HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: Tonight, LHP Framber Valdez (9-7) will make his first start since last week’s memorable no-hitter as he takes on Orioles RHP Grayson Rodriquez (2-3)…tonight is the first game of a 3-game set for the Astros in BAL as they continue this 7-game road trip on the East Coast.
ABOUT THE NO-NO: LHP Framber Valdez tossed the 15th regular season no-hitter (16th overall) in franchise history in a 2-0 victory over the Guardians on 8/1…Valdez was masterful, as faced the minimum 27 batters, allowing a walk in the 5th, who was erased on a double play…Valdez needed only 93 pitches and per Sarah Langs, this ranks as the third-lowest total in a no-hitter since pitch counts started being tracked in 1988…Valdez’ gem was the 1st by a southpaw in franchise history…per STATS, the Astros have thrown five no-hitters in five years (2019-23), including the postseason… that’s the most no-hitters by any team over a five-year span in MLB history.
IN THE RANKINGS: LHP Framber Valdez once again has the best GB pct. rate in the AL at 55.2%, a distinction he has held in each of the last 3 seasons (2020-22)…Valdez is also T-1st in the Majors in CG (2) and is 3rd in the AL in ERA (3.07), 7th in opp. avg. (.226), 8th in innings pitched (135.0), 9th in WHIP (1.07) and T9th in wins (9).
VS. THE O’S: The Astros and Orioles are facing off for the first time in 2022…HOU was 3-4 vs. BAL in 2022, but has enjoyed success at Oriole Park in recent years, winning 5 of their last 7 and 10 of their last 14 games here…since 2016, the Astros are 15-6 at Oriole Park, which is tops in the Majors in that span (min. 10g).
Best Win Pct. at Oriole Park – Since 2016 (min. 10g)
- Astros: 15-6 (.714)
- Red Sox: 42-21 (.667)
- Yankees: 43-27 (.614)
Two current Astros have enjoyed great success at Camden Yards…Jose Altuve’s .396 avg. at Camden Yards is his highest at any AL ballpark: At Camden Yards Jose Altuve: .396 (44×125), 27 G, 6 2B, 5 HR, 24 RBI, .622 SLG, 1.086 OPS Yordan Alvarez: .353 (12×34), 10 G, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .794 SLG, 1.271 OPS Additionally, Jose Abreu’s .360 career avg. in 53 G vs. BAL overall is tops among current players and 8th all-time (Ted Williams is 1st at .374)…it is also Abreu’s best vs. any AL club (10 HR, 42 RBI, .597 SLG, 1.021 OPS).
SUNDAY’S RECAP: In a slugfest, the Astros topped the Yankees on Sunday in the Bronx, 9-7…Jake Meyers had a career day with 2 HR and 6 RBI to lead the offense…RHP J.P. France (8-3) earned the win in what was his 1st ML relief app., hurling 3.1 scoreless innings…RHP Jose Urquidy (3.1 IP, 5 ER) made the start, his first since 4/30 due to right shoulder inflammation.
JAKE FROM RAKE FARM: Jake Meyers reached career bests in both HR (2) and RBI (6) in Sunday’s 9-7 win at Yankee Stadium…the 6 RBI matches the season-high by an Astros hitter in 2023…Chas McCormick also had a 6 RBI game on 7/24 vs. TEX.
500 VS. THE BOMBERS: With Sunday’s win, HOU’s all-time record vs. NYY is 45-45 (.500), which includes the postseason…that is the best all-time vs. the Bronx Bombers (source: STATS)…all other clubs are under .500 vs. them.
SPECIAL VISIT: As defending World Series Champions, the Astros visited the White House yesterday afternoon…as part of the visit, Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane and Manager Dusty Baker presented President Biden with an Astros jersey (#46)…the Astros previous White House visit was in March of 2018, following the 2017 World Series championship.
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 5 of 7, 9 of 14 and 12 of their last 18 games…they are 14-8 since the All-Star Break.
ROAD WARRIORS: Today is the 5th game (2-2 thus far) of a 7-game road trip, during which the Astros visit NYY (2-2) and BAL (3g), respectively…HOU is 33-24 (.579) on the road this season, which is 2nd-best in the AL.
Best Road Record-AL
- Baltimore: 35-21 (.625)
- Houston: 32-24 (.579)
- Toronto: 34-26 (.567)
200 AND COUNTING: Jose Altuve hit his 200th career HR Saturday at NYY, becoming the 5th player in franchise history to reach this milestone…in his career, he has 140 HR vs. RHP and 60 HR vs. LHP, and 108 HR at home and 92 HR on the road…Postseason: Altuve also has hit 23 postseason HR in his career, which is the 2nd-highest total in MLB history…
PASSING CHEO: Altuve stole his 289th career base yesterday at NYY, passing José Cruz for 3rd in Astros history.
Most Astros HR All-Time
- Jeff Bagwell-449 4. Jimmy Wynn-223
- Lance Berkman-326 5. Jose Altuve-200
- Craig Biggio-291
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Saturday’s start at Yankee Stadium was the 499th of RHP Justin Verlander’s career…he ranks 2nd among active pitchers in career starts to KC’s RHP Zack Greinke (536 GS).
Most Career Starts – Active Pitchers
- Zack Greinke-536
- Justin Verlander-499
- Max Scherzer-441
- Clayton Kershaw-414
CLEAN GETAWAYS: The Astros are 19-7 on ‘Getaway Days’ this season (incl. final gms of road series and homestands).
POST-BREAK PRODUCTION: Kyle Tucker (21) and Chas McCormick (20) rank T-1st and T-2nd, respectively, in the AL in RBI since the All-Star Break…since the break, Tucker is hitting .321 (26×81) with 8 2B and 6 HR (.642 SLG) while McCormick is at .319 (23×72) with 7 HR (.667 SLG).
MOST RBI-POST A.S. BREAK (AL)
- Kyle Tucker-21 T2. Chas McCormick-20
T1. Bobby Witt-21 T2. Eugenio Suaraz-20
KNOCKING ON THE CLUB DOOR: Kyle Tucker, currently with 19 HR and 23 SB, needs 1 HR to become the 4th player to reach 20 HR and 20 SB this season…thus far, the 3 players to reach this club are: Ronald Acuna Jr.-25 HR/52 SB; Corbin Carroll-21 HR/35 SB; Bobby Witt, Jr.-20 HR/32 SB)…Tucker was also a 20/20 club member in 2022 (30 HR/25 SB).
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: LHP FRAMBER VALDEZ
LAST START – 8/1 VS. CLE: tossed the 1st no-hitter of his career and the 15th regular-season (16th overall) in Astros franchise history…allowed just 1 baserunner via a walk and struck out 7 batters through the 9 shutout innings…was his 6th career complete game and his 3rd complete-game shutout.
ABOUT THE NO-NO: Valdez’s no-hitter was the Astros’ first since a combined no-hitter started by RHP Cristian Javier in Game 4 of last year’s World Series at PHI. It was also the first Astros no-hitter by a single pitcher since RHP Justin Verlander’s on September 1, 2019, at TOR.
- the last Astros regular-season no-hitter was also a combined effort started by Javier, which came on June 25 of last season at NYY.
- was the first Astros no-hitter tossed by a LHP.
- Valdez needed only 93 pitches and per Sarah Langs, this ranks as the third-lowest total in a no-hitter since pitch counts started being tracked in 1988…the others were tossed by the Astros RHP Daryl Kile (83) on Sept. 8, 1993, and the Yankees RHP David Cone (88) on July 18, 1999.
- per STATS, the Astros have thrown five no-hitters in five years (2019-23), including the postseason… that’s the most no-hitters by any team over a five-year span in MLB history.
- became the ninth Dominican-born player to throw a no-hitter in Major League history, with the last being NYY RHP Domingo German’s perfect game earlier this season.
- Valdez faced the minimum of 27 batters, which is the first time that’s been achieved out of all the Astros no-hitters.
- was the 3rd no-hitter thrown in the Majors this season, along with German’s perfect game on June 28 at OAK and a combined no-hitter by DET on July 8 vs. TOR.
- is the only player in the Majors to throw two complete-game shutouts this season, also doing so on May 21 vs. OAK.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: has been one of the top pitchers in the AL this season, ranking 3rd in ERA (46ER/135IP)……in the AL, also ranks 1st in groundball percentage (55.2), 2nd in pitching WAR (3.8), 3rd in opponent OPS (.622), T-5th in quality starts (14), 9th in strikeouts (141) and 8th in innings pitched (135.0).
K-DAY: struck out 13 batters on July 15 at LAA, which are T-2nd for most in a single game in the Majors this season, trailing only a 16-strikeout game from RHP Lance Lynn on June 18 at SEA…they were the most strikeouts in a game from an Astros pitcher since his previous 13-strikeout effort on July 3, 2022 vs. LAA.
ALL-STAR GAME: was selected to his 2nd career (and consecutive) All-Star Game this season…did not appear in the game.
- ranked 1st in the Majors with a 2.51 ERA (31ER/111IP) at the All-Star break…was the 1st Astros pitcher to rank 1st in the Majors at the All-Star break since RHP Roger Clemens (1.48 ERA) in 2005.
- made his first career All-Star Game roster in 2022 after being selected through the player vote to Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium…picked up the winning decision in a 3-2 victory for the American League, after tossing a perfect 3rd inning in relief…was the 1st Astros pitcher and 5th Dominican-born pitcher to collect ASG winning decision and 1st since Pedro Martinez in ‘99.
STAYING GROUNDED: owns a career 64.3% groundball percentage, which ranks as the lowest percentage in the Majors since 2018 (min. 300 IP)…SF RHP Logan Webb is the next-closest over that span at 57.7 %…since ground ball percentage started being tracked in 1987, Valdez career ground ball percentage is the highest ever posted by a starting pitcher (min. 300 IP).
BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
WHERE WE LEFT OFF: The O’s shut out the Mets on Sunday, 2-0, to complete the three-game sweep, their seventh sweep of the season…Marked their first three-game sweep of the Mets since the teams first met in 1997 and second sweep of the Metropolitans overall, along with a two-game set from June 5-6, 2018…Secured their sixth shutout of the season and first since July 28 vs. New York-AL (1-0)…Became the first AL team and second team overall to reach 70 wins this season, joining the Atlanta Braves, who enter play today at 70-40.
Félix Bautista picked up his 30th save of the season; entering play today, he leads the AL and ranks third in MLB in saves.
Shintaro Fujinami struck out DJ Stewart with a 102.6 mph fastball in the eighth inning, the fastest strikeout pitch of his MLB career and the third-fastest strikeout pitch by an O’s hurler in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008).
Jorge Mateo made his first start in center field since June 13, 2021 with San Diego, also against the Mets; went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run at the plate.
SWEEPLESS IN BALTIMORE: The Orioles have gone 75 consecutive series of at least two decisions (no ties) without being swept…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the most consecutive series without getting swept in Orioles history (since 1954), ahead of 46 consecutive sweepless series from 1971-72…It is the fifth-longest such streak in MLB history, trailing the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals (124), 1906-09 Chicago Cubs (115), 1903-05 New York Giants (105), and 1922-24 New York Yankees (83).
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won four in a row, eight of their last 10, 13 of 18, 21 of 28, and 22 of 31…At 70-42 (.625), the Orioles have the best record in the AL and second-best in MLB and are one of two teams with a .600 winning percentage (see box at right)…The Birds are 132-91 (.592) since June 2022, the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in MLB during that time…The team had a season-best eight-game winning streak from July 5-16, Baltimore’s longest since a 10-gamer from July 3-13, 2022.
The O’s hold a 3.0-game lead over the Rays in the AL East.
The Orioles have two winning streaks of at least seven games this year; Atlanta (4x), San Francisco (2x), and Tampa Bay (2x) are the only other teams with multiple win streaks of at least seven games this season.
MOUNT UP: Ryan Mountcastle owns a season-long nine-game hitting streak since July 28…His last longer streak was his career-long 13-gamer from July 28 to August 21, 2021… Mountcastle is slashing .419/.465/.629 (26-for-62) with seven doubles, two homers, 12 runs scored, 10 RBI, seven walks, and one stolen base in 21 games while tallying a hit in 16 of his 17 starts since returning from the Injured List on July 9…Mountcastle went 11-for-13 with four doubles, five runs scored, six RBI, three walks, and one stolen base during the four-game set in Toronto from July 31 to August 3…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 11 hits are tied with Merv Rettenmund (September 24-26, 1971 at Cleveland) for the most in a four-game series since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954.
TOP GUNN: Gunnar Henderson is slashing .275/.330/.560 (55-for-200) with nine doubles, three triples, 14 homers, 34 runs scored, 37 RBI, 16 walks, one hit-by-pitch, and four stolen bases in 51 games since the start of June…During that time, he ranks among AL leaders in home runs (T-4th), slugging (6th), extra-base hits (T-6th, 26), total bases (8th, 112), runs (10th), and RBI (10th)…On the season, he paces AL rookies in bWAR and triples, ranks tied for the lead in fWAR, and ranks among the top in a variety of statistical categories (see box at right).
PERFECTLY BALANCED, AS ALL THINGS SHOULD BE: Baltimore is 35-21 at Oriole Park and 35-21 on the road this season…Baltimore’s .625 home winning percentage ranks third in the AL and fifth in MLB, while their .625 road winning percentage leads MLB…The O’s have gone 80-57 (.584) at Oriole Park since the start of last season, the fourth-best home record in the AL and seventh-best in MLB during that time.
AGAINST HOUSTON: The Orioles and Astros are meeting for the first of two series between the teams this season…The Birds will travel to Houston for three games from September 18-20…The O’s went 4-3 against the Astros last year, including three shutouts.
MOUNTAIN TIME: Major League Baseball last week announced that Félix Bautista was voted the American League Reliever of the Month for July…He’s now won the award in back-to-back months and for the third time this season, joining April…Prior to this year, Jim Johnson (May 2012) was the only O’s pitcher in team history to take home the honor… Bautista did not allow a run and registered a win or a save in all 11 appearances last month, going 3-0 with eight saves and 25 strikeouts in 14.0 innings…He leads the AL and ranks third in MLB with 30 saves and has secured a win or save in 36 of his 48 appearances (75.0%) this season…That would be the third-highest such percentage in O’s history (since 1954), trailing Randy Myers (77.0%, 47-of-61) in 1997 and Lee Smith (82.9%, 34-of-41) in 1994, per the Elias Sports Bureau…Bautista is looking to become the first Oriole to lead the league in saves since Zack Britton locked down 47 games in 2016…Jim Johnson has the team record of 51 saves set in 2012.
His 102 strikeouts are more than 11 qualified pitchers; he has 22 more strikeouts than the next-closest reliever.
Bautista’s 17.43 K/9 (102 K/52.2 IP) would be the fifth-best by a qualified reliever in MLB history; Cincinnati’s Aroldis Chapman (2014), Cleveland’s James Karinchak (2020), and Milwaukee’s Devin Williams (2020) are tied for the record with a 17.67 mark, while New York-NL’s Edwin Díaz ranks fourth with a 17.53 mark in 2020.
He is the seventh O’s reliever to reach 100 strikeouts in a season and the first since B.J. Ryan fanned 100 in 2005; Ryan holds the Orioles record for strikeouts as a reliever in one season with 122 in 2004.
ELECTRIC AVENUE: Austin Hays earned his second career Play of the Week Award for his diving catch in the bottom of the ninth inning on July 31 at Toronto (watch it here)…With the tying run on first base, Whit Merrifield hit a ball to the outfield gap, giving way for Hays to make a fantastic full-extension catch for the second out of the inning…This marks the eighth Play of the Week for the Orioles since the award was introduced in 2019, and fourth honor of 2023, joining Cedric Mullins on May 8 and July 10 and Gunnar Henderson on July 24…Baltimore’s eight honors since 2019 are tied for the most in baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays.
STARTING PITCHER – #30 GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ RHP
QUICK HITS: Slated to make his 15th start of the season, eighth at home, and first career start against the Astros tonight…Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on July 17, his second stint with the O’s…Worked 5.0 shutout innings on April 23 vs. Detroit and April 29 (G2) at Detroit to become the youngest O’s pitcher (23-164) to toss 5.0-or-more scoreless innings in back-to-back games since Dave Ford (21-259) from September 2-14, 1978, and the youngest O’s starter to accomplish the feat since Jack Fisher (21-188) did so in three straight starts from August 29 to September 8, 1960…Made his MLB debut on April 5 at Texas, becoming the first Oriole to make his debut this season…Thirteen players (7 pitchers) made their debut for the O’s in 2022…Also became the first O’s pitcher to start his Major League debut since DL Hall on August 13, 2022, and the youngest O’s pitcher (23- 140) to start his debut since Kevin Gausman (22-137) on May 23, 2013 at Toronto…Had his contract selected to the 40-man roster on November 15, 2022…Originally selected by the Orioles in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.
LAST TIME OUT: Dealt the loss in his last outing on August 2 at Toronto…Allowed three runs on two hits with two walks, a wild pitch, and six strikeouts in 5.2 innings…The two hits tied his career low (also: 4/29 [G1] at DET)…Two of the runs scored after he exited the game…Did not allow a home run for the fourth straight start…Threw 96 pitches, 63 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE ASTROS AND AL WEST: Making his first career start against the Astros and fifth against the AL West…Has pitched to an 0-2 record with a 12.94 ERA (23 ER/16.0 IP) in his first four career outings against the division…Dealt the loss in his last such start on May 26 vs. Texas…Allowed a season-high nine runs (8 ER) on six hits (3 HR) with three walks and six punchouts in 3.1 innings…Tied his season highs in earned runs (also: 5/15 vs. LAA) and home runs (also: 5/4 at KC)…Also tied for his shortest start of the season (also: 5/15 vs. LAA)…Threw 83 pitches, 49 strikes.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS:Is scheduled to make his eighth home start of the season… Owns a 1-2 record with a 7.36 ERA (27 ER/33.0 IP) in his first seven career assignments at Oriole Park.
HIGH TIDE: After being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on May 27, Rodriguez made seven starts for the Tides, pitching to a 4-0 record with a 1.69 ERA (7 ER/37.1 IP) and five quality starts in those games…His 54 punchouts from May 27 to July 16 were the most in the International League…Was named International League Pitcher of the Month for June, going 4-0 with a 2.22 ERA (7 ER/28.1 IP) in five starts during the month…His 39 strikeouts in June led the International League, while his four victories were tied for the most…Did not factor into the decision in his last Triple-A start on July 9 at Durham…Worked 3.0 scoreless innings on one hit with three walks and three strikeouts…Threw 56 pitches, 37 strikes…Tossed a career-high-tying 12 strikeouts (also: 7/18/21 [G1] at ERI w/BOW) on July 4 at Durham.
THROWING GAS: Rodriguez threw the two fastest strikeout pitches by an O’s starter in the Statcast era (since 2015) on July 28 vs. New York-AL, fanning DJ LeMahieu with a 100.1 mph heater and retiring Anthony Rizzo on a 100.2 mph fastball…Now owns each of the 20 fastest strikeout pitches by Orioles starters this season…His strikeout of Rizzo was the seventh-fastest punchout pitch among MLB rookie starters this season.
KEEPING IT IN THE YARD: Rodriguez has not surrendered a home run in his last four MLB starts since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on July 17…Opposing batters are slashing .195/.271/.247 (15-for-86) with three extra-base hits (2-2B, 3B) in those games… Surrendered 24 extra-base hits (9-2B, 2-3B, 13 HR) in his first 10 career starts.
HIGH QUALITY: Rodriguez logged his first career quality start on July 28 vs. New York-AL, becoming the youngest O’s hurler (23-254) to do so since Miguel Castro (22-222) on August 3, 2017 vs. Detroit (6.0 IP, H, BB, 2 K)…Has also allowed two earned runs-or-fewer in seven of his first 14 career Major League starts, the most such outings by an O’s rookie in that span since Wei-Yin Chen permitted fewer than three runs in 10 of his first 14 career assignments in 2012.
PACKING A PUNCH: Rodriguez’s 76 strikeouts through his first 14 career Major League starts are the most by an O’s hurler in that span franchise history (since 1954)…Recorded a career-high nine punchouts on April 29 (G2) at Detroit, becoming the youngest O’s pitcher (23-164) to record nine-or-more strikeouts in a start since John Parrish (22-241) also fanned nine batters on July 24, 2000 vs. New York-AL.
