Yes, but i am worried about K and company. Fister has pitched ok, but the fastball is only 86, how long can that last?
We need to use Feliz more in those big situations, he has the arm. Now, if they think he is a starter, then send him to the minors
After getting a rare win, Astros look for their first winning streak of 2016. McHugh continues to struggle. Posters have mentioned his velicity is down Is this the same case with Fiers? We need both pitching <4.00 ERA for this team to be successful. Biggest bright spot last night was Gomez and his 2 doubles. He probably hasn't had a multi-XBH game since last season. His bat heating up would be well welcomed with so many guys playing poorly. Not only for his on-field production, but for the team's morale and chemistry. It's doubtful his teammates take him seriously with his antics while underperforming. Good to see Springer HR with a runner on-base, more specifically with RISP. Can't remember Correa's last XBH either... he had an RBI-double. Stros can still have a successful season, although it looks bleek right now. Keuchel really needs to get going and McCullers needs to come back, pitch well, and stay healthy. Somebody needs to slap Giles. I'd rather not do any trades this season unless we catch somebody desperate.
Gomez with XBH's, Castro with a 5-game hit streak, we outscored our opponent...what in the wide, wide world of sports is going on around here?
Castro & Gomez are turning it around, unfortunately Colby is struggling now, White really needs to go back to AAA, and Valbuena continues to be bad.
A week ago Castro had an OPS in the low 400's. He has been bad over the last 2 years, but he hasn't been that bad. It was only a matter of time before he contributed something on offense. Ultimately, I still expect him to suck, just not suck quite as much as he did to start. Gomez is more interesting. He has been swinging wildly to start the season. Maybe the injury forced him to throttle back into a more controlled swing. Maybe it was just the time off to clear his mind. Either way it was good to see, and unlike Castro once he gets going, he has the potential to be really productive and post some some nice numbers by years end. Tyler White probably needs to be starting less right now. Sending him down accomplishes nothing because he's proven AAA is beneath him. He needs to adjust to MLB pitching. He looks bad right now, and is hurting the team.
I don't think Gomez was/is healthy; he wasn't just bad to start the season, he looked like the game of baseball was, at times, a foreign concept to him. He's gotten better so maybe he was nursing a small pull or strain, something like that.
.057/.128/.057/.185 his past 10 games. There are literally people off the street who could provide that level of production. Having said that, let's not sleep on the disappointing season Correa is having - he's slugging .240 in his past 8 games. Man...
Really a very important game for the Astros at this point in the season. A win gives them the series and a bit of momentum going forward. As someone else pointed out, some of the guys that have been hot (Rasmus & White) have cooled off and some of the ice cold bats are coming around (Gomez was showing signs even before the injury). It is going to be an absolute struggle as long as Dallas K isn't pitching well, because the Astros do not have a #2 starter unless Lance Mc comes back and pitches like he did last year. I think that McHugh will get his problems straightened out and have a good/very good 4-5 week streak a couple times during the season, he has traditionally done it. He is very very much a feel pitcher. I am not buying Fister. His fastball has gone up a tick or two last time out but he has consistently flirted with danger. No idea what we will get from Divinski. Fiers should be fine as a number 5. Ultimately if the Astros can dig themselves out of the hole, they will add another very good starter and the rotation will be fine. I am not as optimistic with the line up THIS season. Next year there will be more bats being involved (Reed/Bregman) at positions where we struggle. I wouldn't send White down. Get him work in the cage and with video. He has struggled in the past and made adjustments. Lets see what adjustments he makes.Even with a terrible last two weeks he has a higher OPS than all but four Astros. I would sit him for a few games and let him get back at it.
They're not going to be god-awful forever with RISP. Correa will not go a full month in between HR's very often.
If he isn't playing (Marwin has been awful against RHP, so only defensive upgrade with him most of the time), he doesn't have much purpose on the roster. Easy to send him down and call Reed up (sure there will be a separate 40 man move). Getting him regular ABs is also a better idea then him sitting on the bench.
One can hope, that if they're starting to turn the corner the other struggling players will too? Maybe...just maybe? A hope....A chance.... .....especially White and Correa
He needs to be more aggressive early in the count. High OBP is cool and all but when he is the guy who is supposed to produce XBHs he needs to swing the bat.
