*The Indians have won 14 in a row and 17 of their last 20 and have picked up just four games on the Astros in that span.
*Maybin came to Houston having hit six home runs with 22 RBIs. In six games with Houston he has three home runs and 8 RBIs. Hinch:
He's been a nice spark for us on a lot of levels. He's come in with some energy, he's come in with a ton of enthusiasm. He's a good player. We knew everybody would like him. He's obviously performing at a high level, earning more at-bats. Big swing tonight.
*Lance McCullers threw 5.1IP, 4H/3ER, 4K:1BB in his first start since July 30. He threw a first-pitch strike to just 11 of the 22 batters he faced. That said, he made it into the 6th on 76 pitches. Hinch:
He came out with a little extra adrenaline, a little extra conviction. He was going to enter the game with his best stuff and I thought he did well. There's a lot that goes into coming back after a long layoff. I was proud of him how he attacked their hitters.
*Daggum Kyle Seager hit a home run in all three games against the Astros. This season he's hitting .293/.382/.603 against Houston pitchers.
*Given two of the next five days off, Justin Verlander will next pitch on six days' rest, getting his next start on Tuesday against the Angels. If you were on the Verlander mini-season-ticket-plan, you would want tickets to the Sunday, Sept 17 game against Seattle and the Saturday, Sept 23 game against Anaheim.
*Bob Melvin, manager of the upcoming opponent A's, is happy for the Astros in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Melvin:
You understand they're playing for a little bit more and it's kind of cool to see.
*Tony DeFrancesco - the Astros' Triple-A manager since 2011 - will not return to the organization in 2018. DeFrancesco was the interim manager for 41 games in 2012 following the firing of Brad Mills, during which the Astros went 16-25 (.390). They went 39-82 (.322) under Mills. As the manager of the Oklahoma City...Somethings and the Fresno Grizzlies, DeFrancesco managed (get it) a record of 532-463 (.535). In 2015, a year after battling cancer, the Grizzlies won the PCL Championship and DeFrancesco was named Baseball America's Manager of the Year. DeFrancesco, in the Fresno Bee:
It was a great opportunity being with the Astros. Seven years with one organization is a long time. Now it's time to see what else is out there.
*Quad Cities lost G1 of their best-of-three series against Peoria on a walk-off. Michael Feliz threw a perfect first inning and Colin Moran was 1x3 with a double.
*Elizabethton shut out the Greeneville Astros 6-0 to move on to the Appalachian League championship against Pulaski. Greenville needed to win just one of the two games at Elizabethton to advance.
*How Indians reliever Nick Goody got people in Nederland to safety.
*This Delta flight out of San Juan, Puerto Rico raced Irma and won.
*The Lima Time Time Bozoathon for Harvey Relief starts TOMORROW evening. Here are the details, with an updated guest list and a link to donate. 36 hours before we even start, we're already over 10% of our goal.
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Andre Johnson distributing cleaning supplies and a hot meal Thursday 11-2 at Fifth Ward Church of Christ: 4308 Stonewall St, Houston, TX— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 6, 2017
