Tag Archives: Astros

18 Oct

cue the highlights

It was a week of chill. Seafood, sunshine and siestas. And baseball on the tube. Lots of it. The past week gave us three Game 5’s in MLB division series play, plus an historic Game 4 clincher at Wrigley Field. There was a season’s worth of highlights in a few short days. We’re left with two former Jackson Mets catchers – Ned Yost and John Gibbons – matching wits as managers in the American League Championship Series, and two Mississippians – Jarrod Dyson and Chris Coghlan – still playing. Alas, the season is over for Tony Sipp, who was almost perfect for Houston; Mitch Moreland, who had a rough ALDS for Texas; and Lance Lynn, who pitched just one inconsequential inning for St. Louis.
To recap the week: On Monday, Pascagoula native Sipp was saddled with a hard-luck loss in the Astros’ pivotal Game 4 loss to Kansas City. That was the game in which the Astros squandered a four-run lead in the eighth inning, hurt by a weird hopper that ticked off Sipp’s glove and bounded past shortstop Carlos Correa for an error. The lone run charged to Sipp was unearned. That same day, ex-Ole Miss standout Coghlan had a hit and a run in the Chicago Cubs’ Game 3 win against St. Louis. … On Tuesday, the Cubs took the series by winning Game 4; it was the first series-clinching win ever at Wrigley. Coghlan, in the postseason for the first time in his career, didn’t play but celebrated with gusto. Lynn, the former Ole Miss ace, had originally been scheduled to start Game 4 for St. Louis, but the Cardinals went with John Lackey on short rest. He got shelled early. … On Wednesday, Toronto beat Texas in a Game 5 that already has become a TV special. Gibbons’ Blue Jays came from behind in the wild and wacky seventh inning, aided by errors on three consecutive plays by the Rangers. Former Mississippi State star Moreland made one of the errors; he also went 0-for-3 in the game and finished the ALDS 0-for-13. That same day, Yost’s Royals beat Houston to win that ALDS in the fifth game. Sipp pitched again. All told, the left-hander made six appearances in his first postseason and allowed no earned runs on a hit and a walk with four strikeouts. Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi Community College product from McComb, got into two ALDS games for the Royals and stole two bases. That’s what he do. … On Thursday, the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of that series to advance to play the Cubs for the NL pennant. The Mets won the series opener on Saturday and will throw the brilliant Noah Syndergaard tonight against Cubs ace Jake Arrieta. Coghlan is in the lineup for the Cubs, playing right field. … Meanwhile, Yost and Gibbons are plotting strategies for their next meeting in the ALCS, set for Monday at the Rogers Centre launching pad. Yost’s Royals are up 2-0, bidding for a second straight World Series trip.

09 Oct

let’s play four

With four playoff games on the docket, it’s a day to let baseball flow over you. Here are some things to watch for from a Mississippi perspective: At Toronto, Mitch Moreland, the former Mississippi State star from Amory, figures to start for Texas in Game 2 of their American League Division Series. Moreland came in as a defensive replacement at first base in the Rangers’ win on Thursday. With right-hander Marcus Stroman going for the Blue Jays today, the lefty-hitting Moreland should be in there. His power (23 homers this year) ought to play at Rogers Centre. … Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product Tony Sipp pitched a clean seventh inning in Houston’s ALDS win at Kansas City. The lefty has worked two scoreless innings now in the first postseason appearances of his seven-year MLB career. … Jarrod Dyson, the ex-Southwest Mississippi CC star, didn’t play for the Royals, but the time surely will come when KC will need his speed, either on the bases or in the outfield. … Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan, who sat out the Chicago Cubs’ wild card win against Pittsburgh, is 3-for-9 with a walk against St. Louis starter John Lackey, but that might not be enough to get him in today’s lineup for the National League Division Series opener. The wild card configuration worked out pretty well for the Cubs, who whipped the Pirates 4-0. Coghlan, a lefty hitter, batted .250 with 16 homers and 11 steals this year. … The Cardinals have announced that ex-Rebels standout Lance Lynn will start Game 4 vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field – if there is a Game 4. Lynn (12-11) was 0-4 against the Cubs, allowing 15 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings. Yikes. … Former State star Ed Easley, who was up for the last few weeks, did not make the Cards’ initial NLDS roster. They’re carrying just two catchers, one of which is the injured Yadier Molina (thumb). P.S. It’s hard not to admire Moreland and the way he plays the game. He addressed that in a recent comment to mlb.com: “The work ethic and trying to go out and keep my head down and keep my eyes on the goal … all that stems from me growing up there (Amory) in a small town, maybe not having that spotlight and recognition.”

07 Oct

wild things

The Chicago Cubs’ lineup isn’t official yet, but speculation is that Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan won’t be in it and ex-Mississippi Braves standout Tommy La Stella will be. The Cubs take on Pittsburgh tonight in the National League Wild Card Game at PNC Park. Coghlan hit .250 with 16 homers and 41 RBIs while playing a variety of positions, but his playing time decreased down the stretch. And he is 2-for-13 against Pirates starter Gerrit Cole. Coghlan told ESPN he wants to be in there: “I feel like I’m one of the best eight guys out there.” La Stella, who batted .269 in just 33 games, could get the nod at third base, with Kris Bryant going to left and Kyle Schwarber to right, reports said. Both Coghlan and La Stella are left-handed hitters. … Wonder if the Pirates have forgotten that it was Coghlan’s take out slide that ended shortstop Jung Ho Kang’s season on Sept. 17? No one called it a dirty play, but still, it might be a motivating factor. Clint Hurdle’s Pirates may need all the cosmic help they can summon against Jake Arrieta. … Tony Sipp appeared to be amped up – perhaps too much — for his appearance in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game. The animated lefty out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College registered a scoreless seventh inning in Houston’s 3-0 win over New York at Yankee Stadium, but it took him 23 pitches to get four batters. He threw only 11 strikes. Facing the Nos. 5-8 hitters, starting with ex-M-Braves star Brian McCann, Sipp fanned one and walked one. But he got the hold. In 10 appearances in September and October, Sipp yield just one run. … Blast from the past: The Astros’ coaching staff includes former Jackson Generals hitting coach Dave Hudgens and ex-Jackson Mets catcher Alan Zinter. … Houston will face Kansas City – managed by another old JaxMets catcher, Ned Yost – in the AL Division Series. The Royals’ roster is expected to include former Southwest Mississippi CC star Jarrod Dyson but apparently not former Pillow Academy standout Louis Coleman. Coleman appeared in just four games at season’s end, posting a 0.00 ERA. M-Braves product Kris Medlen likely will be on the roster; he went 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 15 games coming off Tommy John surgery. He is 40-22, 3.06 career. Still wondering why Atlanta let him go.

06 Oct

back in the day

Houston makes its first appearance in the postseason in 10 years tonight when it plays New York at Yankee Stadium in the American League Wild Card Game. The Astros had been bad for so long that it seems hard to believe they were once a playoff regular. Between 1997 and 2005, they were in the playoffs six times. They won three straight National League Central championships from 1997-99 and another in 2001. And, yes, a bunch of former Jackson Generals – 26 at one time or another – played on those four teams. (For the record, ex-Jackson Mets Tim Bogar and Chuck Carr and Mississippians Dave Clark, Jay Powell and Charlie Hayes also made appearances in that period.) Houston’s Double-A club played at Smith-Wills Stadium from 1991-99, won Texas League pennants in 1993 and ’96 and produced some outstanding big league talent that aided in winning those NL Central titles. Jackson’s Houston connection included Bobby Abreu, Lance Berkman, Billy Wagner, Richard Hidalgo, Julio Lugo, Chris Holt, Shane Reynolds, Chris Truby, John Halama and Tony Eusebio, who was the first General to reach the big leagues in 1991. The Astros won only the one NL pennant during that run of success, in 2005, when they got in the playoffs as a wild card. There were only two ex-Gens left on the roster by then: Berkman and Raul Chavez. It was fun while it lasted.

02 Oct

a shining moment

While the Houston Astros are keenly focused on the present, and their pursuit of a playoff berth, the rest of us can sneak a peek back at a big day in the club’s history. On Oct. 2, 2005, the last day of the regular season, Weir’s Roy Oswalt outpitched Greg Maddux as the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 and claimed the National League wild card. Philadelphia, which also won that day, finished a game back. The win was the 20th of the year for Oswalt, the Holmes Community College alum who won 163 over his 13-year career. The ’05 Astros, with a few former Jackson Generals still around (Lance Berkman, Raul Chavez, pitching coach Jim Hickey, bullpen coach Mark Bailey), went on to beat Atlanta in the division series and St. Louis in the NLCS – Oswalt was the MVP – to reach the franchise’s first and only World Series. They lost to the Chicago White Sox in four (with ex-Generals ace Freddy Garcia winning the clincher, oddly enough). P.S. Though he hasn’t officially retired, Cliff Lee doesn’t have a team for 2016 after the Phillies declined to pick up an option on the ex-Meridian CC star’s contract. Lee, 37, didn’t pitch at all this year because of an elbow problem. His career numbers: 143-91, 3.52 ERA in the regular season and 7-3, 2.52 postseason.

25 Sep

only the beginning

Oh, the Kansas City Royals celebrated on Thursday night. The video evidence is there. Much champagne and beer were spilled after the 10-4 win against Seattle. The Royals – and Mississippians Jarrod Dyson and Louis Coleman — are American League Central champs. But this celebration was different from last year’s, when the Royals claimed a wild card and made the postseason for the first time in 29 years. “We expected this from the first day of the season,” manager Ned Yost, the ex-Jackson Mets catcher (1976-77), told the Kansas City Star, adding that he has “eyes on a much bigger prize.” That would be the World Series crown, which KC was one victory from taking last season. The oft-criticized Yost still has a losing record as a big league manager (919-967) and is under .500 as the Royals’ skipper (462-465). But he has now produced three straight winning seasons, and note that many predictions did not have the Royals as a playoff team in 2015. Yost, third in the AL manager of the year voting in 2014, might be due for that honor. … Dyson, from McComb, and Coleman, from Schlater, didn’t play in Thursday’s clincher. Dyson, the pinch-running and defensive specialist, wasn’t needed, and Coleman reportedly is nursing an arm injury. Dyson has 28 runs, 26 steals and eight outfield assists in 83 games. Coleman, a recent call-up, has worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings but none since Sept. 13. P.S. The spotlight tonight should be on Houston, where the Astros and Texas Rangers begin a three-game series that could settle the AL West. Houston, long the front-runner in the division, now trails red-hot Texas by 3.5 games. Former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland from Amory has been a force in the heart of Texas’ lineup. Tony Sipp, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alum out of Pascagoula, is a lefty specialist in the Houston pen. The pair could meet in a big moment this weekend.

18 Sep

numbers game

With a 3.17 ERA, 11 wins and 153 strikeouts in 156 innings this season, ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn has good numbers. But the Chicago Cubs have had his number. The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander is 0-3 with a 7.53 ERA against the Cubs heading into today’s big game at Wrigley Field. Lynn was KO’d early by the Cubs 11 days ago, leaving in the third inning down 6-0. He must be aching to strike back. The Cubs’ Chris Coghlan, a fellow ex-Rebel, is 2-for-5 career against Lynn. Starlin Castro has a .351 average and five RBIs against Lynn, Anthony Rizzo a .296 with two homers and seven RBIs. Those could be key matchups, but the wild card at Wrigley is always the wind: Which way is it blowing? Cardinals-Cubs has a lot of history, but it’s special when they meet in September with both in playoff contention. St. Louis leads the Cubs by 7 games in the National League Central, with second-place Pittsburgh 5 games out. The division title isn’t settled yet. “Do we have it in us? I think we do,” Coghlan said in a recent ESPN article. … Mitch Moreland was just 3-for-16 in Texas’ four-game series against Houston, but the former Mississippi State star certainly did some damage. He hit two homers and drove in six runs as the Rangers swept the Astros and jumped 2½ games up in the American League West. Moreland’s three-run homer ignited the Rangers’ 8-2 win on Thursday night. He is batting .283 (career mark .259), with 21 homers (career-best 23) and 77 RBIs (career-best was 60). Yes, it’s a career year.

17 Sep

farm livin’

Houston and Texas are slugging it out for first place in the American League West in Arlington, with the Rangers, now up 1½ games, landing most of the big punches through three games of the four-game series. Meanwhile, down on the farm, the Triple-A affiliates of both clubs are facing off for the Pacific Coast League pennant. No doubt former Ole Miss standout Alex Presley would rather be with the Astros, but playing for a championship with Fresno can’t feel too bad. Especially when you’re hitting .481 in the postseason, with four RBIs, four runs and three steals through six games. Presley and the Grizzlies squared the PCL finals at 1-all with a 3-1 win at Round Rock on Wednesday night. Presley, 30, who has spent parts of six years in the majors – eight games with Houston this year – batted .292 this season with three home runs, 49 RBIs and 15 steals for Fresno. The lefty-hitting outfielder might get another call from the Astros before it’s all said and done in the AL West. … Someday, perhaps, Biloxi Shuckers fans will sit at the bar and recall the days of Orlando Arcia, much like old Jackson Mets fans might remember Lee Mazzilli. Arcia, a 21-year-old shortstop, went 2-for-3 with a homer as host Biloxi beat Chattanooga 7-1 at MGM Park in the opener of the Southern League Championship Series. He is hitting .625 with three bombs, nine RBIs and six runs in four postseason games after batting .307 with eight homers and 69 RBIs during the inaugural season of Shuckers baseball. Mazzilli was the first MLB star to emerge from Jackson’s old Double-A club back in the mid-’70s. Arcia, Milwaukee’s top prospect, may well become the first ex-Shucker to do so.

16 Sep

name dropping

Another day, another big blow by Mitch Moreland. The former Mississippi State star hit a game-winning sacrifice fly in the ninth inning for Texas on Tuesday night, propelling the host Rangers past Houston 6-5 and into first place in the American League West. Moreland now has 74 RBIs on the season. The Rangers’ rally muted any celebration by Evan Gattis, who had put the Astros ahead 5-4 with a two-run single in the fourth. Gattis was one of a bundle of ex-Mississippi Braves who made their marks in Tuesday’s box scores, and some of them even play for Atlanta. To wit: Andrelton Simmons got the walk-off hit for the Braves, scoring Todd Cunningham and making a winner of Arodys Vizcaino. Julio Teheran allowed just two runs in 5 2/3 innings against heavy-hitting Toronto, Brandon Cunniff worked a scoreless inning and Daniel Castro chipped in a hit. Elsewhere, Kris Medlen (4-1, 3.92 ERA) got a win for Kansas City, David Hale got a win for Colorado (in a 14-inning affair) and Randall Delgado plucked a W (his sixth) for Arizona by getting one out. Michael Broadway got a hold for San Francisco and J.J. Hoover one for Cincinnati (his 17th, despite allowing a run). Blaine Boyer worked two scoreless innings for Minnesota, Chasen Shreve one for the New York Yankees and Luis Avilan and Ian Thomas one each for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their marathon battle with the Rockies. Jason Heyward went 3-for-4 with a homer (No. 12) as St. Louis won a big game against Milwaukee. Martin Prado had a hit, a run and an RBI as Miami stopped the New York Mets’ eight-game win streak. Tommy La Stella had a hit, a run and an RBI in the Chicago Cubs’ loss to Pittsburgh in Game 1 of a twinbill, and last but never least, Brian McCann got a knock for the Yankees.

15 Sep

western exposure

With the spotlight on the American League West on Monday night, a couple of Mississippians took star turns. At Arlington, Texas, former Mississippi State standout Mitch Moreland hit his 20th home run to help Texas beat Houston 5-3 and move within a half-game of the first-place Astros. The Rangers also kept their grip on the second AL wild card. In Seattle, ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith hit his 11th homer and drove in three runs as the Mariners routed the Los Angeles Angels 10-1 and knocked L.A. 4.5 games behind Houston and 4 games back of Texas in the wild card race. (Minnesota, of the AL Central, also won and remained a game back of Texas for the second wild card.) P.S. State alum Jonathan Papelbon returned to Philadelphia, made a few controversial pregame comments about his time there — “I was one of the few (Phillies) to actually want to win” — and blew a save for the first time this season. He did get to win, however, as Washington prevailed 8-7 in extras. The Nationals are 20-24 since trading for Papelbon.