As always, no PBP in the thread. If you need that try one of the gamecast sites. Keep discussion to this series. If it is not about this series it goes somewhere else. 4-19 Wandy Rodriguez, LHP (0-2, 7.31) vs. Jon Niese, LHP (0-2, 6.88) 6:10 on FSH 4-20 Bud Norris, RHP (1-1, 5.06) vs. R.A. Dickey, RHP (1-2, 3.93) 6:10 on FSH 4-21 J.A. Happ, LHP (1-2, 5.79) vs. Chris Capuano, LHP (1-1, 8.53) 6:10 on FSH
I'm gonna say its Hall or Towles. Just so one of those guys can say they lead the team in homeruns this year for a couple days.
Hey, Taylor Buchholz! But alas, the Mets offense is probably just as pathetic as the Astros' offense. Looks like barring an epic fail, the Astros will take game 1 of the NL cellar series.
Whoo. A team worse then us. IIRC, Mets have scored less runs than the Astros this season. (before this game).
Has J.R. Towles turned the corner as a hitter? Yes, small sample size so far, but will he finally become halfway competent on offense?
Stros aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Their offense, while not dominant, is respectable so far. I believe they are in the top half of the league in runs scored and hitting with runners in scoring position. They just don't hit HRs and strikeout a ton. Pitching is coming around nicely and defense is average. They have blown 4-1, two 4-0 leads and a 6-3 lead otherwise they would be a surprise team in the NL.
Runs scored: 75 (15th in MLB) Runs allowed: 87 (7th worst in MLB) However, note that the pitchers have suffered from some bad luck on balls in play, as they have the fourth highest BABIP (batting average on balls in play) in MLB. Advanced statistics suggest the actually quality of our pitching has been middle of the pack. Just going by their stats in the early going, the Astros look like team whose talent level is around .500. That's pretty good considering we're in the midst of rebuilding.
His previous small sample sizes were quite awful. At least he's done enough to earn a larger sample size this season. Besides, it's not like there are any better options anywhere in the organization. Barring a trade, we're stuck with Q & T. At least they're both hitting right now. I'm sure 1 or both will come back to earth in the near future.