Another pitching change! I would have left Fernando Abad in there after he got the strikeout. He looked good against De Jesus. LOL, 4 pitchers in this inning for Houston: Wesley Wright, Wilton Lopez, Fernando Abad and now Fernando Rodriguez.

If he can get A.J. Ellis out and keep the bases loaded, Houston will still have a 3-1 lead after 8 innings. Please F-Rod!!!!!

Yes. He got A.J. Ellis to fly out to center field. Dodgers left the bases loaded. LOL

The Astros are three outs away from winning four games in a row and getting back to one game under .500 at 22-23. And the hottest pitcher in all of baseball, Bud Norris, is on the mound for the Astros tomorrow night. A chance to win five games in a row and reach .500.

I mean wow, the Astros were only 3.5 games out of 1st place the last time I checked. Creeping up on the Reds and Cardinals in the NL Central standings. They were supposed to lose over 100 games this year. They've been getting some good starting pitching which accelerates the rebuilding process.

10 days away until the Astros have the 1st overall pick in the 2012 draft. A chance to draft another young and talented arm (Mark Appel) or the best all-around player in the draft, Byron Buxton

http://www.mymlbdraft.com/MLB-Mock-Draft-2012

The latest mock draft has the Astros taking Byron Buxton number one and Mark Appel going second to the Twins. I'll be happy with either player. The Astros have a strong farm system on the rise. People say Byron Buxton is a special talent you can't afford to pass up.

Astros win 3-1. Four wins in a row... 22-23 record and only 3 games out of 1st place.

Another save for Brett Myers (12th of the year).



Fear the beard!!!! Two ks in the ninth.

Solid team this year....haven't been noticing their standings...
Too bad some key players have left like Bourn and Oldswalt

They probably won't have enough hitting to stay in the race past July but it's exciting to see them compete. You never know though, if their starting pitching stays hot and they get enough timely hits they could finish with a winning record. The Cardinals have a lot of injuries but the Reds seem like the class of the division right now. I'm excited about the 1st overall pick on June the 4th. If they do draft Byron Buxton, he would be their center fielder of the future. Everybody is calling him a five-tool player and a better version of a young Andrew McCutchen.

But with Mark Appel they would have another front-line starter who could be in the big leagues within two years. With Byron Buxton and George Springer, the Astros would have another Kenny Lofton and Steve Finley situation on their hands. Back in the early 90s when they had two top center field prospects. They eventually kept Finley and traded Lofton, which turned out to be a bad mistake. Not that Steve Finley was bad but they ended up trading Finley a few years later on top of that.

I'm torn between Byron Buxton and Mark Appel to be honest. But I think the Astros would be smarter to go with Buxton number one. His overall skills are praised by every scout and he's too talented of a player to pass up. Houston would have some top-rated positional prospects with Byron Buxton (CF), George Springer (CF), Jonathan Singleton (1B), Ariel Ovando (RF), and Delino DeShields (2B). All of these guys are the future. They could end up shifting Springer to right field if Ovando doesn't pan out. And with the emergence of Jose Altuve (hitting machine with a slick glove), I'm not even sure if DeShields is on the fast track anymore. Houston is loaded at second base all throughout their organization.

Pitching wise, the Astros are a little more thin in the minors. Jarred Cosart and Paul Clemens are practically MLB ready. Mark Appel would be nice to add. But when it's all said and done, the Astros would be dumb to pass up on Byron Buxton. I think that is starting to become the obvious choice as the draft is getting closer.

Wow, Lance Lynn destroyed us today

Astros usually struggle against the White Sox. I hope Wandy Rodriguez pitches a good game tonight.

Associated Press - Houston, Texas

Shortly after signing his contract Thursday, Carlos Correa put on a No. 12 Astros jersey and vowed to reach the big leagues as quickly as possible.

“I want to be a leader,” Correa said. “I want to be the face of the franchise.”

Correa, the 17-year-old Puerto Rican shortstop taken Monday with the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball draft, went on a private tour of the Astros clubhouse and met with current players. He fielded ground balls for about 20 minutes and took about three-dozen swings — spraying line drives in every direction — during batting practice at Minute Maid Park.

He signed a few autographs and even managed a photo op with one of his baseball idols — countryman Carlos Beltran, who was in town with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Correa agreed to a signing bonus worth $4.8 million, according to a person familiar with the situation. The amount is considerably lower than the $7.2 million slot value for the pick under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, allowing the team flexibility in its efforts to sign other draft picks.



Also Jose Altuve has a good chance to make the all-star team at second base this year. I can't wait to see future 6-4-3 double plays being turned - Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, to Jonathan Singleton. Add to that Ariel Ovando in right field, George Springer in center field, J.D. Martinez in left field and hopefully Delino DeShields Jr. at third base (position change). We'll be taking the AL West by storm as early as 2015.

Come on, Wandy Rodriguez. He could really use a nice pitching gem tonight. 2-0 lead in the 5th at Chicago. I hope he has decent trade value at the deadline. He's been pretty solid all year long (3.14 ERA). A good start on the road, against an American League team, could go a long way.

Jed Lowrie. Touch 'em all big guy! Two-run jack. 4-0 Astros against the White Sox. Thank you Boston for taking Melancon for Lowrie. What a steal!!!! Of course, Lowrie isn't going to be here long with Correa being the future. I wish Lowrie well once he leaves as a free agent. The guy can flat out rake. 11 dingers this year and he's been on the DL a lot.