THE PALLILOG

Here are the key factors that have fueled Astros hot start to season

Astros Jose Altuve
The Astros are crushing the baseball. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
Here's what MLB should do to give fanless Astros games more juice

Quite the rollicking beginning to the Astros season. You can't bury a team by mid-April but you can push it into a very deep hole. The Astros are 6-1 while the defending American League West champion Oakland A's are 1-7. The Astros have dominated Oakland in all five early season meetings by a cumulative score of 41-11. Two more Astro wins over the A's Friday and Saturday won't exactly make it "magic number" countdown time, but the A's chances of defending their division crown would probably tumble to somewhere about five percent.

It's a tiny sample size but still "wow!" inducing if you're an Astros fan, the batting average numbers for the top six in the batting order: Altuve .310, Brantley .538, Bregman .360, Alvarez .333, Correa .321, Gurriel .346. Kyle Tucker is batting just .207 but leads the team with nine runs batted in.

In contrast the A's Thursday starting lineup guys' averages at night's end: .233, .190, .163, .148, .167, .000, .200, .071, .077. I mean, they need improvement to upgrade to pathetic. The .071 belongs to Elvis Andrus. He'll do a bit better than .071 but Elvis's talent left the building years ago. He was absolutely horrible the last three seasons with the Texas Rangers. The A's traded for him to be their everyday shortstop.

The still very very early returns mark the Angels as the Astros' foremost division challenge this year. Mike Trout is off to an awesome start even by best player of his generation standards. The Angels are 5-2 despite Rice-ex and 2019 World Series pest Anthony Rendon's sluggish start. Pitcher/outfielder, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is their biggest question mark and upside variable. The Halos still don't have the look of a division winning level pitching staff, but if in the hunt they would probably be aggressive in pursuing any high-end starter available on the trade market.

No Springer Dingers

It's been an inauspicious start to George Springer's career as a Toronto Blue Jay. In fact thus far it's a non-start. Late in spring training Springer suffered an oblique injury that sidelined him the first week of the regular season, then the day before he was to be activated he strained a quadriceps muscle working out and will miss another week. This is not to suggest the six year 150 million dollar contract will be a disaster for the Jays, but six years 150 mil for a 31-year-old outfielder with an injury history is high risk. This is the fourth leg muscle stint on the injured (formerly disabled) list in Springer's career. Only once has Springer played more than 140 games in a season. The Astros were aware of these things when opting to not bid competitively to retain Springer, despite all he meant to and had done for the franchise.

Here's hoping Springer is fully healthy to receive a standing ovation four weeks from now when the Jays visit Minute Maid Park. This Monday, one would expect a very positive though not Springer-level enthusiastic fan reaction when Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is introduced.

Rockets rebuild

Just in case you happen to not be paying close attention to the Rockets these days, they enter the weekend three games worse in record than Orlando. The Rockets' 14-37 record is second worst in the NBA, a game and a half worse than Detroit, the Magic's record is fourth worst. The Rockets must finish with one of the three worst records in the NBA to maximize their chance at 52.1 percent of keeping their lottery pick by having it fall in the top four picks. The Rockets are highly likely to lose Friday night in Los Angeles at the Clippers, and then play Saturday night at Golden State. The Magic has home games this weekend vs. the Pacers and Bucks. Big one looms a week from Sunday when the Rockets play at the Magic!

NFL Draft

If a draft happens and no one cares does a draft happen? Inside three weeks to the NFL Draft there is basically zero anticipation for it in Houston. The Texans holding no picks in the first two rounds and the ongoing sordid Deshaun Watson saga has just ruined any zest for anything Texans.

Buzzer Beaters:

1. Fired ESPN NBA analyst Paul Pierce broke no laws with his idiotic Instagramming. But he is married with kids ages 13, 10, 8. Come on.

2. Sic 'Em! In clobbering UH then taking down unbeaten Gonzaga to win the National Championship Baylor became just the second team this millennium to win both its Final Four games by at least 15 points. Villanova did it three years ago.

3. Best of the unavoidable NCAA Tournament commercials: Bronze-Brie Larson for some car or SUV Silver-Reggie Miller giving Kenny Smith the choke sign hamburger joint spot Gold-Magic Johnson bank commercial with Jim Nantz "goodbye friends" line.

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Cam Smith continues to swing a hot bat! Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros wrapped up yet another series win this week, this time taking two of three from the struggling Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Despite missing several key players and a bullpen that wasn’t fully available, the Astros continued their recent run of success, pushing their record to 52-35.

Manager Joe Espada appeared to be playing the long game in the rubber match on Thursday. After Houston rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning, Espada stuck with reliever Jordan Weems instead of turning to his high-leverage arms. That decision, while frustrating to some fans hoping for the sweep, underscored the team’s cautious approach to workload management as they navigate a long season.

One bright spot continues to be rookie Cam Smith, who delivered again in the clutch with a two-run triple in the seventh inning on Thursday. Smith has been Houston’s most dependable bat with runners on base and is quickly settling into the cleanup role—a rarity for a first-year player but one he’s earned with his poise and production.

 

Off the field, the biggest storyline continues to be Yordan Alvarez’s injury. After reports surfaced that the slugger had experienced a setback in his return from a fractured hand, the team clarified that the issue is inflammation, not the fracture itself. Astros general manager Dana Brown said Alvarez received injections to address the irritation and is expected to rest for now. Encouragingly, the Astros say the fracture is no longer a concern, and while there’s still no definitive timeline for his return, the overall tone from the club was optimistic.

The transparency around Alvarez’s situation is part of a larger shift. After being criticized in recent seasons for vague injury updates, the Astros have begun issuing daily availability reports. It’s a move that signals the front office is trying to regain some trust with the media and fans after a stretch of frustrating ambiguity around player health.

Now, the Astros head to Los Angeles for a marquee matchup with the defending champion Dodgers. Friday’s opener will feature Lance McCullers Jr. making just his second start since returning from the injured list. McCullers gave up eight runs in his return against the Cubs and will be under the spotlight as he looks to settle back into form. Control will be the key, as walks have long been McCullers’ Achilles’ heel.

Saturday sets the stage for one of the most anticipated pitching matchups of the season: Framber Valdez versus Shohei Ohtani. With both teams fighting for positioning in their respective divisions, this weekend in LA should serve as a measuring stick—and perhaps a postseason preview.

There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!

The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.

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