TODAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros (26-33), who are 7-3 in their last 10 games, will play the second game of their 10-day, nine-game homestand today against the NL Central division leading Milwaukee Brewers (34-20).
RHP Peter Lambert (3-4, 3.79 ERA), a free agent signing this offseason, will start for the Astros opposite the Brewers and RHP Brandon Sproat (1-3, 5.84 ERA).
DRIVING THE LAMBO: Today’s Astros starter RHP Peter Lambert has been solid in his seven starts for the Astros, going 3-4 with a 3.79
ERA (17ER/40.1IP) with 40 strikeouts and a .200 opponent average.
Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 appearances in Japan.
He began this season at Triple A Sugar Land (1.84 ERA in three appearances) before being called up to join the rotation on April 17.
FOR STARTERS: Astros starters have a combined ERA of 3.33 (30ER/81IP) over the last 14 games (since May 15) with a 1.04 WHIP. In that span, they have allowed just 47 hits in 81.0 innings for a Major League-best .168 opponent average, while also ranking second in the AL in WHIP and fourth in ERA. Astros starters have allowed one-or-fewer runs seven times in the last 14 games.
HOMER HAPPY: The Astros have slugged 17 homers in their last eight games. Houston now ranks second in the AL in homers with 77, trailing only the Yankees (86) in that category.
THE LINEUP: The Astros have yet to repeat a lineup this season, using 59 different lineups in their first 59 games. DH Yordan Alvarez has the most starts at any spot in the lineup among Astros, as he’s hit second 47 times this season.
EVERYDAY OKERT: LHP Steven Okert worked 2.0 scoreless innings last night and has now pitched in each of the last two games, giving him 28 appearances this season, which ranks tied for fourth in the Majors. The lefty has had a strong month of May, posting a 2.25 ERA (3ER/12IP) in 12 games.
ON THE MEND: RHP Hunter Brown, who’s recovering from a right shoulder sprain, made his second rehab start last night, working 3.0 innings of one run ball for Triple A Sugar Land. Brown tossed 44 pitches in the outing (33 strikes), recording five strikeouts, while allowing just one hit, a solo homer, among the 10 batters he faced.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH?: RHP Spencer Arrighetti has made a strong case for the AL Pitcher of the Month award, going 4-1 with a 0.93 ERA (3ER/29IP) and a .165 opponent average (16×97) in five starts in May. During the month, he has the lowest ERA among AL starters, while ranking tied for first in wins and second in opponent average.
ON THE LEADER BOARD: DH Yordan Alvarez currently leads the Majors in OPS (1.056) and total bases (134).
In the AL, he ranks tied for first in extra-base hits (31), tied for first in HR (20), second in SLG (.641), second in OBP (.415), tied for fourth in hits (63), tied for fourth in RBI (39), fifth in batting avg. (.301), tied for sixth in walks (38), and tied for seventh in runs (38).
HISTORIC HOMERS: DH Yordan Alvarez is off to one of the most prolific starts in franchise history. His 20 homers through the club’s first 59 games of the season match the franchise record, also reached by 1B Jeff Bagwell in the 1999 season.
WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker has four homers and nine RBI in his last six games.
For the season, he ranks third in the AL in RBI (40), tied for fifth in extra-base hits (25), sixth in HR (15), seventh in total bases (109), and ninth in SLG (.512).
Walker also has not committed an error in his 58 games played.
HEATING UP: RF Cam Smith has recorded a hit in eight of his last nine games, batting .333 (11×33) with two doubles, two HR, four RBI, three walks and a 1.010 OPS in that span.
OF Taylor Trammell is riding a career-high, eight-game hitting streak, batting .407 (11×27) with two doubles, one triple, two RBI and a .984 OPS within the streak.
HIT PAREDES: 3B Isaac Paredes has 498 career hits and is looking to become just the 10th Mexican-born player in MLB history to reach 500 career hits. Two of those eight played portions of their careers with the Astros in 3B Vinny Castilla (1,884 hits) and C Alex Treviño (604 hits).
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1976 – In the second game of a doubleheader at Fulton County Stadium vs. the Braves, the Astros set a franchise record with 23 singles and set the then-club record with 25 hits in a 16-5 win. Cliff Johnson leads the attack with four hits and five RBI. Enos Cabell adds three hits and three runs scored. The win completes a doubleheader sweep for Houston. Since this date, the Astros have reached 25 hits on four other occasions, but have not posted 23 singles in a game.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, May 30, 3:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Streaming: SCHN+
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
