KYLE TUCKER

Aaron Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning and Kyle Schwarber homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first playoff berth in 11 years with a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros Monday night.

Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McClanahan was pulled in the fifth inning with neck tightness during a 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros.

Seth Brown homered and drove in four runs, Cole Irvin overcame a rocky start and the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 8-5.

Aledmys Díaz hit a two-run homer, Lance McCullers Jr. had a solid start and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-2 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.

Cristian Javier allowed two hits in six shutout innings, and the Houston Astros beat Detroit 2-1 for a seven-game season sweep of the Tigers.

Rookie Hunter Brown pitched six strong innings in his hometown and the Houston Astros beat the Detroit Tigers 6-3 on Tuesday.

Framber Valdez pitched his first career shutout and the Houston Astros beat the Detroit Tigers 7-0.

Alex Bregman and Trey Mancini hit two of Houston’s five home runs, and the AL West-leading Astros defeated the Los Angeles Angels, 12-4, on Sunday for their 90th win of the season.

José Altuve scored the winning run on a wild pitch with two outs in the 10th inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers.

Hunter Brown dazzled in his major league debut, scattering three hits across six impressive innings as the Houston Astros beat Texas 1-0 to hand the Rangers their ninth straight defeat.

Jose Altuve had three hits and drove in three runs and José Urquidy pitched four-hit ball over seven innings as the Houston Astros defeated the Los Angeles Angels 9-1.

Lance McCullers Jr. continued to impress in his return from a forearm flexor strain, pitching into the sixth inning as the Houston Astros finished off a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Jose Altuve drove in two runs and scored two more for the Houston Astros in a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers and their All-Star starter Martín Pérez.

Anthony Santander and Austin Hays homered, and Dean Kremer pitched into the eighth inning, leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros.

Rookie Kyle Bradish pitched a gem, throwing eight strong innings before two relievers completed the four-hitter to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros.

Trey Mancini homered for a second straight game, a three-run drive that led the Houston Astros to a 6-3 win and a three-game sweep of the slumping Minnesota Twins.

Atlanta outfielder Marcell Ozuna was booed by the home fans in his return, Kyle Tucker singled to drive in Yordan Alvarez for the go-ahead run in the eighth and the Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 to avoid a three-game sweep.

Alex Bregman hit two homers and two doubles, driving in a career-high six runs and powering the Houston Astros past the Chicago White Sox 21-5.

Yoán Moncada came through with the go-ahead single in the eighth inning for the second straight game, and the Chicago White Sox rallied to beat the Houston Astros 4-3.

Lance McCullers Jr. pitched six shutout innings in his season debut, Alex Bregman homered and Trey Mancini had three hits as the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 8-0.

Kyle Tucker hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to rally the Houston Astros to a 7-5 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Leody Taveras drove in a career-high five runs, including a bases-clearing double as part of a five-run 10th inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 8-4.

Aledmys Díaz hit a grand slam as the Houston Astros roughed up Martín Pérez and rallied past the Texas Rangers 7-5.

Triston McKenzie held Houston to two hits and struck out eight in eight innings, Luke Maile homered for the first time in three years and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Houston Astros 1-0.

Cal Quantrill pitches six scoreless innings and Amed Rosario had a two-run single, lifting the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-1 victory over the AL West-leading Houston Astros.

Trey Mancini homered twice, including his first career grand slam, and drove in five runs and the Houston Astros defeated the Cleveland Guardians 9-3.

Justin Verlander pitched six scoreless innings for his MLB-leading 15th victory, Chas McCormick and Martin Maldonado each homered and had three RBIs, and the AL West-leading Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-0.

Trey Mancini homered in his first start for Houston to back a sterling performance by Jose Urquidy, and the Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1.

Yordan Alvarez hit an RBI single with one out in the 10th inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Chad Pinder hit his second grand slam in two weeks, Frankie Montas pitched five innings in what could be his final outing with Oakland and the Athletics held off the Houston Astros 5-3.

Justin Verlander became the major leagues’ first 13-game winner, striking out nine and topping 99 mph in his final inning to lead the Houston Astros over the Seattle Mariners 3-1.

Hey KPRC 2 Insiders, it’s Ari Alexander. I just got back from Los Angeles where I spent three days covering the Astros at the All-Star Game and festivities. I got to talk with Justin Verlander, Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez along with Dusty Baker plus a couple of other local guys including Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals/The Woodlands HS), Justin Crawford (Phillies Draftee/Son of Carl Crawford) and Ivan Melendez (Diamondbacks Draftee/Texas).

What would Kyle Tucker do if he wasn’t a Major League Baseball player? What helps him feel better after a tough loss? KPRC 2 sports anchor Ari Alexander took questions asked by KPRC 2 Insiders and posed them to Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker at a media event ahead of Tuesday’s MLB All-Star game in Los Angeles.

Stephen Vogt hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics wrapped up a shaky first half by beating the Houston Astros 4-3.

Jeremy Peña drove in the tiebreaking run with a single in the 10th inning of the Houston Astros’ 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Eight-time All-Star selection José Altuve left the Houston Astros’ game against the Angels shortly after getting hit with the opening pitch.

Shohei Ohtani won his sixth straight start by striking out 12 in six innings and also hit a two-run triple in the Los Angeles Angels’ 7-1 victory over the Houston Astros.

Kyle Tucker delivered a tiebreaking RBI double in the ninth inning, and the Houston Astros blew a four-run lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the spiraling Los Angeles Angels.

Even the mighty Houston Astros are not immune to occasional bouts of comprehensive ineptitude, as they demonstrated while blowing a four-run lead in the seventh inning Tuesday night with two errors, a hit batter with the bases loaded and a passed ball. The Astros still had plenty of time to recover against an opponent that's been largely inept for two full months now. Kyle Tucker delivered a tiebreaking RBI double in the ninth inning, and the Astros rallied for a 6-5 victory over the spiraling Los Angeles Angels.

Korey Lee got his first three hits in the major leagues and drove in three runs, leading Jake Odorizzi and the Houston Astros past the Oakland Athletics 6-1.

Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani repeated as a two-way All-Star when he was picked for the AL pitching staff, two days after he was elected to start at designated hitter.

Hey guys, it’s Ari Alexander and it’s been another successful week for the Houston Astros, who are barely behind the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball.

Whit Merrifield, Hunter Dozier and Emmanuel Rivera all homered as the Kansas City Royals roughed up Cristian Javier early and held on for a 7-4 win over the Houston Astros.

Yordan Alvarez homered with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 7-6 for their seventh straight win.

Martín Maldonado homered twice and Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Chas McCormick added a home run each as the Houston Astros built a big lead early and didn’t let up in a 9-1 rout of the Los Angeles Angels.

Cristian Javier pitched another gem, striking out a career-high 14 while allowing just one hit in seven innings to lead the Houston Astros to an 8-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Alex Bregman hit a two RBI double early and the Houston Astros held on for a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees Thursday night.

Houston’s Kyle Tucker was thrown out when he tried to steal home while New York Yankees starter Luis Severino tinkered with his malfunctioning PitchCom device.

Houston’s Kyle Tucker was thrown out Thursday night when he tried to steal home while New York Yankees starter Luis Severino tinkered with his malfunctioning PitchCom device. Alex Bregman had just hit a two-run double to put Houston up 2-0 and Tucker was on third with two outs in the third inning. With Yuli Gurriel at-bat, a frustrated Severino took off his cap and held the PitchCom speaker to his ear, apparently unable to hear instructions from catcher Jose Trevino.

Justin Verlander pitched two-hit ball for eight innings, light-hitting backup catcher Jason Castro lined a two-run homer in the ninth and the Houston Astros beat the Mets 2-0 to send New York to its first three-game losing streak this season.

Kyle Tucker had a three-run homer and a stolen base, Yordan Alvarez hit his 23rd home run and Framber Valdez pitched a gem to lift the Houston Astros over the New York Mets 9-1.

Aaron Judge drove a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against Houston in four days, and the New York Yankees recovered after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game, beating Houston 6-3 to split a four-game series between the AL’s best teams.

Jose Siri and Chas McCormick hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, rallying the AL West-leading Houston Astros over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 on Sunday. Carlos Correa also homered as the Astros held their comfortable division lead over Oakland. Houston won for the fourth time in five games and cut Tampa Bay’s lead for the best record in the AL to 3 ½ games.

Jake Meyers had the last of three singles as part of Houston’s eighth-inning rally against former teammate Joe Smith, scoring Kyle Tucker with the go-ahead run and sending the Astros over the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Monday night. Dylan Moore had a pinch-hit, two-run homer for Seattle in the sixth for a 3-2 lead.

If we all thought 2020 was weird at Minute Maid Park, 2021 might want us to hold its beer.

^ Keep Houston Press Free Support Us LocalCommunityJournalismI Support Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of Houston Press free. Support UsAs long as this last year has felt, it's almost time for spring training again. As spring training approaches, here are a few names to watch early this season. It's more likely that Straw is a stopgap measure until the Astros can find a permanent replacement in center field. Tucker needs to continue to mature and turn into the "next" Springer for the Astros in the outfield.

It's incredible to think how hated the Astros are, but only peruse Twitter for a while and you can feel the hate. That was even more evident after the Game 4 win over the A's on Thursday. The Astros blasted Oakland 11-6, hitting four more home runs (both teams had a remarkable 23 in the four-game series) and moving on to the ALCS beginning Monday against the winner of the Rays-Yankees series. Yahoo Sports summed it up with the headline, "Like It or Not, Astros are Back in the ALCS." It was a bit of a surprise that Zack Greinke managed to play in this game.

But Correa is just two seasons from unrestricted free agency making him eligible for a sizable extension sooner rather than later. That is assuming he can justify that payday and this season would seem to be a critical one for his future and the future of this young Astros core. If Correa plays up to his potential this season and stays healthy, it could mean big things for the offense in 2020. As if Osuna needed any help overcoming all of that, former Astros VP Brandon Taubman had to go full a-hole in the clubhouse after the ALCS, taunting reporters about the Astros closer. The Astros are hoping to keep him under that again in the regular season, protecting the arm that has been injured previously.

It's been a really, really long offseason despite the fact that the Astros played until literally the last day of the offseason. Obviously the news has been dominated by a series of scandals culminating with the commissioners' report that the Astros cheated. As spring training opened, it only seemed to get worse with players weighing in on the controversy and fans booing heartily. Plenty of questions linger around training camp like how new veteran manager Dusty Baker will handle all the off-the-field complications (he'll do fine on the field). In the long run, the Astros are betting Tucker is their guy, but will it be this season?

The questions will rain down on the Astros players and management like a monsoon. We also know that perhaps their most irreplaceable player from 2019, ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, is gone. Even worse, he left to go to the Astros' main competitor in the AL, the New York Yankees. Tucker was decidedly better in his second go round in the big leagues in 2019 than his first in 2018. Lance McCullers spent the entire 2019 season rehabbing his pitching elbow coming off of Tommy John surgery.

The Astros on Thursday traded veteran outfielder Jake Marisnick to the Mets for a pair of prospects. The move was made to clear room in an already crowded outfield for youngsters Kyle Tucker and Myles Straw, who should make the big league roster in 2020. Ideally, the Astros would like to move Josh Reddick, but his $14 million contract makes that difficult without the Astros agreeing to absorb some of that salary, so Marisnick was dealt. The Mets are hoping Marisnick will perform better at the plate if he is given more opportunities. For the Astros, it reduces their glut of outfielders and adds a couple of prospects to their already deep minor league roster.

2019 Getty ImagesNEW YORK - The Astros made some changes to their lineup for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. With Gerrit Cole on the mound, Houston shuffled the batting lineup. Yuli Gurriel and Yordan Alvarez flip-flopped in the five and six spot. Josh Reddick gets the start in right field and is batting eighth and Martin Maldonado is catching and hitting ninth. Here's what the lineup looks like as the 'Stros look to take the series lead over the Yankees.

Tucker then failed to handle Simmons' hot grounder to first, ending the Angels' fourth walkoff win of the season. Despite the loss, the Astros (104-55) are two games ahead of the Yankees (102-57), who didn't play, for the AL's best record. The Astros are only one game ahead of the Dodgers (103-56), who have clinched the NL's best record. Houston beat Los Angeles to win the 2017 World Series to claim its first championship, winning Game 7 on the road. The Astros homered in their 22nd straight game, but stranded 12 runners in the final six innings alone.

Josh Reddick #22 of the Astros crosses home plate after his two-run home run in the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals. - Wade Miley bounced back from two disastrous starts with six strong innings and Josh Reddick's five hits included a two-run homer Sunday as the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 12-3, completing a three-game sweep. Abraham Toro and Reddick each drove in three runs, Kyle Tucker banged a two-run homer and Yuli Gurriel's solo shot was his 28th homer. Last Tuesday, the A's tagged him for seven runs in what became a 21-7 drubbing. Reddick pulled a two-run homer down the right-field line off reliever Eric Skoglund in the fifth inning for a 7-1 lead.

Shortstop Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros throws out Ryan McBroom #9 of the Kansas City Royals. - Zack Greinke finally beat his old club and Yordan lvarez belted a pinch-hit three-run homer as the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Saturday night. Alex Bregman hit his 36th homer and rookie Kyle Tucker was 4-for-4 for the AL West-leading Astros. This was the fifth start by Greinke against the Royals since they traded him after the 2010 season. Oddly, all five were at Kauffman Stadium and each was for a different team - the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Astros.

Brantley hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th inning to give Houston an 11-9 comeback victory over the Seattle Mariners. The win improved the Astros to 91-50, the best record in franchise history after 141 games, and 13-1 against the Mariners this year. Matt Wisler (3-4) walked Jake Marisnick leading off the 13th before Brantley launched a drive to right-center. But the Astros chipped away by scoring one in the second, two in the third and two in the sixth. The Astros trimmed the deficit to 7-1 in the second when Yordan Alvarez scored on a wild pitch by Gonzales.

George Springer #4 of the Houston Astros leaves the field after being injured in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 03, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. MILWAUKEE - Astros outfielder George Springer may be able to play Thursday after exiting Tuesday's game on a medical cart after hitting his head on the outfield wall at Miller Park. 2019 Getty Images George Springer hits the ground after making a catch in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 03, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Astros medical personnel went out to assist Springer, who left the field on a cart a few minutes later. (He) made a great catch," Astros manager A.J.