NEW YORK METS NOTES:
No team release available.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Astros and Mets will play the rubber game of their three-game series today in what is the finale of the Astros nine-game homestand…the pitching matchup will feature RHP Cristian Javier for the Astros opposite RHP Tylor Megill and the Mets…Javier and Megill are facing their opponents today for the first time in their careers.
MR. CRISTIAN: RHP Cristian Javier enters today’s start riding a club-long, five-game winning streak, which spans his last seven outings…going back to Aug. 31 of last season, Javier has won 11 of his last 12 decisions, which spans his last 20 regular season starts…the Astros are 16-4 in his last 20 outings.
MEET THE METS: The Astros and Mets entered the NL together in 1962 and have gone on to play each other 579 times, with the Astros owning the all-time advantage 317-261-1…the Astros are 56 games over .500 against the Mets, their most against any opponent, while their .548 winning percentage against the Mets is their best against any NL opponent.
WELCOME BACK JV!: This series, the Astros are welcoming back future Hall of Famer RHP Justin Verlander, who received his 2022 World Series Championship ring in a pregame ceremony on Monday…while with the Astros, Verlander went 61-19 with a 2.26 ERA in 102 regular season starts, while being named to three All-Star games (2018-19, 2022) and earning two Cy Young Awards (2019, 2022)…Verlander is also the Astros all-time leader in postseason starts (18) and wins (9).
GRINDERS: The Astros are completing a streak today of playing 26 games in 27 days (since May 26), and are 12-13 within this streak…over the last several weeks, the Astros played on 17 consecutive days (May 26-June 11) and are finishing a run of playing on nine consecutive days today (June 13-21).
ABOUT THE ROAD TRIP: Following today’s game, the Astros will embark on an 11-day, 10-game homestand that will take them through Los Angeles-NL (3g), St. Louis (3g) and Texas (4g)… the Astros have posted winning records on four of their five road trips this season, compiling a 19-15 road record overall.
LAST NIGHT’S WIN: The Astros got back in the win column last night with a strong 4-2 series-tying victory over the Mets…LHP Framber Valdez (2ER/8IP) earned the win, outdueling former teammate RHP Justin Verlander (4ER/7IP), who was handed the loss…3B Alex Bregman had the big swing, a two-run homer in the 3rd, while 2B Jose Altuve (2RBI) and LF Corey Julks (2×3, 2R) also had big nights…RHP Ryan Pressly (0ER/1IP) hammered down the save with a scoreless 9th.
FRAMTASTIC: LHP Framber Valdez has been one of the top hurlers in all of baseball in 2023 and is coming off another stellar performance last night (2ER/8IP)…among AL starters, he ranks first in quality starts (12), second in ERA (2.27), tied for second in innings (99) and fifth in strikeouts (104).
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.45) and have allowed the second-fewest runs (286) in the Majors… the Astros starters rank second in Majors in ERA (3.43), while their bullpen checks in at fourth in the Majors in ERA (3.49).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB
- Houston: 3.45 1. Tampa Bay: 280
- Tampa Bay: 3.55 2. Houston: 286
- New York (AL): 3.73 3. San Diego: 287
TODAY’S RING GIVEAWAY: Today, the Astros will give away an Alex Bregman World Series Replica Ring, presented by Centerpoint, to all fans in attendance…Bregman’s replica ring is the eighth of 13 scheduled replica ring giveaways this season.
BREGMAN POWERS UP: 3B Alex Bregman connected for his 150th career homer last night, becoming the ninth player in club history to reach that plateau…shockingly, it was also Bregman’s first career homer on a 3-0 count and just his fifth career hit on a 3-0 count.
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on their sidelined players:
- LF Yordan Alvarez is expected to be sidelined for four-plus weeks with a right oblique strain…Alvarez began running on the field on Monday and throwing in the cage…the Astros are monitoring his progress this week to see when he can begin hitting activities.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) has progressed to hitting and throwing on the field during Astros BP as he continues to ramp up his baseball activities…his progress over the coming weeks will clear up the timeline for his return.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) tossed 10 pitches, all fastballs, from the bullpen mound on Sunday for the first time in his rehab process…Urquidy will throw additional bullpens and must progress to live BP before going out on a rehab assignment.
- RHP Lance McCullers Jr. underwent surgery last Tuesday to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm and remove a bone spur…McCullers will be out for the remainder of the year, but is expected to return at some point during the 2024 season.
MISSING PIECE: The Astros are without a huge piece of their lineup in OF Yordan Alvarez, who’s missed the last 11 games… lvarez still ranks fourth in the Majors with 55 RBI, while ranking second in the AL in OPS (.978), second in SLG (.589) and tied for fourth in homers (17).
STEPPING UP: C Yainer Diaz is hitting .297 (11×37) with two doubles, three homers, six RBI and a .902 OPS in the Astros 11 games since LF Yordan Alvarez was placed on the Injured List…Diaz has started five straight games, eight of the last nine, and nine of the Astros 11 games since the Alvarez injury.
TODAY’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP CRISTIAN JAVIER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: 7-1 2.90 14 14 80.2 65 27 26 19 76
CAREER: 27-13 3.02 92 58 385.0 257 133 129 142 454
vs. NYM W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
LAST START – 6/15 VS. WAS: allowed 5 hits and struck out 2 in 6.0 scoreless innnigs… recorded a career-high 15 flyball outs to 0 groundouts, with the only assist in his outing coming on a caught-stealing by C Martín Maldonado in the 2nd inning…per Elias, the last pitcher in the Majors with a scoreless outing of 6+ IP without recording a groundout was TB RHP Luis Patiño on July 29, 2021…no Astros pitcher has had a scoreless outing of 6.0+ innings without recording a groundout in franchise history…has allowed 1-run-or-less in 5 of his last 6 starts…was his 8th start out of 13 starts this season in which he’s walked 1-batter-or-less.
ABOUT JAVIER: dynamic starter is making his 15th start of the season…the Astros have gone 10-4 in Javier’s 14 starts this season and are 16-4 in Javier’s last 20 starts dating back to Aug. 31, 2022…in his those 20 starts, he’s recorded a 2.37 ERA (30ER/114IP) with 120 strikeouts, a 0.96 WHIP and a .194 opponent batting average.
INVISIBALL: has held opponents to a .187 average (252×1352) throughout his MLB career… it’s the lowest opponent’s batting average (min. 375 IP) of any MLB pitcher since entering the league in ‘20…the next-closest players are MIL Corbin Burnes (.199) and LAA Shohei Ohtani (.200).
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: in the AL, he ranks 7th in WHIP (1.04), 7th in ERA (2.90), 11th in opponent average (.219) and 13th in strikeout to walk ratio (4.00)
