Houston Astros Weekly Recap: Thank you George Springer
Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
It was Buzz, your girlfriend Astros baseball. Woof. There is no sugar coating the last week, it was a tough one. But we will all remember that this is the week that we saw George Springer play Major League Baseball for the first time. That’s enough, right?
Results
O-fer. Goose egg. Winless. I figure if I get all of the clever ways to say “bad week” out now, then there won’t be any pressure in future winless weeks to be different. Defeated. I guess you can’t win them all.
The Astros played 6 games last week, losing all of them. 0-6. They were swept in back-to-back series against the Royals and Athletics. This brings their season record to 5-14, good for last in the AL West. They started their week with a game to honor the great Jackie Robinson in which Lucas Harrell was only kind of bad. Unfortunately for Harrell, he had been pretty bad for the previous 14 months, and he was designated for assignment after the game. This likely means the end of the road for Harrell with Houston; he gave up 13 runs in 12.1 innings this year for the Astros.
Dallas Keuchel started George Springer day, going 6 IP, giving up 2 ER, and striking out 5, but the Astros lost 6-4 in 12 innings. Scott Feldman, in his first start after his father’s funeral, went 6 IP allowing 4 ER, unfortunately the Astros offense could only score 1 run in support.
In the first game against the A’s, Jarred Cosart walked 4, allowed 7 runs and only recorded 1 out before being removed from the game. The A’s held on to win the game 11-3. Brett Oberholtzer allowed only 1 ER in 5.2 innings in the second game of the series. The Astros led the game 3-1 going into the bottom of the 9th with Qualls taking the mound for the save. Qualls was hit hard in the inning giving up 3 runs on a HR by former Astro, Jed Lowrie, and hard hit line drives by Yeonis Cespedis, Alberto Callaspo, and Josh Reddick, blowing the save.
Yesterday Brad Peacock, in his first start of the season, allowed 2 ER over 5 IP, then handing off to Jerome Williams, who piggybacked the next 3, allowing 2 ER, but the Astros bats only provided 1 run in support, so Peacock collected his second loss of the season.
MVP of the Week
I’m not going to lie to you, there aren’t a lot of deserving candidates for this week’s
Scott Feldman Award
MVP . I want to give it to George Springer, but Dallas Keuchel was robbed of a win this week, and he deserves something to show for his outing. While his outing was good, allowing 2 ER over 6 IP, striking out 5. On the season, Keuchel stands at 1-0, with a 3.50 ERA. He has averaged 8 strike outs and only 2.5 walks per 9 innings. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your MVP of the week. It may be another long season.
Reason for Excitement
You’re excited, I’m excited, we’re all excited about George Springer. There’s no hiding it. Even the hashtag #GeorgeSpringerDay got some run on Wednesday. To cap it off, Springer has recorded a hit in every one of his first 5 games while providing some highlight reel defensive moments in RF.
He hasn’t walked much, has struck out a lot, and hasn’t hit for any power, but it’s been a week. We aren’t going to nitpick when a top prospect comes up and starts his career with a 5-game hitting streak. He’s an incredible athlete and is a lot of fun to watch play, assuming you are one of the lucky few that has CSNHouston.
Reason for Sadness
There are so many things. 7 of our players are currently sitting below the Mendoza Line. Chris Carter‘s continued offensive woes and shaming of the most awesome nickname in baseball. Our bullpen, otherwise known as The Shining Light Upon Which We Dedicated Many Dollars, seems incapable of securing the few leads they are given.
Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
No, this week we are going with Jarred Cosart’s rough outing. He gave up 7 ER and only recorded 1 out. Perhaps worse than the runs he gave up, he walked 4. Cosart’s stuff is electric, but he’s struggled with his command in the past. If he isn’t able to cut down on his walks, he’ll eventually get pushed into the bullpen in a late-inning role, drastically cutting his value to the team.
Numbers
16 – Number of errors charged to Jonathan Villar in 2013
22 – Number of errors charged to Starlin Castro and Alexei Ramirez, the most in the league in 2013
158 – Number of games played by Alexei Ramirez in 2013
159 – Number of games played by Starlin Castro in 2013
58 – Number of games played by Jonathan Villar in 2013
0 – Number of errors chaged to Jonathan Villar in 2014
Keep Your Eye On
George Springer, duh. But also see how the Astros pitching staff handles Jed Lowrie when the A’s come to Houston next week. The former Astro exchanged some words with Porter after he bunted in the first inning of 7-0 game. Afterwards Porter threw a hissyfit in the dugout. In my opinion, the Astros were very wrong in this situation, I just hope they don’t exacerbate a touchy situation at home this week.
Hit me up on Twitter if you have any questions that you want addressed in the weekly recap, and as always, Happy Astrosing.
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