Houston Astros: Week 6 Round Up – Peach Sweeping and Bronx Bashing!
Winning 6 of their last 7 games, the Houston Astros continue to roll with the best record in all of Major League Baseball!
The Houston Astros now head into Week 7 of the regular season. To say they have been playing well lately would be a gross disservice. Especially, after a sweep of the Atlanta Braves and a 3 out of 4 series victory over the New York Yankees.
It is true, the series at home with the Braves was a short 2 game stint. However, it was one that proved to be beneficial for the spacemen. After roughing up Bartolo Colon in game 1, Atlanta did all it could to avoid the sweep on Wednesday afternoon.
It would end up being all for not, though. With the stacked lineup and nearly lights out bullpen that the team possesses, would any of us fans expect anything less?
The trip to the Bronx would prove to be more of a challenge. That’s because, going into Thursday, the Yankees not only lead the AL East, but also had the best winning percentage in all of baseball. An equally formidable lineup and pitching staff would certainly be no easy task.
Despite this, the Houston Astros more than answered the call!
An edging 3-2 victory on Thursday and a healthy 5-1 victory over the Bronx boys in pinstripe would give way to a rain out on Saturday from a passing storm front. But it wouldn’t dampen the spacemen’s spirits!
The Jeter Factor!
A double header on Sunday provided a nice split that led to a series victory. The team hiccuped the afternoon game 11-6 due to the bullpen struggles of both Will Harris and Chris Devinski.
Derek Jeter was honored with a number retirement ceremony before the night game. His party would end up being spoiled, as the spacemen roughed up Masahiro Tanaka for an early 9-0 lead heading into the 5th inning.
The Yankees certainly fought back, making it a 10-7 score in the bottom of the 9th. Ken Giles ended up getting the job done, however, and the Astros jetted out of the Big Apple with a comfortable 3-for-4 series victory.
Here are some other headlines from the past week:
Interleague Intermission
Before heading back home for a long 10 game home stand, the Astros head to Miami to face the Marlins for 3 games. This will be their first road series against a National League team.
And as Brian McTaggart of MLB.com so eloquently sent in a tweet just this morning, the pitching staff will have to hit. For those not familiar, this is because the DH does not exist in the National League. At least, not yet!
Because of this, the pitchers will have to hit 9th in the order. This also means that Carlos Beltran and Evan Gattis may end up seeing less playing time, if any at all. Unless by some miracle, they can get in the outfield. Or, in the case of El Oso Blanco, if he can catch a majority of these 3 games.
Bregman “Slams” the Door!
Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle wrote in a piece just last night about how Alex Bregman grew up a Yankees fan. So much so, in fact, that he even told other reporters that he wanted to wear another jersey number other than 2 out of respect to his childhood idol, Derek Jeter.
However, he could not get another jersey in time, so he wore his usual number. It would prove beneficial, as Bregman hit his first homer of the year, a grand slam off of Tanaka. The towering drive to left center field also got him the silent treatment in the dugout.
But Bregman had the last laugh, as various video shows the third baseman rubbing his jersey number 2 for good luck. It certainly proved to be in that game, and on Mother’s Day of all days!
Next: The Passionate Resurgence of Carlos Correa
A Scare for BMac!
Brian McCann caught the second game of the doubleheader that evening. In doing so, he also had a scare when a foul ball hit off of Aaron Judge in the 4th inning shook him up.
Video shows, however, that BMac ended up staying in the game. Between that and another foul hitting his foot later on, Hinch may want to be cautious and let Evan Gattis catch tonight. The decision on that remains to be seen.
GO HOUSTON ASTROS!!!!