» Verlander named AL player of the week.
Astros righthander Justin
Verlander was named the American League Player of the Week after going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts last week.
It's the eighth time Verlander has earned the weekly honor and the second time this season.
In 14 innings of work, Verlander struck out 21, allowing just nine hits for a .184 opponents’ batting average.
He beat the Tigers on Monday in his first start as a Comerica Park visitor, then outdueled
Zack Greinke to beat the Diamondbacks on Sunday. In that 5-4 win over Arizona, he allowed one run in seven innings and struck out 11, including the first five hitters he faced.
“It’s a nice reward for his week, specifically because he pitched in Detroit,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “What he did (Sunday) was exceptional, but what he did in Detroit with all the emotion that came in with him, it’s got to be nice to be recognized.”
For the season, Verlander is 16-9 with a 2.67 ERA. He leads the AL with 269 strikeouts, which matches his career high.
Reddick exits with pain in Achilles
Right fielder Josh Reddick left Monday’s Mariners-Astros game with what manager A.J.
Hinch said Reddick described as discomfort in his right Achilles’ tendon.
Hinch said Reddick, who was not available for comment after the game, was being evaluated and that his playing status is day to day.
“Reddick came in between innings and said that when he rounded first (after lining out in the third inning) he felt something in his Achilles,” Hinch said.
Hinch said Reddick “felt it again” while playing in the field in the fifth inning and was removed from the game.
Reddick remained in the field through five innings before Jake
Marisnick pinch hit for him, and Marisnick took the field in the sixth.
Shuffle gives James spot start tonight
Astros rookie righthander
Josh James will start Tuesday’s game as manager A.J. Hinch rearranges his rotation to give
Gerrit Cole an extra three days’ rest and to plan out the workload for his starters over the last two weeks of the regular season.
Cole will start Friday against the Angels after the Thursday off day. Dallas Keuchel starts the final game of the Mariners series Wednesday after James’ start Tuesday. Justin Verlander will start Saturday.
“He’s been worked pretty hard,” Hinch said of Cole. “He’s been really consistent in his work. We have the opportunity to push him back a couple of days.”
Cole ranks fourth in the American League in pitches thrown this season with 3,069 in 30 starts, trailing only teammates Verlander (3,225 in 32 starts) and Dallas Keuchel (3,104 in 31 starts) plus James Shields of the
White Sox.
Hinch said each of the Astros’ starters will get two starts in the final stretch of the season, and the team is crunching numbers to determine when those starts will be and how much rest the regulars will have between starts.
In his initial start Sept. 1 against the Angels, James pitched five innings, with three runs allowed, three walks and three strikeouts.
As for his long relief options this week, Hinch noted that
Cionel Perez has yet to pitch in September and would be his best long option along with Brad Peacock. Hinch said Lance McCullers Jr., who has not pitched since suffering a right forearm strain Aug. 4, will continue to work at the team’s minor league complex in Florida.
He said he did not expect McCullers to return to Houston until the weekend, if then.
Rangers sever ties with Round Rock
The apparently inevitable reunion of the Astros and the Round Rock minor league franchise owned by Nolan Ryan and Houston financier Don
Sanders took another step Monday with the Rangers’ acknowledgement that they would seek a new Class AAA affiliate next season.
The Astros are expected presently to announce a new affiliation with Ryan-Sanders Baseball, renewing a relationship that existed between 2000 and 2010.
“The players and staff who have come through Round Rock (with the Rangers) have enjoyed incredible support from both the front office and the fans, and it is greatly appreciated,” the Rangers said in a statement. “We have begun the process of securing a new Triple-A affiliation, and we look forward to developing a strong working relationship with our new partner.” Reese Ryan, the CEO of Ryan-Sanders Baseball, confirmed the end of Round Rock’s Rangers affiliation, telling the Dallas Morning News, “We have to do what’s best for our franchise and our fans.”