The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Houston Astros – INSIDE PITCH
For his first start of the season, Astros right-hander Kyle Weiland’s counterpart was Atlanta’s Tommy Hanson.
For Weiland’s second start, it was Washington wonder Stephen Strasburg.
On Saturday, one day after the Astros fell to the Dodgers 3-1, Weiland draws Los Angeles left-hander and reigning Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.
Collectively, Weiland’s three opponents have a career 66-39 record with a 2.98 ERA. Weiland, 25, has an 0-5 career record and a 7.90 ERA in the majors to his name.
“I feel like every time you pitch, you’re going up against the hitters,” said Weiland, who came to the Astros along with shortstop Jed Lowrie in the trade that sent reliever Mark Melancon to the Red Sox. “You can’t really affect how the other guy throws. The only thing you can have any control over is how you throw and how you attack their hitters.
“You try to take the same approach in every single start: Do whatever it takes to keep your team in the ball game. Keep it close and hopefully have the lead when you come out.”
In Weiland’s first start this season, a two-out double by Dan Uggla on an 0-2 pitch led to a three-run rally in a 6-4 loss against the Braves. In Weiland’s second start, he pitched to a 2-2 standstill with Strasburg heading into the six inning. One out away from getting through the sixth inning, Weiland issued a couple two-out walks that set up a bloop double to Steve Lombardozzi that led to a four-run rally and a 6-3 loss.
“I definitely got what I deserved there with the two walks,” Weiland said. “Especially when you’ve got two outs, you can’t pick around guys. You’ve got to at least make them put it in play, avoid a situation where they can have a big inning. It was definitely frustrating.”
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MLB Team Report – Houston Astros – NOTES, QUOTES
–LHP J.A. Happ picked up his third quality start the hard way in a 3-1 loss to the Dodgers on Friday night. Happ allowed eight hits and four walks in six innings, holding the Dodgers to three runs by limiting them to one hit in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers picked up two of those runs when Matt Kemp hit a knee-high fastball over the right-field wall three batters into the game for his major-league-leading eighth home run. “He’s a guy you won’t want to let beat you, and I ended up doing that,” Happ said. “It’s definitely frustrating.”
–CF Jordan Schafer has reached safely in all 14 games he’s played this season after a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning. Right-handed Justin Maxwell spelled Schafer, who has been bothered by a cold the past few days, against lefty Ted Lilly. The last Astro with a longer streak of reaching safely to start a season was Craig Biggio in 2000 (17 games).
–LF J.D Martinez had an infield hit and two walks in his first three plate appearances. He has reached safely in all 13 games he has played this season and is batting .333.
–1B Carlos Lee had gone 56 plate appearances without a strikeout against Ted Lilly before getting caught looking in the fourth inning. That was the longest such streak of any active player against any active pitcher.
–RF Brian Bogusevic reached safety in three of his four plate appearances, getting hit by a pitch a National League-high third time. He is 4-for-7 with a triple, a walk and a hit by pitch in his past two games, lifting his average from .121 to .200.
–SS Jed Lowrie went 0-for-4, dropping his average to .222. He has scored only two runs and driven in one in seven games, though he did make two sparkling plays from deep in the hole in the ninth inning on Friday.
BY THE NUMBERS: 1 — Hits Carlos Lee and Chris Johnson have combined in 28 at-bats against lefties this season. They went 0-for-7 against Dodgers LHP Ted Lilly on Friday.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Normally, if it’s down in the zone, it’s not going to hurt you too bad. But he’s able to damage to a lot of pitches, especially a pitch down like that.” — LHP J.A. Happ, on serving up Matt Kemp’s major-league-leading eighth home run on a knee-high fastball down the middle.
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MLB Team Report – Houston Astros – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–OF Travis Buck (strained left hamstring) left the April 18 game and didn’t play April 19 and 20. He is questionable for the rest of the Dodgers series (April 21-22).
–LHP Sergio Escalona (Tommy John surgery in April 2012) went on the 15-day disabled list April 4. He will miss the entire season.
ROTATION:
LHP Wandy Rodriguez
RHP Lucas Harrell
RHP Bud Norris
LHP J.A. Happ
RHP Kyle Weiland
BULLPEN:
RHP Brett Myers (closer)
RHP Brandon Lyon
RHP Wilton Lopez
RHP David Carpenter
RHP Fernando Rodriguez
LHP Wesley Wright
RHP Lucas Harrell
RHP Rhiner Cruz
CATCHERS:
C Jason Castro
C Chris Snyder
INFIELDERS:
1B Carlos Lee
2B Jose Altuve
SS Jed Lowrie
3B Chris Johnson
INF Marwin Gonzalez
INF Matt Downs
OUTFIELDERS:
CF Jordan Schafer
LF J.D. Martinez
RF Brian Bogusevic
OF Travis Buck
OF Justin Maxwell
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