NEW YORK METS NOTES:
No team release available.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will try to snap their five-game losing streak tonight behind their Opening Day starter LHP Framber Valdez…he’ll be opposed by future Hall of Famer and former teammate RHP Justin Verlander…Valdez or Verlander have served as the Astros Opening Day starter in five of the last six seasons, with Verlander starting in the opener from 2018-2020 and Valdez from 2022-23.
FRAMTASTIC: LHP Framber Valdez once again has been one of the top hurlers in all of baseball in 2023 and is coming off another stellar performance on Wednesday vs. WSH (1ER/7IP)…among AL starters, he ranks tied for first in quality starts (11), second in ERA (2.27), fifth in innings (91) and eighth in strikeouts (95).
WELCOME BACK JV!: This series, the Astros are welcoming back future Hall of Famer and Astros all-time great RHP Justin Verlander, who received his 2022 World Series Championship ring in a pregame ceremony yesterday…while with the Astros, Verlander went 61-19 with a 2.26 ERA in 102 regular season starts, while being named to three All-Star games (2018-19, 2022) and earning two Cy Young Awards (2019, 2022)… Verlander is also the Astros all-time leader in postseason starts (18) and wins (9).
MEET THE METS: The Astros and Mets played a memorable four games in 2022, with Houston sweeping a pair of two-game series in New York and Houston last June…the two clubs entered the National League together in 1962 and have gone on to play each other 578 times, with the Astros owning the all-time advantage 316-261-1…the Astros are 55 games over .500 against the Mets, their most against any single opponent, while their .547 winning percentage against the Mets is their best against any NL opponent.
GRINDERS: The Astros are within a streak of playing 26 games in 27 days (since May 26), and are 11-13 within this streak… over the last several weeks, the Astros played on 17 consecutive days (May 26-June 11) and are now within a run of playing on nine consecutive days (June 13-21).
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Astros played a rough ballgame last night, losing 11-1 to the Mets, scoring their only run a solo shot by DH Yainer Diaz…including the homer, the offense was limited to just five hits on the night, four against Mets starter RHP Max Scherzer (1ER/8IP)…the Mets did their damage with a pair of five-run innings, in the 3rd and 9th…RHP Shawn Dubin made his MLB debut, pitching 3.0 innings in relief for Houston.
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.47) and have allowed the third-fewest runs (284) in the Majors…the Astros starters rank second in Majors in ERA (3.45), while their bullpen checks in at fifth in the Majors in ERA (3.50).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB
- Houston: 3.47 1. Tampa Bay: 272
- Tampa Bay: 3.49 2. San Diego: 283
- Minnesota: 3.67 3. Houston: 284
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on their sidelined players:
- RHP Lance McCullers Jr. underwent surgery last Tuesday to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm and remove a bone spur…McCullers will be out for the remainder of the year, but is expected to return at some point during the 2024 season.
- LF Yordan Alvarez has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain and is expected to be sidelined for four-plus weeks.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) tossed 10 pitches from the bullpen mound on Sunday for the first time in his rehab process…Urquidy will need to throw additional bullpens and live BP before going out on a rehab assignment.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) hit on the field during Astros BP over the weekend as he continues to ramp up his baseball activities…his progress over the next two weeks will clear up the timeline for his return.
MISSING PIECE: The Astros are without a huge piece of their lineup in OF Yordan Alvarez, who’s missed the last 10 games… Alvarez still ranks fourth in the Majors with 55 RBI, while ranking second in the AL in OPS (.978), second in SLG (.589) and tied for fourth in homers (17).
STEPPING UP: C Yainer Diaz is hitting .273 (9×33) with two doubles, three homers, six RBI and an .892 OPS in the Astros 10 games since LF Yordan Alvarez was placed on the Injured List…Diaz has started four straight games, seven of the last eight, and eight of the Astros 10 games since the Alvarez injury.
SPEED AND POWER: RF Kyle Tucker leads the Astros with 13 stolen bases and is 13-for-14 in attempts on the season… he’s one of only five AL players with 13+ steals and nine-plus homers on the year, joining SS Bobby Witt Jr. (22 SB, 12 HR), OF Josh Lowe (18 SB, 11 HR), OF Julio Rodriguez (12 SB, 15 HR) and SS Anthony Volpe (15 SB, 9 HR).
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: LHP FRAMBER VALDEZ
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 6-5 2.27 14 14 91.0 74 28 23 20 95
CAREER: 47-28 3.21 112 90 605.1 599 244 216 229 592
vs. NYM W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2022: 1-0 0.00 1 1 8.0 6 0 0 2 5
CAREER: 1-0 0.00 1 1 8.0 6 0 0 2 5
LAST START – 6/14 VS. WAS: allowed 1 run on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts and no walks in 7.0 innings…notched 11th quality start of the season…recorded his 3rd start this season without allowing a walk…the last start he made without a walk was on May 21 at OAK…has been dominant at Minute Maid Park this season, recording a 2.02 ERA (13ER/58IP) with 59 strikeouts and 8 walks.
COMPLETE GAME: on May 21 vs. OAK, Valdez delivered the 2nd complete-game shutout of his career, striking out 7 batters while allowing 4 hits and no walks through 9 scoreless innings…was the 1st complete-game shutout from an Astros pitcher since Valdez’s 1st career complete-game shutout on Sept. 12, 2022 at DET…was the 5th complete-game shutout from an Astros pitcher since 2017 with Valdez and Justin Verlander tossing 2 of them (May 16, 2018 at LAA, Sept. 1, 2019 at TOR), and Gerritt Cole contributing the other on May 4, 2018…were the fewest hits allowed in Astros complete-game shutout since Verlander’s no-hitter on Sept 1, 2019 at TOR…the last Astros pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout without issuing a walk was Dallas Keuchel on May 30, 2015 vs. CWS…is 1 of 4 AL pitchers to throw a complete-game shutout this season.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: in AL, he ranks 2nd in ERA (2.27), 3rd in pitching WAR (2.9), 5th in innings (91.0), 8th in strikeouts (95)…is T-1st in AL with 11 quality starts.
REVERSE, REVERSE: has posted reverse splits to open his ‘23 campaign, holding right-handed hitters to a .211 batting average (61×289) while lefties are batting .295 (13×44)…traditionally, has been extremely tough on left-handed hitters, holding them to a .213 average (91×427) and a .623 OPS throughout his career, allowing just seven homers.
VS. NYM: set to make his 2nd career start against the Mets…was dominant in his other appearance against them, delivering 8.0 scoreless IP while striking out 5 batters and allowing 6 hits and 2 walks on 6/28/22 at Citi Field…was his 2nd-longest scoreless outing of his All-Star campaign, trailing only his complete-game shutout on 5/30/22 at OAK.
STAYING GROUNDED: among AL starters this year, ranks 1st in groundball percentage (58.6)… directly ahead of teammate RHP Hunter Brown (56.5).
- owns a career 65.4% 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 57.4 %…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).
