Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images Two first inning home runs by the Cubs all it took for Astros to lose opener in Chi-town It turns out J.P. France is what we thought he was. An emergency fill-in last year, his performance was a pleasant surprise, without which, the Astros would not have gotten to the playoffs. Who is surprised by his regression in a year when injuries to the Astros staff are even more devastating? Two home runs off France in the first inning resulting in five runs were all the Cubs needed. France righted the ship for the next four innings, but the Astros’ recently anemic offe ..read more

Venezuelan children from 4 to 15 years old arrive at a sports field to practice baseball in order to improve their skills and go to international championships led by coaches Nicolas Herrera and Franklin Lopez in Los Olivos district of Lima, Peru on April 11, 2024. | Photo by Connie France Calderon Martel/Anadolu via Getty Images J.P. France tries to get the Stros back on track against the Cubbies For more on this game and the series check out Kris’ analysis HERE. Here is the Astros lineup and media access information ..read more

Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images Some quick thoughts about Alex Bregman’s early slump, Ryan Pressly’s not-so-good April, and swing speed. I have an ever-evolving list of notes devoted to baseball. It is normally related to research or topics that I find interesting, even if I ultimately don’t write much about it. Some are only mere points of curiosity. There are other players and teams not involved with the Astros on this list, too. For the purposes of this site, I sometimes revisit this list when I want to explore a topic in further detail at a later point in the season, especially when the data ..read more

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 18, 2023: Julio Robaina #60 of the Houston Astros throws a pitch during a minor league spring training game against the New York Mets at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 18, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. | Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images See who was hot over the last week. This year I figured I would try something new. Rather than do another recap of the full week, I will highlight the top performers at the plate and on the mound from the previous week of play. Below is the hotlist for Week Three. Here is last week’s Hotlist ..read more

Cody Bellinger | Photo by Griffin Quinn/Getty Images Although the season is still relatively young, every day it gets a little bit older. Tonight at 6:40 PM CT, the Cubs will open a three-game set in Wrigley Field against the Houston Astros. As with nearly all yearly interleague series, these two clubs will only meet for one series this season (unless they meet in the World Series). The last time The Astros and Cubs faced off was from May 15 through May 17 last season, when Houston swept the Northsiders at Minute Maid Park. In the series finale, on May 17, J.P. France and the Astros spotted th ..read more

Ryan Pressly during the Rangers series. | Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images All components of the team have contributed to a bad start to the season....but the bullpen is the most perplexing “The two most important things in life are good friends and a strong bullpen.” —Bob Lemon “Baseball hasn’t forgotten me. I go to a lot of old-timers games and I haven’t lost a thing. I sit in the bullpen and let people throw things at me. Just like old times.” —Bob Uecker We expected the middle relief to be a problem for the Astros. On the other hand, coming into this season, we thought the three high lever ..read more

JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 17, 2024: Kenedy Corona #51 of the Houston Astros bats during the third inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 17, 2024 in Jupiter, Florida. | Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images See how the prospects performed yesterday. Another day of Astros minor league action is in the books. See the results below! AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (14-7) lost 5-3 (BOX SCORE) Tamarez started for Sugar Land but struggled allowing 5 runs and walking 5 over 3.1 innings. The offense got on ..read more

Cristian Javier | Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images The Astros take a day to reset and reflect on how they can recover from a 7-16 start. Houston Astros News With ugly start, the Houston Astros’ AL dynasty is in danger. But they know ‘how to fight back’ (USA Today) Astros not going to wait on struggling veteran forever (MSN) Cristian Javier to IL with Neck Discomfort (Last Word on Sports) Former Astros prospect Ronny Garcia dead in traffic accident (UPI) Astros GM gets brutally honest on Jose Abreu’s disastrous slump (ClutchPoints) Astros’ horrible start continues with ugly series loss to Natio ..read more

Mauricio Dubón #14 of the Houston Astros catches a fly ball in front of Chas McCormick #20 in the fourth inning hit by Riley Adams  | Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images Hunter Brown pitches for the injured Cristian Javier. R U kidding me? The Astros are geniuses at inventing new ways to lose. Last night, a catcher’s interference led to a blown save by Ryan Pressly, and the Astros ended up losing in extra innings when Jose Altuve was thrown out easily attempting to score on a would-be game-tying sacrifice fly ball. With Cristian Javier suffering from neck “discomfort,” the Astros must rely o ..read more

JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 17, 2024: Will Wagner #35 of the Houston Astros bats during the first inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 17, 2024 in Jupiter, Florida. | Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images See how the prospects performed last night. Another day of Astros minor league action is in the books. See the results below! AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (14-6) won 11-4 (BOX SCORE) Note: Salazar is hitting .362 this season. David Hensley, 3B: 1-for-5, RBI, BB Jesus Bastidas, 2B: 2-for-5, 2 2B ..read more