HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros continue their 4-game series here in Toronto tonight with RHP Hunter Brown (5-2) taking on Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (4-2)…tonight will be Brown’s 1st career app. vs. the Blue Jays…the Astros defeated Gausman earlier this season at Minute Maid Park by a 9-2 final on 4/17, tallying 7 runs off him in his 4.2 innings of work…both Corey Julks (solo) and Jake Meyers (3-run) homered off Gausman.
GRINDERS: Tonight is the 12th day in a streak of 17 consecutive days with a game for the Astros, with Houston going 8-3 thus far in that stretch…prior to this streak, the most days the Astros had played in a row was seven, a streak that opened the season from March 30-April 5.
BROTHER BROWN: Among MLB rookie pitchers, RHP Hunter Brown (5-2, 3.61) ranks 1st in ERA (3.61), strikeouts (74) and innings (62.1 IP) and T-1st in wins (5)…Brown has tallied 8-or-more K’s in each of his last 4 starts, becoming the 1st Astros rookie to do so since RHP Roy Oswalt did it in 6 cons. starts from 8/14-9/9 of 2001…First Impressions: Brown was stellar as a Sept. call-up in 2022, going 2-0 in 7 apps. (2 GS) with an 0.89 ERA…he also hurled 3.2 scoreless inn. in 3 postseason apps.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP: The Astros tallied a season-high 19 hits en route to an 11-4 win over the Jays last night at Rogers Centre…RHP Brandon Bielak (3-2) earned the win, allowing 3 ER in 6.2 innings of work…HOU erupted for 6 runs in the 1st inning, with the key blow being the 1st career grand slam by Corey Julks…additionally, both Yainer Diaz (4×5) and Jake Meyers (4×5, HR) had 4-hit games…Yordan Alvarez (2×4, HR) and Kyle Tucker (3×5, HR) also contributed.
FOUR!: Last night, Yainer Diaz (4×5) and Jake Meyers (4×5) were the first set of Astros teammates to tally 4 hits in the same game since three Astros turned the trick in a 21-5 win over the White Sox on 8/18/22 in Chicago…Alex Bregman (4×4), Kyle Tucker (4×6) and Christian Vazquez (4×6) each had 4-hit games in that victory.
VS. THE JAYS: The Astros are 3-1 vs. the Blue Jays thus far this season, taking 2 of 3 in Houston in April…Familiar Faces: Two members on the Jays roster have ties to the Astros…OF George Springer played his first seven years (2014-20) in an Astros uniform while IF Cavan Biggio is the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.
HOT CORNER HEATER: 3B Alex Bregman has hit safely in 12 straight games at .400 (18×45) with 2 HR, 13 RBI and 6 BB, while posting a 1.048 OPS (.471 OBP/.578 SLG)…since 5/8, he is hitting .330 (33×100) in 26 games with 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 21 RBI and 11 BB, raising his avg. from .195 to .254 in that span.
MR. CLUTCH: LF Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in RBI with 53 in just 54 games played…he has been at his best in the big moments in his career, especially this season…he’s hitting .422 (19×45) with RISP, .500 (10×20) with RISP and two outs, .600 (6×10) with the bases loaded, and .370 (10×27) in close and late situations.
MLB RBI Leaders
- Y. Alvarez – 53 3. R. Devers – 49
- A. Garcia – 51
TEXAS STRONG: Over the past month or so, the Astros and Rangers have been the two best teams in baseball…since May 9, the Astros are an MLB-best 19-6, while the Rangers are 2nd-best at 18-7…with an overall record of 36-24, the Astros would be in first place in four of the six MLB divisions.
Best Win Pct. Since May 9 – MLB
- Houston: 19-6 (.760)
- Texas: 18-7 (.720)
- NY Yankees: 17-8 (.680)
VS. THE BEST: The Astros are 19-13 (.594) vs. teams that are currently at .500 or above…the Astros have played 5 of the 6 clubs currently in first place in their respective divisions, going a combined 10-8 vs. those teams.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Astros are 18-10 (.643) on the road this season, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind ATL and BAL, both of whom are 20-10 (.667)…since 2021, the Astros are a combined 113-77 (.595) on the road, which is tops in the AL.
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.23) and have allowed the fewest runs (213) in the Majors…the Astros starters rank third in Majors in ERA (3.22) and have allowed one-or-fewer earned runs in 11 of their last 17 games…also, the Astros bullpen ranks third in the Majors in ERA (3.26).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB
- Houston: 3.23 1. Houston: 213
- Minnesota: 3.42 2. Minnesota: 222
- Texas: 3.62 3. Texas: 227
HECTOR’S HOT STREAK: RHP Hector Neris has not allowed a run in his last 16.2 innings of work, which is the longest scoreless streak of his career and is the 2nd-longest active streak in the Majors…the streak, which spans 19 apps., also is the longest by an Astro this season.
SECOND TO NONE:SS Jeremy Peña has hit second in 10 consecutive games, with the Astros going 7-3 in those games, and has hit second 15 times overall in 2023 (9-6)…over the last two years, including the postseason, the Astros are 62-15 when he hits second…Peña is hitting .328 (19×58) with five homers and a 1.064 OPS in his 15 games hitting second this season.
ON THE LEADERBOARD: In addition to leading the Majors in RBI with 53, Yordan Alvarez also ranks 2nd in the AL in HR (16) and SLG (.582) and 3rd in OPS (.973)…Alex Bregman ranks 2nd in the AL in walk/strikeout ratio (1.21), 3rd in PA/SO (9.46) and 4th in walks (34)…
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP HUNTER BROWN
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: 5-2 3.61 11 11 62.1 57 29 25 20 74
CAREER: 7-2 2.94 18 13 82.2 72 31 27 27 96
VS. TOR W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
LAST START – 5/31 VS. MIN: struck out 8 batters through 4.2 IP but allowed a career-high 5 runs to go with 6 hits and 2 walks…was just the 2nd losing decision of his young career… his 102 pitches were the most in a start in his career and was the 1st start in his career he exceeded 100 pitches.
STREAKING: has 8+ K’s in each of his last 4 starts…the last Astros rookie to strike out 8+ batters in 4 consecutive starts was RHP Roy Oswalt, who did so in 6 straight games from Aug. 14-Sept. 9 in 2001…Brown owns 1 of 30 all-time streaks from Astros pitchers of 4+ starts with 8+ strikeouts, with LHP Framber Valdez the last to do so at 4 games from Aug. 4-Sept. 12 in 2002…the last Astros pitcher to strike out 8+ batters in 5 straight starts was a 6-game streak from RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (7/2/21-8/3/21).
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: among MLB rookies, he ranks 1st in strikeouts (75), innings (62.1 IP), and ERA (3.64), and is T-1st in wins (5).
DIESEL: is averaging 92.0 mph with his slider, which is the hardest slider among all MLB pitchers, ahead of MIA RHP Sandy Alcantara (89.5 mph) and TOR LHP Yusei Kikuchi (89.5 mph).
HISTORIC START: his 2.94 career ERA is tied with RHP Jared Cosart for the lowest ERA through an Astros pitcher’s first 18 career apps. (min. 80 IP)…Cosart’s first 18 career appearances came during the 2002-03 seasons.
- his 96 career strikeouts are the 3rd-most by an Astros pitcher through their first 18 career appearances, trailing RHP Tom Griffin (123 SO, 108.2 IP) and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (102 SO, 101.2 IP).
- started his career 5-0 through his first 12 games (7 starts)…per Elias, was 1st Astros pitcher to win their first 5 decisions since RHP Josh James won his first 7 decisions from 2018-19.
AMONG THE BEST: According to WAR produced by STATS, Brown has been the most valuable rookie in the AL this season with a 1.9 WAR…he edges out TEX 3B Josh Jung (1.8) and OAK 1B Ryan Noda (1.6) in that category…the Astros have had a top five finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting in four straight seasons: SS Jeremy Peña (5th in 2022), RHP Luis Garcia (2nd in 2021), RHP Cristian Javier (3rd in 2020) and LF Yordan Alvarez (1st in 2019).
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE: opponents are hitting .228 (15×73) against his curveball this season, which makes up 29% of his pitches this season.
SOLID STREAK: made back-to-back starts on April 9 and April 15 in which he recorded at least 7.0 IP without allowing an ER…the last Astros pitcher to do so was LHP Scott Kazmir, who made 2 such starts in a row in 2015 (7/24/15-7/30/15). VS. TOR: will face the Blue Jays for the 1st time in his career…will be the 6th time this season he’s pitched in an opposing ballpark for the 1st time in his career…has gone 3-0 with
4.08 ERA (13ER/28.2) in the previous 5 such starts this year.
ABOUT BROWN: rookie right-hander entered the season as the top prospect in the Astros system and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball…was ranked as the No. 28 prospect in baseball in Baseball America’s preseason top 100 rankings…was also rated as the No. 8 RHP prospect in MLB Pipeline’s preseason positional prospect rankings.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays allowed a season-high 19 hits as they took an 11-4 loss to the Astros last night…Have a -7 run differential on four occasions this season: once vs. Tampa Bay and now three times vs. Houston. Toronto had its four-game winning streak snapped…Has still won six of its last eight games and seven of its last 10 contests.
THE CAPTAIN CRANKS: Alejandro Kirk got Toronto on the board with a solo shot to center field in the 2nd inning last night…Marked his 3rd home run of the season, all coming at Rogers Centre…Over his last 16 games, has batted .333 (18- for-54) with two doubles, a homer, and five RBI (.783 OPS).
HITTING IT A DAUL-TON: Daulton Varsho reached double-digit home runs for the year as he homered to lead off the 8th last night… Also picked up a single in the 4th, part of a 2-for-4 night, his 13th multi-hit effort of the year…Extended his hitting streak career-high-tying nine games (3rd time), now 10-for-34 (.294) with a double, three homers, and five RBI over that span (.922 OPS).
VLAD TO THE BONE: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up his 14th double while driving in his 38th RBI in the 7th inning last night…Has gone 9-for-28 (.321) with three extra-base hits, four RBI, and a 3BB/2K ratio across his last seven games (.887 OPS)…His 66 hits are tied for 5th most in the AL…Has now recorded an MLB-leading 110 hardhit balls (95+ MPH) this season, moving ahead of Ronald Acuña Jr. (109).
MULTI-TALENTED: Bo Bichette also singled twice and drove in a run as he finished 2-for-3 last night…Marked his MLB-best 26th multi-hit game 2nd: Luis Arraez/Freddie Freeman – 25)…Leads all MLB hitters with 87 hits (2nd: Arraez – 83). The 25-year-old also leads the Majors with 136 total bases, surpassing Freeman (135) for the most… His .333 batting average ranks 1st in the AL (trailing only Arraez’s .399 for the best in MLB) while he is currently 4th in OPS (.888), 5th in SLG (.521), T-8th in home runs (12), T-8th in RBI, and 11th in OBP (.367)… His 101 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) trail only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 110 for the most in the AL.
JUST GO WHIT IT: Whit Merrifield singled and was hit by a pitch as part of a 1-for-3 evening…Over his last 17 games, is hitting .383 (23-for-60) with three doubles, a homer, seven RBI, and four walks (.431 OBP, .914 OPS)…Now holds a .299 batting average for the season, good for 8th among AL hitters.
KK MAKES ANOTHER ELECTRIC PLAY: Kevin Kiermaier singled, doubled, and drew a walk while scoring twice last night…The double was his 10th of the season and 150th of his career…Has recorded 43 hits while batting 9th, the most in the Majors (2nd: Ezequiel Tovar – 35). Yesterday, MLB announced that the center fielder has claimed Play of the Week for his catch to take extra bases away from Andruw Monasterio on June 1 vs. MIL…Marked his 3rd career nod, all coming this season with the Blue Jays…Is the 4th player to win three Play of the Week Awards in a single season, joining Byron Buxton (2022), Lorenzo Cain (2019), and Riley Greene (2022)…Toronto players have now claimed eight such awards, the most by any team since the inception of the award in 2019 (2nd: MIL – 7).
HOME WORK: The Blue Jays are on a seven-day, seven-game homestand (0-1 so far)…Have gone 15-11 this season at Rogers Centre…The .577 win% at home is 5th best in the AL…After these four games with the Astros, will welcome in the Twins (31-29) for three contests over the weekend. Toronto batters rank 3rd in the AL in home AVG (.266), while also 4th in home OBP (.335), 7th in home OPS (.735), and 10th in home SLG (.400)…The pitching staff ranks 1st among AL teams a .214 home opponents’ average while sitting 2nd with a 3.40 home ERA and 5th with a 1.19 home WHIP.
KEEPING IT 100: Kevin Gausman gets the ball tonight, coming off 6.2 scoreless innings on June 1 vs. MIL in which he racked up 11 strikeouts…His five games with double-digit punchouts are the most in the Majors…Sits at an AL-best 100 strikeouts (2nd: Shohei Ohtani – 6)… Reached the century strikeout mark in just 12 games, the fastest in franchise history (2nd: Roger Clemens/A.J. Burnett/Robbie Ray – 14G)…Among AL pitchers, is also 1st in FIP (2.37), 4th in SO/BB (5.56), T-5th in innings (75.0), and 8th in ERA (2.76).
AVOIDING THE DONUTS: The Blue Jays have notched 567 hits this season, behind only Texas (574) for the most in the Majors… Are currently 2nd in the AL in team AVG (.266), 4th in OBP (.334), 4th in OPS (.757), 4th in extra-base hits (188), and 5th in SLG (.424). The Blue Jays are one of two MLB teams to have scored in every game this season (also: ARI)…Have gone 79 straight games without being shut out, the longest active streak in the Majors (2nd: ARI – 61G)…Is their longest such streak since scoring in 85 consecutive games from May 19-Aug. 23, 2000.
TOUGH SCHEDDING: The Blue Jays are in the midst of playing 30 games over the course of 31 days…All opponents during this stretch are currently at .500 or better…Are 12-12 through 24 contests
VS. THE ASTROS: All-Time: 30-39
2023: 1-3 Home: 18-15
Home: 0-1 Rogers Centre: 17-13
The Blue Jays lost two of three to the Astros when the teams met in Houston in April…Went 4-2 in their six meetings with the Astros last season, taking two of three games at each ballpark.
Matt Chapman went 3-for-11 (.273) with a double and two homers in Houston in April…In 76 career meetings, has gone 65-for-276 (.236) with 19 doubles, one triple, 16 homers, and 35 RBI (.787 OPS). Whit Merrifield had a pair of hits in each of his two games in Houston earlier this year…Is now batting .308 (45-for-146) with 10 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 21 RBI for an .824 OPS across 35 career matchups.
George Springer played seven seasons for Houston and hit .270 with 137 doubles, 13 triples, 174 home runs and 458 RBI (.852 OPS)…In his nine games against them, has gone 5-for-33 (.152) with a double, three homers, three RBI, and three walks (.718 OPS)
STARTING PITCHER – Kevin Gausman, RHP #34
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 13th start of the season and his 6th at Rogers Centre…Tossed 6.2 frames of shutout ball his last time out, on 6/1 vs. MIL, scattering 5 hits and a pair of walks with 11 strikeouts…Was his 5th start with double-digit punchouts this year, more than any other Major Leaguer. His 100 strikeouts are the most ever by a Blue Jay in their first 12 outings of a season (2nd: Robbie Ray – 92 in 2021), and are the most in the AL in 2023 (2nd: Shohei Ohtani – 96K). Owns a 2.73 FIP since the start of the 2020 season, the best mark among qualified hurlers (2nd: Corbin Burnes – 2.74).
2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Improved to 3-3 on 5/26 at MIN, throwing 5.1 innings of one-run ball with 4 hits, a season-high 5 walks, and 8 strikeouts. Took a no-decision on 5/21 vs. BAL, tossing 8.0 frames of two-run ball on a season-high 115 pitches (6H, 2BB, 4K)…Matched his longest outing of the year (8.0IP on 4/12 vs. DET). Gave up 3R/2ER runs on 5/16 vs. NYY, surrendering 5 hits and 2 walks over 7.0 innings with 10 strikeouts on 102 pitches (63 strikes)…Marked his 7th quality start of the year, and his 4th with double-digit punchouts. Tossed 6.0 shutout innings on 5/10 at PHI, giving up 3 hits with no walks and 9 strikeouts…Was his 6th quality start of the year, and his 5th outing with no earned runs. Tossed 7.0 shutout innings on 4/29 vs. SEA, giving up 5 hits with a walk and a career-high 13 strikeouts…Threw a season-high 108 pitches (74 strikes) while inducing a career-high 28 swing-and-misses…Got 20 whiffs on his splitter alone, the most on a single pitch in the Majors this season, and the most on a splitter in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). Earned his 2nd win of the year on 4/23 at NYY, hurling 7.0 shutout frames with 3 hits, no walks, and a season-high-tying 11 strikeouts. Took a no-decision on 4/12 vs. DET, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits over a season-high 8.0 innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts, his most as a Blue Jay…Surrendered a solo home run to Nick Maton with one out in the 4th inning, ending his streak of 15.1 innings without allowing an earned run, the longest stretch to begin a season in franchise history (2nd: Matt Shoemaker – 14.0 IP in 2019). Picked up his 1st win of the year on 4/6 at KC, throwing 6.0 shutout frames with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts…Didn’t allowed an earned run for a 2nd straight outing to begin the season.
