*The Astros are now 24-5 when scoring 4+ runs.
*Keuchel needed 98 pitches to make it through 5IP, 6H/4ER, 3K:2BB. His ERA is 3.43. It's his 6th loss of the season (again, not all on him), and he took the L five times in 2017.
His 1st Inning, though: 10IP, 15H/8ER, 5K:3BB. 7.20 ERA. Keuchel's ERA, by inning, 2018:
1st: 7.20
2nd: 1.80
3rd: 0.00
4th: 3.60
5th: 3.00
6th: 5.14
7th: 5.40
8th: 0.00
*It's his 3rd start (out of 10) with three or fewer strikeouts. Keuchel:
I felt good from the get-go. That's why it's so frustrating when I come out of the game with 90-something pitches in five innings with four runs on the board.
*Joe Smith: 1IP, 1H/1ER, 0K:1BB. Today's home run allowed broke a four-game scoreless streak. On the season, Smith: 13.1IP, 14H/11ER, 13K:5BB. Smith's last eight outings (cherry-picked, for sure):
6.2IP, 9H/8ER, 7K:2BB.
*Never trust a guy named Todd:
Brian McCann has been displeased with Todd Tichenor's zone all day— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 19, 2018
*Meanwhile, Collin McHugh is wonderful. 1IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:1BB. He has now made 12 appearances without allowing the one run he's given up. In the last 12 games: 15IP, 9H/0ER, 19K:4BB. His 0.51 ERA leads all AL relievers.
*Tony Sipp needed nine pitches to retire the side in the 6th. His last seven appearances: 5.1IP, 3H/1ER, 3K:0BB. All three hits and one run came in the same May 7 appearance.
*Houston was 0x6 w/RISP, 1x16 w/RISP in these two games against Cleveland. One. For. Sixteen.
They didn't have a runner on 2nd until the 5th inning. Opportunities:
-7th Inning: Gurriel on 2nd, nobody out - Marwin grounded out, Gattis popped out, Kemp grounded out. The ball never left the infield.
-8th Inning: Altuve on 2nd (ruled a ground-rule double that should have been a home run), one out - Correa flied out (barely), McCann flied out.
*5-9 in the lineup: 3x19.
*Houston hit three home runs in a single game for the 5th time this season. They're 4-1. The Astros were 24-3 in games in which they hit 3+ HR in 2017.
*George Springer was 2x4. He's 5x12 in his last three games, and is hitting .361/.400/.541 in May.
*Alex Bregman was 1x4 with a solo home run. He now has 44 hits on the season, 26 of them are singles. It was his first RBI since May 8 - the last time he hit a home run.
*After Marwin went on a 6-game hitless streak that included an 0x21, he has three hits in his last seven ABs, including a 9th-inning home run that brought the Astros to within one run. Marwin:
You always feel good whenever you battle until the end. That's what we do all the time. That's what makes this team special. We never quit.
*Because Tyler Bauer is a piece of crap, Terry Francona texted A.J. Hinch to clean up Tyler's mess. Francona:
I don't think that's fair to (Hinch). I just told him that I appreciated the way he handled it, and we'll try to move on.
Oh, and Tyler made a charitable donation to the Lance McCullers, Jr. Foundation:
Donation 51/69 goes to The @LMcCullers43 Foundation. It aims to get pets out of sticky situations by promoting pet adoptions, raising awareness for shelters and programs, and continuing the journey to a no-kill world. Tell me about your charity. https://t.co/PSouuufsQ3 pic.twitter.com/WsKwmXZ58B— Trevor “Tyler” Bauer (@BauerOutage) May 18, 2018
"Sticky situations." Tyler thinks he's cute. He ain't cute. Bauer is on track to pitch the Wednesday, May 23 game against the Cubs and then the Monday, May 28 game against the White Sox. In between those two starts is a four-game series with the Astros. Please, dear sweet Jesus, let the Astros face Bauer in Game 3 of the ALCS and absolutely rip him to shreds.
Bauer, on taping "Tyler" to the top of his jersey:
Everybody who thought they were going to wear me out for being Tyler, then they saw it on my back, and they didn't have anything to say after that. They just kept yelling the same joke over and over, which was kind of frustrating for them because I was one step ahead of them - again...
...I'd love to face the Astros. I'm never one to back down from a challenge or elevated stakes. I like it. I like the added adrenaline, the added importance and focus and things like that. It's what baseball should be. They should want to kick my butt and I should want to kick their butt. We'll see who's better. I'm not giving up.
*Josh Reddick pinch-hit yesterday but is expected to be in the lineup tonight after dealing with a "leg infection," which might have been the result of a spider bite. Reddick is truly Possum King II.
*Preston Wilson apologized for saying that hitting a slider was "harder" than slavery on the broadcast yesterday. I retweeted a couple of videos of his remarks. Of course I don't think that Preston Wilson meant that literally. I think it was a joke. And probably, in some context, a funny one. Most of the comments were mostly white people telling me - also a white guy - what to think and not to think, which I don't very much appreciate. I guess that's Twitter, though. And this is why I'll be staying off Twitter for a while. Between Santa Fe and this, I need a break from freaking morons who think that, simply because they have an account, then they can tell me how to react to situations. Screw that.
*Jake Marisnick was 2x5 and homered for the second straight game in a 4-0 Fresno win. A.J. Reed was 1x1 with 3BB and his 7th home run of the year. Tyler White has a 40-game on-base streak. Starting pitcher was removed after 3.2IP due to getting hit by a comebacker in the elbow.
*Minor League Ball wrote up a trade check-in on the Gomez/Fiers trade with Milwaukee.
*Sam Khan, Jr. has a touching piece in ESPN about the Santa Fe High School baseball team.
*Jenny Cavnar became the first female to take play-by-play duties since 1993. She good.
*Potential 2018 1-1 pick Casey Mize didn't want his mom to buy him a gaming system, so he could focus on baseball.
*Andy Slater went to the British Virgin Islands to investigate the Marlins' business practices. He embarrassed them. The Marlins pulled his press credentials.
*Staten Island guy finds a safe with cash and jewels in it and then the Ninja Burglar happens.
