The first of many parts of my Astros 2022 year review, posting every Sunday night / Monday morning for a bit. Feel free to jump in and remember along!
April 7th -18th
Record: 6-4
Overall Record: 6-4
AL West Position: 1st place by 0.5 games
The Astros set their Opening Day roster on April 7, 2022 with 15 pitchers and 13 position players. Three of those were guys on an Opening Day roster for the first time in their careers: Jose Siri, Ronel Blanco, and Jeremy Pena. The roster spot was the 11th for Jose Altuve, trailing only Craig Biggio (19) and Jeff Bagwell (15) for the most in club history.
By position, your Opening Day Astros were:
Catcher: Martin Maldonado, Jason Castro
First Base: Yuli Gurriel
Second Base: Jose Altuve
Third Base: Alex Bregman
Shortstop: Jeremy Pena
Utility: Aledmys Diaz, Niko Goodrum
Outfield: Michael Brantley, Chas McCormick, Kyle Tucker, Jose Siri
Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez
Starting pitchers: Justin Verlander, Jake Odorizzi, Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy
Relief pitchers: Ryan Pressly, Ryne Stanek, Pedro Baez, Phil Maton, Hector Neris, Rafael Montero, Cristian Javier, Blake Taylor, Bryan Abreu ,Ronel Blanco
Game #1: April 7, 2022, Astros 3, Angels 1
@ Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Attendance: 44,723
Record: 1-0
The Astros' formula for success throughout 2022 was on display in Game 1 of the season. A dominant starting effort by Framber Valdez and clutch hitting combined for the first win of the year. Valdez pitched 6- innings of scoreless ball, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out six. He threw 54 of his 84 pitches for strikes. After Phil Maton allowed an RBI triple in the seventh, Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly went back to back with scoreless innings to secure the win. The Astros got on the board first with an RBI single with two outs in the top of the third by Alex Bregman off Shohei Ohtani, who took the loss. Michael Brantley had previously doubled with two outs. Ryan Tepera started the eighth for the Angles and was greeted by back-to-back home runs by Bregman and Yordan Alvarez to extend the lead. Bregman was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and a 1 run scored. Jeremy Pena went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts in his major league debut.
Game #2: April 8, 2022, Astros 13, Angels 6
@ Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Attendance: 42,719
Record: 2-0
The Angels' bullpen was in midseason form two games into the season, as four relievers combined to give up 11 runs in 5 innings as the Astros pounded the Halos 13-6. Meanwhile, the Astro bullpen gave up just 1 earned run in 5 innings, with Rafael Montero earning his first win of the year in relief of Jake Odorizzi. Jose Altuve led off the game with a home run, but the Angels countered with two in the bottom of the frame, including a wild pitch by Odorizzi. The Astros tied it in the top of the fourth on an Aledmys Diaz home run, then took the lead on an RBI groundout by Altuve that plated Jose Siri, who had singled, stole second, and gone to third on a lineout. Alex Bregman hit his second homer in as many days in the sixth to push the lead to 4-2, then the Astros erupted for eight in the top of the seventh. Mike Mayers started the inning in relief and pitched about as well as I would pitch, giving up Jeremy Pena's first career home run, a single to Jose Siri, and a walk to Martin Maldonado before getting yanked. It was the first time in major league history that Siri and Maldonado had batted consecutively without one of them striking out.* Jimmy Hergett replaced Mayers, got an out, then gave up four straight hits - two doubles and two singles before getting pulled for Jaime Barra, who cleared the bases by letting Kyle Tucker hit a three-run homer off him. Tucker homered again in the top of the ninth to cap a 2-for-5 game with 2 runs and 4 RBI. Pena finished 3 for 5 with an RBZI and a 1 run scored, and Siri was 4 for 4 with 2 runs. Pedro Baez showed his early stuff in the bullpen, going 2/3rds of an inning and allowing 3 unearned runs.
*: not really
Game #3, April 9, 2022, Angels 2, Astros 0
@ Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Attendance: 36,139
Record: 2-1
The Astros' shot at a 162-0 season were dashed in a shutout loss that had many on TexAgs questioning why the team hated them and when we were going to go ahead and fire Dusty Baker. Justin Verlander was the hard-luck loser in his first start in almost 2 years, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 7. Noah Syndergaard pitched 5- innings of shutout 2-hit ball and declared afterwards, "I own the Astros, I can beat them in any season, spring, summer, and definitely fall."* Jared Walsh hit a solo home run off Verlander to provide the only run necessary. Mike Trout added one later, and told the media, "This is definitely our year to be kings of April!" Chas McCormick and Kyle Tucker had the lone hits for Houston.
*: not really
Game #4, April 10, 2022, Astros 4, Angels 1
@ Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Attendance: 41,253
Record: 3-1
The Astros got their first series win of the season, combining another great pitching effort with timely hitting by a red-hot Alex Bregman. Bregman was 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored. In the first series of the year, he rocked a 1.286 OPS with 6 RBI. Rookie Jeremy Pena batted in the 2-hole for the first time in his brief career and went 3 for 5 with a run scored. Pena hit .375 in the series and Jose Siri .429. Jose Urquidy got the win with 5 innings of 1-run ball, and the bullpen combo of Phil Maton, Rafael Montero, Hector Neris, and Ryan Pressly combined for 4 innings of 3-hit shutout ball with 5 strikeouts. Bregman tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth with an RBI single that drove in Martin Maldonado and Jose Siri. Pena later scored on a wild pitch, and Chas McCormick drove in Bregman in eighth to complete the scoring.
Game #5, April 12, 2022, Astros 2, Diamondbacks 1
@ Chase Field
Attendance:17,674
Record: 4-1
Ecstatic with their 1-3 start to the season, nearly 18,000 Arizona Diamondback fans flooded Chase Field to watch the Astros slip away with a 2-1 win thanks to an RBI single by Michael Brantley with two outs in the top of the ninth that scored Jose Siri, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Ryan Pressly got the save by whiffing Carson Kelly, whoever the hell that is, with a runner on third and two outs in the ninth. Luis Garcia allowed two hits in four scoreless innings for the good guys. The Astros left 10 men on base but still came out with the win as Siri went 2 for 4 to increase his season average to .455. Jose Altuve was 0 for 3 and his season average dropped to .067.
Game #6, April 13, 2022, Diamondbacks 3, Astros 2
@ Chase Field
Attendance: 12,660
Record: 4-2
After taking the lead in the top of the tenth, the Astros lost it and the game as Ryan Pressley couldn't control his pitches and Chas McCormick ganked a play in left field that allowed the winning run to score. Tied 1-1 after regulation, the Astros took a 2-1 lead on a sac fly by Alex Bregman in the top of the 10th. After a grounder to courtesy runner Sergio Alcantara to third with one out in the bottom of the frame, Pressly gave up a game-tying single to Seth Beer, then walked Geraldo Perdomo and Cooper Hummel, who I am guessing are baseball players? Ketel Marte hit a fly ball down the left field line that McCormick misplayed as the winning run score. 350-year-old Oliver Perez got the win in relief. McCormick was 3-for-4 at the plate to raise his average to .438.
Game #7, April 15, 2022, Mariners 11, Astros 1
@ T-Mobile Park
Attendance: 45,023
Record: 4-3
The Mariners started their home season by blasting the Astros 11-1 as leadoff man Adam Frazier went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI. The Astros could not get anybody out all game long, allowing 11 earned runs on 13 hits with 8 walks as Jake Odorizzi took the loss. It was 6-0 before Houston showed any signs of life - a Jose Siri RBI single that scored Yuli Gurriel. The team made its first move of the season, putting Yordan Alvarez on the health and safety protocol list and recalling Joe Perez from Corpus Christi.
Game #8, April 16, 2022, Astros 4, Mariners 0
@ T-Mobile Park
Attendance: 38,504
Record: 5-3
The Astros reminded the Mariners who runs this *****, as Justin Verlander and Hector Neris combined on a 3-hit shutout and rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena went 3-for-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI to up his average to .345 on the year. Even more impressive was the sweet sound of Martin Maldonado's first home run of the season. Maldy drove in himself and Pena and improved his batting average to a white-hot .059 in the process. Verlander got his first win of the year with 8 innings pitched, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 8 strikeouts. The good game was tempered by the news that Ryan Pressly was headed to the 10-day IL, with Parker Mushinski, who I believe was in Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, getting called up from Sugarland.
Game #9, April 17, 2022, Mariners 7, Astros 2
@ T-Mobile Park
Attendance: 26,583
Record: 5-4
The up-and-down effect to start the season continued as the Mariners smacked Jose Urquidy for 5 runs in the bottom of the fourth en route to a 7-2 win. Ronel Blanco continued to suck ass in the bullpen, giving up a run in 1 inning as his ERA climbed to 7.71. Matt Brash and the Mariners' bullpen limited the Astros to just 4 hits and combined for 10 strikeouts. Down 1-2 after 3-, Urquidy gave up a pair of singles between two flyouts, then fell apart on back-to-back RBI singles by Julio Rodriguez and Adam Frazier, followed by a 3-run homer by Ty France to make it 6-0. Michael Brantley got the Astros on the board with a 2-run bomb in the top of the sixth.
Game #10, April 18, 2022, Astros 8, Angels 3
@ Minute Maid Park
Attendance: 42,646
Record: 6-4
Commissioner Rob Manfred decided, what the hell, let's have the Astros play a home game after 9 days on the road, and it was worth the wait. In an early-season clash for first place in the AL West, the Astros took a half-game lead on the Angels on a huge night by Yordan Alvarez, who was activated from the health protocol list earlier in the day. Alvarez was 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored, 4 RBI, and a pair of homers - a 2-run shot in the 1st and a 2-run shot in the 7th. Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman also had two hits apiece. Luis Garcia got his first win of the season, allowing 3 earned runs and striking out 7 in 5-2/3rds innings. "It was fun while it lasted," Mike Trout said of the Angels' time in first place. "We were still in contention on April 18th, I don't know what else you can ask from a season. Oh well, time to go lay on my bed made out of money."
