Astros Crawfish Boil: June 5, 2023

Welcome back to the grind.

After a largely successful weekend series which saw Houston take three-of-four from the divisional rival Los Angeles Angels, the Astros head north for a four-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Who’s Hot (highest WPA vs. Angels)
Alex Bregman .379
Framber Valdez .320
JP France .266
Chas McCormick .227
Hector Neris .126

Who’s Not (lowest WPA vs. Angels)
Ryne Stanek -.096
Kyle Tucker -.109
Phil Maton -.138
Martin Maldonado -.148
Jake Meyers -.200

Houston Astros News

Baker talks France’s start | 06/04/2023 | Houston Astros (mlb.com) — some well deserved kudos from the Skipper. France had the best start of his major league career.

Astros Should Eye Cleveland Cy Young Winner at Trade Deadline (si.com) — Nabbing Shane Bieber isn’t the worst idea in the world, but what would he cost?

Jose Altuve out of the lineup again Sunday against Angels (khou.com) — Hopefully, we don’t lose Altuve again for another extended period. It’s only an oblique, so maybe just a little rest will do.

How Dusty Baker may have finally restored order to Astros lineup, Houston offense (Houston.sportsmap.com)

How Astros stars have helped J.P. France settle in at MLB level (chron.com)

Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman Makes Baseball History on Saturday vs. Los Angeles Angels (si.com) — tl;dr, nobody in baseball history’s modern era has drawn four walks and hit a grand slam in his only official at bat.

Houston Astros fans infuriated by low-scoring loss to Shohei Ohtani and Los Angeles Angels: “How do u lose to the Angels?” (sportskeeda.com) — Simmer down, Beavis! We took three-of-four. That’s a yearly rate of 120 victories a season. Seriously though, check out how many legitimately negative tweets there are about losing one-of-four to a pretty ok team.

Mauricio Dubón’s smooth play | 06/04/2023 | Houston Astros (mlb.com)

Starting Pitching and Gametime

Tonight, 6:07 PM CT — Brandon Bielak (2-2, 3.19) vs. Alex Manoah (1-6, 5.46)
Tomorrow, 6:07 PM CT — Hunter Brown (5-2, 3.61) vs. Kevin Gausman (4-3, 2.76)
Wednesday, 6:07 PM CT — Ronel Blanco (1-0, 4.15) vs. Chris Bassitt (6-4, 3.41)
Thursday, 6:07 PM CT — Framber Valdez (6-4, 2.16) vs. José Berríos (5-4, 3.66)

AL West News

Mariners’ dreams of winning AL West appear dashed after crushing losses to Rangers (seattletimes.com)

The Seattle Mariners make a statement against the Texas Rangers, but in a bad way (lookoutlanding.com)

A big move to erase the Mariners’ uneven season (sodomojo.com)

Texas Rangers tie historic offensive marks set by 1936 Yankees and 1999 Mariners (dallasnews.com)

Texas Rangers’ Bruce Bochy Moves into Top 10 All-Time in Managerial Wins (si.com)

29 MLB teams have Pride Nights scheduled in 2023. The Texas Rangers are the lone holdout (wfaa.com) — TCB is not the place for politics. That being said, I think the Boil is a sensible place to drop these hyperlinks and let you make up your own mind.

Putrid A’s breaking new ground in utter futility as final gift to Oakland (nypost.com)

Close to Home: Fans lose as A’s owners strike out (pressdemocrat.com)

A’s Fans Funding Own Giveaway for June 13th “Reverse Boycott” Game (si.com)

Mike Trout Doesn’t Understand Why Angels Can’t Compete with Top MLB Teams (si.com)

Man Sues Los Angeles Angels After Going Blind In Left Eye By Ball Allegedly Thrown Into The Stands (brobible.com)

Former Longtime Angels Outfielder Released by AL Contender, Could Halos Bring Him Back? (si.com)

All-Time-Head-to-Head

Houston has played Toronto in 68 regular season games, winning 38 for a .559 winning percentage. The Astros have also faced the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees 68 times, but they’ve faced everybody else more.

Houston Astros Birthdays

Paul Siebert (70) pitched in 31 games for Houston from 1974 through 1976, going 1-5 with a 3.25 ERA. He struck out 26 in 69 ¹⁄₃ innings and held his opponents to a 1.514 WHIP and a 4.01 FIP.

Jason Green (48) pitched in 14 games for the 2000 Astros, striking out 19 in 17 ²⁄₃ frames. H was 1-1 with a 6.62 ERA, a 6.76 FIP, and a 1.981 WHIP.

Between 1996 and 2001, Bill Spiers (57) played every infield and outfield position in 632 games for Houston. He slashed .288/.375/.408 with 21 jacks and 199 RBI.

Russ Ortiz pitched in 23 games for the 2009 Astros, including 13 starts. He was 3-6 with a 5.57 ERA and a 4.61 FIP, striking out 65 in 85 ²⁄₃ innings while holding opponents to a 1.669 WHIP.

Robinson Chirinos caught 114 games for the 2019 Astros, hitting .238 /.347/.443 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI. It was by far the best season of his 11-year MLB career.