Waiting to Blast Off: The Houston Astros

[WaitTilNextYear]

After 3 downer games vs. Texas, the A's jumped on Houston a bit in Game 1 of the 3-game tilt going up 2-0 in the first inning off a Seth Smith 2-run HR. However, Houston's offense actually came to life a bit in the 4th inning plating 2, and then Thomas Neal hit team HR #1 of the season...a 2-run shot that took advantage of the short porch in left field at Minute Maid Park.

Then the A's came roaring back to re-take the lead 5-4 in the 5th.

The game played to a stalemate until the bottom of the 9th when magic happened. Down 5-4, Oakland brings closer Grant Balfour in for the SV chance to face the 8-9-1 of Houston's lineup. Batters 1 and 2 (Thomas Neal and Brendan Ryan) are set down on line-outs. Things are looking grim...

Then, Gerardo Parra comes up and proceeds to walk on 4 pitches. Tying run on base. Next, Jose Altuve comes up, gets ahead 2-1, and taps a grounder to SS, which looks like a pretty sure thing to end the game, BUT Jed Lowrie (the former Stro), ranging up the middle, fires a throw to 1B off the mark, taking Brandon Moss off the bag up the RF line. E6. Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out, bottom of the 9th.

Up comes Brett Wallace, who was one of the top hitters in ST. First pitch, Balfour grooves a 4-seam FB lower-half/inner-third of the plate; Wallace connects (lefties like low and in)...ball goes over the fence opposite field (once again taking full advantage of the Crawford box seats in left. Walk-off 3-run shot to send the fans home happy with a 7-5 win.

Quote:

....as if to say, I'm looking at YOU, doubters...

Oakland Athletics at Houston Astros
Apr 5, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland (2-3)	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	5	8	2
Houston (1-3)	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	3	7	11	0
W: Rhiner Cruz L: Grant Balfour

[WaitTilNextYear]

Oakland ace Brett Anderson enjoying the nightlife in Houston.

The very next game, HOU and OAK locked horns in a pitchers duel between surprise 5th starter Adam Wilk and Oakland ace Brett Anderson. Seems unfair, doesn't it? Anyway, HOU was actually leading 1-0 into the 7th (and one-hitting OAK for good measure) when Wilk began to tire and was pulled. Houston's pen couldn't put out the fire, and the game headed to the bottom of the 9th with OAK leading 3-1.

Again, Oakland brings in Grant Balfour. Again Houston's offense clicks to life...

Carlos Pena greets Balfour with a solo shot to right (this one would have left any park). 3-2 OAK.

Chris Carter comes up and laces a single up the middle. Jason Castro walks on 7 pitches. 1st and 2nd, down 1, no outs. Thomas Neal, takes strike one and two missing on bunt attempts to move the runners. 0-2 count.

Good thing for HOU the bunt didn't work, because Neal proceeded to send a walkoff 3-run shot over the RF wall on a Grant Balfour offering up and outer-third of the plate. Final score: Astros 5, A's 3. Back-to-back games with walk-off HRs.

WHO IS THOMAS NEAL??

Thomas Neal, the starting RF for Houston, was obtained in a preseason deal from Cleveland. In fact, he's so new that all we have is file footage of him with the Yankees and Indians. Undoubtedly his exploits today will lead to a nice photo of him wearing Astros garb. When asked about today's game, Neal replied:

Quote:

Thomas Neal: Woah! Still not sinking in. You'd think having the whole team jumping on me after I crossed the plate would make it sink in. Man, I'm just ecstatic right now. Pinching myself right now, maybe I'll wake up.

Oakland Athletics at Houston Astros
Apr 6, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland (2-4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	5	0
Houston (2-3)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	5	9	0
W: Jose Valdez L: Grant Balfour

[WaitTilNextYear]

Houston, TX - After a disastrous opening series against Texas, the Astros leveled off as a moderate surprise team. As of end of play on April 23rd, the Astros owned a 12-8 record after taking Game 2 of a 3-game set 5-3 against Seattle. And much of this was without their best hitter Jose Altuve, who was lost to a strained back suffered against LAA on 4/14/13 and only recently returned.

However, the law of gravity started to operate once again on Houston, and the Astros dropped 6 straight, with a 4-game sweep (by a combined score of 33-10) to the Red Sox at Fenway sandwiched in there. The final day of April, however, was kind to the Astros as they were finally able to snap their 6-game losing streak at Yankee Stadium.

Houston Astros at New York Yankees
Apr 30, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston (13-14)	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	3	0
New York (15-13)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	1
W: Patrick Corbin L: Michael Pineda S: Kyle McClellan

The star for Houston was an emerging Cy Young candidate perhaps in Patrick Corbin, 2-1 with a sub-2.00 ERA, Corbin was able shut down the Yankees and outduel Michael Pineda, who had made a surprise return from injury.

Quote:

Patrick Corbin: Well I was a bit surprised to be dealt to Houston in the first place in Spring Training. And everyone was telling me how awful the team would be--I was actually getting sympathy cards from the guys in Arizona as if someone had passed away. But, that's behind me now. I've been able to locate my fastball to both sides of the plate, and work off of that to sneak my change up and breaking ball in on guys. Obviously shutting down a great lineup today like the Yankees is pretty special, and I'll admit it, I'm a little surprised to be in the top whatever pitchers in K's so far. Just rolling with the momentum right now, letting my defense make plays for me.

Houston hopes Corbin can keep being the stopper for them as they look to keep their grasp on 2nd in the AL West or chase down Texas for first. Houston is currently 13-14 and 4 GB the 17-10 Texas Rangers.

[AC]

You know I'm following. Like where this franchise is headed.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Houston, TX- After swiping 2 of 3 games from the Yankees in the Bronx, the Astros came home in a jubilant mood ready to take on the surging Detroit Tigers.

In a matchup of the NL's worst team in 2012 against the AL's best, the game played out much closer than anticipated.

After a scoreless first 3 innings, the Astros broke through against Max Scherzer for 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th. Between that outburst and Chris Carter's solo HR in the bottom of the 6th, that would be all the scoring the Astros needed to support Phil Humber, who made his best start of the season so far.

Quote:

Phil Humber: Well it wasn't exactly a Perfect Game now was it? Hell, it wasn't even a quality start. But, man, against a lineup like Detroit, I'll take it. Each time I try to get Cabrera out, I feel like I'm solving a rubik's cube from scratch. And I've never lined up one of those darned things yet!

Detroit Tigers at Houston Astros
May 2, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (19-9)	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	3	10	1
Houston (15-14)	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	x	4	10	1
W: Phil Humber L: Max Scherzer S: Kyle McClellan

Detroit Tigers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
A. Jackson	5	2	2	0	0	1	0
A. Dirks	5	0	0	0	0	1	0
M. Cabrera	2	0	2	0	2	0	0
P. Fielder	4	0	2	2	0	1	0
T. Hunter	3	1	1	1	1	1	1
A. Avila	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
V. Martinez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
F. Rivera	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Peralta	4	0	0	0	0	2	0
A. Garcia	4	0	1	0	0	2	0
O. Infante	3	0	1	0	0	0	0
Q. Berry	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS	35	3	10	3	3	8	1

Houston Astros
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
G. Parra	4	0	1	0	0	0	0
J. Altuve	4	1	2	0	0	0	0
M. Olt	4	1	1	1	0	0	0
C. Carter	4	2	3	1	0	0	1
C. Pena	4	0	1	1	0	1	0
C. Corporan	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Castro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
R. Wheeler	3	0	1	1	0	0	0
T. Neal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
B. Barnes	3	0	1	0	0	0	0
B. Ryan	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS	33	4	10	4	0	1	1

Detroit Tigers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
M. Scherzer	7.1	10	4	4	0	0	1
O. Dotel	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0
TEAM TOTALS	8.0	10	4	4	0	1	1

Houston Astros
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
P. Humber	5.1	5	2	2	0	3	1
S. Escalona (H)	0.1	1	0	0	1	0	0
H. Ambriz (H)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Valdez (H)	1.0	1	1	1	0	2	0
X. Cedeno (H)	0.1	1	0	0	2	1	0
R. Cruz (H)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
K. McClellan (S)	1.0	2	0	0	0	2	0
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	10	3	3	3	8	1

The win took the Astros above the .500 threshhold, and no one thought Houston would be above .500 into May. Even so, most baseball analysts are very skeptical of the team's chances. ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian reflected:

Quote:

Tim Kurkjian: Baseball is a funny sport, but this is why we play 162 game seasons and not 35 game seasons. The fluke teams are inevitably weeded out over the course of a long baseball season. People would be surprised if Houston made it to the All Star Break at .500, but what are the odds of that? Slim? None? Probably about as likely as a 15-game losing streak starting tomorrow.

Even though analysts and baseball commentators across the country are underwhelmed by Houston's staying power, the Astros don't mind playing the extreme underdog.

In other news, the Astros bullpen took a hit in today's game as Hector Ambriz tore a quad muscle after an awkward delivery in the 7th inning.

Hector Ambriz heads to 60-day DL
Pos	Player	Injury Note
RP	Hector Ambriz	Torn Quad, out 4 months

This is a pretty big blow to the Astros, as Ambriz has been one of the few reliable arms in the pen.

Ambriz's line: 12.2 IP, 0-1, 2.13 ERA, 0.47 WHIP, 17 K, 2 BB, .098 BAA

Chuckie Fick was recalled from AAA Oklahoma City to take Ambriz's spot on the active roster.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Houston, TX- After dropping 2 of 3 to Detroit, being above .500 was a short-lived thing for the Astros. Analysts across the country are going on air with the "see, told ya so" schtick. After an off day, and having to hear the "experts" pick the team apart after dropping the series to Detroit, the Astros looked to get back on solid ground against their division foe, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. And, after sweeping the Angels back in early April, you better believe the Angels are hungry for revenge...

However, the Angels jumped all over Houston and starter Erik Bedard from the 2nd inning on and did not let up.

Quote:

Erik Bedard: I can't recall getting hit like that before. This is gonna sound dumb, but I got a massage after leaving the game because my neck seriously was smarting. I think it was from turning around and watching my pitches end up in the gap, over and over... I'm not going to say they're juicing, because MLB tests for that now, but they might as well have been today.

Quote:

Bo Porter: Mad? Nah, I'm not mad. I'm furious. We have an off day to prepare for the Angels after getting our butts whipped against Detroit, and we lay an egg. To a man, we really need to re-evaluate if we want to be a winning team anymore. Don't ask me, ask my players. They've got to get it done between the white lines. In a game like this, there's no need for a manager; there's need for a mercy rule.

Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros
May 7, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles (14-19)	0	4	4	2	2	0	0	0	6	18	22	1
Houston (15-17)	0	1	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	5	14	0
W: Jason Vargas L: Erik Bedard

Needless to say, coming to the ballpark was futile today for Houston. The Angels, however, didn't want the game to end. Angels DH Mark Trumbo tied a franchise record today by smacking 4 doubles.

Quote:

Mark Trumbo: It was like the movie Groundhog Day. You know the one with Bill Murray? He's hilarious. Anyway, I just kept getting pitches to hit, repeated my swing, and gap shot after gap shot. That's crazy, it really tied a franchise record? Man, I should've gone for 5 doubles [laughter]. What was I thinking making an out today?

As if not to be outdone, Mike Trout hit 2 HR's himself and drove in 6.

Quote:

Mike Trout: Well, I mean when the whole offense is hitting like that, you don't want to make an out. You want to keep getting AB after AB. Strike while it's hot. Oh sure, that fuels me. I mean I don't care about the MVP, but some people thought last year was a fluke. What do you guys think? [laughter]

[WaitTilNextYear]

Houston, TX - After a lackluster week of baseball, dropping back-to-back series against the Tigers and Angels, the Astros found themselves locking horns with the Texas Rangers once again. Last time they played during Opening Week, the Rangers clobbered Houston, outscoring them by 25 runs in the 3-game set.

And, in a result that really no one saw coming, the Astros returned the favor, sweeping Texas in 3 games.

Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
May 10, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas (24-11)	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	2	7	7	0
Houston (18-18)	1	2	4	0	0	2	0	0	x	9	9	1
W: Lucas Harrell L: Derek Holland S: Kyle McClellan

Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
May 11, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas (24-12)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
Houston (19-18)	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	x	2	6	1
W: Patrick Corbin L: Alexi Ogando S: Kyle McClellan

Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
May 12, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas (24-13)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	0
Houston (20-18)	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	x	2	5	0
W: Chuckie Fick L: Yu Darvish S: Kyle McClellan

[WaitTilNextYear]

Pittsburgh, PA - With the Astros playing much better baseball after a late-April/early-May swoon, the schedule is lightening up also. In Pittsburgh for a 3-game interleague set to play the last place Pirates, pitching, pitching, and more pitching was the story for the Astros. In sweeping Pittsburgh, the Astros got not one, but 2 complete game shutouts from their starting pitchers to bookend the series. Patrick Corbin blanked the Pirates in Game 1, and Phil Humber 3-hit the Buccos in the final game of the set.

Game 1 Patrick Corbin: 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K
Game 3: Phil Humber: 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K

Asked about the team's performance, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle responded:

Quote:

Clint Hurdle: It's pretty embarrassing. McCutchen got his hits, but we had 7 other guys out there taking swings. We need more contributions. Corbin and Humber were fantastic though. We saw some of Corbin when he was with Arizona, and he pitched his heart out the other day. I haven't seen Humber pitch like that since his perfect game last year with Chicago. We have to make adjustments for sure, especially on offense, but I did like what I saw out of Kyle McPherson in Game 3. You take a 1-0 loss to a guy who three-hits you and K's 11, and you can live with that. Sure it's cold, but it's the same temperature for the other team. We can't worry about that.

With the winning ways, the Astros are barely keeping pace with the red hot Rangers. After getting swept in Houston, the Rangers have not lost, and maintain a 4 game lead over the 2nd place Angels and a 5 game lead over the 3rd place Astros.

The Astros are lookin' for some home cookin' against last place Kansas City when they return home to Houston to face the Royals tomorrow.