It’s your Wednesday Boil!
Welcome to the Wednesday Crawfish Boil!
It’s easy to get behind the Astros when they play like they did last night. Brandon Bielak, thought to be organizational depth at best, struck out six and gave up just one run over 5 2⁄3 innings. With Bielak coming up just one out short of a Quality Start, Phil Maton relieved him and struck out four in 1 1⁄3 innings. Chas McCormick and Alex Bregman each took a shot at the moon, and Jose Abreu came within inches of a grand slam. Ryne Stanek and Rafael Montero kept the Twinkies off the board for the final two frames and Houston took a 5-1 win into tonight’s rubber match. Oh, and Jeremy Peña walked….twice.
I know you probably already knew all that, but I just wanted to digest it again. I thought you might, too. Know your audience!
Houston Astros News
Astros farm report: Justin Dirden, Drew Gilbert, Korey Lee heat up in May (chron.com)
Are Houston Astros Among Teams Expected to Pursue Ohtani? (si.com)
‘Big progress’: Astros’ Dusty Baker gives positive injury update (chron.com)
Memorial Day Thoughts and Astros 2023 (chipalatta.com)
Advanced stats show Astros’ José Abreu making progress at plate (chron.com)
Houston Astros could turn to six-man rotation as early as this week (houstonchronicle.com)
How Houston Astros fans made a mess of Carlos Correa’s return (fansided.com)
How latest Astros updates are raising eyebrows, trade questions (sportsmap.houston.com)
AL West News
Seattle Mariners Notes: Julio wins Player of the Week; Kelenic sits (sports.mynorthwest.com)
Judge hits 2 HRs, robs another as Yanks top Seattle Mariners 10-4 (sports.mynorthwest.com)
When the A’s leave Oakland, a great sports town will have been gutted (washingtonpost.com)
MLB Power Rankings: The 2023 Oakland A’s are one of the worst teams ever; Rangers, Mariners make moves (cbssports.com)
Upcoming Angels road trip could dictate whether they buy or sell at trade deadline (halohangout.com)
Angels: Shohei Ohtani howls in pain after getting hit with 95 MPH pitch vs White Sox (clutchpoints.com) tl;dr — he was hit in the shin with a pitch, but he’s just fine.
Texas Rangers Deciding Next Jacob deGrom Injury Rehab Steps After Road Trip (si.com)
How Rangers’ defense has proven to be a real game-changer (dallasnews.com)
MLB News
Tigers Acquire Jake Marisnick From White Sox (mlbtraderumors.com)
MLB to begin producing Padres broadcasts after Diamond Sports Group misses rights fee payment, per report (cbssports.com)
MLB Power Rankings: Are The Braves, Dodgers, Orioles or Rangers in No. 2 Spot? (bleacherreport.com) tl;dr — Astros are fourth.
Liam Hendriks’ return after cancer recovery is MLB’s best story (foxsports.com)
Memorial Day MLB standings check: Surprises, disappointments – ESPN (ESPN.com)
MLB pitcher rips Dodgers for reinviting controversial anti-Catholic group to Pride Night (foxnews.com)
The Sorry Seven: MLB postseason contenders that are struggling right now (theathletic.com)
MLB ticket prices by team: See who has the cheapest, most expensive get-in tickets (usatoday.com)
Houston Astros Birthdays
Kenny Lofton (56) started his 17-season MLB odyssey with the Houston Astros in 1991. A 17th-round pick of Houston in 1988, he was 15-for-74 with five walks and only two stolen bases in his 20-game look for the Astros. Of course, he went on to steal 620 more bases, winning four center field Gold Gloves and six appearances on the All-Star team.