HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Astros and Rangers will play the 3rd game of this 4-game set this afternoon at Globe Life Field… rookie RHP Shawn Dubin (0-0) will make his 1st ML start as he takes on Rangers LHP Andrew Heaney (5-5).
THE SILVER BOOT: In the Lone Star Series, the Astros have claimed the Silver Boot/season series vs. TEX in each of the last 6 seasons, with a combined record of 70-35 (.667) in that span (2017-22)…the Astros are 2-3 vs. TEX thus far in 2023…Swinging Pendulum: These two Texas teams each have had stretches of dominance in the Lone Star Series, which began in 2001…in the first six seasons (2001-06), the Astros held the upper hand with a 20-16 record…that was followed by a long stretch of dominance by the Rangers, who went 79-33 vs. HOU from 2007-16…in 2017, the Astros reversed that trend and are 71-36 vs. TEX since then…at Globe Life Field: The Astros have won 5 of 6, 8 of 10 and 10 of their last 13 at Globe Life Field.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON: The Astros are 14-7 (.667) vs. AL West opponents this season, which is tops within the division (TEX is 16-9, .640)…since the start of 2022, the Astros are 65-32 (.670) vs. their AL West opponents, and since 2017, the Astros are a combined 285-156 (.646) vs. their AL West opponents.
YOUNG DUBIN: Today will be RHP Shawn Dubin’s 1st ML start and 3rd app. overall since being recalled from Triple A Sugar Land on 6/18…in his last app., he hurled 2.0 innings in relief in the Astros 10-7, comeback win at STL (2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO)…he made his ML debut on 6/19 in an 11-1 loss vs. NYM (3 IP, 5 ER)…Collecting the K’s: Dubin has tallied 8 strikeouts in his 5.0 ML innings this season and 358 K’s in his 276.0 career minor league innings (11.7 SO/9IP).
ROOKIE RUMBLE: Today’s starter RHP Shawn Dubin will be the 4th Astros rookie hurler to start a game in 2023…HOU enters today having received 31 starts from rookie pitchers this season, ranking third in the Majors behind OAK (43) and CLE (38)… Homegrown: Including today, all 9 starting pitchers used by the Astros in 2023 are products of the minor league system.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Astros were topped by the Rangers yesterday in Arlington, 5-2…starter RHP Hunter Brown (6-5) took the loss (4 IP, 3 ER)…Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi held the Astros offense in check, allowing just 2 hits in 7.0 scoreless frames…Kyle Tucker put the Astros on the board in the 9th inning with a 2-run HR (#12)…Streak Snapped: Yesterday’s loss snapped the Astros 5-game win streak at Globe Life Field.
IN THE DAYTIME: Today is the 2nd of 5 consecutive scheduled day games for the Astros, which will be their most consecutive day games since playing 5 straight, 8/30-9/3 of 2007 (source: Elias).
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 3 of 4, 4 of 6 and 6 of their last 10 games.
LEADING MAN: Jose Altuve’s leadoff HR Fri. night was his 1st of the season and the 34th of his career…it was also his 13th since the start of the 2022 season, which is T-1st in the AL and T-2nd in the Majors in that span…his 34 career leadoff HR rank T-14th all-time and are 3rd in franchise history.
Career Leadoff HR – Astros Most Leadoff HR-Since 2022
- Craig Biggio – 53 1. Mookie Betts – 16
- George Springer – 39 T2. Jose Altuve – 13
- Jose Altuve – 34 T2. George Springer – 13
LONG TRIP: The Astros current, 10-game road trip is their longest of the season (4-4 thus far)…they are 4-3 on this trip thus far, going 1-2 at LAD and 2-1 at STL, respectively, prior to the current series at TEX.
RUN PRODUCTION: The Astros have scored 48 runs in the 1st 8 games of the current road trip (6.0 per game) with 12 HR and 16 doubles (.805 OPS)…HOU is 3rd in the AL in runs scored since the start of the trip (6/23).
ROAD WARRIORS: The Astros are 23-19 (.548) on the road this season, which is T-3rd in the AL…they have finished at .500 or above on 4 of their 5 previous road trips…HOU’s 74-49 (.602) road record since the start of 2022 is tops in the AL.
JUNE BUGS: Alex Bregman (24) and Jose Abreu (21) ranked 3rd and 6th, respectively, in the AL for RBI in the month of June…Bregman tallied his 24 RBI in 26 games played.
Most AL RBI – June
- S. Ohtani – 29 4. J. Ramirez – 23
- C. Seager – 25 5. J. Turner – 22
- A. Bregman – 24 6. J. Abreu – 21
GRAND SALAMIS: Alex Bregman’s grand slam Thurs. night at STL was his 2nd of the current road trip and his 3rd of the season, which is tops in the Majors…additionally, his 7 career grand slams tie the franchise record, which he now shares with Jose Altuve and Carlos Lee…the Astros now have 7 grand slams in 2023, which is 4 shy of the franchise single-season record of 11 set in 2019.
ROADIES: RHP Hector Neris has allowed just 1 ER and 6 hits in his 18 road appearances for an 0.59 ERA (1ER/15.1IP) and .120 opp. avg…RHP Phil Maton has posted an 0.98 ERA (2ER/18.1IP) in his 18 road appearances , allowing just 8 hits for a .136 opp. avg.
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.5) in the Majors, just ahead of MIN (3.62).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB
- Houston: 3.58
- Minnesota: 3.62
- Tampa Bay: 3.65
TODAY’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP SHAWN DUBIN
LAST APPEARANCE – 6/28 AT STL: worked 2.0 IP in relief on Wednesday at STL, striking out 4 batters and allowing a run on 2 hits without surrendering a walk…has struck out 4 batters in each of his 2 MLB appearances (5.0 IP).
STARTING DEBUT: is set to make his first career MLB start in what will be his 3rd career appearance…will become the 3rd Astros pitcher this season to make his first career MLB start, joining RHP J.P. France and RHP Ronel Blanco.
WELCOME TO THE BIGS: was recalled from Triple A Sugar Land on June 18 and made his Major League debut on June 19 vs. NYM in a 3.0-IP relief appearance… struck out Mets OF Brandon Nimmo for his first career strikeout, which was the first batter he faced in his career…his debut appearance was the 3rd-longest relief outing from an Astros pitcher this season, trailing RHP Brandon Bielak (4.0, 5/1 vs. SF) and RHP Seth Martinez (3.1, 6/9 at CLE).
BRING THE HEAT: has averaged 95.5 mph with his fastball through his first 2 MLB appearances and ranks in the 85th percentile in fastball spin, per Baseball Savant.
TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas bounced back to defeat the Astros yesterday, 5-2, as the club now has a 3-3 record on this 8-G, 8-day homestand vs. DET (2-2) and HOU (1-1 + 2 G)… TEX snapped a 2 G losing streak, is now 2-3 in last 5 G and 5-5 in last 10 G…team is 8-6 in last 14 G after a 2-7 span from 6/7-16…have a 10-13 record last 23 G beg. 6/7…team has gone 15-13 in June, T3rd-best in A.L. (see below), and has won 21 of 36, 24 of 40, and 32 of last 52 G (beg. 5/6)… team still has A.L.-best 36-22 (.621) record since 4/28, T2nd in MLB to only ATL (38-18, .679)…TEX is 42-27 in last 69 G and 46-29 last 75 G (beg. 4/9).
- At 50-33 (.602), TEX owns the 3rd-best record in MLB to ATL (.671, 55-27) and TB (.663, 57-29)…club’s 50 wins rank T3rd in MLB (57-TB, 55-ATL, 50-TEX/ARI).
- The 50-33 mark is T2nd-best 83-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
- Yesterday marked the earliest date for the Rangers to reach 50 wins in a season since 6/27/16 (50-27)…last season, TEX did not reach the 50 win mark until 8/13 vs. SEA.
SERIES STUFF: TEX has gone 2-3-1 in last 6 series after a stretch of 6 straight series victories from 5/19-6/7…those 6 straight series wins marked longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20-6/20/16… club is 17-7-2 overall in series this year, going 8-3-2 at home and 9-4-0 on the road…is 13-4-2 in last 19 series and 16-5-2 in last 23…TEX has gone 7-2-2 in last 11 series at GLF.
AT HOME: TEX is 27-16 (.628) at home, 3rd-best home record in MLB: TB (.773, 34-10), ATL (.659, 29-15)…marks TEX’s best 43-G start at home since 2019 (28-15), and one of best marks after 43 home games in team history (see chart)…club has won 5 of 8 at GLF, but is 6-8 in last 14 G here…has still won 14 of 22, 15 of 24, 19 of 30, and 24 of last 38 at GLF (beg. 4/5)…TEX owns a 113-122 all-time record at GLF (2020-23), 33-23 last 56 G here beg. 9/11/22.
- TEX leads MLB in R (270) and R/G (6.28) at home in 2023…club has scored 44 R (6.3 R/G) last 7 G in Arlington.
VS. HOUSTON: Texas is 3-2 against the Astros to open the 2023 Lone Star Series for the coveted Silver Boot…this is the 2nd series of ’23, as TEX took 2 of 3 from 4/14-16 at Minute Maid Park, the team’s 1st series victory in Houston since 7/27-29/18 (3-0)…TEX has lost season series in 5 of last 6 years (tied 5-5 in 2020)…TEX is 4-3 in last 7 G vs. HOU, but has lost 7 of 11, 18 of 26, and 26 of last 36 G (beg. 6/15/21).
- Rangers lead in the all-time series (133-125) and all-time games in Arlington (70-58), but trail all-time at GLF (11-14).
- Texas is 16-9 against A.L. West opponents in 2023, losing 4 of last 6 G after a 14-5 start to the year…TEX is 7-5 in division games at home, losing 4 of 6 after a 5-1 start.
EOVALDI REACHES 10: Nathan Eovaldi earned his team-leading 10th win of the season (now 10-3) after tossing 7.0 SHO IP and inducing a season-high 3 GIDP yesterday…
he becomes just the 2nd TEX pitcher since ’13 with 10+ wins prior to the All-Star break, joining Lance Lynn in ’19 (11-4)… it is the 3rd 10+ win season of his career (14-2015 w/ NYY, 11-2021 w/ BOS).
- Eovaldi is 9-1, 2.05 ERA (22 ER/96.2 IP) with 87 SO/24 BB over his last 14 GS (4/18), the first TEX pitcher to post 9+ wins and an ERA of 2.05-or-lower over a 14-start span since Kenny Rogers from 4/6-6/17/05 (9-2, 1.98 ERA)…he leads MLB with 112.1 IP, the most frames tossed by a Ranger in his first 17 starts of a season since Mike Minor in 2019 (112.2 IP).
MOST INNINGS PITCHED, MLB, 2023
IP Pitcher Team
112.1 Nathan Eovaldi TEX
110.1 Logan Webb SF
107.2 Marcus Stroman CHC
NEED FOR SPEED: Travis Jankowski tallied 2 singles and a pair of stolen bases yesterday, just the 2nd multi-steal game by a Ranger in ’23 (also 2 SB by Marcus Semien on 5/13 at OAK)…despite playing in just 48 of the team’s 83 G this season, his 10 SB in ’23 lead all Rangers…he has reached base safely via H/BB in his last 13 GS, and is batting .409 (9-22) with 9 BB/2 SO over his last 11 G dating back to 6/15.
I HAVE THE POWER: Corey Seager produced a season-high 113.6-mph exit velocity (Statcast) on his 4th-inning single yesterday, the hardest-hit batted ball by a TEX SS in the Statcast era (beg. 2015) and 2nd-highest exit velo. of Seager’s career (115.3, HR on 9/30/21 vs. SD w/ LAD)…he reached base 3x yesterday (2 1B, 1 BB), and has now reached base safely in 20 straight G (beg. 6/10)…it is T2nd-longest onbase streak by TEX in ’23 (33-Semien, 20-Lowe/Seager) and T2nd-longest of his career behind a 21-G run from 8/3-27/17.
- Seager has reached base 44 times over the course of the streak (31 H, 12 BB, 1 HBP), batting .383/.468/.654/1.122 (31-81) w/ 10 2B, 4 HR, and 20 RBI.
SEMIEN PLAYING THE SINGLES: Marcus Semien singled in his 1st 3 trips to the plate yesterday, his 6th multi-hit effort in his last 8 G (beg. 6/24)…has batted .429 (15-35) over that span to raise his season BA from .271 to .287, 10th in the A.L…his team-leading 101 hits this season are the most by any Ranger before the All-Star break since Shin-Soo Choo in ’18 (102)…he joins Ian Kinsler (101-2012, 134-2008) as the only 2B in club history to record 100+ H before the break.
SHORTS: The 2023 A.L. and N.L. All-Star teams will be unveiled in their entirety today at 5:30 p.m. ET on the “2023 Scotts MLB All-Star Selection Show” on ESPN…yesterday was TEX’s lowest run total in a game w/ 15+ H since 5/21/17 at DET (5 R/15 H), and the lowest run total in a home game w/ 15+ H since 5/9/06 vs. MIN (5 R/15 H)…the 15 H were also the most ever by TEX in a homerless game at GLF… yesterday’s paid attendance (40,380) was the highest for any Rangers game in Globe Life Field history (prev. 40,027 on 4/29/23 vs. NYY) and the 7th sellout of GLF in ’23…the Rangers have gone 22-10 in days games this season, including 12-2 in day tilts at home.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #44 Andrew Heaney, LHP (5-5, 4.38)
TODAY: The 32-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 16th appearance/ start of the season this afternoon in game 3 of this 4-game set with the Astros in Arlington…went 1-2, 5.87 ERA (15 ER/23.0 IP) in 5 starts last month to raise his season ERA from 3.76 to 4.38, highest since 5/14 (4.71)…is still 5-4, 3.70 (31 ER/75.1 IP) over his last 14 starts beg. 4/10…has posted quality starts in 4 of 9 and 6 of his last 12 outings, as his 6 QS this season are 4th-most among Texas pitchers (10-Eovaldi, 8-Pérez 7-Gray)…9.35 strikeouts per 9.0 innings figure would rank 14th in A.L. if he qualified…has allowed team-high 14 HR, incl. multiple HR in 2 straight and 5 of 15 GS in 2023…will work on 5 days’ rest after taking loss in Rangers’ 7-2 defeat on Mon. vs. DET (see ‘Last Start’)…is in his first season with Texas after signing a two-year free agent contract with the club on 12/9/22…is seeking to build on a 2022 campaign in which he produced career bests in ERA (3.10), WHIP (1.087), and strikeout rate (13.6 SO/9) with the Los Angeles Dodgers despite being limited by a pair of Injured List stints…the 9-year MLB veteran has appeared in 152 games/141 starts with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL (2015-21), New York-AL (2021), Los Angeles-NL (2022), and Texas (2023)…an Oklahoma City native, Heaney pitched collegiately at Oklahoma State University before being selected by the Miami Marlins in the first round (9th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft…TEX is 9-6 in Heaney’s 15 starts this season.
AS OF LATE: After surrendering season-high 7 R-ER in his Rangers debut on 4/4 vs. BAL (L, 2.2 IP, 7 R-ER), Heaney has gone 5-4 with a 3.70 ERA (31 ER/75.1 IP), 79 SO/32 BB, and a .220 opp. BA (61-277) in his last 14 starts (beg. 4/10)… that stretch has cut his season ERA from a season-high 23.63 to 4.38…he ranks among A.L. qualifiers over that period in opp. BA (13th), SO/9 (14th, 9.44), and ERA (T20th)…he went 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA (15 ER/23.0 IP) over 5 starts in June, but is still 3-2, 3.64 ERA (17 ER/42.0 IP) in his last 8 starts dating back to 5/14.
TOUGH ON LEFT: Left-handed batters have slashed .122/.280/.146/.426 (5- 41) with just one extra-base hit (2B) against Heaney in 2023…his .122 opp. BA allowed vs. lefties is the T3rd-lowest mark in the A.L. (min. 50 LHB faced) and .426 opp. OPS figure is 5th-lowest…Heaney has held lefties to a .186/.297/.275/.571 (19-102) slash line and just one HR (Jake Cronenworth on 9/11/22 at SD w/ LAD) over the last 2 seasons (beg. 2022).
LAST START: Took loss in Texas’ 7-2 defeat on Mon. vs. DET (L, 5.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R-ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR, 101 pitches/65 strikes)…6 R-ER allowed were most since 5/3 vs. ARI (4.2 IP, 6 R-ER)…threw season-high 101 pitches, 1st time w/ 100+ pitches in a single outing since 8/18/21 vs. BOS w/ NYY (108)…5 of 6 R came via HR by Andy Ibáñez (3-run, 3rd inn.) and Jake Rogers (2-run, 6th inn.).
VS. HOUSTON: Heaney has gone 3-4, 3.27 ERA (24 ER/66.0 IP) in 12 career games/starts vs. Houston…most recently faced the ‘Stros in a scoreless Sunday Night Baseball outing on 4/16/23 at HOU (ND, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO), helping Texas to a 9-1 series-clinching win at Minute Maid Park…he is still winless (0-3) in his last 6 starts vs. Houston dating back to 2018, as his last victory against the Astros came on 8/30/18 at HOU w/ LAA (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO).
AT HOME: Has seen far better ERA results in his 6 starts on the road (2-2, 2.55 ERA) than in his 9 starts in Arlington (3-3, 5.91 ERA) this season…opponents are slashing .185/.263/.355/.618 (23-124) with 5 HR in his road outings compared to .268/.369/.488/.857 (45-168) with 9 HR at Globe Life Field…his 5.91 home ERA is 2nd-highest in A.L. to only MIN’s Pablo Lopez (5.94)…Heaney owns a lifetime 3-5 record and 6.31 ERA (36 ER/51.1 IP) in 11 G/GS at GLF.
