HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: With just 15 games remaining on the schedule, the first-place Astros will try to extend their 0.5- game division lead tonight in their first game of a three-game series with the Royals…tonight’s pitching matchup features former teammates Astros RHP Cristian Javier opposite Royals RHP Zack Greinke…the Astros have gone 5-1 in Javier’s last six starts.
ABOUT JAVIER: RHP Cristian Javier has had an up and down season, but has pitched the Astros to a 19-8 record in his 27 starts…he opened the season in vintage form, going 7-1 with a 2.90 ERA (26ER/80.2IP) in his first 14 starts…he then had a rough three-start stretch from June 21-July 3, in which he logged a 15.19 ERA (18ER/10.2IP)…since those outings, Javier has gone 2-2 with a 5.58 ERA (31ER/50IP) in 10 starts.
FAMILIAR FACE: The Royals RHP Zack Greinke spent two and a half seasons with the Astros from 2019-21…as a member of the Astros, he went 22-10 with a 3.89 ERA
(130ER/300.2IP)…the former Cy Young winner made three ALCS appearances along with two World Series appearances with the Astros…Greinke has spent the last two seasons with the Royals.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON: The Astros began play on Sept. 4 in a virtual tie for second place, 1.0 game back of the Mariners… they took sole possession of first place after their victory on Sept. 5 and have held that lead since…they enter tonight with a 0.5-game lead over the Rangers (82-64)…the Astros have won the AL West in five straight full seasons (excluding 2020).
VS. KANSAS CITY: The Astros and Royals are facing off for the first time this season…The Royals will also be traveling to Minute Park from Sept. 22-24 for a three-game series…the Astros were 5-2 against the Royals last season, including a 2-1 record at Kauffman Stadium.
ABOUT WEDNESDAY’S NIGHT GAME: The Astros defeated the A’s on Wednesday night, 6-2, to avoid the sweep…Astros RHP Hunter Brown made the start as he tossed five no-hit innings with seven strikeouts…the Astros offense was led by LF Yordan Alvarez (1×4, HR, 3RBI), 3B Alex Bregman (1×3, HR), RF Kyle Tucker (1×4, HR) and C Yainer Diaz (2×4, 2B, RBI).
ROAD WARRIORS: Beginning tonight, the Astros will be on the road for a three-game series. This season, they’ve gone 45-27 (.625), which ranks as the second-best road record in the AL, trailing only Baltimore (48-26)…the Astros have not lost a road series since dropping two of three at Dodger Stadium from June 23-25…since then, they have had 12 road series, winning 10 and splitting two.
YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros optioned LHP Parker Mushinski to Triple A Sugar Land following Wednesday night’s game…to take his spot on the active roster, the Astros recalled LHP Bennett Sousa from Triple A Sugar Land…Sousa will wear #62.
STREAKING ‘STRO: LF Yordan Alvarez has reached base safely in 21 straight games, while hitting .382 (29×76) with a .505 OBP and a 1.176 OPS over that stretch (since Aug. 20)…his streak is the second-longest active streak in the AL -(Teoscar Hernández, 28g) and the second-longest of the season for Alvarez (36g from March 30-May 16).
MR. 100: On Wednesday, RF Kyle Tucker hit his 100th career home run becoming the 20th player in franchise history to reach the 100-homer milestone…speaking of the number 100, Tucker surpassed 100 RBI on the season last weekend and now leads the American League in RBI on the season (105).
SPICY JALA-PEÑA: SS Jeremy Peña has 19 multi-hit games in his last 44 contests (since July 26), posting a .324 (55×170) average and a .395 OBP in that time frame…over his last 44 games, he’s raised his season average from .235 to .262.
SEÑOR SCORELESS: RHP Bryan Abreu has not allowed a run in his last 21 appearances (20.2 IP), striking out 24 batters during that span, while going two-for-two in save opportunities and posting seven holds…his streak is the longest active scoreless innings streak by a reliever in the Majors and the longest by any Astros pitcher this season…this streak is the second-longest of his career, trailing only a 21.2-inning streak reached last season.
LEVELING LEFTIES: OF Chas McCormick (.342) and SS Jeremy Peña (.333) rank first and tied for third in the AL in batting average vs. LHP…collectively, the Astros offense leads the AL in hits (412), homers (64), SLG (.473) and OPS (.815) vs. left-handed pitchers…additionally, the Astros are 28-18 in games against left-handed starters.
YOUNGBLOODS: The Astros have two rookies, RHP Hunter Brown (11-11) and RHP J.P. France (11-5), that have reached 10 wins this season…this marks just the second time in Astros history for two rookies to reach the 10-win mark in the same year…they also did so in 1986, when LHP Jim Deshaies (12-5) and RHP Charlie Kerfeld (11-2) both reached double digits.
BACK-TO-BACK: The Astros produced their 18th back-to-back home run combination in the 4th inning of Wednesday night’s game (Alvarez-Bregman)…they lead the Majors with 18 back-to-back combinations, immediately ahead of ATL with (16)…their 18 back-to-back home runs are tied with the 1996 Seattle Mariners for the most in a single season in Major League history…the Astros’ previous franchise record for
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP CRISTIAN JAVIER
LAST START – 9/9 VS. SD: last started last Saturday at home against the Padres…tossed 4.0 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts…began his outing tossing 3.0 scoreless frames before allowing a 4-run 4th inning…left the game in a 4-2 deficit, which ended as an Astros 7-5 comeback victory.
ABOUT JAVIER: the Dominican hurler has made 27 starts in 2023 with the Astros going 19-8 in his starts…the Astros have won 5 of his last 6 starts. went 7-1 with a 2.90 ERA (26ER/80.2IP) in his first 14 starts this season…then had a rough 3-start stretch from June 21-July 3, in which he logged a 15.19 ERA (18ER/10.2IP)… since those 3 outings, has gone 2-2 with a 5.58 ERA (31ER/50IP) in 10 starts. has allowed a .189 (47×249) opponent batting average and a .633 opponent OPS against right-handed hitters this season…lefties have had much more success, hitting .284 (82×289) with an .861 OPS opposite Javier. has been backed by huge run support on the season…ranks 6th in the AL in run support average (6.11), which is the highest among Astros starters (min. 125 IP).
500 CLUB: reached 500 career strikeouts during his outing on Sept. 3 vs. NYY…reached that number in his 104th career game, making him the 7th player in Astros history to reach 500 strikeouts within their first 104 career appearances (all coming with the Astros). vs. KC: has 3 career appearances against the Royals, including just 1 start…has been in the middle of all 3 of those games, earning 1 save, picking up 1 blown save and receiving a loss. made his only career start against the Royals on July 6, 2022 vs. KC…tossed 5.0 innings, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits…was hurt by 3 home runs allowed, which were hit by 3 players not currently on the Royals active roster.
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 5th in opponent average (.205) and 8th in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (10.11).
INVISIBALL: has held opponents to a .199 average (321×1615) throughout his MLB career… it’s the lowest opponent’s batting average among qualified AL pitchers since entering the league in 2020, just ahead of Shohei Ohtani (.199).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
TRIP TRACKER: After beginning the last road trip with 4 straight losses, the Royals won the last 2 games this week in Chicago to clinch their first road series win since May 15-17 in San Diego…the series-deciding victory came in Wednesday night’s 7-1 triumph on the South Side, in which Salvador Perez led the team with 3 hits—including his 800th career RBI—Michael Massey hit a 2-run home run and Nick Loftin recorded 2 hits off the bench…opener Steven Cruz (2.0 IP) and bulk pitcher Alec Marsh (4.1) combined for 6.1 innings of 1-run ball and Marsh earned his 1st career win…in the 3-game series in Chicago, Kansas City’s bullpen pitched to a 1.98 ERA (3 ER in 13.2 IP) and .136 opponents’ average (6-for-44) with no home runs allowed.
HOME STRETCH: Following their 2-4 road trip, the Royals return to Kauffman Stadium tonight to begin their penultimate homestand of the season, during which they’ll host the Astros for 3 games this weekend and the Guardians for a 3-game set next week…including tonight, the Royals have only 15 games remaining on their schedule, including 9 home games and a 6-game road trip to Houston and Detroit…the Royals will conclude their 55th season in franchise history with a 3-game set here in Kansas City from Sept. 29-Oct. 1 vs. the Yankees. The Royals are 26-46 at home but have split their last 6 games here, including a series win vs. the White Sox to cap the most recent homestand…despite ranking 29th in the Majors with 26 home victories, Kansas City’s 8 walk-off wins are tied for 4th most in the Majors behind the Twins (10), Reds (10) and Rays (9). In 28 games at Kauffman Stadium since the All-Star break, the Royals lead MLB with a .286 home batting average and lead the American League with 5.5 runs per game, including 5 games with at least 10 runs.
SALVY SPLASHES: Salvador Perez went 10-for-25 with 6 RBI on the 6-game trip, including a 3-hit effort on Wednesday night in Chicago…Salvy’s RBI single in the 7th inning on Wednesday night was the 800th RBI of his career, making him the sixth player to reach that milestone in the 55-season history of the Royals…that came one day after he surpassed Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney (1,398) for the 7th most hits in club history. Last Saturday in Toronto, he eclipsed 10,000.0 innings caught for his career, becoming the first Royal to reach that mark…according to Elias—the official statistician of Major League Baseball—catcher’s innings data is incomplete, though it’s believed he’s one of about 45 players since 1901 to reach this milestone.
VS. ASTROS: In their 148th game of the 2023 campaign tonight, the Royals will play the Astros for the first time, which will mark their 29th different opponent this season…after going 147 games to begin the season without facing the Astros, these two teams will play 6 games over the next 10 days, including a 3-game set in Houston next weekend on Kansas City’s final road trip…the Royals have lost three of their last four season series with the Astros, the only exception being a 4-3 advantage in 2021…the Royals went 2-5 vs. Houston last season, but after a 10-3 loss in the first meeting, these two teams had an even run differential over the last 6 games, 5 of which were decided by 3 runs or fewer…the Royals scored at least 6 runs in 3 straight games in Houston from July 4-6, 2022, and remain the only team in the Majors to do so vs. the Astros since the start of last season. Both tonight’s starting pitcher, Zack Greinke, and Sunday’s scheduled starter, Jordan Lyles, are former Astros…Greinke was traded to Houston at the 2019 Trade Deadline and pitched for the Astros through the 2021 season, a three-season stretch during which he went 22-10 with a 3.89 ERA (130 ER in 300.2 IP) in 52 appearances…Lyles was Houston’s 1st-round pick in 2008 and spent the first three seasons of his Major League career with the Astros from 2011-13, his first of eight teams during his 13-year career.
BOBBY BASEBALL: Bobby Witt Jr. hit .364 (8-for-22) with 5 stolen bases on the 6-game trip, and 6 of his 8 hits came in the last 3 games vs. the White Sox…Witt Jr., 23, is putting the finishing touches on his outstanding sophomore season, during which he ranks 3rd in the American League with 161 hits behind Julio Rodríguez (171) and Marcus Semien (169)…he also ranks 4th in the Majors with 44 stolen bases, behind Ronald Acuña Jr. (66), Esteury Ruiz (58) and Corbin Carroll (47)…Witt Jr., who is homerless in his last 10 games, is 2 home runs shy of becoming the first player in Royals history to record 30 HR and 30 steals in a season…Witt Jr. would be only the fifth player in Major League history with a 30 HR and 40 steals in his age-23 season (or younger), and would join Bobby Bonds in 1969, José Canseco in 1988, Álex Rodríguez in 1998 and Mike Trout in 2012. Witt Jr.’s 44 steals are the most by a Royal since Whit Merrifield led the Majors with 45 in 2018, and with 2 more steals, he would have the most by a Royal since Johnny Damon led the AL with 46 steals in 2000. Bobby’s 74 career stolen bases are the most by any player through two big league seasons since Ichiro Suzuki had 87 steals in his first two seasons from 2001-02…no player in Major League history has matched Witt Jr.’s combination of homers (48) and steals (74) through his first two big league seasons.
THE RUNNING ROYALS: The Royals rank 4th in Major League Baseball this season with 145 stolen bases, trailing only Cincinnati (170), Tampa Bay (154) and Arizona (149)…they’re on pace for 159 steals, which would mark the 8th-best single-season total in franchise history and would be their most since 1996 (195)… since June 1, the Royals have 105 stolen bases in 91 games, which leads the American League and ranks 2nd in the Majors to Cincinnati’s 127…in 56 games since the All-Star break, the Royals lead the Majors with 69 steals, which are 9 more than the Cubs and are 11 ahead of the Guardians (58) for the American League lead.
I BELIEVE I CAN FLY: The Royals lead the American League and rank 2nd in the Majors this season with 48 sacrifice flies, trailing only the Dodgers (62)…the Royals have not led the American League in sacrifice flies since 2000, when their total of 70 sacrifice flies marked the 4th most in a single season in franchise history. Despite not making his season debut until May 2, Maikel Garcia’s 10 sac. flies are tied for 2nd most in the Majors behind Cody Bellinger (11), and are tied with Carlos Beltrán (10 in 1999) for the club rookie record… it’s the most by a Royal since Whit Merrifield had 12 in 2021, and he’s 3 shy of the club’s single-season record of 13, set by Darrell Porter in 1979 and matched by Dean Palmer in 1998 and Mike Sweeney in 2000.
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP ZACK GREINKE (1-15, 5.47)
ZACK GREINKE is making his 538th career start tonight, matching Hall of Famer Red Ruffing for 33rd on the all-time starts list…it’s also his 219th start with the Royals, matching Larry Gura for the 6th most in franchise history…this marks his 13th career start vs. the Astros, who he pitched for over parts of three seasons from 2019-22. The 39-year-old Greinke, now in his 20th season in the Majors, is a six-time AllStar, a six-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner in 2009 with the Royals and a two-time ERA leader. Greinke enters tonight’s start with 1,088 strikeouts with the Royals, which are
5 shy of matching Bret Saberhagen (1,093) for 4th place in franchise history.
THE LAST TIME: Zack has worked as the bulk pitcher in 3 of his last 4 appearances since returning from the Injured List on Aug. 22, including his most recent outing, a 5-1 loss in Toronto last Saturday, in which he was charged with 4 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk in 3.2 innings, with 4 strikeouts…pitching in relief of opener James McArthur, who retired all six batters he faced over 2.0 innings, Zack and the Royals were tied 1-1 into the 5th, when George Springer hit a 2-out, 2-run single to give Toronto a lead, which they added to in the 6th on an RBI double by Cavan Biggio…he exited after 3.2 innings of relief, the fourth time in his last 5 outings he failed to go more than 4.0 innings.
SPLITS: Zack has held right-handed batters to a .251 average (69-for-275) and .683 OPS this season, but left-handed batters are hitting .330 (76-for-230) with a .946 OPS…left handers have accounted for only 45.5% of the 532 batters he’s faced, but they’ve had 30 of the 49 (61.2%) extra-base hits he’s allowed, including 14 homers.
TIMES TABLES: Greinke has been good his first time through opponent lineups this season, holding them to a .259 average (56-for-216) with only 12 extra-base hits…but on the second and third time through, opponents are batting .277 (61- for-220) and .412 (28-for-68), respectively, with a total of 37 extra-base hits…along those same lines, he has held opponents to a .263 average (101-for-384) through 60 pitches, but when he gets above 60 pitches, opponents are batting .364 (44-for-121).
SEEKING SUPPORT: The Royals offense has scored just 38 runs in Greinke’s 126.2 innings this season for a 2.70 run support average, which is the lowest in the Majors (min. 100.0 IP)…the Royals have supported Zack with 1 or 0 runs in 16 of his 26 appearances this season (61.5%), including 14 of his 23 starts…the offense has supported him with a total of 20 runs over his last 17 outings (80.0 IP) since mid May. Thanks in part to the lack of run support, Zack is 0-11 with a 5.56 ERA (56 ER in 90.2 IP) in his last 19 outings (16 starts) since his last win on May 3 vs. Baltimore.
WALKING ON WATER: Greinke has maintained his pinpoint control even in his 20th season in the Majors…the 39-year-old has issued only 19 walks to the 532 batters he’s faced through 26 appearances (126.2 IP) this season for a 3.6 BB% and 1.3 BB/9, which rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the Majors (min. 100.0 IP). Zack has issued 1 walk or fewer over at least 4.0 innings 20 times in 2023, which trails George Kirby (22) and Logan Webb (21) for the most in the Majors. He has allowed 25 HR, which are 6 more than the number of walks he’s issued (19)…he and Kirby are the only pitchers in the Majors this season (min. 100.0 IP) with more HR allowed than walks…no pitcher in Royals history has allowed more HR than walks over a single season in which he pitched at least 100.0 innings.
VS. HOUSTON: Greinke is 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA (24 ER in 67.2 IP) in 12 career starts vs. the Astros, one of the six teams he’s played for during his 20-year Major League career…he was traded from Arizona to Houston at the 2019 Trade Deadline and pitched for the Astros through the 2021 season, a three-season stretch during which he went 22-10 with a 3.89 ERA (130 ER in 300.2 IP) in 52 appearances… despite all his success against the Astros, he hasn’t beaten them since Aug. 14, 2017 with Arizona…in his most recent start vs. the Astros last season on July 5, Greinke was charged with a 9-7 loss after allowing 6 runs on 10 hits in 5.0 innings.
CROWN VISION: Since returning to the Royals in 2022, Greinke is 5-8 at home despite a 2.86 ERA (32 ER in 132.1 IP) and has held opponents to 2 earned runs or fewer in 19 of 25 appearances (76.0%)…he’s only 1-6 despite a 3.80 ERA (28 ER in 66.1 IP) in 13 outings at Kauffman Stadium this year, and the Royals are 4-9 in those 12 games
