A few notes from last night's 6-1 win over the A's...
*Evan Gattis hit a homer! It was just his 3rd hit of the season, his first extra-base hit of the season, and his first home run since September 6, 2014, which was also the last game in which he had a hit prior to Monday. Dating back to August 24, 2014 Gattis' last four extra-base hits have all left the park.
*Collin McHugh struck out eleven batters in 5.2IP last night, the first time he's recorded double-digit strikeouts since his Astros debut on April 22, 2014, when he struck out 12 Mariners. McHugh has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 12 straight starts dating back to July 27, 2014. He's the first Astro to win seven straight starts since Andy Pettitte in 2005.
*Chris Carter is 2x30 on the season. It's worth remembering that from April 9-20, 2014 - a span of eleven games - Carter was 2x31. He's a career .175 hitter in April (yeah, but in 60 games, nine of which are in 2015).
On to the links...
*Evan Drellich notes that Collin McHugh has been relying on a slider since the end of 2014 that could be a reason for his success.
*What with Will Harris pitching well, the Astros are going to let Josh Fields stay in Triple-A for a little bit.
*FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel writes that the Astros are linked to Dominican CF Gilberto Celestino, who will receive around a $2m signing bonus. Celestino is an "above average to plus runner" with above average arm strength and average raw power projection.
*Quad Cities' Nick Tanielu, who was hitting .412 on the young season, was transferred to Extended Spring Training.
*Here's an interesting comparison of the front-office styles of Billy Beane and Jeff Luhnow from Athletics Nation.
*One of the first Houston Urban Youth Academy graduates got a baseball scholarship.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
