HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros, the reigning World Series champions, will play the middle game of their three-game series in Pittsburgh tonight behind RHP Cristian Javier, who’s making his third start of the young season…this series is the Astros first visit to Pittsburgh since the 2016 season, meaning since their last visit, the Astros have won two World Series championships (2017, 2022) and have played in the
ALCS on six occasions (2017-22).
LEGEND OF THE FALL CLASSIC: RHP Cristian Javier was one of the most dominant pitchers in the Majors last season, as evidenced by his .171 opponent average, 0.97 WHIP and 173 strikeouts in his 134.1 innings pitched in the regular season… he followed that up with a huge performance in the postseason, making two scoreless starts for Houston, including an incredible performance in Game 4 of the World Series…trailing 2-1 in the series, the Astros started Javier in Game 4 in Philadelphia and he proceeded to toss the first 6.0 innings of a no-hitter in the Astros 5-0 series-turning win…the Astros went on to win Games 5 and 6 to clinch their title…the Astros Game 4 no-hitter
marked just the second no-hitter in World Series history.
AT THE HELM: Astros skipper Dusty Baker is in his 26th season as a manager and his fourth at the helm in Houston…Baker, who ranks ninth all-time in managerial wins with 2,098 wins, has an outside shot of moving up to sixth all time by seasons end…en route, he’d have to surpass Joe McCarthy (8th, 2,125), Bucky Harris (7th, 2,158) and Sparky Anderson (6th 2,194). IN THE BOX: This season is the first for the Astros under General Manager Dana Brown, who was named the 14th GM in club history in January…this season is also the 12th for the Astros under Owner & Chairman Jim Crane, who purchased the club in November of 2011.
RIVALRY RENEWED: The Astros and Pirates are renewing their former NL Central rivalry this week…it’s been a minute since these two teams saw each other, with that last series falling from June 25-27, 2019, a three-game series in Houston (PIT won two of three)…only three players that played in that series are currently active for the Astros: LF Yordan Alvarez, 3B Alex Bregman and LHP Framber Valdez.
MONDAY, FUNDAY: The Astros won their second straight game last night, downing the Pirates in the series opener by a score of 8-2…the offense hammered out a season-high 13 hits, including three-hit games by LF Yordan Alvarez (3×4, 2RBI) and 2B Mauricio Dubón (3×5, RBI) and a three-RBI game by RF Kyle Tucker…the offense backed LHP Framber Valdez (2ER/7IP), who induced three double plays, en route to earning the victory.
THE FRAMCHISE: LHP Framber Valdez, a 2022 All-Star, has been one of the best pitchers in the Majors the last three-plus seasons (2020-23) as he leads the AL over that timespan in ERA (3.00), while ranking tied for second in wins (34).
AL Wins Leaders (2020-23) AL ERA Leaders (2020-23)
Gerrit Cole: 38 Framber Valdez: 3.00
Framber Valdez: 34 Dylan Cease: 3.10
Dylan Cease: 34 Gerrit Cole: 3.22
EARLY LEAGUE LEADERS:LF Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in RBI (16) and ranks seventh in the AL in OPS (1.083)…Alvarez and RF Kyle Tucker both rank tied for sixth in the AL in homers (3), while 3B Alex Bregman ranks tied for fifth in walks (8).
RACKIN’ UP RBI: LF Yordan Alvarez (16 RBI) is just the second player in club history to post 16 RBI within the team’s first 11 games, joining Derek Bell, who also drove in 16 in the Astros first 11 games of the 1998 season…over the last four seasons, only one player in the Majors each season has reached 16-plus RBI within their team’s first 11 games: 3B José Ramirez (20 RBI in 2022), DH JD Martinez (16 RBI in 2021) and OF Aaron Judge (17 RBI in 2020).
EARLY RETURNS: Per Elias, 1B José Abreu became the first player in club history to begin his Astros career with a 10-game hitting streak, which was snapped last night…Abreu’s streak still ties as the longest streak in the Majors this season and is the longest start of season streak in Abreu’s 10-year career.
MISSING PIECE: The Astros are playing without their leadoff man, 2B Jose Altuve, who suffered a right thumb fracture while playing in the World Baseball Classic…Altuve is expected to be sidelined from baseball activity for approximately two months… in his stead, the Astros have started IF Mauricio Dubón (7g) and IF David Hensley (4g) at the keystone, while SS Jeremy Peña (8g) and OF Chas McCormick (3g) have shared leadoff duties.
FILLING IN NICELY: 2B Mauricio Dubón is off to a strong start to the season, as he’s hitting .357 (10×28) in seven games, which includes an active six-game hitting streak…Dubón, who started most of his games at shortstop and center field in 2022, has made all seven of his starts at second base this season while filling in for the injured 2B Jose Altuve.
BOTTOMS UP: The six through ninth place hitters in the Astros batting order have combined to hit .371 (13×35) with seven runs scored over the club’s last two games…2B Mauricio Dubón has been the primary culprit, as he’s gone 5×9 with three runs scored and an RBI over the last two games.
SINCE THE SWITCH: On Saturday, the Astros debuted a lineup that featured CF Chas McCormick hitting leadoff and SS Jeremy Peña moving to sixth…since the switch, McCormick has hit .308 (4×13) with a double, a homer and four RBI, while Peña has mirrored him with a .308 (4×13) average, with two doubles, a homer and three RBI.
LEADOFF SPICE: CF Chas McCormick has made 13 starts hitting leadoff and 18 total appearances at the first spot in the batting order in his career…in those 18 games, he’s hitting .292 (19×65) with 11 runs, five doubles, one triple, two homers, eight RBI and an .821 OPS…on Sunday at MIN, McCormick became the Astros first leadoff hitter, other than 2B Jose Altuve and CF George Springer, to record four RBI in a single game since LF Robbie Grossman had a four-RBI game as the Astros leadoff hitter on Aug. 23, 2013 vs. TOR.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP CRISTIAN JAVIER
LAST START – 4/5 vs. DET: allowed 1 run on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts and no walks in 6.0 innings…dating back to Aug. 31, 2022 at TEX, he’s currently on a 5-game winning streak, which spans his last 8 starts…in those 8 outings, he’s recorded a 1.62 ERA (8ER/44.1IP) with 55 strikeouts, a 0.88 WHIP and a .174 opponent batting average… Houston has won each of Javier’s last 8 starts.
WITH THE ‘STROS: 26-year old Dominican hurler settled into near-full-time starter role with a career-high 25 starts in ‘22 after working as a swingman within the Astros pitching staff in his first two seasons.
• originally signed with the Astros as an international free agent from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in March 2015…signed a five-year contract onFeb. 10, 2023 that will keep him with the Astros through ‘27.
‘22 CAMPAIGN: was one of the most effective pitchers in the AL in ‘22….among pitchers with 140+ innings pitched, posted the lowest opponent batting average in the AL (.170), which was 16 points lower than 2nd-place finisher RHP Justin Verlander, who won the AL Cy Young RHP Justin Verlander (.186)… also ranked 2nd in K’s per 9.0 (11.74) and 4th in WHIP (0.95) in 2022…his 11.74 K’s per 9.0 ratio trailed only RHP Shohei Ohtani (11.87) (min. 140IP).
POSTSEASON HEROICS: delivered one of the most historic starts in MLB postseason history in Gm. 4 of the ‘22 World Series, throwing six hitless innings to begin Astros combined no-hitter in 5-0 win…also struck out nine batters to just two walks in start…was the second no-hitter in World Series history and first combined no-hitter.
• Became the 10th pitcher in W.S. history with a no-hit bid of 6+ innings and was first to do so since Jerry Koosman (NYM) (6 IP) in Gm 2 of the 1969 W.S. at BAL…was followed by RHP Bryan Abreu, RHP Rafael Montero and RHP Ryan Pressly to complete the no-hitter, with each pitcher contributing one inning.
• has recorded a 2.20 ERA (8ER/32.2IP) 14 postseason games (2 GS) in his postseason career, dating back to ‘20…it’s the 2nd-lowest ERA of any postseason pitcher (min. 30 IP) since the beginning of the ‘20 postseason, trailing only Braves RHP Ian Anderson (1.26 ERA)…has held opponents to a .127 average (14×110) in his postseason career…is the lowest postseason opponent’s batting average of any MLB pitcher (min. 30 IP) since ‘20… the Astros are 11-3 in postseason games Javier has appeared in.
‘INVISABALL’: has held opponents to a .183 average (205×1122) throughout his MLB career…it is the lowest opponent’s batting average (min. 300 IP) of any MLB pitcher since entering the league in ‘20…the next-closest player during that stretch is Guardians RHP Triston McKenzie (.195).
NO-NO: contributed seven innings to a combined no-hitter vs. the Yankees on June 25 at Yankee Stadium…it was the 14th no-hitter in Astros history and the third combined no-hitter…Javier struck out a then-career high 13 batters…it was just the 2nd no-hitter tossed against the Yankees since 1959, with the Astros also delivering the other one (2003).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: finished 3rd in the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year voting after leading all AL rookies in ERA (3.48)…marked the highest finish by an Astros rookie pitcher since Roy Oswalt finished second in the 2001 National League Rookie of the Year voting.
• was named the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2019…recorded a 1.74 ERA (22ER/113.2IP) with a career-high 170 strikeouts between three levels in the Astros system.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: will face the Pirates for the 1st time in his young career…for his career in Interleague games, he’s recorded a 4.33 ERA (21ER/43.2IP) with 56 strikeouts in 13 games (6 starts).
PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:…Lost the first game of their three-game series against the Astros Monday night…Have won each of their last two series since dropping two of three games against the Reds at Great American Ball Park to begin the season…Won a season-high four straight games from 4/3-7…Swept a three-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park from 4/3-5.
ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Mitch Keller will make his third start tonight in the middle game of this three-game series against the Astros…In his last outing Wednesday against the Red Sox, Keller matched his career high with 7.0 innings pitched (he also tossed 7.0 innings on July 11, 2022, at Miami and on September 11, 2022 vs. St. Louis) while also throwing a career-high 107 pitches (his previous high was 105 on August 30, 2022 at Milwaukee).
• Keller also threw 78 strikes, the most by a Pirates pitcher since April 24, 2015, when Gerrit Cole threw 78 of his 108 pitches for strikes at Arizona.
• Prior to his last outing, the only instances of a Pirates pitcher throwing 78-plus strikes on 107 or fewer pitches since data started being tracked in 1988 were Zach Duke on May 1, 2010, at Los Angeles (107-78), Esteban Loaiza on September 29, 1996 at Chicago (107-79), and Rick White on August 2, 1994 at Philadelphia (104-78).
COMING INTO HIS OWN: Mitch Keller recorded a 3.22 ERA from May 31 through the end of the 2022 regular season, which ranked 12th among all National League pitchers in that time according to StatsPerform… Coming into today, Keller ranks 14th in all of MLB and sixth among all National League pitchers in ERA since May 31, 2022, among pitchers with at least 130.0 innings pitched.
ON THE HOME FRONT: Mitch Keller will make his 2023 PNC Park debut tonight against the Astros…In his last five starting assignments at PNC Park last season, Keller recorded a 1.55 ERA (29.0ip/5er).
JUMP FOR CHOI: Ji Man Choi connected for his first home run as a member of the Pirates with a solo shot in the second inning last night off Framber Valdez…Prior to last night, Choi’s last homer vs. a left-handed pitcher actually came as a right-handed batter on July 26, 2020…The last time Choi homered as a left-handed batter vs. a left-handed hitter was on September 11, 2019, at Texas.
GETTING ON: Andrew McCutchen has reached base safely in eight of his first nine games and enters today ranked sixth in the National League with a .486 on-base percentage…McCutchen is also tied for sixth in the National League in walks… He enters today ranked fourth among all active players in walks with 991, trailing only Joey Votto (1338), Miguel Cabrera (1229) and Carlos Santana (1153).
DOWN ON THE FARM: Triple-A Indianapolis’ Osvaldo Bido will make his second start of the season tonight after striking out three batters in 3.0 scoreless innings in his season debut on April 6…Since the beginning of last season, Bido ranks third among all Pirates minor leaguers with 125 strikeouts…The only two pitchers in Pittsburgh’s minor league system with more punchouts since the beginning of last year are Luis Ortiz (149) and Jared Jones (148).
THE RENEGADE: David Bednar enters today tied for the Major League lead in saves with four along with Toronto’s Jordan Romano…Bednar has scattered three hits in 4.0 scoreless innings while also recording seven strikeouts in his first four appearances of this season.
PIRATING: The Pirates enter today second in the National League and tied for sixth in all of MLB with 11 stolen bases.. The only National League team with more stolen bases coming into today are the Diamondbacks (17).
MAKE THAT A DOUBLE: Andrew McCutchen enters today with 294 career doubles as a member of the Pirates, which is tied with Bill Mazeroski for the eighth-most in club history…Dave Parker ranks seventh (296).
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Saturday night Andrew McCutchen’s ninth inning home run was his first as a member of the Pirates since going deep twice on September 26, 2017, against the Orioles…McCutchen’s 94 career home runs at PNC Park are the most in the ballpark’s history…McCutchen ranks fourth in Pirates history with 204 home runs, trailing only Willie Stargell (475), Ralph Kiner (301) and Roberto Clemente (240).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – 23 – RHP MITCH KELLER
MITCH KELLER: The 27-year-old righthander will make his third start of the season this evening…Allowed one run in 7.0 innings while winning a 4-1 decision in his last start on 4/5 at Boston… Came away with a no-decision (4.2ip/4er) on Opening Day in Cincinnati in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 win.
vs. HOUSTON: Has never faced the Astros…Has gone 2-6 with a 4.20 ERA (64.1ip/30er) in 13 career starts during interleague play…Went 0-3 with a 4.68 ERA (25.0ip/13er) in five starts last season against the American League.
