*Keuchel: 4IP, 6H/3ER, 6K:4BB, 60 of his 101 pitches went for strikes. He threw a first-pitch strike to 15 of the 22 batters he faced.
*Dallas Keuchel is one out away from throwing his 1000th career IP.
*Collin McHugh struck out five in 2IP.
*For the third time in five games the Astros were held without an extra-base hit and went 1x6 w/RISP. Carlos Correa was 0x4 with 2 GIDPs.
*Altuve was 2x4, J.D. Davis was 2x3 with a walk, Reddick was 0x1 with 2BB. Springer and Bregman were 1x3 with a walk each.
*Minnesota's 1-2 hitters Dozier and Mauer were a combined 3x4 with 1K:6BB. Hinch:
They did more with their walks than we did. Both pitchers had a hard time staying in the zone. They drew a lot of walks, we drew a lot of walks, they got a couple hits here and there. I think three of their walks scored, and they scored four runs. Tough night all the way around to lose the way we did.
Keuchel:
I was feeling good and attacking and went on the defensive a little bit and didn't make competitive pitches as much as I would like to early and gave up three runs. It's there. It's just a matter of making more competitive and quality pitches early.
Altuve:
We did the same thing last year. We didn't start really good. We were battling to score runs until we woke up and won the World Series. We have a lot of talent here. We have guys playing hard.
*Just before last night's game started - so that the stats wouldn't be valid for as long - I wrote about how I'm not really worried about the strikeouts. To that point:
Hinch said Bregman is "hitting the ball in the air to an extreme." He said the team is striking out a lot because they're not staying inside the strike zone. "We will be better. It's a 10-game look not a defining characteristic."— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 10, 2018
*Chandler Rome went inside the Astros' recent offensive woes. In the last six games, Springer-Bregman-Correa are a combined 8x45.
*Tony Sipp was placed on the 10-Day DL yesterday afternoon with oblique soreness. James Hoyt, who went on the DL with oblique soreness in March and opened the door for Tony Sipp to make the Opening Day roster, has been recalled from Fresno. Hinch:
We just decided that, given the way pitching can go, we can't afford to sit on someone for five or six days. We didn't think he was going to be available this series and by the time he throws a bullpen and gets into a game at the tail end of the next series, that's too long.
*Travis Sawchik writes that Gerrit Cole might just be another Ace. There's lots of pretty Charts N Graffs in this so be sure to click this link.
*Sunday Night Baseball: Bartolo vs. Verlander. Meanwhile, Rougned Odor and Doug Fister have both been placed on the 10-Day DL.
*Ahem: Rougned Jake Anthony Odorizzio.
*J.B. Bukauskas made his 2018 debut last night for Quad Cities: 3.2IP, 3H/2ER, 6K:4BB
*Ken Rosenthal (In The $Athletic) writes a sad story about Colorado's Pat Valaika and his family.
*10/10 would buy a BVI Marlins shirt. (Ed. Note: Move this criminal organization to Montreal and let someone run it the right way.)
*Alex Cora took the Astros' scouting report on Mookie Betts and spent the winter combating it with him.
*James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Yu talked to Texas Monthly about his favorite places to eat in Houston. There's a slideshow, but it's worth clicking through.
