THE PALLILOG
Here's why we could be watching a historically great Astros offense
May 21, 2021, 10:38 am
The Astros are crushing the baseball. Photo by Getty Images.
Altuve's late homer helps lift Astros over Yankees in finale
Mashing the A's the last two days has the Astros back in first place and rolling into their weekend series at the American League West cellar dwelling Texas Rangers. Last weekend the Astros swept the Rangers four straight at Minute Maid Park. Put most simply, the Astros are good the Rangers are bad.
The top five hitters in Dusty Baker's batting order are all hitting over .300: Jose Altuve .314, Michael Brantley .307, Alex Bregman .324, Yordan Alvarez .338, Yuli Gurriel .333. It's even more impressive in this thus far depressed hitting season. The batting average for all Major League Baseball is .236. If it stays there (unlikely) it will be the lowest season batting average in the history of the sport.
The "Murderers' Row" 1927 Yankees lineup stood taller over its competition than any other ever. Among players with the required plate appearances to be eligible for the batting title the '27 Yanks had five .300 hitters. The 1976 Cincinnati Reds offense dominated its league like few others. The "Big Red Machine" had five .300 hitters. The 1999 Indians are the only team in the last 70 years to score more than 1000 runs for the season. They had four .300 hitters. The '95 Indians had six. The 2017 Astros' offense that was way better than any other in the AL (in contrast with the '19 team which was basically even with the Twins and Yankees) had four .300 hitters.
Another no-no?
The Rangers were no-hit this week. Again. It's the second time in their first season with fans allowed to watch the Rangers in their new billionaire playpen that is Globe Life Field. No team in big league history has been no-hit three times in a season. Among the absurd six no-hitters already thrown in 2021 the Rangers, Mariners, and Indians have each been victimized twice. The modern era (since 1900) record for no-hitters in a season is seven.
Corey Kluber owning the Rangers Wednesday had to sting a bit extra for the Arlingtonians. Last season the Rangers paid Kluber about seven million dollars (a short season trim from what otherwise would have been an 18 million dollar guarantee) to pitch one inning and be done for the season with an arm injury. The Yankees took an 11 million dollar flier on Kluber for 2021, so of course in his first game against the Rangers he no-hits them. On a night the Rangers gave out Corey Kluber bobbleheads! They were clearing inventory of some stuff they never had the chance to give away last year. The Astros are doing the same thing.
Exciting homestand on the horizon
What a fun homestand upcoming for the Astros. First the reigning World Series Champions are here for two. The Dodgers starting pitchers should be Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Bauer. Then the Padres are in for three, led by spectacular shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. Then the Red Sox are in for four. Good timing for the Astros to be opening up Minute Maid Park to full seating capacity. However…
It is lame if the Astros will continue to require ticket purchases to be all digital, in the process forcing fans to pay the obscene tack on fees. I'm all for safety, but if it's okay to pack the ballpark it certainly is okay to sell tickets through a glass partitioned window.
NHL and NBA playoffs
The National Hockey League playoffs have started sensationally. Of course they have. The NHL postseason is the most relentlessly intense in all pro sports. We'll see starting Saturday how the NBA playoffs go. No Rockets involved for the first time in nine years, but the Western Conference matchups are fantastic. If you're a Rocket fan there's a good chance you despise the Lakers. If so you have additional incentive to root against the defending champs. The '95 Rockets won their back-to-back championship as a sixth seed. No one has matched that much less surpassed it. The Lakers are the seventh seed. Via the betting odds the Lakers are favored to win the West. James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets are favored to take the title. The Rockets meanwhile rue their own plight, and perhaps start gathering good luck charms for the draft lottery which is one month from Saturday.
Denver's Nikola Jokic clearly should win the NBA Most Valuable player award. Any opinion that Jokic is unworthy is stupid. But a vote for Stephen Curry is certainly justifiable.
Buzzer Beaters:
1. More exciting quarterback signing for the Texans: Ryan Finley or Jeff Driskel? I'm calling it a tie.
2. Other than that he's really rich I know next to nothing about the guy paying some 400 million dollars to become the lead owner of the Houston Dynamo and Dash. Ted Segal can't help but be better than the outgoing cheapo regime.
3. Greatest sports Teds: Bronze-Lindsay Silver-Hendricks Gold-Williams
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Two first-place clubs riding identical hot streaks meet again Wednesday night as the Houston Astros host the Philadelphia Phillies in a marquee midseason showdown.
The Astros, winners of six straight at home, enter with a 46-33 record and a firm grip on the AL West. They've surged behind strong pitching and timely hitting, outscoring opponents by 10 runs over their last 10 games while posting a 3.40 team ERA. Mauricio Dubón has been a spark during that stretch, slugging four homers in his last 10 games, while Isaac Paredes continues to anchor the lineup with a team-high 16 home runs.
They’ll hand the ball to rookie left-hander Colton Gordon, who brings a 2-1 record and 4.54 ERA into his eighth start of the season. Gordon has shown flashes of potential but will face perhaps his toughest test yet against a Phillies lineup loaded with talent and plate discipline.
Philadelphia, 47-32 and sitting atop the NL East, has the third-best on-base percentage in baseball (.331) and no signs of slowing. They've gone 7-3 in their last 10 games, outscoring opponents by 15 runs and batting .267 during that stretch. Trea Turner has begun to heat up, going 12-for-42 in his last 10 contests, while Nick Castellanos remains a consistent threat with 21 doubles and 41 RBIs on the year.
The Phillies will counter with ace Zack Wheeler, who enters with dominant numbers: a 7-2 record, 2.61 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 118 strikeouts. Wheeler’s command and swing-and-miss stuff have been a constant all season, and the Astros will have to work for every base runner.
This is the second meeting between the two clubs this season, with the Astros winning the first contest, 1-0. With both teams trending upward, it has all the makings of another tight, low-scoring battle. The betting line favors Philadelphia (-160), with the over/under set at 7.5 runs — a reflection of the elite pitching expected on both sides.
First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. EDT at Daikin Park.