*Hinch:
We couldn't keep them in the yard. They did a good job of getting pitches to hit and doing damage. We put a lot of pressure on them early. They didn't put a lot of pressure on us but they delivered with homers.
*Collin McHugh did fine, except for three pitches which ended up over the fence. 5.2IP, 4H/3ER, 9K:2BB.
Collin McHugh, 2018: 6HR allowed in 72.1IP
Collin McHugh, 2019: 6HR allowed in 32.0IP.
McHugh:
The results speak for themselves. You give up homers, it's hard to win games...It's really frustrating because they were all after innings we put up some runs. Those shutdown innings are really important as a pitcher, especially a starting pitcher, to try to throw up another zero and let our guys bang like they've been doing all season.
*Josh James gave up a 2-run home run that turned a 4-3 Cleveland Spiders lead into a 6-3 lead. So far in 2019 he has thrown 13.2IP, 12H/12ER, 20K:9BB, 4HR, for a 7.90 ERA / 1.54 WHIP. In April he has thrown 10.2IP, 11H/12ER, 15K:8BB for a 10.13 ERA / 1.78 WHIP. Don't really need to see any more of Josh James for a while. Maybe let him explore north Austin.
Here's Chandler Rome on what James' struggles mean for the bullpen.
*The Astros were 2x9 w/RISP and left eleven men on base.
Opportunities last night:
Bottom 1st: Bregman on 3rd, Brantley on 2nd, 2 out. Correa strikeout.
Bottom 2nd: Bases loaded, 2 out. Brantley groundout.
Bottom 4th: Springer on 3rd, Altuve on 1st, 1 out. Bregman strikeout, Brantley flyout.
Bottom 7th: Brantley on 3rd, Correa on 1st, 2 out. Reddick lineout.
Astros with the bases empty, 2019: .301 (1st in MLB, next-best is Atlanta, at .281)
Astros w/RISP, 2019: .240 (21st in MLB)
*Jose Altuve was 0x2 but drew three walks in a game for the 6th time in his career. He did twice in four days, on June 23 and June 26, 2018.
*A.J. Hinch remains committed to aggressive baserunning, despite so-so results. Hinch:
Results have been just OK. We've made a lot of outs on the bases. I think the mindset to be aggressive has been really good. I'm happy with that. We can flip that with a couple of good results that would make everybody feel a little bit better about it.
Houston is tied for 2nd-most in MLB with nine caught stealing.
*Ken Rosenthal asks if free agency has passed Scott Boras by.
*USA Today's Bob Nightengale decided to take up the cause of the afflicted Addison Russell, and whether or not he deserves a second (Ed. Note: Third) chance. Might I remind you of this statement, from Addison Russell's ex-wife:
He slammed me into concrete...like, football tackled me. His friend was there and Carlie was there and they watched it. I was down, he was on top of me, yelling in my ear, saying, 'You like doing this to me. You push my buttons. Do you like it when I get like this? Do you like doing this? You like pushing me to the point where I have to act like this.
Bob Nightengale's puff piece can go to hell.
*Someone once told me to write what you like to read. I have 500 pages of notes for an eventual book about Andrew Jackson's 1833 tour of New England so, as a fan of the Bizarre Non-Fiction genre, I'm looking forward to reading this book.
*Esquire: The Inside Story of JFK Jr's George Magazine.
*You're (I'm) not getting enough sleep, and it's killing you (me).
*A Musical Selection:
