September 2010
Astros-Reds lineups for Sunday
Brett Myers (12-7, 2.85 ERA) starts for the Astros in today’s series finale against the Reds, who send left-hander Travis Wood (5-3, 3.46 ERA) to the mound. Here are the lineups:
ASTROS
CF Michael Bourn
2B Jeff Keppinger
RF Hunter Pence
1B Carlos Lee
LF Jason Michaels
3B Chris Johnson
SS Tommy Manzella
C Humberto Quintero
RHP Brett Myers
REDS
2B Brandon Phillips
CF Drew Stubbs
1B Joey Votto
3B Scott Rolen
LF Jonny Gomes
RF Jay Bruce
C Ramon Hernandez
SS Paul Janish
LHP Travis Wood
Astros name Minor League Players of Month for August
The Astros’ player development department has named the following Players of the Month for August:
Triple-A Round Rock: RHP Roy Corcoran posted a 1-1 record with one save and a 2.13 ERA in nine games in August to earn Round Rock Pitcher of the Month honors. OF Drew Locke was named Offensive Player of the Month for the third consecutive month after hitting .303 with 14 extra-base hits, including nine doubles, and 18 RBIs in 27 August games. IF Edwin Maysonet received Round Rock’s Defensive Player of the Month honors after playing in 24 games with the Express last month. For the season, he has posted a .989 fielding percentage in 85 games.
Double-A Corpus Christi: After posting a 2.39 seven games, four starts, in August, RHP Erick Abreu was named Pitcher of the Month for the Hooks. OF J.D. Martinez was named Offensive Player of the Month after hitting .324 with a .378 on-base percentage and 17 RBIs. IF Michael Affronti earned Defensive Player of the Month honors for the second straight month and owns a .972 fielding percentage during his time with the Hooks in 2010.
Class A Advanced Lancaster: JetHawks Pitcher of the Month RHP Kyle Godfrey owned a 1-0 record and a 1.31 ERA in 10 relief appearances in August. OF Brian Pellegrini hit .260 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs to win Lancaster’s Offensive Player of the Month award. The Defensive Player of the Month was IF Andrew Simunic, who has posted a .955 fielding percentage while splitting time at third base and the outfield this year.
Class A Lexington: Pitcher of the Month RHP Jose Cisnero finished 2-1 in August with a 3.31 ERA in six starts for Lexington. OF Jacob Goebbert was named Offensive Player of the Month after hitting .390 with a .453 on-base percentage and 27 RBIs in 27 games. IF Jonathan Meyer received Defensive Player of the Month honors and owns a .914 fielding percentage in 119 games as Lexington’s third baseman in 2010.
Short-Season A Tri-City: After posting a 2-0 record in six games, five starts, with a 1.19 ERA (4ER/30.1IP) in August, RHP David Martinez was named Pitcher of the Month for the ValleyCats. IF Ben Orloff was named Offensive Player of the Month after hitting .278 with 13 steals, a .397 on-base percentage and 22 runs scored as the ValleyCats leadoff man. OF Daniel Adamson earned Defensive Player of the Month honors and owns a .969 fielding percentage this season.
Rookie Greeneville: Astros Pitcher of the Month LHP Garrett Bullock owned a 1-1 record and a 0.86 ERA in eight games in relief for Greeneville in August. OF Telvin Nash hit .277 with six doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs to earn the Offensive Player of the Month award. The Defensive Player of the Month was IF Hector Rodriguez, who owns a .952 fielding percentage while playing shortstop and third base this season.
Rookie Gulf Coast League: RHP Matison Smith posted a 1-2 record and a 1.88 ERA in nine relief appearances in August to earn GCL Astros Pitcher of the Month honors. OF Jordan Scott was named Offensive Player of the Month after hitting .382 with 4 doubles and a .440 on-base percentage in 20 August games. IF Joshua Magee received Astros’ Defensive Player of the Month honors after playing in 42 games with the GCL club this season.
Rookie Dominican Summer League: RHP Luis Alayon posted a 2-0 record and a 1.89 ERA in three starts to earn Pitcher of the Month honors for the DSL Astros. The Offensive Player of the Month honor was awarded to OF Luis De La Rosa, who hit .271 with four doubles in 14 games. IF Mario Gonzalez earned the Defensive Player of the Month for the Astros after posting a .993 fielding percentage in 60 games this season.
Astros-Reds lineups for Saturday
Here are Saturday’s Astros-Reds lineup:
ASTROS
CF Michael Bourn
SS Angel Sanchez
RF Hunter Pence
LF Carlos Lee
2B Jeff Keppinger
1B Brett Wallace
3B Chris Johnson
C Jason Castro
RHP Nelson Figueroa (5-2, 3.34 ERA)
REDS
2B Brandon Phillips
SS Orlando Cabrera
1B Joey Votto
3B Scott Rolen
RF Jay Bruce
LF Jim Edmonds
CF Drew Stubbs
C Ryan Hanigan
RHP Bronson Arroyo (15-10, 4.05)
Lineups for Astros-Reds on Friday
The Astros continue their quest to finish .500 with a difficult task this weekend, taking on the first-place Reds beginning Friday night at Minute Maid Park. Johnny Cueto (12-5, 3.31 ERA) starts for the Reds against left-hander Wandy Rodriguez (11-2, 3.77 ERA), who’s 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA in his last 10 starts.
Here are the lineups:
ASTROS
CF Michael Bourn
SS Angel Sanchez
RF Hunter Pence
LF Carlos Lee
3B Chris Johnson
1B Brett Wallace
2B Matt Downs
C Jason Castro
P Wandy Rodriguez
REDS
2B Brandon Phillips
SS Orlando Cabrera
1B Joey Votto
3B Scott Rolen
LF Jonny Gomes
C Ramon Hernandez
CF Drew Stubbs
RF Willie Bloomquist
RHP Johnny Cueto
How about Brad Mills for Manager of the Year?
If you haven’t noticed or quit paying attention in late May when the Astros were 17-34 and buried in last place in the National League Central division, the local nine has put together three solid months of baseball under manager Brad Mills and could finish .500 if they go 15-8 the rest of the way. The Astros are 49-39 since June 1.
Considering the Astros have won 13 of their past 17 games and have a favorable schedule down the stretch, finishing .500 is certainly very doable. And what an accomplishment that would be for the club, especially after ditching starters Kaz Matsui and Pedro Feliz in the first half of the season and later trading franchise icons Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt at the Trade Deadline.
Had the Astros began the season 49-39, Mills would be one of the front-runners for NL Manager of the Year. Mills should probably still get some serious attention for the award. He’s taken a team that had very little to play for after two months and has performed magic with a roster full of rookies and a few veterans who have bought into his beliefs.
Carlos Lee is playing harder than he ever has in Houston, Hunter Pence is having an MVP-caliber second half and Wandy Rodriguez has been dominant in the second half as the starting pitching has been as good as anybody, even without Oswalt. Then there’s the youngsters like Brett Wallace, Jason Castro, Tommy Manzella and Chris Johnson, who continue to grow before our very eyes.
San Diego’s Bud Black, Atlanta’s Bobby Cox and Cincinnati’s Dusty Baker are the leading candidates for Manager of the Year, and rightfully so. All three have their teams in the thick of a pennant race, and Cox will certainly get plenty of sentimental votes because it’s his final year.
But the job Mills has done shouldn’t go unnoticed and has been every bit as impressive in my book. No, the Astros aren’t going to the playoffs, but the evolution of the struggling Astros in April and May to the rock-solid club you see today is a credit to Mills and his staff.
Astros preview Wednesday vs. Cubs
Brett Myers (10-7, 3.02 ERA) tries to make it 29-for-29 when he starts against the Cubs in tonight’s series finale at Wrigley Field. Myers has set a franchise record by pitching at least six innings in 28 consecutive starts and is one of 10 pitchers since 1920 to throw at least six innings in each of his first 27 games of teh season. Randy Wells (6-12, 4.56 ERA) will start for the Cubs.
Here are the lineups:
ASTROS
CF Michael Bourn
2B Jeff Keppinger
RF Hunter Pence
LF Carlos Lee
3B Chris Johnson
1B Brett Wallace
SS Tommy Manzella
C Humberto Quintero
RHP Brett Myers
CUBS
2B Blake DeWitt
SS Starlin Castro
CF Marlon Byrd
1B Xavier Nady
RF Tyler Colvin
C Geovany Soto
LF Alfonso Soriano
3B Darwin Barney
RHP Randy Wells
Pence named NL Player of the Week
Astros right-fielder Hunter Pence has been named National League Player of the Week for Aug. 30-Sept. 5.
Pence tied for the NL lead with nine RBIs during the week and ranked third with a .500 (11-for-22) batting average. In addition, the 27-year-old slugger ranked second in slugging percentage (.909), third in total bases (20) and fourth in on-base percentage (.542). Pence added two home runs, five runs scored, a double and a triple, and posted three multi-RBI contests.
Pence also hit safely in each of his six games played, and recorded multiple hits in five of the six. On Sept. 1 against the NL Central Division rival St. Louis Cardinals, Pence went 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBIs, two walks and a stolen base as he led the Astros to a 5-2 win and a three-game sweep over St. Louis.
On Sept. 5 at Arizona, the 2004 second round pick out of the University of Texas-Arlington connected for a three-run home run in the first inning and finished the game 2-for-4 in Houston’s 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks. The 2009 NL All-Star is batting .290 with 22 home runs and 80 RBIs while leading the Astros with 44 multi-hit games. This marks the second career weekly award for Pence (previous: May 14-20, 2007).
Other nominees this past week included Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez (.517, 15 H, 5 RBI); Neal Walker (.481, 5 2B, 8 R) of the Pirates; Florida’s Hanley Ramirez (.444, .600 OBP, 8 R); Adam Dunn (.471, .941 SLG, 7 RBI) of the Nationals; Atlanta’s Jair Jurrjens (2-0, 2.13 ERA, 15 SO); Pence’s Astros teammate J.A. Happ (2-0, 1.13 ERA, 11 SO); Carlos Zambrano (2-0, 1.46 ERA,15 SO) of the Cubs; and San Francisco’s Brian Wilson (1.80 ERA 4 SV).
The Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week, Pence, is awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.
Bourn second-guesses himself
Michael Bourn reached base four times in five at-bats by going 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base on Monday against the Cubs, but he was more focused on what could have been. He led off the fourth with a stand-up double to right-center, but the speedster admitted he should have been on third with a triple.
He was thrown out at the plate moments later when he tried to score on Hunter Pence‘s grounder to third. Bourn knocked over Cubs catcher Geovany Soto, cutting his lip in the process, but the catcher held onto the ball for what turned out to be a crucial out in a 5-4 losss.
“We could have scored more,” Bourn said. “I feel like I messed up on a crucial mistake. I feel like I should have been to third. It was a bad baserunning error. It happens. I tried to make up for it and go home and shouldn’t have went.
“Sometimes I’m a risk-taker, but I should have done the opposite. I should have went to third and should not have went home. I try to learn from my mistakes. We lost by one and that could have been the deciding factor.”
Bogusevic makes first start for Astros
The Astros are working on Labor Day, facing the Cubs this afternoon in the first game of a three-game series at Wrigley Field. Left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, who has a 0.98 ERA since July 25, gets the start for Houston against right-hander Casey Coleman, who’s making his fourth career start.
Former first-round pick Brian Bogusevic makes his first career start for the Astros, betting sixth and playing left field.
“It’s real exciting and I’m looking forward to getting a chance to play, and I can’t wait to get out there,” Bogusevic said.
Here are the lineups:
ASTROS
CF Michael Bourn
2B Jeff Keppinger
RF Hunter Pence
1B Carlos Lee
3B Chris Johnson
LF Brian Bogusevic
SS Matt Downs
C Jason Castro
P Wandy Rodriguez
CUBS
3B Jeff Baker
2B Blake DeWitt
CF Marlon Byrd
C Geovany Soto
1B Xavier Nady
RF Tyler Colvin
LF Alfonso Soriano
SS Darwin Barney
RHP Casey Coleman
Brian McTaggart
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