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HOUSTON ( MCCULLERS )
MINNESOTA ( SANTANA ) |
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| 921 | HOUSTON | -125 | Ov 8.5,-115 | -140 | Ov 8,-110 | | 922 | MINNESOTA | +115 | Un 8.5,-105 | +130 | Un 8,-110 |
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| All Games | 72-58 | +8.7 | 56-69 | 4.3 | 0.241 | 0.304 | 0.418 | 0.721 | 3.5 | 0.235 | 0.290 | 0.365 | 0.654 | | Road Games | 27-37 | -9.7 | 28-33 | 4.2 | 0.238 | 0.297 | 0.389 | 0.686 | 3.8 | 0.240 | 0.301 | 0.368 | 0.670 | | vs Right-handed Starters | 47-36 | +9.3 | 40-40 | 4.5 | 0.243 | 0.305 | 0.425 | 0.730 | 3.7 | 0.234 | 0.289 | 0.363 | 0.652 | | Past 7 Games | 5-2 | +3.8 | 2-5 | 4.4 | 0.244 | 0.307 | 0.405 | 0.712 | 1.6 | 0.185 | 0.235 | 0.250 | 0.485 | | Grass Games | 72-52 | +15.1 | 54-66 | 4.4 | 0.243 | 0.306 | 0.423 | 0.729 | 3.5 | 0.234 | 0.288 | 0.362 | 0.650 | | Day Games | 23-19 | +3.8 | 21-20 | 4.4 | 0.244 | 0.313 | 0.421 | 0.734 | 3.7 | 0.235 | 0.294 | 0.362 | 0.656 |
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| All Games | 4.3 | 0.241 | 0.304 | 130 | 4352 | 1049 | 211 | 18 | 174 | 0.418 | 528 | 391 | 1142 | 99 | 806 | 92 | 65 | 111 | 69 | | Road Games | 4.2 | 0.238 | 0.297 | 64 | 2247 | 534 | 107 | 7 | 73 | 0.389 | 253 | 190 | 563 | 54 | 431 | 39 | 34 | 52 | 38 | | Righty Starters | 4.5 | 0.243 | 0.305 | 83 | 2797 | 680 | 135 | 8 | 119 | 0.425 | 357 | 250 | 719 | 64 | 517 | 54 | 38 | 63 | 46 |
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| All Games | 2.54 | 1.020 | 368.6 | 118 | 104 | 268 | 32 | 108 | 372 | 24-20 | 32 | 16 | 66.7% | | Road Games | 3.13 | 1.174 | 167 | 66 | 58 | 129 | 12 | 67 | 156 | 10-11 | 14 | 9 | 60.9% |
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| All Games | 66-63 | +16.3 | 58-61 | 4.3 | 0.248 | 0.300 | 0.400 | 0.700 | 4.4 | 0.272 | 0.322 | 0.424 | 0.746 | | Home Games | 39-25 | +16.8 | 29-29 | 4.7 | 0.267 | 0.318 | 0.430 | 0.747 | 3.9 | 0.264 | 0.308 | 0.407 | 0.715 | | vs Right-handed Starters | 43-43 | +8.9 | 36-42 | 4.1 | 0.246 | 0.295 | 0.395 | 0.690 | 4.5 | 0.276 | 0.326 | 0.428 | 0.754 | | Past 7 Games | 5-2 | +5.1 | 3-4 | 4.4 | 0.227 | 0.277 | 0.405 | 0.681 | 3.4 | 0.265 | 0.336 | 0.379 | 0.715 | | Grass Games | 64-58 | +18.3 | 53-59 | 4.3 | 0.249 | 0.301 | 0.398 | 0.699 | 4.3 | 0.271 | 0.319 | 0.419 | 0.738 | | Day Games | 27-28 | +2.7 | 25-24 | 4.0 | 0.246 | 0.300 | 0.393 | 0.693 | 4.8 | 0.279 | 0.328 | 0.447 | 0.774 |
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| All Games | 4.3 | 0.248 | 0.300 | 129 | 4337 | 1076 | 222 | 35 | 122 | 0.400 | 529 | 321 | 999 | 56 | 757 | 119 | 67 | 119 | 67 | | Home Games | 4.7 | 0.267 | 0.318 | 64 | 2110 | 563 | 106 | 17 | 68 | 0.430 | 287 | 157 | 438 | 27 | 374 | 68 | 36 | 65 | 23 | | Righty Starters | 4.1 | 0.246 | 0.295 | 86 | 2866 | 704 | 151 | 26 | 75 | 0.395 | 334 | 201 | 697 | 43 | 493 | 75 | 42 | 76 | 42 |
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| All Games | 3.83 | 1.274 | 401.9 | 188 | 171 | 385 | 45 | 127 | 300 | 22-20 | 38 | 9 | 80.9% | | Home Games | 3.52 | 1.217 | 199.6 | 89 | 78 | 191 | 21 | 52 | 157 | 10-9 | 18 | 2 | 90% |
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| 8/16/2015 | FIERS(R) | DETROIT | BOYD(L) | 6-5 | W | -170 | 7.5 ov | O | 9 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 0 | | 8/17/2015 | KAZMIR(L) | TAMPA BAY | RAMIREZ(R) | 2-9 | L | -160 | 7.5 un | O | 7 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 2 | | 8/18/2015 | FELDMAN(R) | TAMPA BAY | ODORIZZI(R) | 3-2 | W | -115 | 8 un | U | 10 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | | 8/19/2015 | KEUCHEL(L) | TAMPA BAY | KARNS(R) | 3-2 | W | -175 | 7.5 un | U | 11 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | | 8/20/2015 | MCHUGH(R) | TAMPA BAY | ARCHER(R) | 0-1 | L | -115 | 7 un | U | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | | 8/21/2015 | FIERS(R) | LA DODGERS | ANDERSON(L) | 3-0 | W | -125 | 8 un | U | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | | 8/22/2015 | KAZMIR(L) | LA DODGERS | GREINKE(R) | 3-1 | W | +115 | 7 un | U | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | | 8/23/2015 | MCCULLERS(R) | LA DODGERS | KERSHAW(L) | 3-2 | W | +140 | 6.5 un | U | 10 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | | 8/24/2015 | FELDMAN(R) | @ NY YANKEES | EOVALDI(R) | 0-1 | L | 155 | 8 ov | U | 5 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | | 8/25/2015 | KEUCHEL(L) | @ NY YANKEES | NOVA(R) | 15-1 | W | -145 | 7.5 ev | O | 15 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | | 8/26/2015 | MCHUGH(R) | @ NY YANKEES | PINEDA(R) | 6-2 | W | 145 | 7.5 ov | O | 10 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | | 8/28/2015 | KAZMIR(L) | @ MINNESOTA | GIBSON(R) | 0-3 | L | -120 | 7.5 un | U | 6 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | | 8/29/2015 | FIERS(R) | @ MINNESOTA | PELFREY(R) | 4-1 | W | -110 | 8 un | U | 10 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | | 8/30/2015 | MCCULLERS(R) | @ MINNESOTA | SANTANA(R) | | | 8/31/2015 | FELDMAN(R) | SEATTLE | HERNANDEZ(R) | | | 9/1/2015 | KEUCHEL(L) | SEATTLE | ELIAS(L) | | | 9/2/2015 | MCHUGH(R) | SEATTLE | WALKER(R) | | | 9/4/2015 | KAZMIR(L) | MINNESOTA | PELFREY(R) | | | 9/5/2015 | FIERS(R) | MINNESOTA | SANTANA(R) | | | 9/6/2015 | | MINNESOTA | | |
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| 8/16/2015 | MILONE(L) | CLEVELAND | CARRASCO(R) | 4-1 | W | +120 | 7.5 un | U | 9 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 0 | | 8/17/2015 | GIBSON(R) | @ NY YANKEES | MITCHELL(R) | 7-8 | L | 145 | 9 un | O | 16 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 1 | | 8/18/2015 | PELFREY(R) | @ NY YANKEES | SABATHIA(L) | 4-8 | L | 130 | 9.5 un | O | 7 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 0 | | 8/19/2015 | SANTANA(R) | @ NY YANKEES | EOVALDI(R) | 3-4 | L | 155 | 9 un | U | 5 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | | 8/20/2015 | DUFFEY(R) | @ BALTIMORE | GONZALEZ(R) | 15-2 | W | 155 | 8.5 ov | O | 18 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 1 | | 8/21/2015 | MILONE(L) | @ BALTIMORE | CHEN(L) | 4-3 | W | 150 | 8.5 un | U | 11 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | | 8/22/2015 | GIBSON(R) | @ BALTIMORE | TILLMAN(R) | 3-2 | W | 140 | 8.5 un | U | 7 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | | 8/23/2015 | PELFREY(R) | @ BALTIMORE | GAUSMAN(R) | 4-3 | W | 160 | 8.5 ov | U | 7 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 3 | | 8/25/2015 | SANTANA(R) | @ TAMPA BAY | KARNS(R) | 11-7 | W | 130 | 7 un | O | 12 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 12 | 0 | | 8/26/2015 | DUFFEY(R) | @ TAMPA BAY | ARCHER(R) | 5-3 | W | 170 | 7 un | O | 13 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 1 | | 8/27/2015 | MILONE(L) | @ TAMPA BAY | SMYLY(L) | 4-5 | L | 120 | 7.5 un | O | 9 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 1 | | 8/28/2015 | GIBSON(R) | HOUSTON | KAZMIR(L) | 3-0 | W | +110 | 7.5 un | U | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 0 | | 8/29/2015 | PELFREY(R) | HOUSTON | FIERS(R) | 1-4 | L | +100 | 8 un | U | 5 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 0 | | 8/30/2015 | SANTANA(R) | HOUSTON | MCCULLERS(R) | | | 9/1/2015 | DUFFEY(R) | CHI WHITE SOX | SALE(L) | | | 9/2/2015 | MILONE(L) | CHI WHITE SOX | RODON(L) | | | 9/3/2015 | GIBSON(R) | CHI WHITE SOX | DANKS(L) | | | 9/4/2015 | PELFREY(R) | @ HOUSTON | KAZMIR(L) | | | 9/5/2015 | SANTANA(R) | @ HOUSTON | FIERS(R) | | | 9/6/2015 | | @ HOUSTON | | |
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| |  | HOUSTON: HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Astros moved out of the major league basement last season.
Now the question is whether Jose Altuve and his teammates are ready to contend this year or if they still need a couple of seasons to complete their rebuild and get back to the postseason.
Owner Jim Crane is confident the time is now.
''This is our year,'' he said, adding that their goal is to make the playoffs.
The Astros made a 19-game improvement in 2014 to win 70 games and snap a streak of three straight 100-loss seasons. They beefed up a bullpen that struggled last year and added more pop to a lineup that was fourth in the majors with 163 homers in 2014 in an attempt to take another step in 2015.
''These guys are all professional baseball players and they all want to win,'' general manager Jeff Luhnow said. ''We're not going to set any limitations on them. It's up to them at this point. We've done our work for the offseason.''
The Astros blew 25 saves last season, a statistic that troubled Crane more than any other number associated with his team. His first order of business this offseason was to bring in players to get that number down this year.
To that end, Houston added relievers Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek. Gregerson appeared in 72 games for the Athletics last season and posted a 2.12 ERA and Neshek saw action in 71 games for St. Louis in 2014 with a 1.87 ERA.
A lineup that already had power aplenty with Chris Carter, whose 37 homers tied for second in the majors last season, and George Springer, who hit 20 in just 78 games, now has more sluggers with the addition of Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus. Gattis has hit 43 homers combined in his first two major league seasons and Rasmus has hit at least 22 home runs in two of the last three years.
That power is what excites first-year manager A.J. Hinch most about his team.
''We have a chance to be a dangerous lineup,'' Hinch said with a smile.
Some things to know about the 2015 Astros:
EXPECTATIONS FOR ALTUVE: Altuve became the first Astros player to win a batting title by hitting .341 last season. He set a team record with 225 hits, was third in the majors with 47 doubles, had 59 RBIs and tied for second in the league with 56 stolen bases.
So what does Luhnow expect the 24-year-old second baseman to do for an encore?
''He's going to be a .300 career hitter, which are few and far between,'' Luhnow said. ''So there's going to be years like with most of these great hitters where they hit .340 and years that they hit .305. In my mind Altuve is an elite major league hitter and we're going to see it year in and year out.''
SPRINGER'S SECOND YEAR: Springer, the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft, hit .231 with 20 homers and 51 RBIs in 78 games as a rookie. He injured his left quadriceps on July 20 and he didn't play again. The Astros are eager to see what the right fielder can do in a full season.
''He's got a ton of potential,'' Hinch said. ''He's a dynamic player. He can do a lot of different things in a lot of different ways. Everybody sort of sits up in their seats when he comes up to bat. I think there's a chance for him to have impact in all (areas) of the game, which is hard to come by.''
CAN ROTATION BE CONSISTENT?: Dallas Keuchel (12-9, 2.93 ERA) and Collin McHugh (11-9, 2.73) had breakout seasons in 2014, but can they perform at that level in a second year to lead the rotation? Keuchel posted ERAs of over 5.00 in both of his first two seasons before being chosen this year's opening day starter with his work last year, and McHugh had ERAs of 7.59 and 10.04 in his first two years before his success in 2014.
ANOTHER NEW SKIPPER: Counting interim managers, Hinch is the seventh manager the Astros have had since 2009. He was hired just after last season following the firing of Bo Porter, who was let go near the end of his second season.
This is the second time the 40-year-old Hinch has led a team after he managed Arizona from May 2009 until July 2010, when he was fired after 31-48 start. He was the vice president of professional scouting for San Diego from 2010 until August. | | MINNESOTA: MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Paul Molitor was hired as Minnesota's new manager, bringing Hall of Fame membership and renowned intelligence and intuition to a team seeking a fresh start.
The Twins brought back one of their most popular players ever, Torii Hunter, to help solidify an unsettled outfield, mentor a fledgling team and hit a few home runs. They have collected plenty of promising young hitters, either slated for the opening day lineup or waiting in the minor league wings.
None of that will matter much if the starting pitching continues to wobble the way it has the last four seasons.
Phil Hughes had by most measures a career year, his first away from the New York Yankees, but his ability to match that is low on the list of 2015 goals. Ricky Nolasco needs to rebound from a terrible first season with the Twins. Ervin Santana must show he's worth that $55 million, four-year contract. Kyle Gibson has to reduce the times (five of 31 starts in 2014) he goes three innings or less and gives up six runs or more. The fifth spot winner, Trevor May, Tommy Milone or Mike Pelfrey, needs to keep it.
''We'd put up a couple good starts and somebody would get hurt or we'd take a step backward,'' said Hughes, whose 2014 season has been one of the few true success stories of the rotation since it unraveled in 2011. ''Every good team I've been on, it seems like the rotation gets on a roll.''
New pitching coach Neil Allen will have more impact on the staff than Molitor, but after 13 years under manager Ron Gardenhire the clubhouse has been naturally buzzing with excitement about the new boss.
''He's one of the smartest baseball people I've ever been around,'' first baseman Joe Mauer said.
As for Hunter? His presence was desired for more energy and stronger camaraderie.
''If there's no tension between players and you're comfortable with everyone, you're going to play better,'' closer Glen Perkins said. ''So that's chemistry, I guess. I think we've held it together as much as we can, as much as we've struggled.''
Here are some key angles to know about the Twins in 2015:
MAUER IMPROVEMENT
Mauer, soon to turn 32, will make $23 million each of the next four years. Injuries have limited him to an average of 116 games from 2011-14. His batting average hit a career-low .277 last season, and he had a career-most 96 strikeouts despite time lost to an oblique muscle injury.
The Twins haven't lost faith in their franchise player, the homegrown guy who was the first overall draft pick in 2001. Playing for Molitor, whom he grew up admiring as an alumnus of the same St. Paul high school, ought to help.
''He's healthy. I think he's anxious to prove that last year was just an aberration,'' general manager Terry Ryan said.
LINEUP FLEXIBILITY
Molitor has been touting his options at the top and in the middle of the order, with a team that quietly scored the third-most runs in the majors after the All-Star break last year and added an accomplished hitter in Hunter.
One decision is whether to bat Mauer third, where he was most of his career until Gardenhire began to bat him second often over the last two seasons.
With Hunter, Kennys Vargas, Trevor Plouffe and Oswaldo Arcia, Molitor has power to play with in the heart of the order. The downsides are Arcia's inconsistency, leadoff man Danny Santana being the only player with a 2014 average above .290 and an unsettled situation in center field.
''It's a small sample, our track record from last year, but it's something you can use as a foundation to see potentially how your offense can work. We're going to have depth, I think, all the way down to the bottom,'' Molitor said.
BULLPEN SHUFFLE
The Twins could return as few as three relievers to their roles from last season: Perkins, Casey Fien and Brian Duensing. Blaine Boyer and Tim Stauffer, from San Diego, were signed. At least one of the losers in the fifth starter competition was headed for the seven-man bullpen. Rule 5 draft pick J.R. Graham, who must be returned to Atlanta if he's not on the 25-man roster, has been pushing for a spot, too.
Reliever use will be one area in which Molitor's strategy could differ from that of Gardenhire.
''I want to get them out of a one-inning mentality. Not that they all have it, or don't want to pitch more. But we've talked a lot about some of those guys, trying to get two innings out of them here, if we can,'' Molitor said. |
| | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PA SPORTSTICKER AL PREVIEW (HOUSTON-MINNESOTA) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Astros-Twins Preview* ======================
By KEVIN MASSOTH STATS Writer
Houston (71-58) at Minnesota (66-62), 2:10 p.m. EDT
Ervin Santana has fallen hard in August, but in his next start he'll try to keep the Minnesota Twins from falling any further in the wild-card race.
The slumping Santana and the Twins will go for a series win at home Sunday against the AL West-leading Houston Astros.
After Minnesota (66-63) dropped 1 1/2 games back of Texas for the AL's second wild-card spot with Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Astros, Santana (2-4, 6.05 ERA) may not be the right man to make up the ground.
The veteran right-hander holds the majors' highest ERA (9.12) among qualifying pitchers since Aug. 3, and has lost four straight decisions while Minnesota has dropped five of the last six games he's started. During his six-start swoon, Santana has failed to escape the third inning twice.
One of those came Tuesday at Tampa Bay. Santana allowed eight hits and five runs in 2 2-3 innings of an 11-7 loss - his fourth straight start surrendering at least four runs.
Santana has spent time working on his fastball command with pitching coach Neil Allen, but he enters Sunday with an 0-1 record and 9.77 ERA in three starts at home.
More concerning for Minnesota is an offense that has gone quiet in the first two games of the series. The Twins used three hits to beat Houston 3-0 on Friday before falling 4-1 on Saturday with just five.
Facing Mike Fiers on Saturday on the heels of his Aug. 21 no-hitter, Minnesota went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base. The Twins scored once after loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth inning and wasted leadoff doubles from Brian Dozier in the sixth and eighth.
"Offensively, we only had a few chances," said manager Paul Molitor, whose team is 26th in the majors with an August batting average of .234. "We had the bases loaded situation where we couldn't get a big hit to get back in the game."
Meanwhile, the Astros (72-58) are going for their third straight series win and seventh victory in nine games. A win Sunday would put Houston 15 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2005 season.
To try and reach the mark, Houston will counter Santana with rookie Lance McCullers, who was recalled from Double-A Corpus Christi last weekend.
McCullers (5-4, 3.12 ERA) gave up a season-high eight hits and didn't factor into the decision in his return to the rotation Aug. 23, but he limited the Los Angeles Dodgers to two runs while walking none and striking out eight in a 3-2 win.
The 21-year-old right-hander may have earned the victory - which came on Jason Castro's walkoff homer in the 10th - if it weren't for two wild pitches that accounted for both Dodgers runs.
McCullers, who has 87 strikeouts in 83 2-3 innings, was sent to the minors to rest for the season's stretch run after a rough start in a 12-9 loss to Texas on Aug. 3. He surrendered seven hits and six runs while recording just one out.
"Little hiatus away, trying to rest up, trying to give myself a break for the run down the stretch," he told MLB's official website.
Astros rookie shortstop Carlos Correa missed his third consecutive game Saturday with a strained hamstring, while Minnesota third baseman Miguel Sano went 0 for 3 in his return from a hamstring strain that kept him out Friday.
Houston recalled catcher Max Stassi Saturday after Castro was sent to the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quadriceps. Hank Conger started behind the plate.
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| | Last Updated: 4/24/2024 1:14:17 AM EST. |
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