HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros continue their current, 6-game road trip tonight in St. Petersburg with the 1st of a 3-game series vs. the Rays at Tropicana Field…RHP José Urquidy (1- 1) will start for the Astros vs. Rays RHP Taj Bradley (2-0)… tonight will be Urquidy’s 3rd career start/app. vs. the Rays in the regular season and his 1st since 2021…he is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA (2ER/12IP) in those 2 starts vs. TB.
VS THE RAYS: The Astros have had success vs. the Rays over the last 2 seasons, posting a 9-3 mark in that span…HOU was 5-1 vs. TB in 2022, which included a 3-game sweep at Tropicana Field, 9/19-21…the Astros have won 6 of their last 7 and 11 of their last 15 games vs. TB overall, and have won 5 of their last 6 games at Tropicana Field.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Astros came from behind for the 3rd straight game to top the Braves, 5-2, yesterday to complete a 3-game sweep at Truist Park…HOU trailed, 2-0, before rallying for 2 runs in the 8th and 3 more in the 9th to win it… key blows were a 2-run single to tie it in the 8th by Yordan Alvarez, and a pinch-RBI single by Corey Julks to give HOU a 3-2 lead in the 9th…Alex Bregman added a 2-run single to provide insurance…RHP Bryan Abreu hurled a scoreless 9th to earn his 2nd save in as many outings…starter RHP Cristian Javier was strong, tallying 10 K’s in his 6.0 IP while allowing just 1 ER on 3 hits (Javier struck out 7 consecutive Braves at one point).
500 CLUB: Alex Bregman’s 2 RBI yesterday give him 500 for his career (13th player in franchise history to reach 500 RBI).
SWEEPSTAKES: The Astros 3-game sweep of the Braves was their 1st series sweep of the season and their 1st since taking a 3-game set over the Rays at Tropicana Field, 9/19-21 of 2022…it was the Astros 1st sweep of 3 games or more vs. the Braves since 6/2-4 of 1995 at Fulton County Stadium…Late Surges: The Astros outscored the Braves, 9-0, from the 8th inning on in the three wins (all come-from-behind).
ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight is the 4th game (3-0 thus far) of a 6-game road trip in which the Astros will visit two first-place opponents in ATL (14-8) and TB (19-3), who have a combined record of 32-10 (.762)…HOU is 6-3 on the road thus far in 2023…
ROAD SUCCESS: The Astros were an AL-best 51-30 (.630) on the road last season and are 101-70 (.591) on the road since the start of the 2021 season, which also is tops in the AL.
VS. THE BEST: The Astros are 9-6 this season vs. clubs that are at .500 or above, which continues a trend of recent years…in 2022, the Astros were an AL-best 42-27 (.609) vs. opponents that were .500 or better and were 35-20 (.636) in the regular season vs. opponents that qualified for the playoffs…additionally in 2022, HOU ended up with an 11-2 (.846) mark in the 2022 postseason (3-0 vs. SEA, 4-0 vs. NYY, 4-2 vs. PHI).
FIRST-PLACE CLUB: From April 7-26, five of the six clubs that the Astros have played or will play are currently in first place in their respective divisions…those clubs have a combined record of 88-44 (.667)…HOU is 9-6 in that stretch thus far with 3 games to play…the 1st place clubs are MIN, PIT, TEX, ATL and TB…TOR is not in 1st place, but are 13-9 on the season.
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 4 straight games, 5 of their last 6, and 9 of their last 13 games, all vs. clubs with above-.500 records.
FAMILIAR PACE: Currently at 12-10, the Astros have a similar record to the 2022 and 2021 clubs after 22 games…they were 11-11 at this point in 2022 and went on to win 106 games and the WS…threy were 11-11 in 2021 and went on to win 95 games and the AL Pennant.
STREAKER: Mauricio Dubón singled in the 8th inning yesterday at ATL, extending his career-long hitting streak to 17 games… that is the longest hitting streak in the AL this season and the longest active streak in the Majors…he is 25×73 (.342) during the streak with just 4 strikeouts…Dubon has made all 18 of his starts at second base this season while filling in for the injured 2B Jose Altuve.
Longest Astros Hit Streaks – Before May 1 (source: Elias)
- Bob Watson – 19 games (4/9-27/1973)
- Mauricio Dubon – 17 games (4/2-current)
T3. Craig Biggio – 16 games (4/5-26/2000)
T3. Billy Hatcher – 16 games (4/6-23/1987)
MORE MAURICIO: Mauricio Dubón is T-1st in the AL in road batting average with a .429 clip (15×35)…he has played in 8 of the Astros 9 road games in 2023, hitting safely in all 8.
Highest AL Road Batting Avg.
T1. Mauricio Dubón: .429 (15×35)
T1. Jorge Mateo: .429 (12×28)
- Randy Arozarena: .394 (13×33)
UNDER THE RADAR: RHP Phil Maton and RHP Bryan Abreu have been outstanding in the early going this season…Maton has allowed just 2 hits and no runs in his first 9 appearances (10.2 IP) with 13 K’s…opponents are just 2×34 (.059) vs. him (RHH are 0x16, LHH are 2×18)…Abreu has tallied 19 K’s in his 12.1 IP while allowing just one run for an 0.73 ERA, also posting a .128 opponent’s batting average (5×39).
RACKIN’ UP RBI: LF Yordan Alvarez’ 27 RBI are the most ever by an Astros player in the first 22 team games of a season.
Most RBI in First 22g – Astros Franchise History
- Yordan Alvarez: 27 in 2023
- Lance Berkman: 26 in 2002 & 2006
- César Cedeño: 24 in 1974
CLEAN GETAWAYS: With yesterday’s win in ATL, the Astros have now won 16 consecutive ‘getaway day’ games, dating back to last season…their last loss on a getaway day was on 8/7/22 at CLE (1-0 loss)…’getaway day’ is defined as the final game before traveling after a homestand or during/after a road trip.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP JOSÉ URQUIDY
LAST START – 4/18 vs. TOR: had a tough outing, allowing a season-high 4 runs on 7 hits through 4.1 IP in a 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays…surrendered solo home runs to Matt Chapman and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
EXIT VELOCITY: per Baseball Savant, has held opponent’s to an 83.9 mph exit average velocity, placing him in the 95th percentile for opponent’s exit velocity…is the lowest average exit velocity amongst Astros starters, with Luis Garcia the next-closest (87.6 mph).
SPIN CYCLE: is averaging a spin rate of 2689 (revolutions/minute) with his curveball, which is the highest mark of his career…set his previous career high of 2628 in 2022.
AGAINST THE RAYS: set to make his 3rd career start against Tampa Bay and 2nd start at Tropicana Field.
• has gone 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA (2ER/12IP), including 12 strikeouts to 2 walks through his 2 starts against Tampa Bay…is his lowest ERA against an opponent in which he’s pitched at least 10 IP against…the Astros are 2-0 in games Urquidy has started against Tampa Bay.
• tossed 7.0 scoreless innings in first career appearance against the Rays on 5/1/21 at
Tampa Bay…still stands as tied for the longest scoreless outing in his career, which he
also accomplished on 6/23/21 at Baltimore.
POSTSEASON RECORD BOOKS: holds numerous postseason records of foreign-born players…leads all foreign-born players in MLB history with 3 World Series wins…has gone 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA (2ER/14.2 IP) in 5 World Series games…also just the 2nd Mexican-born player to receive a winning decision as a starter in the World Series, joining LHP Fernando Valenzuela (LAD, ‘81)
• through 12 career postseason games, has gone 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA (15 ER/36.1IP).
WITH THE ‘STROS: was originally signed by the Astros as an international free agent from Mexico on March 2, 2015…made his MLB debut on July 2, 2019 with a start at Colorado…since his debut, he ranks 5th amongst AL pitchers (min. 325 IP) by averaging 1.97 walks per 9 IP.
• is on 11 Mexican-born players to appear in a game with the Astros…his 357.1 IP in his career is the most of any Mexican-born pitcher in Astros history, directly ahead of RHP Aurelio Lopez, who pitched 116.0 innings for the Astros in the 1986-87 seasons…his 25 career wins are 2nd-most of any active Mexican-born player in MLB, trailing only Dodgers LHP Julio Urías (52)
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
SWEEPING ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON — The Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 4-1 victory on Sunday at Tropicana Field, their fifth series sweep of the season…Tampa Bay jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second frame courtesy of RF Luke Raley’s (1-for-3, HR, 2RBI, R) two-run homer and an RBI-groundout by 1B Yandy Díaz (1-for4, 2B, RBI)…DH Harold Ramírez (1-for-4, HR, RBI, R) added his fifth home run of the season in the third frame as the Rays held the White Sox scoreless over the final five innings.
Making his return from the injured list, RHP Zach Eflin (5.0IP, 3H, ER, 4SO) tossed 67 pitches over 5.0 innings of work.
RHP Yonny Chirinos (3.0IP, 2SO) retired all nine batters he faced, extending his scoreless inning streak to 18.0, the fourth-longest active streak in the majors… RHP Pete Fairbanks (1.0IP, SO) picked up his third save while extending his franchise-record scoreless inning streak to 29.0, the longest active run in the majors and longest streak by any reliever since New York-AL’s Clay Holmes (31.1IP) from 4/9-6/18, 2022, per STATS LLC. Ê Tampa Bay became the eighth team in MLB history (since 1901) to win 19 of its first 22 games, including the first since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers (also 19-3)…only the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1911 Detroit Tigers (both 20-2) have recorded more victories in their first 22 games.
RED HOT AT THE TROP — Tampa Bay has won 13 straight home games to open the season, the longest home win streak in franchise history and longest to start a season by any club since the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers (also 13 straight)…the Rays join the 2009 Dodgers as one of three teams since 1901 to win each of their first 13 home games in a season, along with the 1907 New York Giants (15G).
The 13-game home win streak is the longest in the majors since the New York Yankees’ 15-game run from 5/24-6/23, 2022…since 2012, only the 2022 Yankees and 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers (15G, 8/30-10/3, 2021) have strung together longer home win streaks within a single season.
The Rays lead the majors in several categories at home, including runs scored per game (6.77), runs allowed per game (2.77), home runs per game (2.18), batting average (.282), OPS (.891), ERA (2.36), opponents’ batting average (.170), opponents’ OPS (.516), WHIP (0.87) and pitcher strikeout rate (29.5%).
HOMER HAPPY — Tampa Bay has hit a major league-best 48 home runs, second most through a team’s first 22 games of a season in MLB history (since 1901) behind the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals (52HR)…the current record through 23 games (52HR) is also held by the 2000 Cardinals, followed by the 2019 Seattle Mariners (49HR)…in 2022, it took the Rays 47 games to reach 48 home runs on the season.
Tampa Bay has homered in each of its first 22 games, the longest streak to open a season in MLB history…marks the longest home run streak at any point in a single season since the 2019 Houston Astros (25G, 9/1-29, 2019).
The Rays have homered in 23 straight games overall dating back to 10/5/22, the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing a 21-game run from 9/20/15-4/12/16.
Tampa Bay has an MLB-best 12 players with multiple homers, ahead of San Francisco and St. Louis (10 each)…the Rays also have the most players with at least five homers (4), ahead of Los Angeles-AL and Atlanta (3 each).
RANDY LAND — Randy Arozarena has amassed 22 RBI on the season, tied for fourth most in the majors behind Texas’ Adolis García (28), Houston’s Yordan Alvarez (27) and New York-NL’s Pete Alonso (23)…marks the most RBI through a Rays hitter’s first 21 games of a season since Evan Longoria and Carlos Peña (24RBI each) in 2009.
Arozarena paces the majors in both go-ahead RBI (8) and game-winning RBI (5)… since the beginning of 2022, his 29 go-ahead RBI are tied for fifth in MLB, while his 17 game-winning RBI are tied for seventh.
This season, Arozarena ranks among qualified MLB outfielders in RBI (2nd, 22), hits (T3rd, 28), average (4th, .341), multi-hit games (T4th, 8), homers (T6th, 5), OPS (6th, .970), total bases (T7th, 46) and fWAR (8th, 1.1).
HOT HITTING HAROLD — Harold Ramírez has hit safely in nine straight games, slashing .457/.500/.743 (16-for-35) with five extra-base hits, 6 RBI and six multi-hit games in that stretch…since the streak began on 4/12, he ranks among MLB leaders (min. 35PA) in average (2nd), on-base pct. (T3rd) and OPS (4th, 1.243)…it matches the second-longest active hit streak in the majors, trailing only Houston’s Mauricio Dubón (17G)…it marks the third-longest hit streak of Ramírez’s career, trailing only a career-long 12-game run (7/15-8/26, 2022) and a 10-game stretch (5/21-30, 2019).
TURNING BACK THE CLOCK — The Rays lead the majors in runs scored (149) while surrendering the fewest runs (61)…Tampa Bay’s +88 run differential is the second-best mark through the first 22 games of a season in MLB history (since 1901), trailing only the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates (+93)…the current record since 1901 through 23 games is +88, also held by the 1902 Pirates.
Tampa Bay’s 149 runs scored are the most through 22 games in club history, ahead of the 2010 Rays (142R)…the Rays are one of 23 teams since 1901 to score 149+ runs through 22 games, and the first since the 2003 New York Yankees (153R).
The Rays’ 61 runs allowed are the fewest through 22 games in club history, ahead of the 2019 team (65R)…since 2019, only the 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers (56R) have allowed fewer runs through 22 games.
ON THE MOUND — Tampa Bay’s 2.71 ERA is the best mark in the majors ahead of New York-AL (3.06)…this includes the best starter ERA (2.54) and third-best bullpen ERA (2.91)…Rays pitchers pace the majors in opponents’ OPS (.561), opponents’ average (.192), HR/9.0IP (0.55), fewest pitches per IP (15.43) and WHIP (1.05) while trailing only Chicago-NL (86.8 mph) in lowest average exit velocity (87.3 mph).
IN THE BOX — Rays hitters lead MLB in batting average (.282), OPS (.890), on-base pct. (.355), slugging pct. (.535), hard-hit pct. (46.0%), extra-base hits (92) and total bases (402)… the Rays offense has produced the lowest groundball rate (37.6%) and the second-highest flyball rate (30.2%) behind Los Angeles-NL (32.0%).
OUT OF THIS WORLD — The Rays and Astros open their six-game season series tonight at Tropicana Field…Tampa Bay dropped five of six meetings with Houston in 2022, including all three at Tropicana Field…the three-game skid is the longest home losing streak against Houston in club history…the Rays have dropped six of seven and seven of their last 11 matchups with the Astros overall.
REWRITING HISTORY — Prior to a 6-3 loss in Toronto on 4/14, the Rays became the fourth team in MLB history to begin a season 13-0, joining the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers (13-0), 1982 Atlanta Braves (13-0) and 1884 St. Louis Maroons (20-0)…it marked the longest win streak in club history, surpassing a 12-game run from 6/9-22, 2004.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (2-0, 2.61)
TALKIN’ TAJ — Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 18 prospect in baseball (MLB.com) will make his third career start tonight vs. Houston,
including his second home outing…went 7-4 with a 2.57 ERA (133.1IP, 38ER) over 28 starts between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham in 2022…was selected by the Rays in the fifth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.
BIG LEAGUE DEBUT — Bradley earned the win in his major league debut after tossing 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts…fanned Rafael Devers in the first inning for the first strikeout of his career…became the third player to make their big league debut for the Rays this season, joining RHP Kevin Kelly on 4/1 vs. Detroit and RHP Braden Bristo on 4/13 vs. Boston.
SMOOTH SAILING — Bradley improved to 2-0 after tossing 5.1 scoreless innings on 4/18 at Cincinnati, scattering three hits and a walk with nine strikeouts. Ê Bradley’s 17 strikeouts are the most by any Rays pitcher through their first two career appearances, surpassing the previous record held by Andy Sonnanstine (6/5-10, 2007)…the franchise record for the most strikeouts through a pitcher’s first three career appearances is held by Chris Archer (25, 6/20-9/8, 2012).
According to OptaSTATS, Bradley is the first pitcher in American League history to strike out 8+ batters and earn the win in each of his first two career appearances.
ONE TO REMEMBER — Bradley’s eight strikeouts on 4/12 vs. Boston were second most by a Rays player in his major league debut in club history, trailing only Wade Davis’ nine punch outs on 9/6/09 vs. Detroit…since the beginning of 2020, only Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie (10SO, 8/22/20 vs. DET) and Washington’s Joan Adon (9SO, 10/3/21 vs. BOS) have fanned more batters in their debuts.
DEBUT DERBY — Bradley became the second of three Rays to make their major league debut in 2023, along with RHP Kevin Kelly (4/1 vs. DET) and RHP Braden Bristo (4/13 vs. BOS)…he is the first pitcher to debut with the Rays as a starter since RHP Tommy Romero, who served as an opener on 4/12/2022 vs. Oakland.
The three debuts are tied with Cleveland and San Francisco for the third most in the majors this season, trailing Milwaukee and Oakland at four apiece…in 2022, nine players made their MLB debuts with the Rays, tied for fourth most in a season in club history and most since a franchise-record 12 debuts in 2018.
