MLB 2015 Season

[JohnBM01]

'Stros and O's. This time- in Houston. A flock of Orioles flew into Houston to start a four-game set against my Astros. We X'ed out the O's 5-2 on Monday night. A big key in the Astros' victory was us hanging four runs on Baltimore in the Bottom of the 7th inning. We did trade 1-run innings starting in the 5th before the Astros put the finishing touches in the 7th. Winning for HOU was Will Harris including a Save from Luke Gregerson. Brad Brach was the loser for BAL. Just getting started. We suit up and play ball again later tonight (since it's Tuesday now).


Congratulations to Monday's other winners, including both of New York City's MLB baseball teams (NYY winning at SEA and NYM winning at SD).

 

[JohnBM01]

The scoreboard read 6-4 in Houston as we won the second game of this four game set against the Orioles. We actually had to come from behind after Baltimore put up four runs on the board. Afterwards, we put up six unanswered runs to get ahead for good. Evan Gattis and Luis Valbuena provided the jacks to help put H-Town ahead. The end result is our 33rd win of the season. Heading into tonight's game, our record was 32-20, the best 52-game mark in franchise history. The Astros pick up another win on this 2015 season. It was a win for Colin McHugh and a Save for Luke Gregerson on the Astros' end. On the wrong end of the decision for the O's was Mike Wright.


Elsewhere...

* Somebody on the Chicago White Sox must have angered the Texas Rangers, and Texas responded with a 15-2 gangsta' style beat down. Part of this demolition of the White Sox was an epic debut for Joey Gallo as he almost Hit for the Cycle. The only thing he didn't get was a Triple. What Texas ultimately got was delivering as much of a beat down as possible. TEX won with Colby Lewis, and Jeff Samardzija took the loss for CHW.

* A couple of games finished 1-0. It was a 1-0 victory at home for the Boston Red Sox against the Minnesota Twins, and also a 1-0 victory in St. Louis for the Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers.

* Detroit now has a 5-game losing streak as they failed 5-3 hosting the Oakland Athletics. The A's winners were Kendall Graveman and a Save from Tyler Clippard. For Detroit, Alfredo Simon was the losing DET pitcher.

* In a game televised on MLB Network, the Miami Marlins tamed the Chicago Cubs 5-2 in Miami. It was Brad Hand winning for MIA along with a save from A.J. Ramos. The Cubbies saw Kyle Hendricks take the loss.


Congratulations to all other winners from Tuesday.

 

[High-Test]

KC seems to be in a bit of a slump. The Royals never beat the other team. They just beat Ned Yost.

 

[Blitz24]

David Wright may or may not return this year. Or ever. Nobody knows sadly.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

I have to admit, the reaction of the kid who caught the grand slam ball that wound up costing Detroit was priceless.

 

[JohnBM01]

Houston wins again! 3-1 was the score as the Astros put down the O's yet again. It was Lance McCullers who picked up the win for HOU, going the full nine-inning distance. Miguel Gonzales of BAL was the losing pitcher. Series finale tomorrow afternoon.


Congratulations to all other winners from Wednesday, including wins by the the New York Yankees on the road and the Arizona Diamondbacks at home.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros will win this BAL at HOU series, but not in a sweep. We failed today 3-2. So win #35 will have to wait. BAL's winners were Darren O'Day and a Save from Zach Britton. Chad Qualls was HOU's losing pitcher. The Astros' five-game winning streak is over, and Baltimore's five game losing streak is over. 34-21 is our record now after this loss. We still have the best American League record (2nd best in AL is Kansas City's 30-20 record). St. Louis still has the best record with their 35-18 record.

In other Astros' news, it is being said that Tal's Hill in Minute Maid Park will be removed to lessen player injuries in that part of the park. It is all part of a renovation of about $15M USD or so. I am neither for nor against having that hill there. As a counterattack, I would ask why is the Great Wall of China is at Fenway Park? Let's not always make it the "Always Hate Houston" protocol. Anyhow, more into on these renovation plans: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/astros-renovate-center-field-remove-tals-hill-184432884--mlb.html

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club: we're leaving the country to be hosted by the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game weekend set. And after that three-game swing, we're at U.S. Cellular Field to take on the Chicago White Sox in a three-game set starting this coming Monday.


Congratulations to all other winners up to any beyond the time of this post from Thursday's games.

 

[JohnBM01]

So far, so bad. Astros dropped Game 1 of this three-game set in Toronto 6-2. We at least avoided getting blanked. It still doesn't prevent the sting of losing. The next two games of the series are both day games at about 1:00 PM EDT. The road trip continues for my Astros.


Congratulations to those who didn't fail on Friday.

 

[Sanji Himura]

The A's new Switch Pitcher, Pat Venditte, just got his call up to the big leagues (what would be yesterday) and pitched a solid inning of work, giving up a hit and allowing no runs. Venditte is the first switch pitcher to appear in the majors since Greg Harris in Sept. 28th, 1995.

Oh, and in case you were wondering on how he faces switch hitters, there is a rule for that. He (Venditte) must declare which arm he is going to throw with, and stay with that arm throughout the at bat.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros are going in the WRONG direction now. Three straight losses now as we failed again. This time- 7-2 at Toronto. The Blue Jays can sweep us tomorrow afternoon should Houston fail to grab a game from this series. All we're managing is two runs in this series. We lost 6-2 last night. Toronto saw Drew Hutchison improve to 5-1 with the win. Brett Oberholtzer got his first decision, but it was sadly a losing one as he is now 0-1.

Besides the sad news for my Astros, I finally saw a video about Tommy John surgery last night. None of my Astros will need it- I just wanted to learn about Tommy John surgery and what the surgery is for. Most of what I've seen mostly pertained to pitchers throwing harder than their elbows and arms can take over a certain period of time. You certainly deserve some credit if you're able to sustain a solid pitching arm for so long. It sure is tough to have to have Tommy John surgery if you require it. Heck, I even heard about children and teenagers who have been throwing so many pitches even with some leagues not having a pitch limit or a pitch count or something.


Congratulations to all of Saturday's winners up to and beyond this time of this post, including the other Texas team winning at Kansas City. By the way, I read Giancarlo Stanton launched a 484-foot homer recently. It's the longest homer so far this season. That dude is beast. Always has been. It's probably no big thing to this guy to jack the ball out of the park a long way.

 

[Joey D]

This is about how I feel with the current Detroit Tigers situation.

I'm not sure if it's Ausmus, the players, the staff, or a combination of all three. It hard for me to actually watch a game right now.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

This is about how I feel with the current Detroit Tigers situation.

I'm not sure if it's Ausmus, the players, the staff, or a combination of all three. It hard for me to actually watch a game right now.

It's hard for Detroit to win when the bullpen decides to go full Jose Valverde.

 

[Dolph Drago]

You should see the Reds' bullpen. They've thrown away so many games this season, including 4 of the last 5 (or something like that)...all with at least 4 run leads. That doesn't even seem possible, but they've done it. The frustrating thing is our offense has finally started putting runs on the board, only to see the bullpen blow it daily.

 

[JohnBM01]

At least unlike my Astros, the Tigers won today, downing the Chicago White Sox 7-1 in Chicago. That series will go to a Rubber Game Sunday afternoon.

I remember Cincinnati had a lead of about 6-1 against San Diego. I then saw that San Diego tied things up either at six or at seven runs. The Cincy boys end up losing 9-7 in Cincinnati. The Reds are certainly a star-crossed team. The Padres could go for the sweep Sunday afternoon.

I just wanted to chat about these scores once I saw them online.

 

[Blitz24]

Horrible ending for the Astros. After taking a 6-3 to lead in the top of the 7th, the bullpen gives up 4 runs and loses on a walkoff to Chris Collabello 7-6.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

The Tigers managed to win 2 in a row with a 6-4 victory over the White Sox today. Simon had a good 8 inning game, and Soria got the save.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros held a 6-4 lead mostly, but it wasn't enough. Swept by the Blue Jays in Toronto 7-6 and four straight losses for the Astros. It almost seems like the Astros of old are back- losing. So our trip outside of the United States leads to disaster. We're stuck on 34 wins and now have a 34-24 record. All I can hope for is that my Astros don't all of a sudden forget how to win games. This is doing absolutely nothing in helping the Astros get out of the losing funk they've been in for quite a while now. I don't want to leave them behind and hope the Texans try to quell the "Can't Win in Houston" woes. Liam Hendricks won for TOR, and HOU's loser was closer Luke Gregerson.

Up next... maybe our trip back to the United States will go much better than our recent trip to Canada. Houston Astros at Chicago White Sox starting Monday night. Three game set.


Congratulations to Sunday's winners, including Cincinnati's 4-0 blanking of the San Diego Padres in Cincinnati.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Random Baseball video to start your work week:

In a game that was archived on Youtube in 2012, Dave LaRoche of the New York Yankees debuted his curve ball in bizarre fashion against Gordon Thomas of the Brewers.

Spoiler

He strikes him out.

 

[Dolph Drago]

The Reds managed to NOT blow a 4-0 lead today for a change.

 

[Blitz24]

Carlos Correa has been called up by the Houston Astros to play SS there at age 20. In other sort of related news, my fantasy baseball league manager is not talking to me right now because I have him, Gallo, and Castillo.

 

[JohnBM01]

In addition to games slated for tonight, including my Astros at the White Sox, tonight is the Major League Baseball Draft. I hear my Astros will get picks #2 and #5. Sure want to see what young players will get a chance to shine in the majors. While the NCAA Baseball tournament is still ongoing with Super Regionals play, it will be interesting to see what players will get to play in Major League Baseball in the future or near future and for whichever team(s).


Good luck to all of your team(s) tonight. Congratulations also to whomever gets drafted to whatever teams.

 

[JohnBM01]

The big news for Houston was the Major League debut of Carlos Correa. He recorded an RBI in his debut. Unfortunately, that was the only scoring for the Astros, as we failed again- losing 3-1 at the Chicago White Sox. So now the Astros decide that 34 wins is enough to win the AL West and make the playoffs. Hell f:censored:ing no it isn't!!! Five straight losses for the Astros now, as they are going back to their losing ways. CHW won with Chris Sale (whom I respect) and a David Robertson Save. It's the first losing decision for Lance McCullers, falling to 2-1. The Astros have two more chances in this series to get out of this losing funk. Back at it to suit up and play ball tomorrow night.


Congratulations to all of the other winners from Monday.

 

[Blitz24]

The big news for Houston was the Major League debut of Carlos Correa. He recorded an RBI in his debut. Unfortunately, that was the only scoring for the Astros, as we failed again- losing 3-1 at the Chicago White Sox. So now the Astros decide that 34 wins is enough to win the AL West and make the playoffs. Hell f:censored:ing no it isn't!!! Five straight losses for the Astros now, as they are going back to their losing ways. CHW won with Chris Sale (whom I respect) and a David Robertson Save. It's the first losing decision for Lance McCullers, falling to 2-1. The Astros have two more chances in this series to get out of this losing funk. Back at it to suit up and play ball tomorrow night.


Congratulations to all of the other winners from Monday.

It was a great pitching duel for those watching.

 

[JohnBM01]

NO HITTER!!! Unfortunately, it happened to our Blitz24's New York Mets getting no-hit by the visiting San Francisco Giants thanks to Chris Heston of SF. The Mets lost 5-0 tonight. The Giants collected 13 hits. This is the 17th no-hitter in S.F. Giants history. It only could have been worse if it was a Perfect Game, like what Matt Cain did to my Astros years ago.

And because misery loves company, my Astros are currently losing 4-0 at the White Sox, Bottom of the 8th. Winning all these games early, now can't do s:censored: to snap their losing funk. A loss here will extend their losing streak to six games. I'll probably update this post with results once the game goes final.


Congratulations to all other winners from Tuesday.


[UPDATE] Astros lost 4-2. Six straight losses. May damn well be seven straight losses should Chicago White Sox sweep the series with a win tomorrow night. On the bright side, Carlos Correa scored his first home run in the Majors.

 

[Blitz24]

I even said to myself after the 3rd, the team is facing a pitcher they've never played before, they won't score a run. They didn't even get a hit.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Well, the Tigers shut out the Cubs with a 6-0 victory. Sanchez picked up the W, and Lester got the loss. Raji Davis also robbed David Ross of a HR in the win.

Also, Mariano Rivera's son, Mariano River, Jr., was drafted by the Nats, and the Tigers drafted Kirk Gibson's son Cam Gibson.

 

[High-Test]

Kansas City is 33-23. And first in AL Central. I must be hallucinating. 7 players tentatively in the All-Star game?

 

[Dolph Drago]

Cincy is going for the sweep of Philly today and 4 straight overall. They could have swept them when they played each other last week, but the horrendous bullpen blew two of those games. It is nice to see the offense finally coming alive (Votto homered 3 times last night), but it's a matter of if the pitching can keep up. Take away those blown games a week / week and a half ago, and we're sitting at at least .500 instead of 4 under.

 

[JohnBM01]

Best 52-something game stretch in franchise history. Now, can't win s:censored:. Stuck on 34 wins as we fail again: tonight's loss was a 4-1 one at the Chicago White Sox. We can't catch a break these days.

Some serious soul searching definitely needed for the Astros now. I didn't have the Astros winning so many games at this point, but I didn't have them falling apart once they realize they actually are good. What? Are the 2015 Astros victims of their own success?


Congratulations to Wednesday's other winners, including the Cubs whacking the Tigers 12-3 in Detroit.

 

[JohnBM01]

Whether this weekend's series have started or will start, here is a look at the standings heading into this weekend's series. I will only focus on win-loss records here for this post.


--- AMERICAN LEAGUE ---
AL EAST: New York Yankees (33-26), TB (32-29), TOR (31-30) BAL (29-30), BOS (27-34)
AL CENTRAL: Kansas City (34-23), MIN (33-26), DET (31-29), CHW (28-30), CLE (28-31)
AL WEST: Houston 34-27), TEX (31-29), LAA (30-30), SEA (27-33), OAK (25-37)

--- NATIONAL LEAGUE ---
NL EAST: New York Mets (32-29), WSH (31-29), ATL (29-31), MIA (25-36), PHI (22-39)
NL CENTRAL: St. Louis (39-21), CHC (32-26), PIT (32-27), CIN (27-32), MIL (23-38)
NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers (35-25), SF (34-27), SD (31-31), ARI and COL (27-32 each)


There is still a lot of baseball to be played as the coming months and games play themselves out. So get ready for the long Summer grind and all the insanity and drama baseball can provide.

One thing I haven't mentioned in any previous post... next series for my Astros is a three-game weekend set at home against the Seattle Mariners. After seven straight fails and swept in back-to-back series, this is crucial for the Astros since this is a Divisional series. Some people have said this losing curse all resulted from announced plans to remove Tal's Hill. Haven't won a game since the announcement. All I know is... the Astros of the past few years are showing right now, and the Astros that won many games early are not showing up to play right now. That HAS to change even though it is still quite early in the season.


Good luck to all of your team(s) moving forward.