Houston Astros 2013
Even though it’s not a jazz number, the young Houston Astrocats have started this month with their rendition of “June is Bustin’ Out All Over”!
Seasoned observer Bill Gilbert of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter of SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research, is our guest columnist at The Pecan Park Eagle today. Today’s thoughts are Gilbert’s second monthly analysis of the Houston Astros’ first season in the American League. Gilbert will be reporting here monthly on the Astros for the rest of the schedule, finishing the year with his take on the whole season. Enjoy “BG” ‘s more uplifting report on May and stay tuned for the June report sometime prior to the 4th of July.
Astros Finish Strong in May
By Bill Gilbert
Bill Gilbert
The Astros finished the month of May with 3 straight wins, all on the road and extended the streak to 5 by winning their first two games in June. However this wasn’t enough to offset their poor performance earlier in the month which included a 6 game losing streak. Their record in May of 10-18 was a slight improvement over the April log of 8-19.
Pitching continues to be the biggest problem although there were some signs of improvement late in the month. The club’s ERA in May was 5.06 compared to 5.42 in May, the highest in the National League in both months. Bud Norris and Eric Bedard both pitched well in 4 of their 5 starts and Jordan Lyles pitched well in 5 of his 6 starts but only picked up 2 wins largely due to poor support from the bullpen which has been very inconsistent. Lucas Harrell, the top starter in April had a poor month in May.
The offense was not as strong in May, averaging 3.89 runs per game vs. 4.11 in April. However, there were some bright spots. Jason Castro came into his own in May, hitting .292 with 6 home runs and a slugging average of .573. He was the AL player of the week one week in May. J.D. Martinez batted .299 in May, and he, Matt Dominguez and backup catcher, Carlos Corporan, also had slugging averages of .500 or better. Dominguez led the club with 8 home runs and 19 RBIs in May. Jose Altuve led in stolen bases with 7.
After 2 months, the Astros are on pace to finish with a record of 53-109. Their record is 4 games better than that of the Miami Marlins and it could be a close race to see which team compiles the best record and loses the opportunity to have the first pick in the draft of amateur players. This year, the Astros have the first pick in the draft which will be held on Thursday, June 6 where the Astros are expected to select a college pitcher with the first pick.
The Astros four full-season minor league teams continue to play well. All four are well over .500 and contending for the top spot in their leagues.
Bill Gilbert
6/2/13
The Pecan Park Eagle 
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