Salvaging One in KC

Astros shut out twice, win one of three in KC

Fresh off a 5-1 homestand, the Astros’ brief stay in Kansas City was a downer.

Being shut out back to back in games one and two left Sunday’s game seemingly a bit more important than your typical series finale in late April.

Alas, the missing power showed up, at least for Yordan and Yainer, while Hunter Brown did Hunter Brown as the Astros won game 3 by a score of 7-3.

Batter and Pitcher Season Projections

Despite his home run yesterday, Yainer is still struggling and his projected average continues to drop.

3 days ago he was projected at .278 and now it’s .275. Here’s hoping the homer gets him headed in the right direction, but I still have my doubts.

What a job by the starters in Kansas City. Wesneski got hit around (more on that below) a bit on Friday, but the bullpen held the Royals at bay and then Framber and Hunter Brown did their thing the next two days, giving Houston and their anemic offense a chance.

The three-game series produced only 7 runs for the Astros, but it also only produced 7 runs for the Royals.

Whitley to the IL is unfortunate, as he looked to have the potential as a solid contributor who throws hard.

That said, Ort has been no slouch in his brief time with the Astros, but we’ll see how (and if) that plays out over the long term, especially with Lance nearing readiness.

Before the season I told my son I’d believe Lance was going to contribute when I see him on a Major League mound and not before.

That’s not a shot at Lance, he obviously wants to pitch, but there have been so many false starts and stops in his recovery, you have to feel sorry for the guy.

Game Scores

Dominated by Hunter Brown, but Framber’s start in KC was really good after a questionable beginning.

As you can tell by the individual scores above, Brown has been much more consistent and that also shows in the averages below.

Quality At-Bat Data

A solid day for Chas Sunday, but still a small sample size for him.

Team average is 38.8%, which shows you the nosedive Altuve and Meyers have been in.

What Can Brown Do For You?

Hunter Brown’s last 28 starts.

Expected Win Total

Down a game since our last post.

Projected AL West Standings

Mariners take the lead, but the most interesting team is the Rangers, who at 15-13 lead the Astros by a half game in the “real” standings and are a game back of the Mariners (16-12).

The Rangers have a -15 run differential, which is why they look like they do below.

As a reminder, my standings blend run differential and actual Ws and Ls and as the season goes on wins and losses mean more than run differential.

So, if the Rangers continue to win this will take care of itself, but right now 80+% of the projection is based on Run Differential.

Wesneski Watch

Heard (Chandler Rome) that Hayden Wesneski’s velocity was down significantly in Kansas City, so as always, with a curious mind, I wanted to check it out.

It’s true. Wesneski had a drop of 1.6 MPH on his four-seamer from his previous start.

But, he also had a drop between starts 2 and 3 and was back up the next start.

Does that mean something? I don’t know.

As Rome noted, the Astros have a TBD for Wednesday’s starting pitcher, which would typically be Wesneski’s day.

What that means is anyone’s guess at this point, though Wesneski was hit around a bit by the mostly punchless Royals.

Rando Stats of the Day

About last week (4/21-4/27)…

Zach Dezenzo hit .389 (18 ABs) and Chas McCormick hit .571 (7 AB).

Jeremy Pena slashed .364/.417/.409 with 4 RBI in 24 plate appearances.

Jose Altuve was 3 for 20 and Jake Meyers was 0 for 15.

Hunter Brown was 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA over 13 innings, allowing 9 hits, striking out 18, while walking just 2.

Out of the bullpen, only Bryan King made more than two appearances (3) and pitched more than 2 innings (2.2).

As always, thanks for reading!