The Importance of Starting Pitching

After starting the season 10-30, the Astros are 14-14 in their last 28 games. That's .500 baseball, folks. And if you want to know why, look no further than the Astros starting pitching during that stretch:

	Opponent	W/L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	QS
Keuchel	5/15 @ Detroit	ND	5 2/3	7	5	4	2	3
Lyles	5/17 @ Pittsburgh	ND	5	4	2	1	2	4
Bedard	5/18 @ Pittsburgh	ND	6	7	2	2	0	3	Y
Harrell	5/19 @ Pittsburgh	L	7	4	1	1	1	3	Y
Keuchel	5/20 vs Kansas City	W	6 2/3	9	4	4	4	6
Norris	5/21 vs Kansas City	ND	6	5	0	0	2	2	Y
Lyles	5/22 vs Kansas City	W	6	6	1	1	1	3	Y
Bedard	5/24 vs Oakland	ND	5	4	2	2	5	4
Harrell	5/25 vs Oakland	L	1 2/3	6	6	6	3	1
Keuchel	5/26 vs Oakland	L	6	10	6	6	1	4
Norris	5/27 vs Colorado	ND	7	8	2	2	3	3	Y
Lyles	5/28 vs Colorado	ND	7	6	1	1	3	3	Y
Bedard	5/29 @ Colorado	ND	6	7	2	2	3	4	Y
Harrell	5/30 @ Colorado	W	5 2/3	8	4	3	4	2
Keuchel	5/31 @ LA Angels	W	7	6	2	2	0	4	Y
Norris	6/1 @ LA Angels	W	6	4	0	0	3	6	Y
Lyles	6/2 @ LA Angels	W	5 2/3	6	2	2	1	5
Bedard	6/3 @ LA Angels	W	7	5	1	1	1	2	Y
Harrell	6/4 vs Baltimore	L	7	5	2	1	0	6	Y
Keuchel	6/5 vs Baltimore	W	6	5	1	1	2	3	Y
Norris	6/6 vs Baltimore	L	7	9	3	3	1	7	Y
Lyles	6/7 @ Kansas City	ND	7	6	2	2	1	3	Y
Bedard	6/8 @ Kansas City	L	4 2/3	8	6	6	3	2
Harrell	6/9 @ Kansas City	ND	7	2	0	0	3	1	Y
Keuchel	6/10 @ Seattle	L	6	7	2	1	0	6	Y
Norris	6/11 @ Seattle	L	7	5	3	3	1	6	Y
Lyles	6/12 @ Seattle	ND	7	3	0	0	2	10	Y
Bedard	6/14 vs ChiSox	W	6	3	1	0	3	6	Y

In summary, over the last 28 games, the Astros rotation - much maligned in the early part of the season - is 9-8 with an ERA of 3.00, a WHIP of 1.29, and 19 quality starts. Compare that to just 10 quality starts in Houston's first 40 games. Only 5 times has a Houston starter allowed more than 3 earned runs in a game, and three of those starts were by Dallas Keuchel, two of which the Astros won anyways. Here's a breakdown of each pitcher over the recent stretch:

Pitcher Starts/Quality W/L IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP Lyles 6/4 2-0 37 2/3 31 8 7 10 28 1.67 1.09 Norris 5/5 1-2 33 31 8 8 10 24 2.18 1.24 Bedard 6/4 2-1 34 2/3 34 14 13 15 21 3.38 1.41 Harrell 5/3 1-3 28 1/3 25 13 11 11 13 3.49 1.27 Keuchel 6/3 3-2 37 1/3 44 20 18 9 26 4.34 1.42

Every single pitcher is pitching better. Want to see ERA's before this recent stretch of good pitching?

Lyles - Before: 8.36, After: 3.48
Norris - Before: 4.32, After: 3.47
Bedard - Before: 6.67, After: 4.82
Harrell - Before: 5.11, After: 4.52
Keuchel - Before: 4.43, After: 4.37

With a little more help from the bullpen and some more support from the offense, that's a pretty respectable rotation. Don't believe me? The Oakland A's are 41-28 on the year. Here are the ERAs and records of their top 5 starters:

Tommy Milone - 6-6, 3.61
Jarrod Parker - 5-6, 4.45
A.J. Griffin - 5-5, 3.78
Bartolo Colon - 8-2, 2.92
Dan Straily - 4-2, 4.45

Believe it or not, the Astros are getting on the right track.

Starting Pitcher the Key to Recent Turnaround

The Astros are playing some of their best baseball of the season going 4-4 in their last 8 games. Those 4 losses include the Jimmy Paredes game, a 1-0 loss, the Bud Norris injury/bullpen meltdown game, and last night's 3-run homer to Astro-killer Chris Young. A couple of balls bounce differently, and maybe Houston's 7-1, but that's not really what I want to talk about. Over the past 8 games, every Astros starter has made it at least 5 innings, and the only Astros starter to give up more than 2 runs was Dallas Keuchel, and Houston won both of those games. Houston's Starting Pitching has an ERA of 2.85 over the past 8 and a big part of that has been the improved play from Jordan Lyles and Erik Bedard. If Houston can continue to get this type of pitching up and down the rotation, there's no way this team doesn't win 60 games. The bullpen's going to need to continue to come along, but let's face it: we've got a long of young guys out there, and there are going to be growing pains. Here's a rundown of our starting pitching as of late:

Date	Opp	Result	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
5/15/13	@Tigers	W 7-5	Keuchel	5 2/3	7	5	4	2	3
5/17/13	@Pirates	L 5-4	Lyles	5	4	2	1	2	4
5/18/13	@Pirates	W 4-2 (11)	Bedard	6	7	2	2	0	3
5/19/13	@Pirates	L 1-0	Harrell	7	4	1	1	1	3
5/20/13	vsRoyals	W 6-5	Keuchel	6 2/3	9	4	4	4	6
5/21/13	vsRoyals	L 7-3	Norris	6	5	0	0	2	2
5/22/13	vsRoyals	W 3-1	Lyles	6	6	1	1	1	3
5/24/13	vsAthletics	L 6-5	Bedard	5	4	2	2	5	4
TOTAL		4-4		47 1/3	46	17	15	17	28
				ERA	2.85
				WHIP	1.33

10 Reasons to be Optimistic Even Though We Lost the Last Two Games:

1) Chris Carter has struck out just 4 times in his last 7 games after striking out 49 times in his first 28. During this recent stretch, Carter is 6 for 18 with 5 runs batted in.

2) Philip Humber pitched 1 1/3 innings out of the bullpen on Thursday night and didn't allow a hit while fanning 3 and walking one. Maybe a move to the pen is just what he needs to turn things around.

3) Trevor Crowe, not known for his power, hit his first home run as an Astro last night off of Alexi Ogando.

4) When Houston faced Ogando in April he fanned 10 hitters in 6 1/3 shutout innings. Last night he didn't make it through six innings and fanned only 3. That, my friends, is progress.

5) Dallas Keuchel turned in a quality start in his first appearance in the Astros rotation this year allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings. Yeah, we didn't get a win, but if you're a realist, you recognize this year isn't about wins, it's about evaluating talent. Keuchel has been a pleasant surprise this year in whatever role he's been asked to fill and could help bolster a shaky rotation if he continues to pitch well.

6) Losing close games is frustrating, but having close games is a step in the right direction. If you think about it, the Astros could have very easily gone 6-2 over the last 8 games. Yeah, we're only 2-6 during that stretch, but that's about learning how to win more than it is learning to play good baseball. We're getting there, and that's reason to be excited.

7) We're two weeks into May and Brandon Barnes is still hitting .327 with an on base percentage of .413. What's more, he's been able to sustain his hot bat despite not playing every day.

8) A day after making an uncharacteristic 3 errors at third, Matty Dominguez was back to his old self again last night. Always nice to see young players with a bad short term memory and able to shake things like that off.

9) Marwin Gonzalez has put together back-to-back multi-hit games after enduring a 1 for 24 slide raising his average back up to .264. Put that together with Ronny Cedeno's .314 clip and suddenly the shortstop position has become fairly productive offensively for us.

10) Lucas Harrell struggled with his control walking 6 in 5 innings on Thursday night, but allowed just 1 earned run. I'd still like to see him work through his control issues, but it was nice to see him battle through a tough lineup despite not having his best stuff.

Week 5 in Review

The Astros ended the week with 6 straight losses. Brad Peacock and Rhiner Cruz were sent down, Erik Bedard lost his spot in the rotation, and Philip Humber fell to 0-7 on the year. No one ever said this year was going to be easy...

Weekly Results

4/29   W Yankees 9-1
4/30   L Yankees 7-4
5/01   L Yankees 5-4
5/02   L Tigers 7-3 (14 innings)
5/03   L Tigers 4-3
5/04   L Tigers 17-2
5/05   L Tigers 9-0

Overall Record: 8-24
Team Batting Average: .245
Runs For: 123
Runs Against: 198
Home Runs: 30
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 323/83
Stolen Bases: 12
Caught Stealing: 7
Team ERA: 5.70
Team WHIP: 1.65
Starters ERA: 6.53
Bullpen ERA: 4.90
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 199/128
Times Shutout: 4
Shutouts: 1

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Jose Altuve .323 (42/130)
Runs: Carlos Pena 17
Hits: Jose Altuve 42
Doubles: Jason Castro 10
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter 6
Runs Batted In: Jose Altuve 15
Walks: Carlos Pena 17
Stolen Bases: Marwin Gonzalez/Brandon Barnes 3

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Wesley Wright 16
Innings: Lucas Harrell 39 1/3
Wins: Bud Norris/Lucas Harrell 3
Saves: Jose Veras 2
Holds: Hector Ambriz 5
Strikeouts: Bud Norris 29
Quality Starts: Bud Norris/Lucas Harrell 3
ERA: Bud Norris 3.89
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.54

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 18-11
Corpus Christi (AA) - 18-12
Lancaster (AdvA) - 17-12
Quad Cities (LoA) - 17-11

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 28
Hits: Jimmy Paredes (AAA) - 41
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 28
Home Runs: George Springer (AA) - 10
RBIs: Andrew Aplin (AdvA) - 26
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 12
Wins: Bobby Doran (AA)/Michael Dimock (LoA) - 4
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 7
Strikeouts: Vincent Velasquez (LoA) - 35

Tigers Showing Us How Far We Still Have to Go

Not much you can say about a 17-2 loss, except that at least we didn't give up 19 runs in a game for the second time this year. The Tigers showed us exactly how far we still have to go yesterday. They hit, they pitch, they make plays, they put balls in play, they execute on the bases... They're a model franchise, especially for a team like Houston considering that a decade ago (2003), Detroit lost 119 games. The Astros also have a special connection with that team in that Carlos Pena played for them. And look at Detroit now. A couple trips to the World Series, a perennial contender... That's what we want to get to. And unfortunately, it's not going to happen over night. Things don't get any easier today either with the Tigers throwing their ace Justin Verlander against Philip Humber, who has lost all six of his starts this season. We've just to keep grinding it out though and keep moving forward. As my college coach, Pete Barry, used to say: Every day, in every way, we get a little better. Some final thoughts on yesterday's blowout:

1) Lucas Harrell is not very good when his sinker isn't working. When he's on, he's a groundball machine (see Yankee Stadium earlier this week). When he's off... every ball gets hit hard.

2) Carlos Corporan was one of the few bright spots offensively picking up two hits and slugging his second home run of the week. The 29 year old Puerto Rican born catcher needs just 2 home runs to tie his career high of 4 set last season.

3) Robbie Grossman reached base 2 more times last night, leading off the game with single, and then later drawing a walk. Grossman's on base percentage is still low at .327, but it's been steadily rising. He's in the midst of a 6-game hitting streak that has seen his average rise from .091 to .205 and he's also drawn 5 walks during that stretch. Unfortunately, his baserunning still leaves a lot to be desired as he's been caught stealing twice in the Tigers series.

4) At some point the schedule has to start getting a little bit easier, right?

5) Brandon Laird was 0 for 2 last night with a pair of strikeouts lowering his average to .226 (7/31) and giving him 12 strikeouts on the year. With Marc Krauss hammering the ball in AAA, it makes me wonder how much longer Laird has in his audition.

6) Hey, at least we didn't get shutout, right?

So Close... Yes So Far...

I'm trying to put a positive spin on last night's game, but it certainly isn't easy. For the second time in as many nights, we let a game slip away against the Tigers. This time, closer Jose Veras surrendered a 9th inning 2-run homer to Alex Avila, who's now hitting an Astro-like .179 on the season, dealing us a 4-3 loss. On top of that Jose Altuve got robbed on a great play by Omar Infante in the 9th and Jason Castro hit a line shot, but right at left fielder Don Kelly to end the game. So, positive spin... right. The only thing I can really think to say is that we're in these games, and we're actually expecting the results to be different. A couple of weeks ago, we expected to lose EVERY game, and by a lot. But now the starting pitching is getting better, and with the exception of Veras, both Hector Ambriz and Travis Blackley were solid out of the pen. Robbie Grossman reached base 3 more times as he continues to work his way out of that 0 for 17 skid in Boston, Jose Altuve had 3 hits, we actually rallied from a 2-0 deficit late in the game to take a 3-2 lead... Good things are happening with this club, they just aren't translating into wins yet. And let's face it, this year isn't about wins, it's about next year, and the year after that. It's about figuring out what we have, and who's worth keeping. Did anyone really think Jose Veras was the long term solution at closer? No, he's there the mentor younger guys in the bullpen. But as guys like Ambriz and Clemens and Blackley and Cisnero start to emerge out of the pen, and Harrell and Norris and Lyles have successes in the rotation, Castro emerges as an every day player, Dominguez plays his Gold Glove defense at third, you're starting to put together a team, which is something we haven't been doing since the early 2000s. Don't get me wrong, I hate losing, and it's frustrating to look at our record and see we're 8-22. But we are making progress, however small, and you've got to buy into what the organization is trying to do otherwise you're in for a long couple of months/years. So hang in there, Astro fans, and stay positive. Take the small victories for what they are and a few years from now, you'll be able to say you were there through the dark years, and always believed. It'll make the end reward that much sweeter.

Carlos Corporan Channels His Inner Mickey Mantle in Astros Rout

Wow, that was fun last night. Isn't winning fun? Amazing how quickly you can forget about the Boston series and that ugly stretch of games. The fact that it was in our first ever AL game in Yankee Stadium wasn't bad either. Some thoughts on last night's big win:

1) Brandon Barnes is doing everything he can to show he deserves more playing time. After last night's 3-hit game, Barnes is now hitting a Ted Williams-esque .405 with a Barry Bonds-esque .488 on base percentage. He's playing good defense, he's stealing bases, he's getting extra base hits... Look, I'm a big fan of Fernando Martinez and Rick Ankiel, but Barnes is outplaying both of those guys right now, and until he cools off, don't you have to play him? We'll see what Bo does tonight with the righty Kuroda on the hill, but I'd start him.

2) Who was that guy disguised as Carlos Corporan last night? Mickey Mantle? Corp was 4 for 5 missing the cycle by just a triple and racked up 4 rbis... It was ridiculous. He did so much baserunning that he cramped up his 4th time around the bases and was thrown out by like 30 feet at third base. I'm not going to lie, I thought he'd pulled a Gabe Kapler and ended his season. The way this season is going, it would not have surprised me in the least that a guy like Corporan would have the game of his life, and then irreparably hurt himself. Just glad he's ok. Now we just have to get him to duplicate that on a semi-regular basis.

3) Every starter on the Astros roster should watch film of Lucas Harrell's start last night. Harrell threw strikes, threw groundball outs, and shut down an admittedly depleted Yankees lineup for 6 1/3 innings giving more rest to what's been a very taxed bullpen. Yeah, he gave up 8 hits, but they were all singles and he induced double play groundballs when he needed to. Harrell now has three wins on the season, matching Bud Norris for the team lead. Houston's 3 other starters have combined for one win between the three of them, and that came from Brad Peacock who's been demoted to the bullpen.

4) Speaking of Peacock being out of the rotation, that means a spot has opened up. With Cisnero throwing Sunday and Blackley pitching in relief yesterday, I have to think Paul Clemens is going to be tabbed as that guy. Other than being susceptible to the longball (5 in 16 2/3 innings), Clemens has been solid posting a WHIP of just 1.02, limiting walks (only 3), and holding opposing hitters to just a .226 average.

5) Chris Carter returned to the lineup after a day off and had 2 hits raising his average back up to .226. He also only struck out one time which is an improvement. Hopefully the day off did him some good, because we could really use that power bat of his in the lineup.

6) Robbie Grossman doesn't seem to be getting a lot of breaks early in his career. I feel like he's hitting balls hard, but either right at people, or dying on the track. He did reach base a couple times yesterday which was nice to see, especially after he endured that 0 for 17 in the Boston series. He's going to need a few more hits to drop in there though if he's going to keep a roster spot once Maxwell returns from the DL.

7) Carlos Pena is back up over .200 after single and tripling in 5 trips yesterday. 2013 hasn't exactly been memorable for the lefty slugger, but his 2-out rbi single in the first did open the scoring and set up Corporan's 2-run double. Without that hit, who knows how the game plays out? He's still only got 2 homers and 7 rbis, but he's now had back-to-back multi-hit games which is a step in the right direction.

8) Word on the street is that Josh Fields is getting closer to making a rehab start. Rhiner Cruz did record a 1-2-3 inning last night, but I still think he's going to draw the short straw unless Peacock or Cisnero implode during the next week.

Week 4 in Review

The week started out well with a series win over the Mariners, but things quickly soured as the Astros franchise stayed winless at Fenway Park. Things aren't going to get any easier next week either with upcoming series against the Yankees and Tigers.

Weekly Results

4/22   L Mariners 7-1
4/23   W Mariners 3-2
4/24   W Mariners 10-3
4/25   L Redsox 7-2
4/26   L Redsox 7-3
4/27   L Redsox 8-4
4/28   L Redsox 6-1

Overall Record: 7-18
Team Batting Average: .247
Runs For: 98
Runs Against: 148
Home Runs: 25
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 248/68
Stolen Bases: 11
Caught Stealing: 4
Team ERA: 5.51
Team WHIP: 1.62
Starters ERA: 6.34
Bullpen ERA: 4.61
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 151/95
Times Shutout: 3
Shutouts: 1

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Jose Altuve .317 (32/101)
Runs: Carlos Pena 13
Hits: Jose Altuve 32
Doubles: Matt Dominguez 6
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 5
Runs Batted In: Chris Carter/Jose Altuve 12
Walks: Carlos Pena 14
Stolen Bases: Marwin Gonzalez 3

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Rhiner Cruz/Wesley Wright/Hector Ambriz 12
Innings: Bud Norris 30
Wins: Bud Norris 3
Saves: Jose Veras 2
Holds: Hector Ambriz 3
Strikeouts: Bud Norris 22
Quality Starts: Philip Humber/Bud Norris/Lucas Harrell 2
ERA:  Lucas Harrell 4.08
WHIP: Lucas Harrell 1.57

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 13-10
Corpus Christi (AA) - 13-10
Lancaster (AdvA) - 14-9
Quad Cities (LoA) - 13-8

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 21
Hits: Jimmy Paredes (AAA) - 31
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 26
Home Runs: George Springer (AA) - 7
RBIs: Marc Krauss (AAA) - 23
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 9
Wins: Bobby Doran (AA)/Vincent Velasquez (LoA) - 3
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 6
Strikeouts: Nick Tropeano (AA) - 29

If Only We Played the Mariners All the Time

Houston routed the Mariners yesterday 10-3 to improve to 4-2 against Seattle on the season. Unfortunately, against everyone else we're just 3-12. But hey, I'll take it. For just the second time this season, the Astros won a series and they did so in convincing fashion smashing three home runs and never trailing in an easy win over their division rivals. Some thoughts on yesterday's game:

1) Lucas Harrell pitched his best game of the year going 7 innings and allowing just 1 run that came across on a double play ball. After going over a week without a starter getting an out in the 6th inning, Harrell came up huge bailing out a worn out bullpen and finally giving them a break. Harrell, who has battled control issues all season allowed just two walks, and needed only 105 pitches to make it through 7, compared to his last outing when he threw 98 and didn't get through 6. Harrell has now won 2 straight starts.

2) Welcome to the show, Robbie Grossman. The hometown hero with a cult following debuted as the Astros leadoff hitter and starting centerfielder and did not disappoint going 2 for 5 and ripping a pair of doubles. I read yesterday that he became the first Astro to hit two doubles since... James Mouton... Yeah... Well, hopefully his career tracks a little bit differently. The 23 year old switch hitter brings a lot to the table, and has a huge opportunity to make a name for himself with Maxwell out for an extended period of time. And if he keeps hitting, we may have found our leadoff hitter. And just think, all we had to do was give up Wandy Rodriguez to get him.

3) Trogdor the Bombinator hit an absolute monster home run off of Joe Saunders to open the scoring in the second inning yesterday. Carter now has 5 homers and 11 rbis, tying Rick Ankiel for the team lead in both categories. 4 of his home runs have come against the Mariners, and he's hitting .423 (11/26) against them. Against everyone else he's just 6 for 51 (.118).

4) Brandon Laird broke out yesterday going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, a homer and 4 runs batted in. Sucks to be Brett Wallace right now, because if Laird keeps hitting, and Matty D keeps playing gold glove caliber defense, it'll take a Carlos Pena trade to get him back to the show. And don't forget, Jonathan Singleton is almost halfway through his suspension which means his arrival isn't that far away either. Unless Wallace starts absolutely raking in AAA, his window may be closing pretty quick.

5) Ronny Cedeno, not one of the more popular Astros for whatever reason, had his best game in an Astros uniform yesterday going 3 for 4, driving in 3, and missing the cycle by a triple. Cedeno is now hitting .333 on the year and he's in the midst of a 6 game hitting streak. The streak is that much more impressive since Cedeno doesn't play every day, and the streak actually dates back to April 8th.

6) Brandon Barnes got two more hits yesterday to raise his average up to .367. Primarily used against lefties, Barnes' splits are actually pretty solid right now: .375 vs lefties and .357 vs righties. It's actually creating quite a logjam in the outfield because who draws the short straw when J.D. Martinez and Maxwell come back? Don't get me wrong, it's a good problem to have, but I don't envy the man who has to make those decisions.

7) With Josh Fields getting closer to his return from the DL, Rhiner Cruz did little to help his case to not be the guy to get sent down last night. Entering the game with a 10-1 lead, Cruz walked 2 hitters in his inning of work. Yeah, he didn't give up any runs, but you've got to be able to throw strikes if you're going to be a back of the bullpen guy. And there's absolutely no reason to walk guys when you're up by 9. As I said yesterday, Cruz has all the physical gifts in the world, but he's got to do better with them.

Week 3 in Review

Rough week for the Astros as three times they saw their starters knocked out in the first inning and they finished the week 1-5, dropping them to 5-13 on the season. On the bright side, they didn't get shutout:

Weekly Results

4/15   L Athletics 11-2
4/16   L Athletics 4-3
4/17   L Athletics 7-5
4/19   W Indians 3-2
4/20   L Indians 19-6
4/21   L Indians 5-4

Overall Record: 5-13
Team Batting Average: .250
Runs For: 74
Runs Against: 108
Home Runs: 20
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 173/47
Stolen Bases: 7
Caught Stealing: 3
Team ERA: 5.40
Team WHIP: 1.58
Starters ERA: 5.73
Bullpen ERA: 5.04
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 100/73
Times Shutout: 3
Shutouts: 1

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Jose Altuve .370 (27/73)
Runs: Carlos Pena 12
Hits: Jose Altuve 27
Doubles: Carlos Pena 5
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 4
Runs Batted In: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 10
Walks: Carlos Pena 9
Stolen Bases: Justin Maxwell/Jose Altuve 2

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Rhiner Cruz/Wesley Wright/Hector Ambriz 10
Innings: Lucas Harrell 21 2/3
Wins: Bud Norris 2
Saves: Erik Bedard/Jose Veras 1
Holds: Hector Ambriz 2
Strikeouts: Lucas Harrell/Brad Peacock 15
Quality Starts: Philip Humber 2
ERA:  Bud Norris 4.74
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.47

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 10-7
Corpus Christi (AA) - 9-7
Lancaster (AdvA) - 11-6
Quad Cities (LoA) - 10-5

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Hits: Jake Elmore (AAA) - 23
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Home Runs: Preston Tucker (AdvA) - 5
RBIs: Marc Krauss (AAA) / Zachary Johnson (AdvA) - 18
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 9
Wins: 9 tied with 2
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 5
Strikeouts: Luis Cruz (AdvA) - 22

Sweet, Sweet Victory

Nothing quite like ending a long losing streak. Houston finally got win #5 last night holding on to beat the Indians 3-2. Yeah, it was a former Astro that we beat, but that doesn't cheapen things any for me. Some more notes on last night's win:

1) It was nice to see the Astros aggressive on the basepaths for a second straight game. After just one steal in the first 13 games, Houston has had back-to-back 3 steal games. Jose Altuve stole his second base of the season, and Justin Maxwell stole second and third on back-to-back pitches at one point. I think this aggressiveness is going to pay off if we keep it up. It was certainly effective during the spring, and when you don't get a lot of baserunners, you've got to do whatever you can to get them in scoring position.

2) Tough break for J.D. Martinez last night who sprained his knee on a check swing in the 4th inning. J.D. had slugged an opposite field home run in his first at bat, before being forced to leave the game in the middle of at bat. With his roster spot sort of in jeopardy with Fernando Martinez on a rehab stint in Oklahoma City, the timing of the injury certainly isn't good. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, and he'll just be out a couple days, but it certainly doesn't help his rhythm any. On the bright side, Brandon Barnes stepped right in for him and picked up 2 more hits to raise his average up to .350. Barnes, who has some pop, runs very well, and plays terrific defense might now finally get a chance to show his stuff this season.

3) All-or-nothing Ankiel struck again yesterday with his 4th home run of the season. Ankiel is now 6 for 31 with 4 home runs and 21 strikeouts. That means when he hits the ball, he's hitting .600. Which is ridiculous. He's also the team leader in runs batted in with 10. If only he could hit the ball just a LITTLE bit more often...

4) Lucas Harrell earned his first win of the season, but his command failed him again. For the second time this season he walked 5 hitters in a start, and that's just no good. Of the 98 pitches he threw, just 49 were strikes, and it was only thanks to some solid defense behind him that the Astros managed to escape with a win. It continues a trend of shortened outings by Astros starters. Only 4 of 15 Astros starters have made it through a full 6 innings. And that means a bigger load on the bullpen. Granted, last night the pen did what it's supposed to holding the Tribe at bay, but they can't log that many innings over the course of a full season without consequences. In short, the starting pitching has to get better.

5) Jose Veras rebounded from his blown save against the Angels to earn his first save as an Astro last night. Once again though, he failed to set down the side in order which continues to raise my concerns as to whether or not he's the answer for us. Don't get me wrong, the guy's a solid reliever and he's got good stuff, I just don't know that he's a 9th inning guy. Here's a name to keep in the back of your mind moving forward: Josh Zeid. Part of the Hunter Pence trade a few years back, Zeid has been solid in AAA this year fanning 11 in 6 1/3 innings while allowing just 3 hits. He picked up a 4-out save for the RedHawks last night too. Probably too early to give him a shot with the Astros, but certainly a name to remember.

6) Scott Kazmir returns to the Majors today making his first start since 2011. The injury-prone lefty has made 30 or more starts just twice since 2004, but there's never been any doubt about his stuff. Don't be surprised to see Brandon Laird and Brandon Barnes in the lineup to give the Astros a right-handed heavy look.

Philip Humber Just Can't Catch a Break

Another tough loss, but getting shut down by C.J. Wilson isn't exactly anything to be ashamed of. Nor is losing a series on the road against the Angels. Let's face it, even though they're struggling, they still have arguably three of the best players in the game right now, and they're going to get theirs. And hey, even with the loss, we're looking at a 3-3 week in which we were in every game. Throw out a blown save and we win both series and go 4-2. Anyhow, here's some more thoughts on the loss:

1) Not a lot of offense yesterday, BUT it should be noted that the Astros worked 5 more walks including 2 apiece for Chris Carter and Carlos Pena. I love seeing this from Carter because a little bit of plate discipline is just going to make him that much more dangerous as a hitter.

2) You've gotta feel bad for Philip Humber. The guy has pitched his heart out in 3 straight starts. He's got an ERA of 2.89, and zero wins to show for it thanks in large part to the fact that the Astros have managed to score exactly one run TOTAL in his three starts. That's just not going to get it done.

3) Rhiner Cruz made his team high eighth appearance of the season yesterday afternoon and surrendered a two-run home run to Josh Hamilton. The flame-throwing righty has worked 8 innings out of the pen this year and has a 4.50 ERA while allowing 10 hits, but only fanning two. I'm not sure why Rhiner is getting the lion's share of the late innings right now, other than that he is probably the only guy that really has the stuff to be a dominant late innings pitcher. Figure Bo's going to give him every opportunity to be that guy this year. Kind of the same way we're going to keep sending Brett Wallace out there even though he's struggling. You've got to find out what you've got. Personally I'd like to see Wesley Wright get a longer look as a true setup man, especially given that we have two other lefties in the pen right now. That's just me though.

4) On the injury front, Fernando Martinez started his rehab stint in AAA this weekend and could be back in Houston by midweek. It'll be interesting to see who gets sent down if/when Fernando comes back. My money is on Brett Wallace just because he's in the biggest slump right now, although J.D. Martinez is certainly a possibility as well simply because those two play the same position. In other injury news, Houston lost yet another fringe arm to Tommy John surgery as John Ely, acquired from the Dodgers, just got shut down for the season. Ely had pitched in just one game in AAA this year working 4 scoreless innings and earning a save. What this means moving forward is that another spot on the 40-man roster is opening up. So someone like Brandon Laird, who's hanging out in AAA, may now have a clear path to Houston should a roster spot become available. It alternatively gives Houston a chance to sign a player off of waivers without making a corresponding roster move. Just something to keep an eye on.

5) Houston's starters have a 3.39 ERA through 12 starts this season led by Bud Norris (1.96) and Humber (2.89). Only one starter - Lucas Harrell - has allowed more than 3 earned runs in one of his starts. The bullpen, by contrast, has a 5.72 ERA and has allowed 63 baserunners in 39 1/3 innings. If Houston is ever going to be competitive, those numbers MUST get better.

Albert Pujols is a Bad Man

Losses like that one are always hard to swallow. You can't help but look at missed opportunities, and wonder about what might've been. That said, it's one game, and if you're going to get beaten by someone in the bottom of the 9th, it might as well be one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Hats off to Albert, once again he beat us. Some more thoughts on last night's game:

1) I've mentioned before how I'm not sure Jose Veras is the answer at closer. But when you look at our bullpen right now, I don't know who is. Wesley Wright hasn't been as effective in 2013, Rhiner Cruz is still learning the finer points of pitching, Hector Ambriz has allowed more than 2 hits an inning, Xavier Cedeno has control issues, Paul Clemens has pitched in exactly one major league game, and Dallas Keuchel is, at best, a serviceable long reliever. Now last night wasn't exactly an easy save situation, but Veras has yet to put together a 1-2-3 inning and any of his 5 outings now. You can't put that many runners on base and expect to be effective in the late innings. Plus, you can't walk the #9 hitter. Make him put the ball in play! We'll see how Veras bounces back. Hopefully his next opportunity involves a three run lead so he has more of a margin for error and can gain some confidence.

2) I probably should have led with this, but Brett Wallace had 4 at-bats last night and struck out exactly ZERO times! He even battled for a walk which helped facilitate Houston's 2-run 7th. I don't want to say he's on the verge of breaking out of his season long slump, but last night was a good step in the right direction. We'll see if he can build on that moving forward.

3) J.D. Martinez's error proved to be pretty costly. And let's face it, errors in close games usually are. You've got to make that play though if you're a Major League outfielder. Now I realize J.D.'s game is probably better suited for left field, but still... If he's going to be out there, he needs to make those types of plays.

4) Chris Carter is a beast. Trogdor bashed his 4th home run of the season and extended his hitting streak to 6 games. He's still managed to strike out in 11 straight games passing Wallace for the team lead with 18, but so long as he's producing, I can live with the occasional (or more than occasional) strikeout. After starting the season 1 for 19, Carter has raised his average up to .289 during the streak.

5) Lucas Harrell pitched much better this time out. After getting roughed up pretty good by Oakland, he continued the trend of solid starting pitching for the Astros allowing just 1 run in 5 2/3 innings. Houston starters have allowed more than 3 earned runs just once this season and have a 3.49 ERA through 11 starts.

6) Marwin Gonzalez executed a perfect bases loaded squeeze play in the 7th inning to bring home Houston's 4th and final run. It's nice to see us able to bring that runner home from third base this season. Houston stranded just 3 runners last night and was 2 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Houston sends Philip Humber to the mound today in an effort to win their second straight series. The Astros have not scored a single run in either of Humber's two previous starts this year.

Week 1 in Review

Well, we're one week into the season. Here's some stats to note:

Weekly Results

3/31 W Rangers 8-2
4/2   L Rangers 7-0
4/3   L Rangers 4-0
4/5   L A's 8-3
4/6   L A's 6-3
4/7   L A's 8-3

Overall Record: 1-5
Team Batting Average: .199
Runs For: 17
Runs Against: 36
Home Runs: 2
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 74/9
Stolen Bases: 0
Caught Stealing: 0
Team ERA: 5.00
Team WHIP: 1.54
Starters ERA: 4.55
Bullpen ERA: 5.64
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 34/24
Times Shutout: 2

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Justin Maxwell .381 (8/21)
Runs: Justin Maxwell 5
Hits: Jose Altuve/Justin Maxwell 8
Doubles: 5 tied with 1
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Rick Ankiel/Jason Castro 1
Runs Batted In: Rick Ankiel/Jason Castro 3
Walks: Jose Altuve/Justin Maxwell 2
Stolen Bases: None

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Wesley Wright 4
Innings: Bud Norris 11 1/3
Wins: Bud Norris 1
Saves: Erik Bedard 1
Holds: None
Strikeouts: Bud Norris 9
Quality Starts: Lucas Harrell 1
ERA:  Bud Norris 3.18
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.32

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 3-1
Corpus Christi (AA) - 3-1
Lancaster (AdvA) - 3-1
Quad Cities (LoA) - 4-0

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Robbie Grossman (AAA) / Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 5
Hits: Jimmy Paredes (AAA) - 8
Walks: Robbie Grossman (AAA) / Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 5
Home Runs: George Springer (AA) / Preston Tucker (AdvA) - 2
RBIs: Preston Tucker (AdvA) / Carlos Correa (LoA) - 8
Stolen Bases: Delino DeShields (AdvA) - 3
Wins: 13 tied with 1
Saves: Jason Stoffel (AA) - 2
Strikeouts: Asher Wojciechowski (AA) - 7

Harrell Roughed up as Streak Hits 5

Lucas Harrell had far from his best stuff today as the A's lit him up, knocking him out of the game before he could get through 5 innings. Harrell struggled with his control, and when he did find the plate, the A's made him pay. At the end of the day, he'd walked five and conceded three home runs. Not exactly what we were hoping for. Some other thoughts and observations from Game 6:

1) Brett Wallace looks like he's lost all confidence at the plate. He went 0 for 3 today with 2 more strikeouts bringing his season totals to 1 hit in 17 at bats with 13 strikeouts. You can tell he's all up in his head right now, and that's a tough thing to break out of. He needs a hit, and he needs it bad. The only guy who probably needs one worse right now is Rick Ankiel who fanned for the 10th time in his last 11 at bats as a pinch hitter in the 9th. If they keep it up, you have to wonder how long they'll last, especially when you've got guys like Brandon Laird (6/16 with 6 rbis), Jake Elmore (7/16), Jimmy Paredes (8/15 with 3 doubles), and Robbie Grossman (5/13 with 5 walks) off to fast starts in AAA.

2) Am I the only one who's wondering where the heck is Josh Fields? With our bullpen logging crazy innings, our Rule 5 draft pick has faced just 2 hitters. Surprised he didn't get work yesterday or today, especially when you consider we were extending Dallas Keuchel and Xavier Cedeno beyond two innings of work.

3) Speaking of Xavier Cedeno, it was nice to see him have some better luck today. After facing seven hitters on Friday night and retiring ZERO, he tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings today. His control was still a bit shaky, but he appeared to be able to work through some of that and he got stronger as he went. It was also nice to see a 1-2-3 inning from Hector Ambriz, especially after allowing 7 hits in his previous 2 innings of work.

4) Carlos Corporan and Brandon Barnes each logged their first hits of the season today meaning every position player on the roster now has at least one hit this year. It was nice to actually see Barnes in the lineup today too, especially with the way Ankiel has been struggling.

5) I'd say I was concerned about Jose Veras being our closer, but the way we're playing right now, we don't really need a closer, so I guess it doesn't matter. Veras has yet to record a 1-2-3 inning in three appearances this year and he's allowed 7 baserunners (5 hits, 2 walks).

6) Nice to see Chris Carter finally get an extra base hit. I think it's funny how everyone was ragging on Justin Maxwell this spring, when it's been Carter who's been ice cold out of the gates. Carter, who legged out a triple to left center in the 8th, is now 2 for 22 with 11 strikeouts. Conversely, Maxwell, who only had 9 hits all spring, is 8 for 21 and has scored a team high 5 runs. Meanwhile, our leadoff hitter Jose Altuve has scored ZERO. Figure that one out.

7) Edgar Gonzalez, who was designated for assignment following the trade for Travis Blackley, didn't clear waivers and is headed for Toronto. Gonzalez, who did not pitch for Houston this year, was 3-1 with a 5.04 ERA in 6 starts in 2012.

8) Next up for the Astros, a West Coast road trip that includes stops in Seattle, L.A., and Oakland. Things aren't going to get any easier for this club, they're just going to have to keep fighting. Eventually the hits will start dropping in there. As frustrating as it is, it's still really early in the season. There's lots of time for the boys to turn things around.

Whirling Darvish Dazzles Astros

Not quite the follow-up to the season opener we were all hoping for, but hey, at least we didn't get no hit. Thank you, Marwin Gonzalez. Some observations on the loss:

1) Yu Darvish made our lineup look silly. I made a comment the other day that there are going to be days where this team resembles a minor league ball club at the plate, and this was one of those days. Yu Darvish cruised through the Astros lineup retiring 26 in a row - 14 of them via the strike out - as the Rangers evened the series at one game apiece. In fact, the only Astro not to strike out last night was backup catcher Carlos Corporan. Now it's not like Darvish is a slouch. As we saw last year, he's a legitimate ace. But even as good as he is, you expect to hit more than one ball out of the infield. It's not going to get much easier today when the Astros get Alexi Ogando, but I don't think anyone will miss Darvish.

2) One of the many, many questions surrounding this year's Astros team is their bullpen. And the bullpen looked REALLY shaky last night. Yes, it's a small sample size, but it wasn't pretty. The pen inherited a 1-0 deficit in the 7th inning last night, and between Xavier Cedeno, Rhiner Cruz, Wesley Wright, Josh Fields, and Jose Veras, they surrendered 6 runs turning a close game into a rout. Only Fields managed to get through the game without giving up a run, and he pitched just 1/3 of an inning.