Houston Astros Rumors & News

Astros team with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to renovate youth baseball fields

Houston Chronicle — The Astros Foundation partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas for a good cause Saturday, encouraging area youth to get involved with baseball. Astros owner Jim Crane, center fielder Justin Maxwell, former player Jose Cruz and other members of the Astros’ community commemorated the opening of three refurbished baseball fields at Ingranado Park near Southeast Houston. “We are honored to work with a great community champion like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas in renovating these public ballfields for the kids who play on them,” Jim Crane said in a press release. “We know the lesso...

First pitch: Astros activate Altuve; Elmore returns to Oklahoma City

Houston Chronicle — PITTSBURGH — Jake Elmore will have to receive another callup to erase his last major-league play with Astros. Second baseman Jose Altuve was activated for Saturday’s 6:05 p.m. CT game against the Pirates at PNC Park. With Altuve’s return from the bereavement list, Elmore was sent back to Class AAA Oklahoma City. Elmore, 25, went 4-for-11 with one RBI and one run in three games with the Astros. Twitter: ChronAstros

Photos: Pirates 5, Astros 4

Houston Chronicle — Pirates 5, Astros 4 Share this gallery: if(gallery_images == undefined) var gallery_images = new Array(); if(gallery_images[12413101] == undefined) gallery_images[12413101] = new Array(); Pirates 5, Astros 4 Robbie Grossman of the Astros scores on a sacrifice fly hit by Chris Carter. ; imgArray['credits_byline'] = (Keith Srakocic / Associated Press) Share this gallery: if(gallery_images == undefined) var gallery_images = new Array(); if(gallery_images[12413101] == undefined) gallery_images[12413101] = new Array(); imgArray['caption'] = "Astros pitcher Jordan Lyles throws against the...

Photos: Meet new Astros president Reid Ryan

Houston Chronicle — Meet new Astros president Reid Ryan Reid Ryan becomes Astros president Share this gallery: if(gallery_images == undefined) var gallery_images = new Array(); if(gallery_images[12403101] == undefined) gallery_images[12403101] = new Array(); imgArray['caption'] = Reid Ryan addresses reporters after being announced as the new Astros president at Minute Maid Park on Friday. Ryan, the eldest son of Astros pitching great and current Texas Rangers executive Nolan Ryan, is the CEO of Ryan-Sanders, the owner of the Round Rock Express and Corpus Christi Hooks, a pair of successful minor league fran...

Astros report: Ninth-inning blunder leads to loss to Pirates

Houston Chronicle — What happens when an inexperienced right fielder playing his 10th game of the season and an inexperienced fill-in second baseman start running toward each other to catch a lazy pop fly? If you’re the Astros and there’s a 3-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, you blow the ballgame. Right fielder Jimmy Paredes and second baseman Jake Elmore collided, allowing Russell Martin’s potential inning-ending pop in shallow right field to turn into an E-9 walk-off in the Pirates’ 5-4 victory Friday night in an interleague matchup at PNC Park. The Astros (11-31) co...

Extra inning: Astros again forced to pay for youth, inexperience at key positions

Houston Chronicle — PITTSBURGH — Jordan Lyles’ best start of the season was wasted. The Astros’ 4-1 sixth-inning lead was trashed. A rebuilding club that began the year blurring the lines of baseball reality by fielding a team with a $21 million payroll was again reminded there’s a price to pay for constant minor-league callups and roster turnover. For the second time in four days, rightfielder Jimmy Paredes — a former second and third baseman — collided with a second baseman. The first collision partially dislocated Jose Altuve’s jaw Monday in Detroit and produced a dropped pop fly. The second hurt replacement s...

Astros’ error in ninth yields walk-off win for Pirates

Houston Chronicle — Box score PITTSBURGH – The Astros’ makeshift outfield fell apart in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. Facing a 3-2 count, the Pirates’ Russell Martin blooped a high pop fly into shallow right field. Second baseman Jake Elmore ran backward, right fielder Jimmy Paredes ran in, the two collided, the ball hit the field and Martin received a walk-off via an E-9 during Pittsburgh’s 5-4 interleague victory Friday at PNC Park. Pittsburgh’s (25-17) Andrew McCutchen singled to right off reliever Edgar Gonzalez with a runner on first and one out in the ninth to put the Pi...

Elmore’s brief big league experience with the Astros eventful

Houston Chronicle — PITTSBURGH — Jake Elmore had two options: Spend Friday at PNC Park dragged down by the knowledge he was a day away from returning to Class AAA Oklahoma City or play a game in the majors. Elmore acknowledged the former was rolling around in his head. All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, who was placed on the bereavement list Tuesday, was at the team hotel and scheduled to return to the lineup Saturday. Elmore was in what is expected to be his final day in a four-day call-up, which will be finalized with a plane ride and a ticket back to the minors. Rather than fret, Elmore, 25, just played. In ...

Astros and Rangers could play in San Antonio exhibition

Houston Chronicle — New Astros president Reid Ryan said Friday that Ryan-Sanders Baseball hopes to continue its “Big League Weekend” in San Antonio next year and that the 2014 game could feature the Rangers and Astros. The Rangers and Padres, who have a farm team in San Antonio, played two games at the Alamodome in late March that drew about 80,000 fans. Ryan-Sanders officials will meet with officials in San Antonio in June to discuss the weekend, and Reid Ryan said he and his father, Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan, hope to continue the game. “We have a lot of notes from MLB and the Padres and Rangers on what went well a...

The Reid Ryan philosophy: ‘Putting fans first in everything we do’

Houston Chronicle — As a former minor-league pitcher, new Astros president Reid Ryan jokes that he has just enough knowledge about the game to be dangerous. Nonetheless, the son of Hall-of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan vows to focus on the business side and leave the baseball decisions to general manager Jeff Luhnow. “I kind of look at what my vision is,” he said. “It’s really two things. It’s one, putting the fans first in everything we do. We’ve got to make sure we’re taking care of their best interest. If we take care of their best interest, they’ll take care of us. “And we also have to take care of the players. We ...

Former NL Astros learn how to hit again vs. Pirates

Houston Chronicle — PITTSBURGH – It’s been more than seven months since an Astros pitcher swung a bat in a meaningful game and just as long since the first-year American League club played a National League team. The droughts will end Friday against the Pirates, a longtime NL Central rival.  For the first time this season, the Astros (11-30) will play an interleague series. As a result, a club that spent 51 years in the NL must temporarily give up its designated hitter and send scheduled starting pitchers Jordan Lyles, Erik Bedard and Bud Norris to the plate. The light-hitting trio are a combined 40-for-283 durin...

First pitch: Astros play first interleague series of season against Pirates

Houston Chronicle — PITTSBURGH — The Astros return to the National League for a three-game interleague series against the Pirates. Astros righthander Jordan Lyles (1-1, 8.36 ERA) faces Pittsburgh righty Jeanmar Gomez (2-0, 2.28) in a 6:05 p.m CT contest at PNC Park. The Astros (11-30) were off Thursday. The club is 1-6 in its last seven contests and 16 games behind the first-place Rangers in the American League West division. The Pirates (24-17) defeated Milwaukee 7-1 Thursday and have won 6 of 7. Astros manager Bo Porter said he’s starting Chris Carter in right field and J.D. Martinez in left because of the stad...

Reid Ryan straight from the Astros’ reconstruction playbook

Houston Chronicle — The Reid Ryan hire is straight from the Astros’ reconstruction playbook. Young, fresh, new faces with enthusiasm, vigor, initiative and energy form the nucleus of the next generation of the Houston Astros. This approach has carried through the baseball operations since the team changed hands nearly two years ago. Yes, there is a smattering of Erik Bedards and Ronny Cedenos on the field — and even the Alan Ashbys, Rex Joneses, et al off the field — and there will be in 2015 and beyond as well. But the basic core of the baseball organization fits the overall youth movement from top to bottom, ma...

Astros plan to purchase Corpus Christi franchise

Houston Chronicle — The Astros have agreed to a letter of intent to purchase the Corpus Christi Hooks minor league baseball team. The Hooks are the Astros Class AA affiliate. The franchise had been owned by the Ryan Sanders Baseball company. New Astros president Reid Ryan comes to the Astros from Ryan Sanders, where he ran the Corpus Christi team along with the Round Rock, the Class AAA affiliate of the Rangers. “People in Corpus Christi are Astros fans,” said Ryan, who said the purchase helps the stability of both the Astros’ minor league system and the future of the team in Corpus. The sale is pending approval ...

Video: Astros president Reid Ryan once had a fishing show

Houston Chronicle — Astros new president of business operations Reid Ryan is a baseball lifer, but he once had a TV show that tackled another American pastime — fishing. Here are some clips from “Fishing Texas,” which aired in the late 1990s.

• SpikesnStars:Aughhh Reduxxx
• SpikesnStars:Astros Tame Savage Beast
• SpikesnStars:Things Aren’t What They Seem To Be…
• SpikesnStars:Nobody’s Hero
• SpikesnStars:More than a game was lost tonight.