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CTH’s Houston Astros Players of the Week (July 27 – Aug 2)

By Thomas O'Banion

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The Houston Astros are coming off an exciting week of baseball. The team had a 5W- 1L record, where they outscored the opponents 36-17. More importantly, the Astros swept the division-rival Los Angeles Angels and retook the lead in the AL West – where they now lead by a full four games.

And of course, we cannot forget the trade deadline where Jeff Luhnow decided to upgrade an already good outfield by adding CF Carlos Gomez, who impressed everyone with four hits and two runs batted in during the series against Arizona.

So now we’re in August, and the team is headed north to play in Arlington this week. The Battle for the Silver Boot is in full swing, and one would have to assume that the Astros are in a good position to retake the lead in that series (currently down 4-5 against the Rangers).

On to the awards…

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Pitcher of the Week: Scott Kazmir

Scott Kazmir, local guy and stud trade acquisition, wins this award for the second week in a row. Kaz was impressive, again, as he shut down a stout Angels lineup- complete with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols– on July 30.

Over 7 2/3 shutout innings, Kazmir held the Halos to three hits while striking out five batters and issuing three walks. He held the opponent to a .136 batting average.

While his first two starts for Houston were outstanding, Scott Kazmir has been on fire the whole month of July. Over five starts, he compiled a 4-1 record with a sublime 0.26 ERA, giving up only ONE earned run over 34  innings. He should win the AL Pitcher of the Month, which may please him a little more than receiving this CTH Award (just a guess).

Hitter of the Week: Carlos Correa

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Carlos Correa is ridiculously good. That may be an understatement to just say he’s good. Perhaps he deserves a stronger adjective- supreme, awesome, outstanding, phenomenal, extraordinary, etc. Pick one or pick them all.

Carlos Correa had another extraordinary week of baseball. The rookie is on a seven-game hit streak. Over the past six games this week, he hit .375 with nine hits, four runs, four home runs, five runs batted in and two walks.

The kids is making it look easy. He should be the front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year, and may even get some MVP votes.

Weekly Goat: None

Didn’t really notice anyone who stood out as a having a bad week or particularly egregious play. No goats to be found this week.

Houston Astros
Houston Astros /

Houston Astros

Redemption Players: Hank Conger and Jason Castro

Hank Conger and Jason Castro had really good weeks at the dish. In a season where neither had experienced much success swinging the lumber, they came out in full force this past week. Both were major contributors to the Astros’ wins.

Conger hit his first grand slam of his career, and the first for the Astros in 2015, and knocked in five runs on August 1 against the Diamondbacks. He also had solid performances against LA this week. His total line:

Three games, .600/.583/1.300, six runs, six hits, a double, two home runs, six walks

Castro looked like the 2013 version of himself, hitting a three-run home run in back-to-back games, including a walk off against LA on July 30. His total line for this week:

Three games, .333/.333/.917, three runs, four hits, a double, two home runs, six RBI

I think everyone would love production like this from the backstops the rest of the season.

That’s it for this week. Go ‘Stros!

Next: Beard v Batman: July's Pitcher of the Month

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