*A three-run 7th inning helped propel the Astros to a 5-2 win over Seattle, stopping the Mariners' win streak at six. Lance McCullers made his first start in 16 days and threw 5IP, 4H/1ER, 8K:0BB, getting pulled after 76 pitches. McCullers:
You just feel really, really fresh, so that's something to get used to. But, I got out there and just trusted (McCann), and tried to think about my mechanics more than how my arm was feeling.
*Josh Reddick was 1x4 with a 2-run home run and made two run-saving diving catches as a left fielder. Reddick:
Fortunately I got some good breaks tonight and was able to hold onto the ball and keep them out of the lights. If either of those balls gets in the lights I might be in trouble. Just got to keep working at it.
*Ken Giles sure did make things interesting in the 9th. With a 5-1 lead, Giles gave up a double and walked three batters.
*The Astros are 51-25 (remember they were 51-111 in 2013) and are 28-9 on the road. Every other AL West team - besides Seattle, of course - won last night, so the lead is at 12.5 games.
*Brad Peacock is at home with his wife and new baby, so Frankie Tuesday will start in his place today at Seattle. Which means that, with McCullers' activation yesterday, Jordan Jankowski was recalled from Fresno and Joe Musgrove was sent down. Hinch, on Musgrove:
We've got to get him back to executing the way that he does when he's successful. He's had a hard time executing his pitches, specifically late in the count, and he's had some big innings implode on him in the outings in which he's struggled. The other reason is we need a full complement of relievers to keep guys rested and make sure I'm not overusing guys, and we have an opportunity to accomplish both of those things by sending Musgrove out.
In 82 Plate Appearances in which the batter was ahead against Musgrove, he has allowed a .426/.573/.885 slash line.
*Marwin Gonzalez was a late scratch Saturday with oblique tightness.
*Sporting News took a look at the 2017 Astros' numbers and whether they held up against the famed SI cover's predictions.
*Kyle Tucker hit his 4th home run in his last six games in last night's Hooks win. In 20 games Jason Martin is hitting .354/.386/.633 and also homered last night for Corpus.
*Astros 9th-Round pick Michael Papierski hit two home runs - one from each side of the plate - to help LSU beat Oregon State and go to the College World Series finals.
*This Tacoma columnist compares the 2017 Astros to the 2001 Mariners.
*Ken Rosenthal says a trade involving Johnny Cueto could be problematic for the Giants because of his opt-out clause.
*As someone who deals with this occasionally, it took some courage for Roberto Osuna to talk about his anxiety.
*Written a while ago, I just got around to reading this excellent postmortem of the University of Buffalo's elimination of the baseball program and how, even in western New York, football ruins everything.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
