HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: RHP Cristian Javier (7-2) will make the start for the Astros tonight as he takes on Orioles RHP Jack Flaherty…tonight is the 2nd game of this 3-game set at Oriole Park at Camden Yards…Familiar Foe: The Astros faced Flaherty 4 times in Spring Training when he was a member of the Cardinals…in his last outing vs. HOU, on March 26 in West Palm Beach, the Astros tallied 6 earned runs off Flaherty in 3.2 innings of work in an eventual, 24-1 win in what was the Astros final game in Florida of the Spring.
MR. CRISTIAN: RHP Cristian Javier has had success in his career vs. BAL, posting a 1.42 ERA in 4 career apps. (2 GS) vs. them, allowing just 5 hits in 12.2 innings pitched with 17 K’s…in his last appearance/start vs. them, which came on 9/25/22 at Oriole Park, he was stellar, allowing just 1 hit over 6.0 scoreless innings in an eventual, 6-3 Astros win in 11.0 innings.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP: Kyle Tucker’s grand slam off RHP Felix Bautista in the top of the 9th lifted the Astros to a dramatic, 7-6 win over the Orioles last night…HOU entered the 9th inning, trailing, 6-3…RHP Ryan Pressly retired the O’s in order in the bottom of the 9th to earn his 33rd save…LHP Framber Valdez had ND as the starter (7 IP, 6 ER)…Tucker ended the night going 2×4 with 5 RBI… Jeremy Pena also chipped in with 3 hits and an RBI.
GRAND SALAMIS: Kyle Tucker’s grand slam last night was the 9th of the season for the Astros, which is tops in the AL and is two shy of the single-season record of 11, set in 2019…for Tucker, it was his 2nd slam of the season and the 5th of his career…Tucker’s other grand slam this season came on 7/3 at TEX, which was also the last slam by an Astros hitter prior to last night.
THE ULTIMATE SLAM: Kyle Tucker’s 9th-inning grand slam last night, which erased a 6-3 deficit, was the just the Astros third ‘ultimate’ grand slam ever and the first since Brian Bogusevic turned the trick on 8/16/11 vs. the Cubs at Minute Maid Park…Bogusevic’s slam erased a 5-2 deficit in the 9th to give the Astros a 6-5, walkoff win…by definition, an ‘ultimate’ grand slam is one that takes place with a 3-run deficit in the 9th inning or later.
Astros Ultimate Grand Slams – All-Time (source: Elias)
Aug. 8, 2023 at BAL: Kyle Tucker, 9th inn. off Felix Bautista (7-6 Astros win)
Aug. 16, 2011 vs CHC: Brian Bogusevic, 9th inn. off Carlos Marmol (6-5 Astros win)
June 15, 1975 at STL: Cliff Johnson, 9th inn. off Mike Garman (8-7 Astros win).
VS. THE O’S: The Astros have enjoyed success at Oriole Park in recent years, winning 6 of their last 8 and 11 of their last 15 games here…since 2016, the Astros are 16-6 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: 16-6 (.727)
- Red Sox: 42-21 (.667)
- Yankees: 43-27 (.614)
Two current Astros have enjoyed great success at Camden Yards…Jose Altuve’s .391 avg. at Camden Yards is tops among active players and his highest at any AL ballpark:
At Camden Yards
Jose Altuve: .391 (45×115), 28 G, 6 2B, 5 HR, 24 RBI, .609 SLG, 1.070 OPS
Yordan Alvarez: .342 (13×38), 11 G, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .737 SLG, 1.206 OPS
LATE RALLIES: Last night’s game marked the 2nd time this season that the Astros have won a game in which they trailed by 3 or more runs entering the 9th inning….the other time was a 7-6 win over the Cubs on 5/17 at Minute Maid Park (trailed 6-3 entering the bott. of the 9th before rallying for 4 runs for the walkoff win)…the last time that the Astros had won a game on the road that they trailed by 3 or more entering the 9th was a 7-5 victory on 9/12/20 at Dodger Stadium (trailed 5-2 entering the 9th before rallying for 5 runs off Kenley Jansen)… source: Elias.
ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight is the 6th game of a 7-game road trip for the Astros…they are 3-2 thus far, going 2-2 at NYY before taking the 1st game of this 3-game set in BAL last night…HOU is 34-24 (.586) on the road this season, which is 2nd-best in the AL.
Best Road Record-AL
- Baltimore: 35-21 (.625)
- Houston: 34-24 (.586)
- Toronto: 34-27 (.557)
ROADWORK VS. THE BEST: The Astros have had success on the road vs. the 4 clubs that currently have the best records in baseball…on the road in 2023, HOU is a combined 9-2 vs. ATL (3-0), TB (2-1), TEX (3-1) and BAL (1-0).
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 6 of 8, 10 of 15 and 13 of their last 19 games…they are 15-8 (.652) since the All-Star Break.
10 YEARS AND COUNTING: Congrats to RHP Ryan Pressly, who reaches 10 years of Major League service today…Pressly made his MLB debut with a relief appearance for the Twins on April 4, 2013 vs. DET, hurling a scoreless 9th inning in an 8-2 Twins victory.
SPECIAL VISIT: As defending World Series Champions, the Astros visited the White House on Monday 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.
IN THE CLUB: Kyle Tucker’s grand slam last night was his 20th HR of the season, making him the 4th player in the Majors this season to reach 20 HR/20 SB…Tucker, who currently has 24 SB, was also a 20/20 club member in 2022 (30HR/25SB)… other 2023 club members: Ronald Acuna Jr.-25 HR/53 SB; Corbin Carroll-21 HR/36 SB; Bobby Witt, Jr.-21 HR/36 SB).
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: RHP Justin Verlander’s start tomorrow will be the 500th of his career…he ranks 2nd among active pitchers in career starts to KC’s RHP Zack Greinke (536 GS). Most Career Starts – Active Pitchers 1. Zack Greinke-536 3. Max Scherzer – 442 2. Justin Verlander-499 4. Clayton Kershaw – 414
POST-BREAK PRODUCTION: Kyle Tucker’s 26 RBI in just 23 G since the A.S. Break are tops in the AL…since the Break, he is hitting .329 with 7 HR and 26 RBI (.671 SLG, 1.092 OPS)… Chas McCormick’s 20 RBI since the Break are T-3rd in the AL.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP CRISTIAN JAVIER
LAST START – 8/3 AT NYY: allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in 4.2 innings…allowed all 3 of his runs in the 1st inning due to back-to-back home runs by RF Giancarlo Stanton (2-run home run) and LF Billy McKinney (solo home run)…he left in the 5th inning with Gleyber Torres on base and 2 outs, RHP Kendall Graveman struck out Stanton to end the inning and leave Torres stranded…Houston would lose the game 4-3 in the Bronx but Javier didn’t factor into the decision.
AGAINST THE ORIOLES: is making his 5th career appearance, including his 2nd start against the Orioles.
- he’s gone 0-1 with a 1.42 ERA (2ER/12.2IP)….has also held the Orioles to a .119 opponent batting average with 17 strikeouts and a 0.63 WHIP.
- in his lone start against Orioles, he allowed 1 hit with 8 strikeouts in 6.0 scoreless innings on Sept. 25, 2022 at Camden Yards.
BACK ON TRACK: went on a tough 3-start stretch from 6/21-7/3, in which he logged a 15.19 ERA (18ER/10.2IP)…outside of those 3 starts, he’s recorded a 3.43 ERA (38ER/100.1IP) on the year.
EL REPTIL: The Dominican hurler has made 21 starts in 2023…the Astros have gone 14-7 in his 21 starts this season and are 20-7 in Javier’s last 27 starts dating back to Aug. 31, 2022…in those 27 starts, he’s recorded a 3.64 ERA (59ER/146IP) with 151 strikeouts, a 1.10 WHIP and a .211 opponent batting average.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: has pitched primarily as a starter over the last 2 seasons for the Astros (2022-23)…among qualifying AL pitchers over that span, ranks 3rd in opponent average (.198), 5th in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (10.37), 8th in WHIP (1.06), 10th in strikeouts (301) and T-12th in wins (18).
INVISIBALL: has held opponents to a .194 average (290×1498) throughout his MLB career… it’s the lowest opponent’s batting average among qualified MLB pitchers since entering the league in 2020…the next-closest players are RHP Corbin Burnes (.194) and RHP Shohei Ohtani (.201).
BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
SHORT MEMORY: The O’s had their four-game winning streak snapped after falling to the Astros last night, 7-6, in the opener of the three-game set at Oriole Park…Marked just their fourth loss when leading after eight innings this season.
Grayson Rodriguez did not factor in the decision after allowing two runs on six hits with two walks, a hit batter, and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings, his second career quality start; owns a 3.45 ERA (11 ER/28.2 IP) in five starts since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on July 17, including a 2.66 ERA (7 ER/23.2 IP) in his last four outings.
Adley Rutschman smacked a two-run homer in the second inning, his 15th of the year; entering play today, his 15 homers are tied for fifth among primary catchers.
Manager Brandon Hyde was ejected by first base umpire Edwin Moscoso in the sixth inning; marked his 13th career ejection and first since July 6, 2023 at New York-AL.
NO DOUBTER: Ryan Mountcastle slugged a 472-foot, two-run blast in the first inning last night to put the O’s on the board…Marked the longest home run hit by an Orioles player at Oriole Park in the Statcast era (since 2015), surpassing a 465-foot shot by Manny Machado on June 2, 2017 vs. Boston…It is the second-longest Statcast-era home run at Oriole Park overall, trailing only a 474-foot homer by Houston’s Carlos Correa on August 10, 2019…With an exit velocity of 113.1 mph, it was also tied for the hardest-hit homer of Mountcastle’s career with a sixth-inning, solo blast off Jordan Montgomery on September 16, 2021 vs. New York-AL.
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 of their last five, eight of 11, 21 of 29, and 22 of 32…At 70-43 (.619), the Orioles have the best record in the AL and second-best in MLB and are one of three teams with a .600 winning percentage (see box at right)…The Birds are 132-92 (.589) 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 2.0-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 10-game hitting streak since July 28, the longest by an O’s batter this season…Entering today’s games, it is tied for the thirdlongest active streak in the AL and sixth-longest active streak in MLB…His last longer streak was his career-long 13-gamer from July 28 to August 21, 2021…Mountcastle is slashing .409/.453/.652 (27-for-66) with seven doubles, three homers, 13 runs scored, 12 RBI, seven walks, and one stolen base in 22 games while tallying a hit in 17 of his 18 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 fourgame series since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954.
DUCKS ON THE POND: Adley Rutschman has an RBI in seven straight games since August 1, the longest such streak of his career and the longest streak by an O’s batter since Anthony Santander also drove in a run in seven straight from July 28 to August 3, 2022…Since the team moved to Baltimore in 1954, the club record is an 11-game RBI streak by Doug DeCinces from September 22, 1978 to April 6, 1979, and the single-season club record is 10 games by Reggie Jackson from July 11-23, 1976 and DeCinces in 1978.
TOP GUNN: Gunnar Henderson is slashing .275/.329/.554 (56-for-204) with nine doubles, three triples, 14 homers, 34 runs scored, 37 RBI, 16 walks, one hit-by-pitch, and four stolen bases in 52 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, 113), RBI (10th), and runs (T-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).
FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME: Baltimore is 35-22 (.614) at Oriole Park this season, the thirdbest home winning percentage in the AL and fifth-best in MLB…The O’s have gone 80-58 (.580) at Oriole Park since the start of last season, the fourth-best home record in the AL and eighth-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.
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.
PRIME TIME: The Orioles have been selected to appear on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 15, as they take on the Rays at 7:05 p.m. at Oriole Park.
ROSTER MOVES: The Orioles today announced that they have activated right-handed pitcher Jacob Webb…He will wear No. 66…In a corresponding move, right-handed pitcher Joey Krehbiel was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.
STARTING PITCHER – #15 JACK FLAHERTY RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 22nd start of the season, first at Oriole Park, and second career start against the Astros tonight…Made his Orioles debut on August 3 against at Rogers Centre; was acquired by the O’s from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for LHP Drew Rom, INF César Prieto, and RHP Zack Showalter on August 1…Had spent his entire professional career with St. Louis after being selected in the first round (No. 34 overall) of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Harvard-Westlake High School (CA)… Since his MLB debut in 2017, Flaherty had more strikeouts (706) than any other Cardinal while throwing the third-most innings (633.0) prior to the trade…Pitched to a 41-31 record with a 3.58 ERA (252 ER/633.0 IP) and 50 quality starts in 122 career appearances (118 starts) with St. Louis…His 706 strikeouts in his first 122 career appearances are the most by a Cardinals pitcher in that span in franchise history (since 1882)…Allowed six hits-orfewer in 30 straight starts from September 20, 2020 to April 28, 2023, the longest such streak in team history…Flaherty’s 6.22 run support average this season is tied for 18th-highest in MLB.
LAST TIME OUT: In his Orioles debut on August 3 at Rogers Centre, earned his eighth win of the season and first win as an Oriole after allowing one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Threw 92 pitches, 61 strikes.
A DEBUT TO REMEMBER: After allowing the first two batters to reach on August 3 at Toronto, Flaherty set down 15 straight Blue Jays before surrendering a single to Kevin Kiermaier to lead off the fifth inning… According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Flaherty became the second pitcher since the O’s moved to Baltimore in 1954 to retire 15 straight batters at any point in his debut with the team, joining Dave McNally, who set down 17 in a row in his MLB debut on September 26 (G1), 1962 vs. Kansas City… McNally went on to throw a shutout, scattering two hits and three walks while striking out four in 9.0 innings of work…Flaherty’s eight strikeouts on August 3 are tied for the fourth-most by a pitcher in his O’s debut in club history; the last hurler to accomplish the feat for Baltimore was Bud Norris (8 K) on August 1, 2013 vs. Houston…Flaherty’s 19 swings and misses at Rogers Centre are tied for the second-most by an Orioles pitcher in a game this season, trailing Kyle Gibson’s 22 on July 9 at Minnesota; they are tied for the ninth-most in a game in Flaherty’s career and are his second-most in a game this season, behind the 23 he recorded with St. Louis on April 23 at Seattle
CAREER AGAINST THE ASTROS AND AL WEST:Is slated to make his second career start against the Astros tonight…Did not factor in the decision in his last start against Houston, with the Cardinals, on July 26, 2019…Allowed two runs on three hits (1 HR) with one walk and nine strikeouts in 6.0 innings… Threw 108 pitches, 70 pitches…Making his eighth career start against the AL West division…Did not factor in the decision last time out on June 7, 2023 vs. Texas, while with the Cardinals…Allowed three hits with five walks with eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Threw 105 pitches, 56 strikes…Sports a 1-2 record with a 7.07 ERA (28 ER/35.2 IP) and four quality starts against the AL West in seven career outings.
JACK OF ALL TRADES: Flaherty (.216, 27.2%) is one of 10 MLB pitchers to own an opponent batting average of .220 or lower and a strikeout percentage of 25 percent- or-better since 2018 (min. 2500 batters faced)… His 84 games with five-or-fewer hits in that span are tied for 10th-most among MLB starting pitchers, while his 27 scoreless outings are tied for the eighth-most.
SHIFTING SPEEDS: Opposing batters are slashing .165/.247/.304 (13- for-79) with seven extra-base hits (5-2B, 2 HR) and 30 strikeouts against Flaherty’s knuckle curveball this season…In 2022, Flaherty held hitters to a .150/.190/.200 (3-for-20) slash line against the off-speed pitch…Its whiff rate has increased from 35.9 percent in 2022 to 41.7 percent this season.
HOMER (UN)HAPPY: Flaherty did not allow a home run in nine straight starts from May 15 to July 6, the longest such streak by a Cardinals starter and tied for the third-longest streak by an MLB starting pitcher this season… Has allowed 10 home runs in 115.2 innings across his 21 starts this season; entering play today, he ranks among qualified MLB pitchers in HR/9 (6th, 0.78).
