Evan Gattis (L) and Alex Bregman were among the Astro hitters to smile this past month and they had good reason to shake on their common ground. ~ They each banged home 30 RBI in June 2018, a new calendar month record in Houston MLB franchise history.
Astros Led the Pack in June
By Bill Gilbert
The Houston Astros had the best record n the major leagues in June (19-8), building a 1.5-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the American League West Division. They took advantage of a soft spot in the schedule by sweeping a 10-game road trip against three non-contending teams (Texas, Oakland and Kansas City.)
June was the month that the hitting finally picked up. The team batted .275 in June, raising the season average to .263, while scoring 5.33 runs per game. The pitching remained strong but not at the April=May level. The staff ERA was 3.17 in June compared to 2.68 in the first two months. For the season through June, the Astros are scoring an average of 5.07 runs per game and allowing 3.06.
As usual, Jose Altuve led the offense in June with an average of 3.54. Four other Astros batted over .300 for the month – Josh Reddick .333, Yuli Gurriel .330, Tony Kemp .327 and Alex Bregman .306. Bregman and Evan Gattis each had 30 RBIs to supply the power. Bregman had 11 home runs and Gattis had 8.
The five pitchers in the starting rotation have started all 85 games through June. However, only Lance McCullers had an ERA under 3.00 for the month (2.81). The bullpen had an outstanding month with five relievers posting an ERA under 1.00 – Chris Devenski, Brad Peacock, Collin McHugh, Hector Rondon and Tony Sipp. Devenski did not allow an earned run in June and the other four each allowed only one earned run. Closer, Ken Giles converted his only save opportunity but was replaced in his role by Rondon, who converted 5 out of 5.
While the Astros had great success in June, the month didn’t end well. They lost their last two games in the month and scored only 7 runs in the 4-game series with Tampa Bay. Carlos Correa and George Springer are out with minor injuries and Justin Verlander has been roughed up in the early innings of his last two starts. Meanwhile, Seattle is enjoying a 7-game winning streak. The July schedule doesn’t look too tough, so the Astros have time to increase their lead before a series in Seattle at the end of the month.
Bill Gilbert
7/2/2018
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
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