HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros and Red Sox play the 2nd game of this 3-game set at Fenway Park tonight at 6:10 p.m. CT…rookie RHP J.P. France (9-5) will make his 19th start (20th app.) as he takes on Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (10-7)…Rematch: France and Bello were the opposing pitchers on Thursday (8/24) in HOU, which ended in a 17-1 Red Sox victory.
VS. THE RED SOX: The Astros are 3-2 vs. BOS this season, splitting a 4-game set at Minute Maid Park last week (8/21- 24)…At The Fens: The Astros are 15-20 all-time at Fenway Park, but are 11-6 here since the start of the 2017 season… Postseason Foes: The Astros and Red Sox have faced off three times in the postseason since 2017…in those matchups, the Astros defeated the Bosox in the 2017 ALDS and in the 2021 ALCS, while the Bosox topped the Astros in the 2018 ALCS.
VIVE la FRANCE: RHP J.P. France has been one of the top rookie hurlers in the AL in 2023, posting a 9-5 mark with a 3.51 ERA (43ER/110.1IP)…among rookie AL starters, he ranks 2nd in ERA (3.51) and win pct. (.643) and 3rd in wins (9)… Roadie: France is 5-2 in his 9 road apps. (8 GS) with a 1.92 ERA (11ER/51.2IP)…he has allowed 1 run or less in 5 of his 8 road starts overall.
CYCLING: Last night, Jose Altuve became the 1st Astros player to hit for the cycle in 10 years…his hits were a double in the 3rd inning, a single in the 5th, a triple in the 6th and a HR in the 8th.
Cycle Notebook
-Prior to last night, OF Brandon Barnes had been the last Astro to hit for the cycle (7/19/13 vs. SEA).
-last night marked the 9th time that an Astros player has hit for the cycle… Altuve is the 8th different Astro to hit for the cycle and just the 3rd to do so on the road…last was Craig Biggio on 4/8/02 at COL.
-was the 6th time that a visiting player has hit for the cycle at Fenway Park, which opend in 1912.
HIT PARADE: With their 18 hits last night, the Astros set club records for hits in two consecutive and three consecutive games…they have tallied 43 hits in their last 2 games and 57 hits in their last 3 games, both franchise records…the previous records had been 39 hits for 2 consecutive games and 51 hits for 3 consecutive games…additionally, the Astros 57 hits are the most in the Majors in a 3-game span since BOS recorded 60 hits, 8/14-16 of 2015.
Astros Last 3 Games
Sat. at DET: 9-2 win (14 hits)
Sun. at DET: 17-4 win (25 hits, tied club record for hits)
Mon. at BOS: 13-5 win (18 hits)
RUNS GALORE: The Astros have tallied a combined 39 runs over the last 3 games, which is their most in a 3-game span since scoring a franchise-record 43 runs, Sept. 8-10, 2019.
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: The Astros record for hits in 4 consecutive games is 66, set Aug. 23-26 of 1975; The Astros most runs over a 4-game span: 51, Aug. 6-10 of 2019.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have reinstated OF Michael Brantley from the 60-Day Injured List and optioned OF Corey Julks to Triple A Sugar Land…to make room for Brantley on the 40-man roster, RHP Jake Cousins was designated for assignment…Brantley, a five-time All-Star, has not appeared in a game since June 26 of last season after undergoing right shoulder surgery.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Astros are 40-27 (.597) on the road this season, which ranks 2nd in the AL…the Astros have not lost a road series since dropping 2 of 3 games at Dodger Stadium, 6/23-25…since that weekend, they have had 8 road series, winning 6 and tying 2…they are 20-10 (.667) on the road in that span.
Best Road Record-AL
- Baltimore: 41-24 (.631)
- Houston: 40-27 (.597)
- Seattle: 37-28 (.569)
HIT RECORD: The Astros tied the franchise record with 25 hits in their 17-4 win at DET on Sunday…it marked the 5th time an Astros team has tallied that many hits in a game…the last time was in a 21-5 win on 8/18/22 at CWS…all 5 times that the Astros have registered 25 hits have come on the road… the other 3 times were: 5/30/76 at ATL; 7/2/76 at CIN (14 inn.); 8/10/10 at BAL.
PENA POWER: Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña is 8×16 (.500) on the current road trip with 2 2B, 1 3B and 3 RBI (1.329 OPS)… on Sunday at DET, he became the 5th Astros SS to tally 5 hits in a game, going 5×6 on the day…he is hitting .337 (31×92) in August with a .430 OBP and an .865 OPS.
LEFT-ON-LEFT: Tucker has also been the top LHH in the AL vs. LHP this season, ranking 1st in OPS (.965), and SLG (.580), T-1st in HR (11) and 2nd in batting avg. (.320) (min. 130 PA).
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP J.P. FRANCE
LAST START – 8/24 VS. BOS: will be making his 2nd straight start vs. the Red Sox…faced them for the 1st time in his career last Thursday in Houston…allowed a career-high 11 hits and 10 runs through through 2.1 IP, which was the shortest start of his career…struck out 3 batters and surrendered 2 walks.
RISING STAR: since his debut on May 6, ranks 8th in the AL with a 3.51 ERA…is also T-2nd in the AL in wins over that span.
HISTORIC START: is 1 of 6 players in Astros history, and the 1st since RHP Brian Wilson (1991-93), to record 100+ IP through their first 19 career appearances…his 3.51 ERA is the 3rd-lowest of the group, behind RHP Don Wilson (3.13) and RHP Tom Griffin (3.47)…his 9 winning decisions are tied for the most in an Astros history through a player’s first 19 career outings, with LHP Wandy Rodriguez (2005) the last to do so.
WINNING STREAK: prior to his last start on Aug. 18 vs. SEA, won 7 consecutive winning decisions, which is the longest streak by an Astros pitcher this season…the last Astros pitcher to win more than 8 consecutive decisions was Justin Verlander (9) from June 24-Sept. 16 in 2022…it’s T-6th for the longest winning streak from an MLB pitcher this season (including relievers)…the last Astros rookie to win 7 consecutive decisions was RHP Josh James from Sept. 18, 2018-Sept. 5, 2019…per Elias, the Astros record for a rookie winning streak is 9, set by LHP Jeriome Robertson (2003) and RHP Donnie Wall (1995-96).
ROOKIE LEADERBOARD: among AL rookies (min. 100 IP), ranks 2nd in ERA (3.51), trailing only CLE RHP Tanner Bibee (3.01)…is T-1st among MLB rookies in quality starts (12), matching NYM RHP Kodai Senga…among AL rookies (min. 100 IP), also ranks 3rd in wins (9), 3rd in opponent OPS (.719), 3rd in WHIP (1.31), 4th in opponent batting average (.261) and 5th in WAR produced by STATS (1.3).
QUALITY STUFF: is T-2nd for most quality starts (12) through a player’s first 19 career outings in Astros franchise history, trailing RHP Mark Lemongello (13)..also logged 6 consecutive quality starts from June 4-July 5 and logged 6+ innings in 7 straight starts from May 29-July 5…the last Astros rookie with 7 straight starts of 6.0+ was RHP Chris Sampson, who had a 9-game streak in 2007…the last Astros rookie with a streak of at least 6 straight quality starts in a single season was also Sampson, who went on a 7-game streak (May 11, 2007-June 13, 2007)…the only other Astros pitcher with a longer quality start streak this season was a 7-game streak from LHP Framber Valdez (April 4-May 9).
ON THE ROAD: has posted a 1.92 ERA (11ER/51.2IP) through the first 9 road games of his career… has held opponent’s to a .638 OPS in those starts…is the 2nd lowest road ERA in the Majors from a starting pitcher (min. 40 IP), trailing only TB RHP Aaron Civale (1.86).
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have lost 3 of their last 4 games and 5 of their last 8…They’re 13-13 during August. The Sox are 29-21(.580) in their last 50 games since 6/30, tied with MIN for MLB’s 9th best record in that span (T-4th best in the AL). At 69-63 (.523), Boston is tied with Arizona and Minnesota for MLB’s 12th-best record.
DUV-ALL ABOUT IT: Adam Duvall was named AL Player of the Week yesterday…It was the 2nd time in his career he’s won the award (also 4/3) and the 3rd time this season a Red Sox player has earned the honors (also Yoshida, 5/8). In his last 8 games, Duvall has hit .469 (15-for-32) with a 1.188 SLG, 1.702 OPS, 5 doubles, 6 HR, 8 runs scored and 14 RBI. Duvall leads AL players during that span in hits, doubles, HR, XBH, RBI, AVG, SLG, and OPS (min. 20 AB).
SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox are 3-2-1 in their last 6 series…At 22-17-3, they have already matched their series win total from 2022 (22-24-6). Since the start of July, Boston is 6-2-0 in home series.
HOME COOKING: Boston is currently on a 6-game homestand against LAD (81-49) and HOU (75-58). Boston is 15-9 in its last 24 home games and 36-31 overall, compared to 33-32 on the road. At home, the Sox lead the majors in AVG (.286) and OBP (.351)…They also rank 3rd in SLG (.467) and OPS (.818), and 4th in runs scored per game (5.3).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 20 of the Red Sox’ remaining 30 games will be against teams that currently have a winning record (BAL-7, TB-5, TEX-3, TOR-3, HOU-2). BOS is 36-37 against teams with a current record of .500 or better, and 33-26 against teams below .500.
NO TIME TO REST: The Sox are 7-7 so far in their stretch of 16 consecutive days with a game from 8/15-30. They’re in a stretch of 32 games in 34 days (7/28-8/30).
SOX & ASTROS: The Red Sox and Astros are in a stretch of 7 matchups in a 10-day span from 8/21-30. BOS and HOU split a 4-game series in Houston last week…Boston lost the first 2 games, but won the last 2. The Sox are 7-5 in their last 12 games vs. HOU, beginning 6/10/21, including 3-2 at home in that span.
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox have homered in each of their last 17 games (30 total HR), their longest streak since August 2019 (19 games, 8/7-30). Boston has hit 24 HR in their last 12 games since 8/17, 1 behind SEA and PHI for most in MLB in that span. The Sox have homered in 25 of their 26 August games, after homering in only 16 of their previous 28 games.
SCORING IN BUNCHES: The Red Sox have scored multiple runs in an inning at least once in each of their last 15 games (26 multi-run innings in that time). It marks their longest such streak since April 2018 (15 games, 4/2-20)…The last time the Sox did so in more than 15 games was in May 2005 (16 games)(source: Elias). Only 3 teams have had a longer streak this season: ATL (2x, 26 G and 22 G), TEX (22 G), and PHI (17 G).
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Red Sox lead MLB in doubles (288)… Among AL teams, they rank 2nd in AVG (.265), OPB (.332), and XBH (461), and rank 3rd in SLG (.440) and OPS (.772).
RISPY BUSINESS: With RISP, Boston ranks 2nd in MLB in hits (329) and AVG (.281), and ranks 4th in OBP (.357). With RISP and 0 or 1 out, they own an AL-best .301 AVG. In their last 6 games, the Red Sox have hit .333 with a .420 OBP with RISP (23-for-69, 4 2B, 4 HR, 10 BB).
HANG TEN: Boston has recorded 10+ hits in 56 games, 3rd most in MLB behind TEX (62) and ATL (58). They have done so in 9 of their last 12 games, recording at least 9 hits in 11 of those 12. The Sox recorded at least 9 hits in 10 consecutive games from 8/17-26, their longest such streak since 2013 (14 games) and tied with ATL and TOR for the longest of any team in 2023.
HIGH FIVE: The Red Sox are 56-9 (.862) when scoring 5+ runs, the 2nd-best record in MLB behind SEA (56-8, .875). They’ve scored at least 5 runs in 10 of their last 15 games, compared to just 2 of their previous 10. Since 6/14, the Sox are 29-3 when scoring 5+ runs.
LOCK IT DOWN: Boston owns MLB’s best record when leading after 6 innings (53-3, .946)…In 2022, they ranked 18th in MLB when leading after 6 (63-10, .863). The Sox rank 2nd in MLB in save % (76.5; 39-for-51), after ranking 24th last season (57.4; 39-for-68). Nine pitchers have earned a save for the Sox this season, tied with CWS and TB for most in the AL and 2nd most in MLB (LAD-10).
CLOSING ACT: Kenley Jansen has converted each of his last 20 save opportunities since 5/20, MLB’s 2nd-longest active streak behind TOR’s Jordan Romano (21).
Since 6/9, Chris Martin has allowed only 1 run over his last 29 outings (25.2 IP)…He ranks 2nd in MLB with a 0.35 ERA in that span (min. 20.0 IP).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 66 BRAYAN BELLO – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 10-7 3.56 22 22 126.1 50 17 34 104 1.28 .261
CAREER 12-15 3.92 35 33 183.2 80 18 61 159 1.44 .279
Earned his team-leading 10th win of the season last Thursday at HOU after allowing 1 run over 7.0 IP (9 H, 3 BB, 4 SO). BOS is 15-7 in his starts…Leads the Sox in wins (10), starts (22), and IP (126.1). Owns a 3-1 record with a 3.56 ERA (11 ER/30.1 IP) in 5 starts in August. Has issued 2 or fewer walks in 19 of his 22 starts this season and 1 or fewer in 11. Has tossed 6.0+ innings in 12 of his last 14 starts, including 5 of his last 6. Opponents have hit .181 (23-for-127, 5 XBH) with 49 SO against his changeup. In his 12 starts before the All-Star break (4/29-7/5), posted a 2.35 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and .219 opponent AVG (72.2 IP, 19 ER, 60 H, 19 BB, 62 SO).
