HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros and Rockies begin a two-game set tonight at Coors Field, which is the Astros first trip to Denver since April 2021…the two clubs recently linked up for a two-game series at Minute Maid Park from July 4-5, an Astros sweep…tonight’s starters feature Astros rookie right-hander RHP Hunter Brown while the Rockies will be utilizing a bullpen game, with RHP Jake Bird serving as their opener.
ABOUT BROWN: RHP Hunter Brown has been one of the top rookie performers this year, leading all Major League rookies in pitching WAR (2.3)…he trails only TEX IF Josh Jung (2.9) for the highest WAR of all American League rookies, regardless of position…Brown leads AL rookies with 111 strikeouts and 10.63 strikeouts-per-nine innings (min. 90IP), and trails only NYM RHP Kodai Senga (122) for the strikeout lead among MLB rookies…Brown will look to get back on track tonight after allowing eight runs on 18 hits over his last two starts (7 IP)…outside of his last two starts, Brown owns a 3.62 ERA (35ER/87IP) on the season.
VS. THE ROCKIES: This will be the second and final meeting between the clubs this year, with the Astros sweeping a two-game set from July 4-5 at Minute Maid Park…the series was highlighted by a 7.0-inning scoreless effort from RHP Brandon Bielak in the opener and the first career two-homer game from C Yainer Diaz to secure the sweep in the finale…the Astros have won four straight over the Rockies and 8 of their last 10 matchups…each of the last four meetings between the clubs have come in the form of a two-game series.
TODAY’S SIGNINGS: The Astros signed nine more members of their 2023 MLB Draft class today, including their second-round pick, RHP Alonzo Tredwell (UCLA)…the Astros have now signed 19 of their 20 picks from this year’s draft:
- of the Astros 20 picks, 16 came from the collegiate ranks and four from high school…positionally, the Astros selected eight pitchers, six infielders, four outfielders and two catchers.
- the Astros signed their first-round pick IF Brice Matthews on Friday…Matthews, who was selected with the No. 28 overall pick from the University of Nebraska, is an alum of the Astros Youth Academy and graduated from Atascocita H.S. in the Houston area…Matthews hit .359 (74×206) with 20 homers, 76 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 54 games with Nebraska this year.
COMEBACK KIDS: The Astros mounted a dramatic come-from-behind 9-8 win over the Angels on Sunday to secure a series victory…the Astros hit five home runs on the night, with the biggest coming from 3B Alex Bregman, who delivered a go-ahead two-run homer with two outs in the 9th…the home run finished off a 4×5 night for Bregman…LF Chas McCormick went 3×4 with a pair of home runs and three RBI…CF Jake Meyers and RF Kyle Tucker also homered, with Tucker log- ging four hits (4×5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)…Tucker also made a game-saving catch, diving toward the gap in right-center for the final out of the game with runners on first and second.
PITCHING IN: The Astros rank fourth in the American League and are tied for sixth in the Majors in starter ERA (3.80)…they also rank fifth in the AL in team ERA (3.77).
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on sidelined players:
- OF Yordan Alvarez (right oblique discomfort) was scheduled to start a rehab assignment last Friday with Triple A Sugar Land but that assignment was delayed due to illness…he worked out again yesterday in Sugar Land, but a date for him to restart his rehab assignment has not been set…Alvarez has missed the last 31 games, last playing on June 8.
- 2B Jose Altuve (left oblique strain) participated in infield drills Saturday, ran the bases on Sunday and has been taking soft toss and hitting off a tee in the batting cages…his hitting, fielding and baserunning work will continue to progress…Altuve has missed the last nine games and has missed a total of 52 games this season between two IL stints.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) ran the bases on Sunday and continues to hit off a tee in the batting cages…prior to the All-Star break, Brantley had progressed to hitting full BP before a shut down.
- SS Jeremy Peña was removed from Saturday night’s game with a right hamstring cramp…he did not play on Sunday but is expected to be back in tonight’s starting lineup.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) is scheduled to make his second rehab start for Triple A Sugar Land tomorrow… he last started for Sugar Land on Friday, tossing 2.0 innings and 32 pitches (22 strikes).
- Framber Valdez was removed from Saturday night’s game with a left calf cramp…he is considered day-to-day.
COMING UP CLUTCH: The Astros lead the Major Leagues with a .283 batting average (108×382) hitting with runners in scoring position and two outs…1B José Abreu has 53 at-bats with runners in scoring position and two outs, which ranks second in the Majors, trailing only 3B Josh Jung (55)…Abreu has done his damage in those situations, hitting .415 (22×53) with 33 RBI and an .811 SLG…with RISP, regardless of the number of outs, Abreu is hitting .275 (25×91) with an .897 OPS.
ROADIE: All-Star RF Kyle Tucker has an active 14-game hitting streak in road games, dating back to June 11…in those contests, Tucker is hitting .455 (25×55) and has reached base safely in 35 of his 66 plate appearances for a .530 OBP.
DYNAMIC DUO:OF Corey Julks and OF Chas McCormick have been unsung heroes of the Astros offense during the moth of July…McCormick is tied for the American League lead with 4 home runs this month and has batted .400 (14×35) with a 1.345 OPS and 11 RBI in his 10 games in July…Julks has batted .361 (13×36) with three doubles, three RBI, three stolen bases and an .883 OPS in his 11 games in July.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP HUNTER BROWN
LAST START – 7/7 VS SEA: tossed 3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits with 8 strikeouts and 3 walks…was his shortest Major League outing as a starter.
HISTORIC START:his 133 career strikeouts are the 4th-most by an Astros pitcher through their 1st 24 career outings, trailing RHP Tom Griffin (155), RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (140) and RHP Don Wilson (134).
- 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. GROUND CONTROL: ranks 2nd among AL pitchers with a 54.9 ground ball percentage, trailing only teammate Framber Valdez (55.9%)…is the 5th-best ground ball percentage among Major League pitchers.
VS. COL: will be making his 1st appearance against the Rockies and 3rd appearance against a NL West foe (2nd start)…on 6/25 at LAD, he allowed a run on 3 hits in 6 IP in his start.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: among qualified AL rookies, ranks 1st in strikeouts (111), 1st in innings (94.0IP), T-1st in wins (6), 6th in WHIP (1.33), and 7th in opponent batting average (.258).
DIESEL: is averaging 91.9 mph with his slider, which is the hardest slider among all MLB pitchers, ahead of SD RHP Brent Honeywell (91.8 mph) and TEX RHP Jacob deGrom (91.8 mph) per Baseball Savant.
AMONG THE BEST: According to WAR produced by STATS, Brown has been one of the most valuable rookie in the AL this season with a 2.3 WAR…he is behind only TEX IF Josh Jung (2.9) and tied with NYY IF Anthony Volpe (2.3)…the Astros have had a top five finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 4 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).
STRIKEOUT KING: from May 14-May 31, he recorded 8+ K’s in 4 consecutive 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 rom 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 2022.
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 (July 24-July 30, 2015).
COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:
No team release available.
