (14-10, 3.17) vs Brad Peacock (4-4, 3.41)

[SmoothPancakes]

Still a hope of catching the Angels in the Wild Card. May take a miracle to catch the Rangers for the division.

[steelerfan]

Still a hope of catching the Angels in the Wild Card. May take a miracle to catch the Rangers for the division.
Yeah, things have really spun out of control. This team just cannot seem to consistently win without Dexter Fowler in the lineup. I don't like our chances of racing the postseason at this point.

[steelerfan]

The Astros won 2 out of 3 against the Angels in a "must-win" series that has kept them in the thick of the Wildcard race.

A Domonic Brown home run got the Astros off to a fast start in the opener but they blew a 3-0 lead and eventually lost 5-4. Brown was 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored, in addition to his homer.

Jarred Cosart (14-10) took the loss as he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in 6+ innings.

The Astros scored 4 in the 7th inning of game 2 to overcome a 3-0 deficit and secure a 4-3 win. LJ Hoes was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI to lead the Houston attack. Chris Carter drove in RBI number 100 for the year.

Starting pitcher Jeff Locke had a quality start, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits in 6 innings but he did not factor in the decision. The win went to much-maligned reliever Jason Motte who allowed just 1 hit in 2 innings out of the bullpen. Jesse Crain closed the door for save number 41.

In the finale the Astros scored 4 in the first inning and then held on for another 4-3 victory. The big blow came from Chris Carter who hit a 3-run homer.

Brad Peacock was the winner on the mound, allowing one run on 5 hits in 6 innings. Jesse Crain notched save number 42 of the season.

LAA 5-10-1
HOU 4-6-0

LAA 3-5-1
HOU 4-13-0

LAA 3-9-0
HOU 4-4-0

The Astros are off on Thursday, before the Texas Rangers come to town for the final 3 games at Minute Maid Park this season.

AL West Standings through Thursday, September 24

Rangers 81-71
Angels 79-73
Athletics 79-74
Astros 78-75
Mariners 75-78

AL Wildcard Standings

Rays 87-66
Angels 79-73

Athletics 79-74
Astros 78-75
Red Sox 77-75

[steelerfan]

Texas Rangers (81-71) vs Houston Astros (78-75)
September 25-27, 2015
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:10 PM
Robbie Ross (16-5, 3.10) vs Asher Wojciechowski (10-6, 4.68)

Game Two - Saturday 1:10 PM
Matt Harrison (3-7, 4.11) vs Mark Appel (3-4, 4.38)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Nick Tepesch (1-7, 5.28) vs Jarred Cosart (14-10, 3.24)

[steelerfan]

The red-hot Houston Astros closed their 2015 home schedule with a huge 3-game sweep of the AL West leading Texas Rangers. The sweep means that Houston won their final 5 home games and they will finish 2015 with a 46-35 record at Minute Maid Park, a 7 game improvement over 2014 when they were just 39-42 at home.

The sweep has also created a logjam in the Western division with 4 clubs within a game of each other going into the final 7 days of games.

Domonic Brown went 2 for 5 in the opener with a double and a walk-off home run in a 5-4 Houston win.

Asher Wojciechowski got a no-decision, pitching 6.1 innings and allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. The win was credited to Jason Motte who faced just 1 batter but improved his record to 4-2.

George Springer went 3 for 4 with a double and 3 RBI and Matt Dominguez homered add the Astros took game 2, 8-4.

Starter Mark Appel lasted just 5.1 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks. Jason Motte, who has preformed nicely since being recalled when the rosters expanded to 40, earned his 5th win and Luis Cruz got his 2nd save.

Springer, Chris Carter and Carlos Correa each hit a 2-run home run in the Astros 6-4 win in the finale.

Jarred Cosart won his 15th game of the season despite going just 5 innings. The staff ace allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings to improve to 15-10. Jesse Crain closed the door in the 9th to notch save number 43.

TEX 4-9-1
HOU 5-12-1

TEX 4-8-0
HOU 8-10-1

TEX 4-8-0
HOU 6-11-0

The Astros will play 3 in Seattle, beginning Monday, to close out the month of September and will then close the season with 3 in Arizona.

AL West Standings through Sunday, September 27

Rangers 81-74
Astros 81-75
Athletics 81-75
Angels 80-75
Mariners 77-79

AL Wildcard Standings

Blue Jays 89-66
Astros 81-75
Athletics 81-75

Angels 80-75

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (81-75) vs Seattle Mariners (77-79)
September 28-30, 2015
Safeco Field - Seattle, Washington

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Jeff Locke (10-10, 3.99) vs Taijuan Walker (5-6, 2.88)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Brad Peacock (5-4, 3.25) vs Hisashi Iwakuma (17-5, 3.07)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (10-6, 4.60) vs Erasmo Ramirez (11-10, 4.50)

[SmoothPancakes]

A huge week of games ahead! Not only right in the thick of the division race thanks to that sweep, also right there in the middle of a dogfight for the second Wild Card spot. Every single game is essentially a do or die game in trying to overtake Texas and as well as keep a lock on that second Wild Card in case you fall short in the division.

[steelerfan]

No kidding, man! These final 6 games are HUGE. I'm not sure what has gotten into my team (I haven't used Dynamic Difficulty at all on 15 and haven't touched the sliders in probably 75-100 games) but my guys have been hitting the ball very well (.320 vs Texas) and have been getting some key hits when the games have been close. I just hope they can keep it up for 2 more series.

I'd love to win the division to avoid the one game Wildcard which will either be in Tampa or Toronto. At this point though, I'm just happy to be back in the hunt. I'd pretty much surrendered just a few games back because I was fading fast.

[SmoothPancakes]

Yeah, after that 3-7 road trip and then dropping two out of three at home against Oakland, I thought that was it. I didn't think the comeback would happen with team seemingly falling apart down the stretch. But a series win here, a series win there and that huge sweep of Texas, and it's right back to square one with one week to go! I'm really hoping you take the division. I'd love to see Houston climb from the ashes of what seems like forever rebuilding and claim the AL West title. That, and as you said, you get to avoid that one game Wild Card game against Tampa Bay or Toronto. Way too easy for too much to go wrong when it's a one game elimination.

[steelerfan]

Houston extended their winning streak to 6 games by winning the opener in Seattle but then lost games 2 and 3 to put their playoff chances in serious jeopardy going into the final series of the season.

Jose Altuve, Chris Carter and Domonic Brown each hit a solo homer in the opener as the Astros won, 3-1.

Jeff Locke earned his 11th win of the season, going 7 innings and surrendering just one run on 6 hits with 6 Ks and 4 walks. Jesse Crain punched out the only 2 batters he faced to get his 44th save.

Jason Castro hit his 12th home run in game 2 but defense and pitching destroyed the Astros in a 12-5 loss.

Brad Peacock lasted just 4 innings and allowed 5 runs on 5 hits. It's tough to blame Peacock though as none of the 5 runs were earned. Alex White took the loss, allowing a run on 2 hits in 2 innings.

Carter and Robbie Grossman each hit a solo long ball in the finale but that was the extent of the Astros offense in an 8-2 loss.

Asher Wojciechowski fell to 10-7 on the year. Wojo have up 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings of work. Again, it's difficult to pin the blame on the starter, only one of those 4 runs was earned as Houston committed 3 errors for the seconds consecutive game.

HOU 3-10-0
SEA 1-7-1

HOU 5-13-3
SEA 12-12-1

HOU 2-5-3
SEA 8-12-0

After a day off on Thursday, the Astros will wrap up the season in the desert as they make their final playoff push against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

MLB Standings through Thursday, October 1, 2015

American League

East
z-Blue Jays 93-66
z-Rays 92-67
Red Sox 81-78
Orioles 77-82
Yankees 67-92

Central
x-Indians 88-71
Tigers 79-80
Royals 77-82
White Sox 68-91
Twins 59-100

West
Athletics 84-75
Rangers 83-76
Astros 82-77
Angels 80-79
Mariners 79-80

AL Wildcard
z-Rays 92-67
Rangers 83-76

Astros 82-77
Red Sox 81-78
Angels 80-79

National League

East
z-Braves 96-66
z-Nationals 90-69
Marlins 80-79
Mets 69-90
Phillies 67-92

Central
Reds 85-74
Brewers 83-76
Pirates 83-76
Cardinals 81-78
Cubs 65-94

West
x-Dodgers 86-73
Padres 81-78
Diamondbacks 81-78
Rockies 78-81
Giants 74-85

NL Wildcard
z-Nationals 90-69
Brewers 83-76
Pirates 83-76

Diamondbacks 81-78
Cardinals 81-78
Padres 81-78
Marlins 80-79

x: Clinched Division
y: Wildcard
z: Clinched Playoff Berth

[steelerfan]

Houston Astros (82-77) vs Arizona Diamondbacks (81-78)
October 2-4, 2015
Chase Field - Phoenix, Arizona

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 6:40 PM
Mark Appel (3-4, 4.43) vs Patrick Corbin (9-13, 3.76)

Game Two - Saturday 1:10 PM
Jarred Cosart (15-10, 3.33) vs Brandon McCarthy (9-10, 3.26)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Jeff Locke (11-10, 3.89) vs Kyle Zimmer (7-8, 4.84)

Note: As opposed to the usual series wrap-up, this series will be covered on a game-by-game basis with playoff updates provided after each game.

[SmoothPancakes]

Damn... It's gonna take a miracle now to win the division. Looks like it's Wild Card or bust now.

[steelerfan]

Damn... It's gonna take a miracle now to win the division. Looks like it's Wild Card or bust now.
No doubt about it.

[steelerfan]

Andrew Aplin came up with the biggest hit of the Astros season on Friday night. In just the 5th at-bat of his career the 24-year-old outfielder got his first hit in the Majors. That base knock also happened to be his first career home run and it came in the top of the 10th inning with the Astros and Diamondbacks tied at 4.

Aplin had come on for Robbie Grossman and he took over in right field as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 9th but he got his chance to be a hero when Jesse Crain blew a save opportunity with a 4-3 lead.

The Astros used 9 pitchers in the game with 7 of them pitching less than an inning. Starter Mark Appel pitched 5.2 innings in a no-decision and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits.

Reliever Chad Qualls faced just one batter (his second of the season after a stellar season in Fresno as the closer) but was credited with the win. Mike Foltynewicz notched his 3rd save as he came on to strike out Paul Goldschmidt (.316, 40, 110) with runners at the corners and 2 away in the home half of the 10th.

The Astros have committed 10 errors in their last 3 games and had 4 on Friday night.

HOU 5-10-4 F/10
ARI 4-12-1

Here's a look at the playoff-relevant standings after Friday's games:

American League

East
z-Blue Jays 94-66
z-Rays 92-68

Central
x-Indians 89-71

West
Athletics 85-75
Astros 83-77
Rangers 83-77

AL Wildcard
z-Rays 92-68
Astros 83-77
Rangers 83-77

Red Sox 81-79
Angels 81-79



National League

East
x-Braves 94-66

Central
Reds 85-75
Brewers 84-76
Pirates 84-76

West
x-Dodgers 87-73

NL Wildcard
y-Nationals 90-70
Brewers 84-76
Pirates 84-76

x: Clinched Division
y: Wildcard
z: Clinched Playoff Berth

Note: With the win, the Houston Astros have matched their 2014 win total when they finished 83-79.

[steelerfan]

Jarred Cosart was robbed of the opportunity to earn his 16th win of the season on Saturday in Phoenix when a 3rd inning Paul Goldschmidt liner hit his right shin, ending his outing.

Cosart exited after 2.1 innings in a 1-1 have. The right hander allowed a run on 5 hits with 4 punch outs but was picked up by his bullpen.

Over the remaining 6.1 innings, the Houston relievers allowed just 3 hits and the win was credited to Mike Foltynewicz who pitched 1.2 perfect innings immediately following the Cosart injury.

Offensively, the Astros were led by Chris Carter and Domonic Brown. Carter went 3 for 4 with a solo homer, 3 runs scored and an RBI. Brown was also 3 for 4 but he hit a 2-run home run, scored twice and drove in 2.

With the win, the Astros can secure a playoff spot with another victory on Sunday. They could also share the division lead with Oakland and force a 1-game playoff for the division title if Houston wins and the A's lose again in Seattle.

An Astros loss on Sunday will either send them to Tampa or Toronto for a Wildcard game or force a tie-breaker with Texas for the last playoff spot if the Rangers win in Arlington over the Angels.

HOU 5-11-0
ARI 1-8-0

Here's a look at the playoff-relevant standings after Saturday's games:

American League

East
z-Blue Jays 94-67
z-Rays 93-68

Central
x-Indians 90-71

West
z-Athletics 85-76
Astros 84-77

AL Wildcard
z-Rays 93-68
Astros 84-77

Rangers 83-78




National League

East
x-Braves 95-66

Central
Brewers 85-76
Reds 85-76
Pirates 85-76

West
x-Dodgers 87-74

NL Wildcard
y-Nationals 91-70
Brewers 85-76
Reds 85-76
Pirates 85-76

The Reds are in Pittsburgh on Sunday. The winner will secure a playoff spot and possibly win the NL Central.

The Blue Jays are in Tampa. If Toronto wins, they will secure their second straight AL East title. If the Rays win, the clubs will play one more to decide the division. Both clubs are playoff-bound.

The Brewers host the Cubs on Sunday. A Milwaukee win would secure a playoff berth and force a one-game playoff with the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh winner for the NL Central crown. If Milwaukee loses, they'll play an extra game against the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh loser for the last Wildcard spot.

The Rangers host the Angels on Sunday. Texas must win and have Houston lose to force an elimination game with the Astros with a Wildcard spot on the line.

The A's are in Seattle. If Oakland wins or Houston loses, the Athletics will win the AL West. If neither happens, Oakland and Houston will play an extra game for the division.

[SmoothPancakes]

Jesus, talk about the perfect schedule for season ending dramatics all across the league.

You made it this far, get the win and clinch. Who knows, you may get lucky and get to play the one off for the division.

This is gonna be an anxious wait for your next post.

[steelerfan]

Jesus, talk about the perfect schedule for season ending dramatics all across the league.

You made it this far, get the win and clinch. Who knows, you may get lucky and get to play the one off for the division.

This is gonna be an anxious wait for your next post.
Just finished the last game. Post coming soon!

[steelerfan]

Houston used the long ball on Sunday, along with a very specialized bullpen, to squeeze a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks, despite getting just 4 hits in the contest. The win improved the Astros to 85-77 and effectively eliminated the Texas Rangers from playoff contention, along with securing at least a Wildcard berth for Houston.

The sweep in the desert ran the Astros record to 9-2 in their final 11 games of the 162-game schedule and meant that the Astros could still win the American League's Western Division with a little help from the Seattle Mariners (more on that later).

George Springer hit a solo home run in the 4th inning to answer Paul Goldschmidt's 1st inning solo bomb and even the score at one.

In the top of the 6th, Jason Castro hit one high off the right field foul pole, driving in Jose Altuve and giving Houston a 3-1 lead.

Starting pitcher Jeff Locke pitched 5+ innings and allowed 2 runs on 8 hits, with the second run being a runner that Paul Clemens inherited from him in the bottom of the 6th.

With the expanded 40-man roster at his disposal, manager Bo Porter would use 8 relief pitchers over the final 4 innings to ensure that his bullpen had the best possible match-ups at all times.

The bullpen did not let him down as Arizona got just 3 hits off of them and 5 of the relievers earned a hold. Jesse Crain did give up a one-out single in the ninth but Arizona never really threatened him as he picked up his 45th save of 2015.

HOU 3-4-1
ARI 2-11-0

A look at other playoff-relevant scores from Sunday:

CIN 2-7-0
PIT 4-10-0

TOR 4-9-1
TB 2-9-0

CHC 1-7-2
MIL 3-3-1

LAA 3-10-0
TEX 2-5-0

OAK 3-11-2
SEA 4-7-0

What it all means:

- Toronto has won the American League East with a record of 95-67.

- Tampa Bay (93-69) will host the American League Wildcard game.

- Houston and Oakland are tied at 85-77 and they will play on Monday at Minute Maid Park in Houston to determine the AL West winner. The Astros earned home field by going 10-9 against the A's this season. The loser will visit Tampa in the Wildcard round.

- Milwaukee and Pittsburgh will play on Monday at Miller Park in Milwaukee to determine the winner of the National League Central Division. The clubs split their regular season games and the Brewers earned home field for Monday's game by virtue of a superior division record (42-34 versus 40-36). The loser of Monday's game will visit the Washington Nationals in the NL Wildcard Game.

- Texas and Cincinnati have been eliminated from playoff contention.

[steelerfan]

National League Central Division Tiebreaker
Pittsburgh Pirates (86-76) vs Milwaukee Brewers (86-76)
Monday, October 5, 2015 - 7:05 PM
Miller Park - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Probable Starters:
Scott Feldman (9-6, 2.52) vs Mike Fiers (11-2, 2.53)



American League Western Division Tiebreaker
Oakland Athletics (85-77) vs Houston Astros (85-77)
Monday, October 5, 2015 - 7:05 PM
Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Probable Starters:
Scott Kazmir (11-7, 2.91) vs Brad Peacock (5-4, 3.09)

Rumors are circulating that Houston Manager Bo Porter may opt to start his ace Jarred Cosart. Cosart pitched on Saturday but only went 2.1 innings before leaving with a bruised shin and should be available to pitch Monday night.

[steelerfan]

I thought it was pretty interesting that Jeff Locke got the win for me on Sunday to force the Tiebreaker on Monday. I acquired Locke in the Spring from the Pirates for Scott Feldman. Feldman will pitch for Pittsburgh in their Tiebreaker with the Brewers.

[SmoothPancakes]

The miracle happened! Playing for the division title in game 163. Hell yes!

Are you playing the game this morning or are you going to be waiting until later?

[steelerfan]

The miracle happened! Playing for the division title in game 163. Hell yes!

Are you playing the game this morning or are you going to be waiting until later?
I'll probably play this morning unless there is any demand for streaming (you and jaymo would be the only ones interested). Either way I'm going to take at least an hour break.

I'm still shocked at how things unfolded. I don't usually catch so many breaks. In NHL, I missed the playoffs on the last day of the season by one point 3 years in a row with the Houston Aeros in the AHL. Lol.

[SmoothPancakes]

I'll probably play this morning unless there is any demand for streaming (you and jaymo would be the only ones interested). Either way I'm going to take at least an hour break.

I'm still shocked at how things unfolded. I don't usually catch so many breaks. In NHL, I missed the playoffs on the last day of the season by one point 3 years in a row with the Houston Aeros in the AHL. Lol.

It's up to you, I'd be game for watching the stream, but it's not important if you'd rather just get the game played. I'm in the middle of a three game series with the Cubs right now on my game, so I'd be around, but wouldn't be 100% focused on the stream.

[steelerfan]

It's up to you, I'd be game for watching the stream, but it's not important if you'd rather just get the game played. I'm in the middle of a three game series with the Cubs right now on my game, so I'd be around, but wouldn't be 100% focused on the stream.
Ok. I'll stream on Twitch at 9:00 Central. I won't be chatting though. Gotta concentrate on the game. :)

[SmoothPancakes]

Ok. I'll stream on Twitch at 9:00 Central. I won't be chatting though. Gotta concentrate on the game. :)

Sounds good! No chatting works for me, I'm just firing up game 2 of my series against the Cubs, and with a pitching rotation and bullpen full of suck, I have to concentrate nearly every pitch just to stay in it. :D

[SmoothPancakes]

Damn. :fdown:

[steelerfan]

On Monday two division titles were decided in a pair of tiebreakers. The Milwaukee Brewers won the NL Central crown with an 8-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park.

That left the AL West champion to be decided at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Despite rumors that Bo Porter might start Jarred Cosart against the A's, the Astros skipper went with the "next man up" and started Brad Peacock.

Peacock was not sharp at all. The right hander was chased from the game after allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits in just 3.1 innings as the home 9 feel behind 6-0.

The Astros never really made a contest of it after that and wound up on the short end of a 7-2 score.

Domonic Brown provided the only fireworks for the Astros, hitting his 26th home run in the bottom of the 7th.

OAK 7-11-0
HOU 2-7-1

PIT 0-4-1
MIL 8-10-0




American League Wildcard
Houston Astros (85-77) vs Tampa Bay Rays (93-69)
Thursday, October 8, 2015 - 7:05 PM
Tropicana Field - Tampa, Florida

Probable Starters:
Jarred Cosart (15-10, 3.34) vs Matt Moore (14-11, 2.60)

[steelerfan]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/fd79852a68143452b3ba5f34a9dd5cca.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/1b42dd748f190ae2db7fa81fd7eeb373.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/8aeec9215d714a34ed993c2431a81e35.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/f9e055f2a7ceac91b6f228866750d319.jpg

[steelerfan]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/a695f256823544f44b2cc22dde494f01.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/e5b099408c97096dbb4a88ed6a14b74d.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/5a84ff1391504eab2cf358404e960263.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/858de1e926bc747429a1f234fd9b9cdf.jpg

[steelerfan]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/0f817b50397c662cace2d5b0fd17deb7.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/8f3086af068c951f96fce50ec1862962.jpg

[steelerfan]

Pitchers

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/88f51cd4683e6b9d540587bd322d7353.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/b5b2394195a622b078ce071af9531f40.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/e9d8d04e3f335fef92e19182c0d867e8.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/317ce30807dfb7f2811a902346189105.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/8e1cc2ea9f3f1eec402a157da13547aa.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/1fbcd039e5214974897b5baf8fb2fec1.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/71508cc759e488eb8e688db585cd8788.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/f147d680e9d5233641809720509990bf.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/4835309120ba423baa0eadab0a956ad5.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/71d728f021144d3b79b41ced78a1564a.jpg

[steelerfan]

Pitchers (cont.)

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[steelerfan]

Catchers

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[steelerfan]

Infielders

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[steelerfan]

Outfielders

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[steelerfan]

2015 League Leaders

American League

Batting: Mike Trout (LAA) .303
Hits: Robinson Cano (SEA) 193
At-Bats: Robinson Cano (SEA) 637
Doubles: Jose Reyes (TOR) 45
Triples: Francisco Lindor (CLE) 13
Home Runs: Chris Davis (BAL) 44
RBI: Chris Carter (HOU) 113
Runs: Robinson Cano (SEA), Dustin Pedroia (BOS) 93
Stolen Bases: Jacoby Ellsbury (OAK) 43
Walks: Mike Trout (LAA) 82
Slugging: Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) .593
OPS: Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) .965

Wins: James Shields (KC) 20
Losses: 4 with 5
Saves: Casey Janssen (TOR) 52
ERA: James Shields (KC) 2.36
HR Allowed: Lucas Giolito (MIN) 11
Shutouts: James Shields (KC) 6
Strikeouts: Yu Darvish (TEX) 246
Complete Games: James Shields (KC) 10
Innings Pitched: James Shields (KC) 240.0
Walks Allowed: Marcus Stroman (TOR) 34
WHIP: James Shields (KC) 1.06



National League

Batting: Freddie Freeman (ATL) .341
Hits: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 202
At-Bats: Alexei Ramirez (ARI) 640
Doubles: Daniel Murphy (NYM) 45
Triples: Javier Baez (CHC), Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 8
Home Runs: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 41
RBI: Freddie Freeman (ATL) 118
Runs: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 119
Stolen Bases: Everth Cabrera (SD) 46
Walks: Joey Votto (CIN) 90
Slugging: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) .605
OPS: Freddie Freeman (ATL) 1.022

Wins: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 21
Losses: Lance Lynn (STL) 4
Saves: Craig Kimbrel (ATL) 59
ERA: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 2.07
HR Allowed: Jonathan Pettibone (PHI) 12
Shutouts: David Price (LAD) 5
Strikeouts: Stephen Strasburg (WAS) 259
Complete Games: 3 with 7
Innings Pitched: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 234.2
Walks Allowed: Doug Fister (WAS) 34
WHIP: Ramon Law (ATL) 1.00

[steelerfan]

Astros who finished in the Top 10 in Statistical Categories

Chris Carter
At-Bats 608 (10)
Home Runs 38 (2)
RBI 113 (1)

George Springer
Triples 12 (T2)
Runs 84 (T9)
Stolen Bases 26 (T8)

Jose Altuve
Runs 84 (T9)
Stolen Bases 34 (T5)

Domonic Brown
Slugging .519 (6)
OPS .872 (7)

Jarred Cosart
Wins 15 (T7)

Jesse Crain
Saves 45 (4)

Jeff Locke
Shutouts 3 (T4)

[steelerfan]

2015 Houston Astros Team Statistics (MLB Rank in Parenthesis)

Batting .255 (11)
Runs 690 (T4)
Doubles 258 (17)
Triples 35 (T6)
Home Runs 187 (4)
RBI 668 (6)
Stolen Bases 91 (10)
SB % .615 (28)
Walks 467 (22)
Strikeouts 1417 (28)
Slugging .414 (4)
On-Base %. 313 (17)
GIDP 150 (30)

Assists 1565 (1)
Put Outs 4390 (17)
Errors 95 (27)
Fielding %. 984 (25)

ERA 3.98 (26)
Complete Games 9 (26)
Shutouts 10 (T24)
Saves 55 (T3)
Blown Saves 25 (29)
HR Allowed 181 (29)
Walks Allowed 458 (9)
Strikeouts 1224 (21)

[steelerfan]

On Wednesday night in the nation's capital, Washington's Ryan Zimmerman hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to lift the Nationals to a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wildcard Game.

Stephen Strasburg went 7 innings for Washington and got the win. Strasburg allowed 2 runs on 3 hits with 11 Ks and just 1 walk.

PIT 2-5-0
WAS 3-10-0

The loss eliminates the Pirates from the playoffs and Washington has earned the right to face their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, in the NL Divisional round.

The defending world champion Los Angeles Dodgers will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the other NL Division Series.

The Houston Astros will visit the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night in the American League Wildcard Game. The Astros were 3-4 against the Rays this season but took 2 of 3 in Tampa.

[SmoothPancakes]

That was a rough game. I was watching while playing my series against the Cubs, and damn that was hard to watch. Those home runs early on given up by Peacock just killed.

[steelerfan]

That was a rough game. I was watching while playing my series against the Cubs, and damn that was hard to watch. Those home runs early on given up by Peacock just killed.
Yeah, it was. I was regretting not pitching Cosart in that game but he was like 90-95%. Once I resigned to the fact that I was going to lose, I was glad I would have Cosart for the Wildcard Game.

Back on July 12th, Cosart pitched a complete game in Tampa in the last game before the All-Star Break. He allowed only 3 hits in that game and was one out from a shutout when he gave up a solo home run in a 3-1 win. He beat Zack Greinke who came into that game 10-2.

Hopefully, Cosart can reproduce that outing in the Wildcard against Matt Moore. I'm about to play that game and am going to stream it.

In the tiebreaker, I was without Jose Altuve who got hurt in the pregame warmup and Carlos Correa who was nursing a stained back suffered in the season finale. Both are ready to go for the Wildcard Game.

[steelerfan]

A decade has passed since the Houston Astros were swept in the 2005 World Series by the Chicago White Sox and in the nine seasons following that bitter defeat Houston missed the playoffs. The Astros have spent the last several seasons tearing the farm system apart and rebuilding with youth and potential.

In 2014 that potential started to payoff as the Astros won 83 games. In 2015 Houston won 85 and qualified for the postseason. On Thursday night in Tampa, Houston's return to the playoffs ended at the hands of the Rays, 7-4.

Ace Jarred Cosart was far from sharp on the mound. He lasted just 3.1 innings and was hit hard, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits as Houston fell behind 5-1.

Chris Carter provided that first run with a solo home run in the 4th inning. George Springer hit a two-run homer in the 5th and by the middle of the 6th the Astros had clawed back to within 5-4.

They got no closer, however, and were forced to look on as Tampa celebrated moving on to the Division Series and a date with the defending American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays.

The Astros are still very young and have a lot of potential as well as a well-stocked farm system. The disappointment of a lost opportunity in 2015 should not cloud the bright future that this team has.

The Astros should be mainstays in the postseason going forward and 2015 will likely be viewed as a rite of passage. A year when the 51-111 club of 2013 turned the corner and learned how to win.

There is much work to be done in the Winter, the pitching needs an upgrade not only from within but through Free Agency, and there will be some tough contract decisions as well. However, Houston has the core of this team locked up and, with some shrewd work this offseason, will be poised to return to the playoffs in 2016 and beyond.

HOU 4-7-0
TB 7-10-0

[SmoothPancakes]

Damn... Make it all the way to the Wild Card and go down like that. Hopefully the Astros can build on the success and surpass this season next year.

I wasn't able to catch the stream. I've been out and on the go all day since 8am, so only just got home and got to crash on the couch and catch up on things.

[steelerfan]

Playoff Scores

Division Series

October 9, 2015

WAS 3-6-0
ATL 4-10-0

MIL 2-9-0
LAD 8-11-0


October 10, 2015

TB 5-14-0
TOR 3-7-0

OAK 3-6-2
CLE 2-6-0

WAS 6-10-1
ATL 4-9-0

MIL 2-6-0 F/13
LAD 1-6-1

October 11, 2015

TB 3-8-0
TOR 1-8-0

OAK 1-5-0
CLE 7-13-1

October 12, 2015

ATL 6-7-0
WAS 1-1-1

LAD 6-8-0
MIL 0-5-0

October 13, 2015

CLE 3-12-0
OAK 5-14-0

TOR 3-8-0
TB 2-7-1

ATL 2-7-0
WAS 1-4-1
Braves win series, 3-1.

LAD 2-8-0
MIL 9-8-0

October 14, 2015

TOR 1-7-0
TB 2-7-1
Rays win series, 3-1.

CLE 5-9-0
OAK 7-12-0
Athletics win series, 3-1.

October 15, 2015

MIL 5-12-1 F/12
LAD 4-11-2
Brewers win series, 3-1.


League Championship Series

October 17, 2015

MIL 1-7-0
ATL 5-12-0

October 18, 2015

MIL 2-9-0
ATL 6-9-0

TB 0-4-0
OAK 1-5-0

October 19, 2015

TB 5-11-1 F/12
OAK 6-12-1

October 20, 2015

ATL 4-11-1
MIL 1-5-0

October 21, 2015

OAK 4-11-1 F/11
TB 3-9-0

ATL 7-10-0 F/10
MIL 6-11-2
Braves win series, 4-0.

October 22, 2015

OAK 1-5-0
TB 6-12-0

October 23, 2015

OAK 2-7-1
TB 11-12-0

October 25, 2015

TB 9-11-0
OAK 5-12-0

October 26, 2015

TB 10-8-0
OAK 5-9-0
Rays overcome 3-0 series deficit to win series, 4-3.


2015 World Series

October 29, 2015

ATL 6-11-0
TB 4-12-0

October 30, 2015

ATL 7-12-0
TB 5-8-0

November 1, 2015

TB 1-5-0
ATL 3-8-0

November 2, 2015

TB 3-8-0
ATL 2-2-1

November 3, 2015

TB 2-8-0
ATL 1-9-0

November 5, 2015

ATL 3-9-2
TB 7-9-1

November 16, 2015

ATL 3-9-0
TB 1-7-1
Braves avoid becoming second consecutive team to blow a 3-0 series lead against the Rays and win the World Series, 4-3.

[steelerfan]

2015 Award Winners

World Series MVP: Gordon Beckham (ATL) .417, 3 HR, 5 RBI

AL MVP: Chris Davis (BAL) .283, 44 HR, 106 RBI

NL MVP: Freddie Freeman (ATL) .341, 38 HR, 118 RBI

AL Cy Young*: Zack Greinke (TB) 17-5, 2.87, 231 K

NL Cy Young*: Lance Lynn (STL) 13-4, 3.28, 215 K

AL Batting Title: Mike Trout (ANA) ,303, 26 HR, 84 RBI

NL Batting Title: Freddie Freeman (ATL) .341, 38 HR, 118 RBI

Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year: Casey Janssen (TOR) 1-1, 1.62, 52 SV, 50 K

Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year: Craig Kimbrel (ATL) 1-3, 2.21, 59 SV, 84 K

AL Rookie of the Year: Stephen Piscotty (KC) .268, 16 HR, 57 RBI

NL Rookie of the Year: Javier Baez (CHC) .260, 31 HR, 97 RBI

AL Hank Aaron Award: Edwin Encarnacion (TOR) .300, 33 HR, 94 RBI

NL Hank Aaron Award: Freddie Freeman (ATL) .341, 38 HR, 118 RBI

Postseason MVP: Wil Myers (TB) .373, 7 HR, 18 RBI




* The Cy Young winners are jacked up. The game, after studying stats, has too much emphasis on losses and Ks. The winners should have been:

AL: James Shields (KC) 20-7, 2.36, 193 K

NL: Kyle Lohse (MIL) 21-8, 2.07, 127 K

[steelerfan]

It looks like Jeff Luhnow is safe (no surprise). If that projected budget is close to accurate, I'm going to have some money to spend this offseason. I'll be targeting starting pitching and possibly a 3B. I'm also going to have to decide what to do about Dexter Fowler. He's been great when healthy and the team went to shit when he was hurt in 2015. The problem is that he has played in just 86 of 326 games in 2 seasons.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/a775a3e07f2bf596e9b3eae087e2e764.jpg

I'm about to plod through the offseason. I'll give updates as I go along.

[steelerfan]

The Astros were hit with a pair of retirements following the 2015 season. Relief pitcher Chad Qualls, 37, retired after 10 seasons in the Majors. Qualls (67, B) finished his career with a 51-42 record, 55 saves, 542 strikeouts and a 3.91 ERA. The veteran spent 2015 as the closer in AAA Fresno and was not part of the MLB roster until mid September when the Grizzlies were eliminated from the playoffs.

In a big blow to the organization, outfielder Domingo Santana, 23, also announced his retirement after suffering a torn ACL in 2015. Santana (71, B) spent just 152 days on the big club's roster in his brief career. He hit .306 with 7 HR and 24 RBI in 98 career at-bats.

Other notable retirements:

David Ortiz (BOS)
David DeJesus (TB)
Jose Molina (TB)
Mark Buehrle (TOR)
RA Dickey (TOR)
Joe Nathan (DET)
Jeremy Guthrie (KC)
Byron Buxton (MIN) - Age 22, 86 OVR, A POT, hit .220 with 4 homers and 15 RBI in 168 AB. Torn ACL.
Willie Bloomquist (SEA)
Fernando Rodney (SEA)
Adrian Beltre (TEX)
Dan Uggla (ATL)
Bartolo Colon (NYM)
Marlon Byrd (PHI)
Cliff Lee (PHI)
Chase Utley (PHI)
Brayan Pena (CIN)
Skip Schumaker (CIN)
Kyle Lohse (MIL)
Randy Choate (STL)
Bronson Arroyo (ARI)
Alexei Ramirez (ARI)
Cody Ross (ARI)
Brad Ziegler (ARI)
Jonathan Papelbon (COL)
Juan Uribe (LAD)
Joaquin Benoit (RP)
Jeremy Affeldt (SF)
Santiago Casilla (SF)
Tim Hudson (SF)
Marco Scutaro (SF)
AJ Burnett (FA)
Greg Dobbs (FA)
Mark Ellis (FA)
Chone Figgins (FA)
Rafael Furcal (FA)
Ron Guidry (FA)
Aaron Harang (FA)
Reed Johnson (FA)
Nick Punto (FA)
Wandy Rodriguez (FA)
Johan Santana (FA)
Ryan Vogelsong (FA)

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/16/081806a28a986fdb06f1c61a49df181f.jpg

[steelerfan]

The Astros have announced that they have parted ways with Manager Bo Porter. Houston has bought out the final year of Porter's contact and the search for a new manager will begin immediately.

Bo Porter
Pitching Clutch -2
K/9 -2
Drag Bunting -3
Stealing -2

[steelerfan]

The Astros have also terminated the contact of Third Base Coach Bryan Paquette.

Edit: The Astros have denied the validity of this report and have stated that Paquette will return in 2016.

[steelerfan]

11/8/15

Houston has re-signed RP Josh Fields. 1 year, 510K.

Houston has re-signed OF Dexter Fowler. 2 years, 21.00M.

Houston has re-signed OF LJ Hoes. 2 years, 1.02M.

Houston has re-signed OF Domonic Brown. 2 years, 12.80M.

Houston has re-signed SP Jeff Locke. 3 years, 5.90M.

Houston has signed the following players to minor league contacts: RP Aaron West, C Rene Garcia, 3B Jonathan Meyer, SS Joe Sclafani.

[steelerfan]

11/9/15

Houston has re-signed RP JP Howell. 2 years, 4.90 M.

[steelerfan]

11/10/15

The Astros have hired 1st Base Coach Rickie Edmondson to a 2-year contact.

[steelerfan]

11/11/15

Houston has re-signed RP Bruce Rondon. 3 years, 1.50M.

[steelerfan]

11/12/15

Houston has re-signed SP Lucas Harrell. 1 year, 750K.

[steelerfan]

11/13/15

Houston has re-signed SP Rudy Owens. 2 years, 850K.

[steelerfan]

11/20/15

Houston signed FA SP Ian Kennedy, 31, to a 2-year contact worth 12.00M. Kennedy (83, B) has a career record of 71-67 with an ERA of 3.94. Last season Kennedy was 12-13 with a 3.47 ERA.

[steelerfan]

11/22/15

The Houston Astros have traded SP Alex White (77, C) and LF Leo Heras (61, C) to the Minnesota Twins for SP Phil Hughes (80, B).

Hughes, 29, has a career record of 73-82 with an ERA of 4.53. Last season he was 8-18 with a 3.83 ERA.

White, 27, has a career mark of 20-28 with an ERA of 4.46. In 2015 he was 8-9 with a 4.49 ERA.

Heras, 26, is a career minor leaguer.