*The Astros are 41-25, 5-12 in one-run games, and are percentage points behind Seattle for 1st place in the AL West. Houston has 44 of 66 games in which they've allowed three runs or fewer.
*No MLB team had ever walked ten batters and hit five more in the same game before last night.
*No MLB team had ever walked ten batters and hit five more in the same game before last night.
*Charlie Morton threw 3.2IP, 1H/2R (1ER), 4K:6BB, 4HBP. 47 of his 87 pitches were balls. The walks and the HBPs are a career-high. Morton:
I got away with not knowing where the ball was going. It was a pretty unprofessional outing, I think, bordering on embarrassing...Over the course of the past couple of weeks, my delivery has gotten a little out of whack. My timing has been a little out of whack. Tonight it was just really bad.
Morton walked five batters on April 24 against Anaheim. Prior to last night he had hit four batters all starts dating back to September 29, 2017.
Hinch:
I don't know if they had an inning where they didn't have runners on. It felt like there were runners all over the place for nine straight. We're happy on this side, because we got out of it.
Also Hinch, on Morton:
He just looked out of whack from the very beginning, delivery, timing, execution. He was doing things that he never does, hitting left-handers with back-foot breaking balls, misfiring on a lot of fastballs. Just the entire game was a fight for him within himself.
Charlie Morton of the @astros is the first pitcher with 4+ hit batters, 4+ walks and 4+ strikeouts in a game since April 18, 1913, when the Senators' Long Tom Hughes had 4 HBP, 5 BB and 9 K in a complete-game win against the Yankees.#NeverSettle— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) June 10, 2018
*Astros pitchers stranded 17 batters mainly through ten walks by last night's pitchers. The ten walks are the highest by Houston since they walked 13 batters in an 11-1 loss to Oakland on September 9, 2017. The last time the Astros walked 10+ batters and won was August 24, 2010, a 16-inning 4-2 win over the Phillies.
*Hector Rondon recorded his 2nd straight save while Ken Giles stayed in the outfield. Hinch:
Rondon's pitching really hot. Kenny's had a hard time having clean innings...I just wanted to get the outs and have the guys that have pitched a touched better in the game.
*The Rangers were 1x17 w/RISP, a statistic in which, were I on the other side, I would go absolutely insane.
Houston is now 1-5 when they walk 5+ batters.
*Alex Bregman extended his on-base streak to 22 games. Since May 2 (34 games) Bregman is hitting .282/.386/.534.
*Max Stassi hit his 6th home run - 466 feet - of the year. He and Tony Kemp combined for 3x7 with 0K:1BB. Stassi, who is hitting .378/.429/.644 against lefties this season:
I felt like I always had that kind of power, it just never would show up routinely, because my swing - I didn't make enough contact for it to actually show up. Finally now, I like where my swing's at and I have a chance to do that, show the power that I have.
*Jake Marisnick was 0x2 with 2Ks. That's 58 strikeouts in 122 PAs. In 2013 Chris Carter racked up the 4th-most strikeouts in a single season with 212. Through his first 122 PAs of the 2013 season, Chris Carter had struck out 50 times. Jake Marisnick is striking out at a faster rate than Chris Carter. Or let's look at single-season strikeout leader Mark Reynolds: He K'd 223 times in 2009. Through his first 122 PAs Reynolds had struck out 40 times. Obviously that K-rate increased as the season went on, but dear God.
Find yourself an employer who believes in you as much as A.J. Hinch believes in Jake Marisnick.
*Hinch said Correa may be available today and the Astros are "very confident" he'll play after tomorrow's off-day.
*Dallas Keuchel gets the start today in the four-game finale and, after reviewing video, Keuchel walked back his pitch-tipping theory. Hinch:
I don't know if there's anything specifically with Dallas, but if it's a concern of his we'll need to look into and further study, to see if there's a reality behind it.
*The Astros and 1-28 Seth Beer agreed to terms, and he'll be in Houston to sign his contract on Tuesday. Beer:
I'm excited to get out to Houston and see what's going on in the town. I've never been to Texas before but I'm really excited to make the journey out there.
*Oklahoma City scored the last three runs of the game to beat Fresno 4-2. Trent Thornton threw 7IP, 8H/3ER, 5K:1BB. A.J. Reed was 3x4 with his 13th home run of the season.
*Randy Cesar Watch: 1x5 night extends his hitting streak to 31 games.
*Buies Creek beat Down East 6-1, holding the Rangers' High-A affiliate to three hits. Jake Adams (6th Round - 2017) hit a pair of two-run home runs for his first two hits at High-A. Brandon Bielak threw 5IP, 2H/0ER, 5K:1BB.
*Quad Cities allowed five Peoria runs in the bottom of the 8th but still won 7-5. Patrick Sandoval threw 5IP, 3H/0ER, 7K:0BB. Cody Bohanek was 2x4 with a home run and 3RBI; Bryan De La Cruz was 3x5 with 2RBI.
*Interesting report in FRS that the Astros and Marlins almost had a deal to trade Mike F. Fiers to Miami at the 2016 deadline, but Giancarlo Stanton nixed it.
*This online betting site has the Lakers at +200 and Rockets at +220 to land Lebron.
*The USMNT's 1-1 draw against France shows hope for the future.
*Oklahoma City scored the last three runs of the game to beat Fresno 4-2. Trent Thornton threw 7IP, 8H/3ER, 5K:1BB. A.J. Reed was 3x4 with his 13th home run of the season.
*Randy Cesar Watch: 1x5 night extends his hitting streak to 31 games.
*Buies Creek beat Down East 6-1, holding the Rangers' High-A affiliate to three hits. Jake Adams (6th Round - 2017) hit a pair of two-run home runs for his first two hits at High-A. Brandon Bielak threw 5IP, 2H/0ER, 5K:1BB.
*Quad Cities allowed five Peoria runs in the bottom of the 8th but still won 7-5. Patrick Sandoval threw 5IP, 3H/0ER, 7K:0BB. Cody Bohanek was 2x4 with a home run and 3RBI; Bryan De La Cruz was 3x5 with 2RBI.
*Interesting report in FRS that the Astros and Marlins almost had a deal to trade Mike F. Fiers to Miami at the 2016 deadline, but Giancarlo Stanton nixed it.
Justin Verlander (Slider) winner by KO over Rougned Odor. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/YdPkmnR79o— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 9, 2018
*This online betting site has the Lakers at +200 and Rockets at +220 to land Lebron.
*The USMNT's 1-1 draw against France shows hope for the future.
