{"id":25103,"date":"2013-07-02T06:36:16","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T13:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seamheads.com\/?p=25103"},"modified":"2013-07-02T06:36:16","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T13:36:16","slug":"astros-show-some-improvement-in-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/02\/astros-show-some-improvement-in-june\/","title":{"rendered":"Astros Show Some Improvement in June"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Astros entered the final weekend of the month of June with a 12-12 record and a chance to have their first winning month in years.  However, they were swept at home by the Los Angeles Angels and finished 12-15 for the month. The month started on a positive note as the Astros won their first three games, completing an unlikely 4-game sweep of the Angels in Anaheim.<\/div>\n
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Unfortunately, the hot start didn’t last as it was quickly followed by a 6-game losing streak.  A 4-game winning streak put the team at 11-10 on June 22.  Things went downhill from there as the team absorbed consecutive losses by scores of 14-6 and 13-3 and won only one game the rest of the month.<\/div>\n
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The team had a record of 30-52 at the end of June in a virtual tie with the Miami Marlins at 29-51.<\/div>\n
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The bright spot for the month was the starting pitching with an ERA of 3.14 for the month.  All 5 starters had an ERA of 3.53 or better, led by Bud Norris at 2.77.  Unfortunately, it was a bad month for the bullpen.  Jose Cisnero (0.77 ERA) and Jose Veras (1.64) had strong months but the rest of the bullpen recorded an ERA of 6.70.<\/div>\n
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The overall ERA for the staff for the season is 4.89, much improved from the figure at the end of May (5.23), but still the highest in the major leagues.<\/div>\n
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A major disappointment in June was the offense.  In June, the Astros were last in the major leagues in batting average (.212), on-base percentage (.269) and next to last, ahead of only the Yankees, in slugging average (.346) and runs per game (3.33).  The only player with a batting average of over .241 was Jose Altuve (.275).  Chris Carter led the club in runs (14), home runs (5), on-base percentage (.357), slugging average (.518) and, of course, strikeouts (34).  However, Carter is no longer on a pace to break the record of 223 strikeouts held by Mark Reynolds.<\/div>\n
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The Astros four full-season minor league teams continue to do well and the three short-season teams are off to a good start with some of the recent draftees.  No. 1 draft pick, Mark Appel is working out in Florida and should make his professional debut in July.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Astros entered the final weekend of the month of June with a 12-12 record and a chance to have their first winning month in years.  However, they were swept at home by the Los Angeles Angels and finished 12-15 for the month. The month started on a positive note as the Astros won their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[104,631,222,12703,20234,7546,6052,2319,3680,3731,20233,1498,2206,16567,4425,3498,3410,3834,1843,20235],"class_list":["post-25103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-base-percentage","tag-batting-average","tag-bullpen","tag-chris-carter","tag-cisnero","tag-consecutive-losses","tag-disappointment","tag-game-losing-streak","tag-game-sweep","tag-game-winning-streak","tag-jose-veras","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-mark-reynolds","tag-miami-marlins","tag-minor-league-teams","tag-month-of-june","tag-slugging-average","tag-starters","tag-three-games","tag-virtual-tie"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t