Climbing Tal's Hill
Fansided

Three things from the Astros’ 9-1 win over the A’s

By Cody Poage

OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 16: Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros swings and watches the flight of his ball as he hits a grand slam home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the fourth inning of a Major League Baseball game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 16, 2019 in Oakland, California. All uniformed players and coaches are wearing number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 16: Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros swings and watches the flight of his ball as he hits a grand slam home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the fourth inning of a Major League Baseball game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 16, 2019 in Oakland, California. All uniformed players and coaches are wearing number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The Astros delivered three home runs during a rout of a division rival.

Doesn’t that 2-5 start feel like a lifetime ago? For the first time this season, the Astros (12-5) are in first place in the AL West. It is sort of strange that it took until April 16th to write that sentence, but here we are. While it is to be determined if Houston can hold on to its new division lead, it is a step in the right direction. Ten-game winning streaks also helps the cause.

Collin McHugh auditions for the next Matrix movie

To take nothing away from Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, the most interesting pitcher on the Astros just might be Collin McHugh. For one, he was making the transition back to the rotation following a year-long journey in the bullpen. His slider happens to be one of the best in the game right now. He also has a good chance to land a role if the Matrix movie franchise ever decides to reignite.

I didn’t even know how that was even possible. Like, how did he avoid that? Sweet mercy.

Grand slam barrage on the road

As noted here by Chris Peixoto, the communications manager for the Astros, the club has hit three grand slams on their current road trip, which is also a new franchise record. The scary part? They still have four games on this current road trip before coming home. For a team that had trouble with runners in scoring position earlier this season, the Astros picked a nice time to buck that trend.

Next. Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks Weekly Review. dark

Staying optimistic about Tyler White

There is no secret that Tyler White has had a rough start to the season. His power (.034) has basically been non-existent in the early going. However, he is still getting on-base with a .371 on-base percentage. He had three walks last night in Oakland. Somehow he didn’t come around to score despite the Astros scoring nine runs, but baseball is weird. But it is really difficult to ignore Yordan Alvarez setting the world on fire in Round Rock. At the same time, we’re only 17 games into the season. Let’s take a chill pill about White’s performance over a small sample.

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