Star Performer of the Week Aug. 12 – 18

The Astros had their first winning week in recent memory, going 4-3 against a trio of division rivals. It was a big week and there were plenty of worthy candidates who made significant contributions along the way.

Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez  helped provide the margin of victory in a couple of games and both get honorable mentions — as do starting pitchers Jarred Cosart and Brett Oberholtzer.

This week’s runner-up is Chia-Jen Lo. The rookie reliever pitched 3 & 1/3 scoreless innings and earned his first big league save. Lo has quickly established himself as a dependable late inning option for Bo Porter — something the Astros have been desperately searching for.

But the most impressive performance of the week was delivered by one of the newest Astros. Outfielder L.J. Hoes, acquired from Baltimore in the Bud Norris trade, had an incredible week with the bat. Hoes played in only five of the Astros seven games. The team was 4-1 with L.J. in the lineup and 0-2 without him.

Hoes had four multi-hit games, going 11 for 21 overall. His contributions included a stolen base and four runs scored. L.J. also launched his first big league homer in the first inning of Sunday’s game, setting  the tone early in what would turn out to be a 7-5 win over the Angels.

Congratulations to L.J. Hoes for winning this week’s Star Performer Award — and welcome to Houston!

L.J. Hoes (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)