“F*** this team.”— Thickie Don (@AstrosCounty) February 13, 2019
-Someone on here, when the Astros lose to Oakland to drop their record to 39-20
Close enough. Houston has won 18 of their last 23 games.
*We'll start with Verlander, who threw a season-high 114 pitches. It's the most pitches he has thrown since June 19, 2018, when he threw 122 pitches against the Rays. Verlander threw 8IP, 4H/1ER, 8K:2BB, his 3rd start of the season with 8IP and his 7th in an Astros uniform.
Verlander has made 381 career starts and has gotten 24 outs in 80 of them. With the Astros up 3-1 and Matt Olson at the plate with two men on, Hinch visited Verlander. Verlander:
He asked me if I have enough in the tank and I said, 'I've got plenty. I'm good to go." He said, 'All right, it's your game. You've got this guy. This is your last hitter. Go get him.
*Strikeouts! Verlander's eight strikeouts give him 2,809 and moved him past Denton True (Cy) Young for 21st on the all-time list. Next up:
20. Mike Mussina (2813)
19. Mickey Lolich (2832)
18. Jim Bunning (2855)
Verlander:
It's pretty humbling. Sometimes when you're playing this game, it's got the unique ability to really kind of put things in perspective for you and as much as you try to just keep your head down and just keep pitching and not pay attention to whatever's going on, any time Cy Young pops up on your radar and you're associated with him, it's pretty special.
*Justin Verlander and the finisher mentality.
In 13 starts this year, the @astros' Justin Verlander is holding opponents to a .150 batting average.— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) June 2, 2019
That's the 2nd-lowest opponent BA by any pitcher over his first 13 starts of a season in the live-ball era (minimum 50 IP), behind only Sam McDowell in 1966 (.150).#TakeItBack
*Myles Straw laid out for a catch with a probability of 5%.
*The Astros got three extra-base hits: home runs from Reddick and Chirinos, and a double from Marisnick. It's the 2nd time this season the Astros got three or fewer extra-base hits and still won. The first time was April 16 against...Oakland.
*Michael Brantley was 2x3 with a walk. He has a five-game hitting streak in which he's 8x16 with 0K:4BB. Among 167 qualified batters, Brantley's 8.7% K-rate is the 5th-lowest in baseball, only worse than three Angels (?!) and Yadier Molina. It's his 4th streak of at least five games without a strikeout this season.
*Josh Reddick homered again! It's his 6th home run of the year and the third this season at Oakland. Five of his six home runs in 2019 have come on the road. His home run put the Astros up 2-1, his first go-ahead homer of the year.
*Robinson Chirinos hit his first home run since May 13. It's his 7th multi-hit game of the season.
*Yuli Gurriel stole the 10th base of his career, 1st of the season. His last SB came on August 18, 2018...at Oakland.
*None of the Meat Wagon guys (Altuve, Springer, Correa, Diaz) are with the team on the road trip. Hinch:
We've got to push the gas pedal eventually.
*Wade Miley to Alex Bregman:
Be ready over there, pal. Wear a cup.
*Garrett Stubbs will catch Gerrit Cole for the 1st time today.
*Round Rock walked it off against Iowa with a 2-1 win in 10 innings.
*Fayetteville beat Wilmington 2-1. Brett Conine: 6IP, 6H/0ER, 12K:1BB.
Conine (11th Round - 2018) this season: 52.1IP, 35H/10ER, 72K:8BB. He has 32K in 19.1IP with Fayetteville this season.
*Joey Gallo is likely headed to the IL.
*The Seattle Mariners, who crowned themselves Early April Champions when they were 13-2, are in "deep sell mode." Since the Mariners went 13-2 to open the season, they've gone 12-34. You hate to see it.
*27 years ago yesterday the Astros drafted Phil Nevin. Some schlub named Derek Jeter fell to the Yankees with the sixth pick. A long time ago I did a deep dive into the 1992 Draft.
*How an insane demand for truffles is leading to sabotage, fraud, and death.
*Wired: Meet the carousing, harmonica-playing Texan who won a Nobel Prize for his cancer breakthrough.
*A Musical Selection:
