📍 Monterrey#MexicoSeries pic.twitter.com/UjSRddWKxG— Houston Astros (@astros) May 4, 2019
*Run Differential Check:
Houston (19-14): +40
Seattle (18-17): 0
Arlington (15-16): +9
Anaheim (15-18): -10
Oakland (15-20): -5
Last night's game was the first time the Astros played a team under .500 when they started the series. Houston is also now 26-13 against Anaheim since the beginning of the 2017 season. They've won 14 of their last 20 games against the Angels.
*The 14-2 win over Anaheim was the 8th time in franchise history the Astros have scored 10+ runs against the Angels. The 14 runs are a franchise high against Anaheim. It's the 3rd time Houston has hit five home runs against Anaheim.
*It's the 2nd time the Astros have hit five home runs in a game in 2019. They're now 1-1.
*Last night was the 16th time in franchise history they recorded ten extra-base hits and the first time since August 4, 2017. And the Astros still only went 4x11 w/RISP.
*Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley each had 4RBI with Bregman hitting two home runs, giving him 8HR on the year. It's Bregman's 2nd career 2HR game - he last (first?) did it on July 10, 2018 against Oakland (a game in which Kyle Tucker went 2x4 with his first career double and three runs scored). Bregman:
For me it's the second time in Mexico. I played in Lagos de Moreno when I was 15, I also have played in Colombia and Cuba. The fans have so much fun out there, the atmosphere was great, every play felt like it was the playoffs. The fans showed their love for the game. We were blessed to play in front of a crowd like that.
Hinch:
I wasn't surprised because our fans travel well and we are an easy team to like (Ed. Note: Hinch must not spend too much time on Twitter, proving he is wiser than most) I saw a lot of throwback jerseys out there, we saw fans all over the city at our hotel, everywhere, so the atmosphere was great.
To those points, Chandler Rome has the scene in Monterrey.
*A.J. Hinch now has 393 managerial wins for the Astros, breaking a tie with Art Howe for 3rd. Next up, Larry Dierker, with 435. That should happen in July.
*Yuli Gurriel had a home run and a triple in the same game for the first time in his career. Bregman, on Gurriel:
Yuli hits line drives all over the field. He's been hitting since he was a baby. This is his 17th professional season. He's a stud. We never worry about him. We know he's going to put together a good at-bat, hit the ball hard.
*George Springer is the first Astro to 10 home runs, and he stole a base - his 4th of the year!
*For the 28th time in his career Jose Altuve had a hit and two walks. The Astros are 25-3 in such games.
*Wade Miley: 6IP, 6H/2ER, 2K:2BB. Love the symmetry. In 2017 Wade Miley led the American League with 93 walks in 157.1IP. In 2019 he was nine walks in 39.1IP. The Astros are 5-2 in Miley's starts, both losses coming when Houston scored a total of two runs. He has yet to give up more than three runs in a start.
*Albert Pujols homered against the Astros for the 53rd regular season game in his career. He has 638 career home runs, 58 against the Astros.
*For the first time all season, Mike Trout did not reach base in a game.
*Verlander is pretty excited about starting today's game in Mexico.
This is a new experience for me. There aren't a lot of new experiences in this game, like completely new, for me after 14 years, so this is fun.
*The LA Times' Maria Torres writes about the Astros and Angels as ambassadors for baseball.
*Check out this young fan completely lose it when he meets Jose Altuve. ABC13 goes a little deeper into the boy's history with the Astros.
*Don't look now but Kyle Tucker was 4x5 with his 7th home run of the season last night. In his last two games he's 7x10 with 2HR and 8RBI, and is hitting .341 in his last ten games.
Kyle Tucker, 4/5-4/16: 4x42, .095/.174/.190, 1HR/3RBI
Kyle Tucker, 4/17-5/4: 18x55, .327/.351/.782, 7HR/14RBI
*Jeff Luhnow says they'll play it slow as the buzz around Yordan Alvarez grows. I know this is a crazy idea, but it'd be okay with me if the Astros didn't trade anybody and Tucker and Alvarez went on to be cornerstones of this franchise. Just me, though.
*You hate to see it: Seattle has lost six games in a row.
*Former Astros Great J.B. Shuck was DFA'd by Pittsburgh.
*NY Times: How a lone Norwegian trader shook the world's financial system. Love to think that one dude surrounded by fish in Norway can almost crater the world.
*Gregg Doyel: Take the time to thank a life-changing teacher today.
*The Telegraph: The inside story of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's extraordinary recovery.
*A Musical Selection:
The Hot Links Playlist on Spotify is now at 100 songs, if you're into that sort of thing.
