HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will look to even their 3-game set vs. the Cardinals tonight at Busch Stadium…RHP Cristian Javier (7-2) will start for the Astros vs. veteran RHP Miles Mikolas (4-5) for the Cards…this will be Javier’s first career start against St. Louis and he will be making his second straight start against an opponent he’s facing for the first time…Mikolas has faced the Astros twice, both coming in 2014 while a member of the Texas Rangers…the Astros won both of those games against Mikolas and he owns a career 10.80 ERA (10ER/8.1IP) vs. HOU.
MR. CRISTIAN: RHP Cristian Javier enters tonight’s start riding a club-long, five-game winning streak, which spans his last eight outings…going back to Aug. 31 of last season, Javier has won 11 of his last 12 decisions, which spans his last 21 regular season starts…the Astros are 17-4 in his last 21 outings…since the beginning of the 2022 season, Javier’s .190 opponent’s batting average (158×830) ranks second of AL pitchers and his 2.80 ERA (72ER/231.2IP) ranks sixth.
VS. THE CARDS: The current series is the 1st between the Astros and Cardinals since HOU took 2 out of 3 here at Busch Stadium, 7/26-28 of 2019…tonight’s game will be the 713th meeting all-time between the two clubs, with STL holding a 381-331 edge…In The Postseason: The Astros are 7-6 vs. the Cards all-time in postseason play…notably, the two clubs squared off in back-back NLCS’s in 2004-05, with STL taking the ‘04 NLCS in 7 games and HOU winning the ‘05 NLCS in 6 games to win the first pennant in franchise history.
CARDS KILLER: Jose Altuve’s .377 (49×130) career avg. vs. the Cardinals is the highest among active players (min. 100 AB)…it is also his highest career avg. vs. any opponent.
Highest Avg. vs. STL – Active Players
- Jose Altuve: .377
- Freddie Freeman: .354
- Jesse Winker: .352
GRAND SALAMIS: Alex Bregman’s grand slam on Sat. at Dodger Stadium was the 6th of the season for HOU, the 6th of his career and his 2nd in 2023…Bregman and Yordan Alvarez are among 7 MLB players with 2 g. slams in 2023…6 slams for the Astros as a team are 2nd in the Majors to the Dodgers’ 8… the Astros club record for slams in a season is 11, set in 2019.
ROADIES: RHP Hector Neris has allowed just 1 ER and 6 hits in his 17 road appearances for an 0.63 ERA (1ER/14.1IP) and .128 opp. avg…prior to Saturday’s game (2 ER), RHP Phil Maton had not allowed a run in his 1st 14 road appearances… he hurled a perfect 1.0 inning of relief last night, striking out two batters, and has a 1.04 ERA in 17 road app. (2ER/17.1IP).
MLBN SHOWCASE: Tonight’s game will be an MLB Network Showcase game…Bob Costas, Tom Verducci and J.P. Morosi will be on the call…AT&T SportsNet will still broadcast tonight’s game as well with Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum and Julia Morales calling the action…SportsTalk 790 airs all Astros reg. season and postseason games featuring Robert Ford and Steve Sparks (Matt Boltz, engineer extraordinaire).
TUESDAY’S RECAP: The Astros dropped their series opener against the Cardinals last night at Busch Stadium, losing 4-2… Martín Maldonado helped get the Astros out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning with a solo home run, which was No. 5 for him on the year…Kyle Tucker got Houston on the board in the first inning with an RBI single…Framber Valdez started the game for the Astros and delivered at least 6.0 innings for the 13th time out of his 16 starts this season (6IP, 8H, 4R, 3BB, 6 K).
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.58) in the Majors…additionally, the Astros starters rank 3rd in the Majors in ERA (3.53).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Lowest Starters ERA – MLB
- Houston: 3.58 1. Tampa Bay: 3.46
- Tampa Bay: 3.64 2. Texas: 3.51
- New York (AL): 3.66 3. Houston: 3.53
ROOKIE RUMBLE: The Astros have received 28 starts from rookie pitchers this season, ranking third in the Majors behind OAK (41) and CLE (36)…rookie RHP J.P. France is scheduled to start tomorrow’s series finale in STL.
LONG TRIP: The Astros current, 10-game road trip will be their longest of the season…they were 1-2 at LAD on the 1st stop of the trip prior to yesterday’s loss in the opener at STL… after this 3-game set at Busch Stadium, the Astros will head back to Texas for a 4-game series at Globe Life Field vs. the Rangers (Fri-Mon.).
NOTHING FINER THAN YAINER: In June, rookie C Yainer Diaz is hitting .319 (22×71) with 6 doubles, 5 HR and 11 RBI…he’s also posted a .623 SLG pct, which ranks fifth in the AL this month, and a .947 OPS…Diaz has started 9 of the Astros’ last 10 games and 17 of their 24 games in June.
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on sidelined players:
- LF Yordan Alvarez (right oblique strain) hit in the batting cage on Sunday and has been running on the field…he was placed on the IL on 6/9 and is expected to be out for approx. 4 weeks or longer
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) has been hitting on the field and in the batting cage in recent days…he has also been throwing on the field 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) threw 24 pitches in a bullpen session on Saturday at Dodger Stadium, which was an increase from the 17 pitches he threw in his previous bullpen session.
- Jose Altuve has missed the last two games due to soreness in his right heel.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Astros are 20-18 (.526) on the road this season, which is T-5th in the AL…they have finished at .500 or above on 4 of their 5 previous road trips…HOU’s 71-48 (.597) road record since the start of 2022 is tops in the AL.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP CRISTIAN JAVIER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: 7-1 3.25 15 15 83.0 69 31 30 24 77
CAREER: 27-13 3.09 93 59 387.1 261 137 133 147 455
vs. STL W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
LAST START – 6/21 vs. NYM: surrendered a career-high 5 walks while allowing 4 runs on 4 hits through 2.1 IP…marked the shortest start of his career…took a no-decision as Astros went on to beat the Mets, 10-8.
ABOUT JAVIER: Dominican hurler has made 15 starts in 2023…the Astros have gone 11-4 in his 15 starts this season and are 17-4 in Javier’s last 21 starts dating back to Aug. 31, 2022…in his those 21 starts, he’s recorded a 2.63 ERA (34ER/116.1IP) with 121 strikeouts, a 1.01 WHIP and a .200 opponent batting average.
- is riding an active 5-game winning streak, which dates back to May 10…is the longest winning streak by an Astro this season…the streak is Javier’s longest single-season streak in his career and trails only a 6-game streak that spanned parts of the 2022-23 seasons.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: has pitched primarily as a starter over the last 2 seasons (2022-23)…among qualifying AL pitchers over that span, ranks 2nd in opponent average (.190), 4th in WHIP (1.01), 5th in strikeouts per 9.0 (10.53), 6th in ERA (2.80), 9th in strikeouts (271) and T-9th in wins (18).
INVISIBALL: has held opponents to a .189 average (261×1383) throughout his MLB career…it’s the lowest opponent’s batting average (min. 375 IP) of any MLB pitcher since entering the league in 2020…the next-closest players are RHP Shohei Ohtani (.200) and RHP Corbin Burnes (.201).
SUPPORT SYSTEM: is averaging 6.07 runs of support per nine innings, which is tops on the Astros and ranks 7th in the AL.
VS. STL: will be making his 1st career start against the Cardinals…the Cardinals are 1 of 4 teams that he has never faced (also, HOU, CIN, MIA)…is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA (35ER/81.2IP) in 20 career Interleague games (13gs)…is making his 3rd straight start against an NL opponent.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals continue their six-game homestand with the second game of a three-game series against the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros at Busch Stadium tonight … The New York Yankees visit St. Louis for three games this weekend (June 30-July 2) … The Cardinals have won six of their last eight games, and over the last two games, have beaten pitchers in each league’s Top 2 in ERA: Marcus Stroman (2.28, 1st in NL) & Framber Valdez (2.27, 2nd in AL)
FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter today in last place in the NL Central, 8.0 games behind 1st place Cincinnati and 3.0 games behind 4th place Pittsburgh … St. Louis has spent 64 of 91 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19 and May 29-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since beginning 33-45 (.423) in 1995.
ON DECK: The current six-game homestand marks the only time the Cardinals play at Busch Stadium over a 29-day stretch through the All-Star Break (June 15-July 13) … Tonight is the 2nd game of 13 consecutive without an off-day, starting with three straight series against winning teams: (Astros, Yankees, & Marlins).
TASTE OF CHICAGO: Beginning with the London Series and leading into the trade deadline (June 24-July 30), 20 of 32 Cardinals games are against teams from the Windy City (13) or Skip Schumaker’s Miami Marlins (7).
CARDS & ‘STROS: The Cardinals have faced the Astros only 12 times since Houston moved to the AL West in 2013, tied for the 5th-fewest games vs. any opponent behind the Orioles (9), Yankees (9), Athletics (10), and Rays (10) … This series is Houston’s first visit to St. Louis since 2019 as the old NL Central rivals. FORMER DIVISION RIVALS: When St. Louis and Houston were NL Central rivals (1994-2012), either the Cardinals or Astros won the division in 12 of 19 seasons, including 10 of 11 times from 1996-2006: St. Louis captured seven division titles outright (1996, 2000, 2002, 2004-06, 2009), the Astros won three (1997-99), and they shared first place in 2001 … The two rivals faced off in memorable back-to-back NLCS (2004-05), while four of eight World Series from 2004-11 featured the Cardinals or Astros (2004, 2005, 2006, 2011).
START ME UP: Prior to this series, the Cardinals have never faced Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, or J.P. France … The last time the Cardinals played a series of 3+ games and in each game they faced an opposing starter who had never faced St. Louis was May 17-19, 2019 at Texas (Jose Leclerc, Ariel Jurado, and Drew Smyly) – Elias
THREE’S COMPANY: The Cardinals (Giovanny Gallegos-8, Ryan Helsley-7, Jordan Hicks-5) and Diamondbacks (Andrew Chafin-8, Miguel Castro-7, Scott McGough-6) are the only two MLB teams with three or more pitchers with 5+ saves this season.
ON YER BIKE: Immediately following New York and Boston playing in London in 2019, the Red Sox went 5-1 at Toronto (2-1) and at Detroit (3-0) while going 40-38 to finish their season in 3rd place in the AL East (84-78 overall record) … The Yankees went 3-3 at the New York Mets (1-1), and at Tampa Bay (2-2) after London while finishing 49-31 as AL East Champs (103-59 overall record) and ultimately falling to the Astros in the ALCS in seven games.
HEIR JORDAN: Twenty-one year-old rookie Jordan Walker has a hit in 34 of his first 40 career games, tying Albert Pujols (34 in 2001), for 2nd-most games with a hit in any Cardinal’s first 40 games behind Enos Slaughter (36 in 1938) … Walker’s 16-game hitting streak (.382/.460/.655, 21-55) since June 6 is:
- MLB’s longest active, tied for the 6th-longest by any Major Leaguer this season, and tied with Red Sox Masataka Yoshida for longest by any MLB rookie this season
- his 2nd double-digit game hitting streak, putting him in company with Albert Pujols (three in 2001) and Rogers Hornsby (two in 1916) as one of only three Cardinals age 21 or younger with multiple double-digit game hitting streak in the same season.
- tied with Erik Pappas (1993) for the 3rd-longest rookie hit streak in franchise history behind 2001 Rookie of the Year Albert Pujols (17) and Cardinals Bench Coach “Super” Joe McEwing, whose 25-gamer in 1999 stands as the 8th-longest overall hit streak in franchise history.
- the longest by any Major Leaguer age 21 or younger since 21-year-old Freddie Freeman (20 in 2011) for Atlanta and tied for the 3rd-longest by a Cardinal age 21 or younger behind 21-year-old Albert Pujols (17 in 2001) and 21-year-old Frank Snyder (18 in 1915).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP MILES MIKOLAS (4-5, 4.23)
TONIGHT’S GAME
NL Ranks: Games Started (16, T-3rd), Innings Pitched (93.2, 11th), Hits Allowed (108, 2nd), Earned Runs (44, T-9th), Walks/9 IP (1.83, 3rd).
- The 2022 N.L. All-Star is making his team-high 17th start of 2023, 160th career appearance & 131st areer start.
- Is facing the Astros for the 1st time since 2014 while pitching for the Texas Rangers.
- Is one win shy of 50 for his career, and needs a win to avoid matching the longest losing streak of his career (5 games in 2019).
- Is 0-4 in the month of June, but has received just one run of support while on the mound in his four June starts, losing 2-1, 8-4, 6-1 and 3-0.
- Ranks last in MLB in lowest per game run support avg. (2.88), with Zack Greinke (KC, 2.99) the next closest. The Cardinals played to 2-1 decisions (2-wins, 1 loss) in three straight games he started 5/25-6/4.
- Has received no more than three runs of support in 14 of his 16 starts this season, including four straight starts to begin June.
- Has allowed 13 of his 45 runs in the 1st inning (7.31 ERA, .375 BA); His ERA after the opening inning is 3.59 (31 ER/77.2 IP).
- Finished May 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in six starts, ranking among MLB leaders in innings pitched (38.0, 2nd), ERA (5th), and wins (T-7th).
- Leads the Cardinals in innings pitched (93.2) and is tied for 2nd on the team in wins (4) with Jack Flaherty & Drew VerHagen.
- Ranks 3rd among all-time Busch Std. III leaders in ERA (2.87; min. 300 IP), T9th in all-time wins (21) & 8th in innings pitched (367.1).
- Since joining the Cardinals in 2018, Mikolas ranks 2nd in MLB (min. 600 IP) in fewest walks (130) behind only Justin Verlander (124). His 1.61 walks/9 IP are tied with Zack Greinke for the fewest.
- Was one of 10 MLB pitchers and two Cardinals (Wainwright) with a perfect 1.000 fielding pct. (31 total chances) in 2022. Hasn’t committed an error since 8/2/18 vs. COL. One of two pitchers with 100 total chances and zero errors since 8/3/18 (Erick Fedde, WSH). Ranks 9th among MLB pitchers in fielding pct. (.987) since 2018. (min. 100 TC).
- Ranks 2nd behind only Adam Wainwright (2,614.0 IP) in most innings pitched (816.2) among active Cardinals.
LAST TIME OUT
- Suffered 3-0 loss to Washington at Nationals Park last Wed. (6/21), losing his 4thstraight decision in the month of June. Played in a steady rain much of the afternoon, the game took just 2:12 to complete and came on heels of his 2:01outing in loss to the Mets on 6/16. Received no run support for the 3rd time in his four June starts.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
6/21 @WSH L 3-0 L-5 7.0 8 2 2 1 3 1 107-75
2023
- Did not allow more than three runs in 10 starts (4/16-6/4) with a 4-0 record, 2.24 ERA over 60.1 innings pitched.
- Had both his season-best 4-game win streak and season-best 16.0 scoreless innings streak snapped in his start at PIT (6/4) in the morning Peacock game.
- Matched career high 10 strikeouts over 8.0 scoreless IP in 2-1 win vs. Kansas City on 5/30, his longest scoreless outing of the season and third overall. Was his 4th straight winning decision and extended his scoreless innings streak to a team-high 16.0 innings.
- Fired 7.0 scoreless innings of five-hit ball en route to a 2-1 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park (5/25). Was his 2nd straight 7.0-inning outing.
