*Gerrit Cole threw 2IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB with three groundouts in a 7-3 win over the Cardinals in Game 3 of Operation: Don't Get Hurt. Buddy Boshers threw his second straight clean appearance. Kyle Tucker hit a 3-run home run off Miles Mikolas. A.J. Reed was 1x1 with 2BB. Tyler White was 1x2 with a walk. J.D. Davis was 2x3 with a double and 2RBI.
Hinch, on Tucker:
I was joking with him and asked him if he was nervous going into the game, his first start. His parents are in town. I don't think he was too nervous. I don't think he gets too rattled or too excitable, but he hit the ball hard pretty much every time up today. We've been told he's got a really good swing. He knows the zone. An impressive young kid.
*Tyler White is hoping his versatility will give him the nod as the guy off the bench.
*Marwin is going to bat more from the right side in Spring Training to shore up that part of his offensive game and show that 2017 wasn't a fluke.
*Collin McHugh - who threw two scoreless innings on Saturday - is trying to refine his slider.
*Kate Morrison says the burningest question for the Astros is, "Can they avoid the hangover?"
*The Westgate Las Vegas Sportsbook has set the over/under on Astros' wins at 96.5, the highest in baseball. They're also a -1100 to make the postseason, meaning you'd have to wager $1100 to win $100 on the Astros playing into October.
*A car that was on-field for some 7th Inning Stretch shenanigans for the Cardinals got stuck.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
