This photo was taken during the final game of the season at home against the St. Louis Cardinals. You guys know how I love to  make up conversations that occur during mound visits, but dugout gossip is just as good. So have it, what’s Bud Norris chatting to Jason Michaels about?

Photo courtesy of Jesse Gonzalez

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

As they started the series against the Phillies in Houston there was a lot of excitement. Most of that excitement had to do with seeing Hunter Pence and Roy Oswalt in Minute Maid Park again. No one expected much in terms of wins, least of all me. I hoped for one singular win. I prayed the Astros wouldn’t look ridiculous against the best team in baseball. Turns out God was listening.

For the second straight night, the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies. I’d say lightening definitely struck twice. And it was enough for Houston to win the series. Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll all see if they have it in them to sweep the boys from Philly.

I think the best part of these two wins is they came from excellent outings from the mound by two former Phillies backed with excellent hitting. Toinght JA Happ showed us again that perhaps his time down in AAA at OKC paid off. He threw 6 innings allowing 4 hits, 1 earned run (a homer) while walking 4 and striking out 4. This is a different Happ than we saw earlier in the season. It’s a shame this pitcher showed up so late in the season. But he’s now 2-0 against his former team and 2-1 since he returned from OKC.

Brad Mills was happy with Happ’s outing as well. “JA did a real good job of keeping his emotions under control. He stayed down in the zone which I thought was outstanding.”

When the bullpen came in, they did exactly what they’ve done well this second half of the season by allowing only 1 hit between Fernando Rodriguez and David Carpenter, only 1 earned run and striking out 6. It was a great night of pitching for the Astros. We’d all gotten used to the bullpen blowing 4 run leads. I can’t say that lately. They’ve held their own and games since the All-Star Break.

I can’t not mention the hitting tonight as well. Two batters really stood out tonight. Clint Barmes hit a 3 run homer in the 4th to put the Astros up 5-1. He was 2-4 with 2 run, and 3 RBIs on the night. then JB Shuck came into the game when Jason Michaels injured himself on an amazing catch in right field. Shuck made his presence known as he was 3-3 with 1 run as well.

And defense! I’ve complained about defense this season, but tonight? I have NO complaints. In the 2nd Jason Michaels made a diving catch in right field that bent his hand backwards ending up breaking a left metacarpal badly enough that he’ll require surgery and his season is done. Odds are he has played his last game in an Astros uniform. Then JD Martinez made an outstanding catch at the LF wall in the 5th when the Phillies had bases loaded and two outs. Definitely a pivotal play to keep the lead.

Now my question is this – can lightening strike three times? I can’t say no. I would have NEVER bet the Astros would win two of these games, but now it seems that anything is possible. The Astros are holding their count to 100 losses at 3 to go as they took their record to 51-97 with only 14 games to play this year.

I have to say this – this Astros team lately? They’re playing some really fun baseball.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

It was just a week ago that the Astros beat the San Francisco Giants two out of three games in Houston. So when the battle moved to the West coast many assumed the hometown Giants would easily handle the last place ‘Stros in four games. Not so fast. In a series where runs were sparce and pitching was immaculate, the Houston Astros managed to take two of four games, splitting this series, but taking the season series, 4 games to 3.

If there’s anything that fans can be proud of (other than the winning itself) it’s the pitching in this series. We saw a great outing from Henry Sosa on admittedly little rest. We saw JA Happ come back up from AAA OKC and put together one of the best outings we’ve seen from him this season. We saw Brett Myers look like the Brett of late last season. And finally today, we saw Bud Norris pitch against his childhood team with fantastic efficiency and a crazy number of strikes. It was a pitching-palooza for Houston.

Unfortunatly, the Giants pitching was spot on as well, hence the low scoring games and close finishes. Despite the two losses in San Francisco, Houston proved it can hang with the best when they’re playing their best. Not once did this team roll over and give up. Not once did this team look defeated. They battled all the way through.

Today especially, there were surprises for me in the offensive victories. Carlos Lee had more hustle than I’ve come to expect from him as he managed to stretch 2 hits both into doubles – the second resulting in a slide that led to a mild right ankle sprain. He’s not expected to miss any playing time as a result. In addition, in the 10th inning Jason Michaels clocked one into left center for an RBI double that let Houston take the lead 3-2. The Giants would counter back at the bottom of the 10th, but still an outstanding hit from JMike.

There was also help from the offense that I’ve come to expect. Jimmy Paredes (who is one of my favorites of the new kids) was 3-4 scoring 2 of the Astros 4 runs. Jordan Schafer is making himself known on his new team as well, as he went 1-4 today with 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 walk. A big day for him, indeed. And Jose Altuve, pinch hitting for Lee, was 1-1 (2B) with a run. That run came on a single from former Giant, Matt Downs, proved to be the game winner.

Interestingly enough, lately I’ve come to expect the new guys, the kids, to be the hotshots in any Houston game. That was not the case today. It was most definitely a team effort. Without Study, Cudly Budly pitching an amazing game, without Lee’s obvious efforts, without Paredes hitting or without Down’s and JMike’s well-placed hits this game would have ended much differently. It was great to see the plays come from all parts of the team.

It’s too little too late in this season, but still, I’m happy to see the Astros come together a bit. Now if only we could see some consistency in the lineup that Brad Mills puts together perhaps we could see this sort of success a bit more often down the stretch. I don’t know about you but for me the “guess the lineup” game is getting old. I understand that the rookies can’t start each and every game, but a little consistency would go a long way to the team getting into a groove. Consider it, Brad, will ya?

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

With all the roster changes in the past week, it’s hard to keep up with who is who in the dugout. They’ve traded, promoted, optioned. etc all over the place. So, would you like to meet the latest 25 man roster? Let’s start with the Outfielders, shall we?

Outfield -

#19 – Brian Bogusevic: Bogie’s been up and down this year, meaning between AAA OKC and Houston. The left-handed, right fielder is hitting .214 in the 42 at bats he’s had this season. At 27 years old he’s someone that the Astros can keep around for a while if he continues to develop. I think if he had some consistency at one level we could see a decent amount of progress with him.

#11 – Jason Bourgeois: J-Lightening isn’t a new face in Houston, although he’s been out on the DL a couple of times this season. The right-handed, center fielder is fast, hence the nickname. He’s hitting .346 this season his 136 at bats and leads the club in stolen bases with 22 in just 56 games played. He’s the Astros current Speedy Gonzalez! I don’t see J-Lightening going anywhere except from first to second anytime soon!

#45 – Carlos Lee: Believe it or not, Lee is NOT the oldest Astro. The 35 year old is one month younger than fellow OF, Jason Michaels. El Caballo is spending most of his time these days not in the OF, but at 1B. His hitting was slow to start this season, picked up and now he’s on a dry spell with no hits in his last 6 games – that’s the most of his career. Are all the young kids in the dugout messing with his mojo? Let’s hope not since they’re likely to be around a while!

#14 – JD Martinez: The not-quite 24 year old Left Fielder made a big jump from AA Corpus to Houston only 5 games ago and already he’s making his mark.  He lifted his batting average from .167 to .313 in the August 3rd game vs. the Reds with a stellar outing that included his 1 home run. His stats only include his 16 at bats to date, but if he keeps this pace we’ll see more than 5 RBIs from this guy. He is a favorite of those who follow the farm and could potentially be a star in Houston.

#4 Jason Michaels: The right-handed, left fielder is the current “old man” of the Astros at 35 and 1 month older than Lee. He’s spent the season mostly on the bench but is seeing more playing time since the trade deadline. In 66 games this year he’s hitting only .208 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs. Many wonder how long the club will keep him in Houston with rebuilding being the obvious focus from here on out. It’s not hard to guess that J-Mike will not be the face of the new Astros.

#8 JB Shuck:  I have no big league stats on JB Shuck because as we speak he’s on his way from AAA OKC to Minute Maid Park to take his place as the latest Rookie Astro. But if you look as his minor league numbers since the AAA All-Star Game – he’s on fire. He’s gone 31-71 (.437) in that time. He’ll be an Astro to watch during this rebuilding and I’m excited to watch tonight to see what he can do against a MLB pitcher. It’s a FUN time to be an Astros fan!

So there you have it. The active official outfielders. Keep in mind there’s one on the DL who is due back in about a week. So we’ll have to wait and see who gets moved next.

Stay tuned – This afternoon we’ll take a look at the New Astros – The Infield!

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

We’ve all been waiting for it since his first major league start. “When will Jordan Lyles get his first win?” It’s a question many have tossed around. Well, after tying an Astros record with 11 winless starts as a rookie, Mr. Lyles, you can put that question behind you. Last night the Astros, led by Lyles on the mound, beat the Reds 5-4 giving Jordan that much desired W and the Astros a series win.

It was a night in which the Js took initiative to put the Astros over the top. Jordan Lyles, JD Martinez, Jose Altuve, Jimmy Paredes – all rookies – showed that they want to be in Houston more than anyone. The veterans contributed, for sure, but it was rookie night at Minute Maid Park!

JD Martinez made good on a prediction he’d made to Lyles days ago when Lyles lamented that he needed a win.

Martinez said, “He was like, ‘Man, I need to get a win. I need to get a win.’ I’m like, ‘You’re going to get your win, and I’m going to hit my first home run that day. Watch.’”

Any more predictions you’d like to make JD? When Martinez hit his first major league homer in his first at-bat of the night – you have to wonder what Lyles was thinking. JD followed that up in the 7th with a 2 run RBI double to put the Astros ahead. It was a lead they would not lose again.

As for the other Js – Altuve went 2-3 with a sacrifice bunt, and Paredes was 2-4 (Have you seen that kid run? He’s faaaaaast!). There was a serious change in how productive the hits were for Houston. With runners in scoring position, they were 4-9 and 12 hits gave them 5 runs. That’s a ratio we haven’t seen out of Houston this season.

The veterans definitely had an impact in this game as well as Quintero gave the team an insurance run with a home run in 8th, only his second of the year. Bourgeois was 2-5 with 2 runs and Jason Michaels was 2-4. The win was definitely a team effort, but with so many rookies eager to show their abilities, they became the highlight of the night.

What’s next for the Astros? After last night’s game they optioned Luis Durango to AAA OKC and will make a corresponding roster change on Friday. The rumors are that they could call up AA Corpus Christi’s Chris Wallace who was pulled out of his game in the 5th inning last night. That would provide some serious excitement among those who have been watching his meteroic development. Only time will tell what the move will be. In the meantime, we should bask in the glow radiating off of Lyles and the other Js.

I hear that Jordan Lyles gave the ball from last night to his mother who, along with his father were at MMP last night and got to witness their son’s first win. I’m pretty sure after the night that JD Martinez had, that Mrs. Lyles is probably his biggest fan!

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Yesterday afternoon with a buzz of excitement provided by trades and AA player from Corpus taking the field at second base, the Houston Astros found a way to win their first series since June 17th lifting them to .500 record since the All-Star break and 3-3 on this homestand.  This might be just the confidence boost they’ll need to head out of town for two weeks of playing NL Central rivals.

The win itself was exciting as it came in the bottom of the 11th with Jason Michaels pinch hitting for Wilton Lopez.  J-Mike hit a line drive to center field to send Humberto Quintero to the plate, breaking the tie with the Nationals and ending the game 3-2. Not surprisingly, the Astros bench cleared so the boys could all-but-dogpile Michaels at first base.

The win wasn’t the only excitement happening during this final game against the Nationals. After Tuesday’s trade announcement, Jose Altuve was spotted in the dugout in the 7th inning that night wearing number 27 and swinging a bat. The volume of voices at Minute Maid Park amped up only slightly less than the frenzy on twitter. Turned out that he didn’t get the opportunity to pinch hit Tuesday, but did start at 2nd base Wednesday afternoon.

The hype surrounding Jose Altuve’s leap from AA Corpus Christi to the show has been tremendous, especially on twitter and other social media outlets. After playing very well in the Futures Game during All-Star Week, if you didn’t know Altuve’s name before it was on your radar. So to then watch him be promoted over the AAA club’s second baseman, who is a good ballplayer in his own right, made the fans excitement level soar.

The hashtag #AltuveDay was everywhere yesterday as fans anticipated the Venezuelan to perform well in his first MLB appearance. He didn’t disappoint. After popping out to right field, center field twice, and striking out, Altuve gave fans what they’d been waiting to see when he singled on a line drive to right fielder, Jayson Werth. Nothing was to become of that effort as he was LOB at the end of 9, sending the game into extra innings, but it was still exciting to watch.

So a day in which the Astros start a 21 year old at second base, they also win their first series in over a month and their first series at home since May. It’s .500 ball in Houston right now….if you forget everything that happened before the All-Star break! I’ve said before that this is the season in which we should all, as fans, celebrate the little things. I hope you celebrated #AltuveDay!

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

In a season that has been littered with blown saves by the Astros bullpen, they finally got to see how the other half lives. With a Carlos Lee double, a Chris Johnson double, a Jason Michaels single, some help from a wild pitch, and a Matt Downs pinch hit homer – the Astros rocketed to a 5-3 win over the Rangers in the ninth inning. It seemed a bit of poetic justice actually, after the Rangers stole a game-long lead in the 11th on Tuesday night.

So there was no sweep in Arlington and for that, Astros fans are thankful. In fact, that win put the ‘Stros at 3-3 for their roadtrip and broke a three game losing streak. It was about time. But it seems every win lately starts the talk of “is this the turnaround?” as Astros fans anticipate the second half comeback the team’s been famous for year after year.

I’ve got news for you. » Continue reading “Wait- Which Bullpen Blew a Save?”

Homestands are usually the shining moment for a team, right? Not this particular homestand. The Astros, who are struggling no matter where they play, had a particularly difficult run at Minute Maid Park in recent days. Yesterday afternoon’s loss to the Pirates left the ‘Stros 2-8 on the homestand with one of those series being a sweep by the Pirates who hadn’t swept Houston in Houston since like 2008 or something crazy.

The facts from this 10 game home stretch are plain and simple. With runners in scoring position the Astros hit .149 (15-101) and they left 89 guys on bags. Wow. That’s an average of almost 9 guys left on base per game. That statistic really speaks for itself. And there were PH decisions that made NO sense to me. » Continue reading “Home Has NOT Been Where The ‘Stros Heart Is”