Houston Astros Rumors & News

Houston Chronicle "Jordan Lyles is a 6-4, 215-pound righthander who can throw four pitches for strikes. The 22-year-old is in his third season in the majors – a young starter on a rebuilding club desperately seeking long-term answers. He possesses a fastball that hits 95 mph, an improving curveball, a changeup..." May 23

Houston Chronicle "The Astros don’t just appear to be playing better baseball. They are. A 3-1 victory against Kansas City on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park gave the Astros a series win versus the Royals and a 4-3 record in their last seven games. Righthander Jordan Lyles guided the Astros (14-33). The..." May 23

Kansas City Star "Well, hey, the Royals sure needed this, didn’t they? “This” being defined as the Houston Astros playing to form when the Royals desperately needed them to do do. The Royals rallied Tuesday for a 7-3 victory at Minute Maid Park by scoring all seven runs against the Astros’ bullpen and with the..." May 22

Houston Chronicle "One start after criticizing his club’s emphasis on defensive shifts, Astros No. 2 starter Lucas Harrell happily passed out praise Sunday. Harrell cited the work of pitching coach Doug Brocail, who observed Harrell wasn’t removing his hand from his glove pre-delivery as quickly as he did in the..." May 20

Houston Chronicle "Before his club’s fifth shutout loss in 44 games and a tight 1-0 defeat to the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park, Astros manager Bo Porter showed extra interest in a reporter’s question. The Astros’ upside-down record (12-32) doesn’t show any on-the-field improvement, but the young club..." May 20

Houston Chronicle "First, there was the beer-and-shaving-cream postgame celebration in the shower. Then former perfect-game winner and current Astros bullpen coach Dennis Martinez tossed over the game ball while the rookie pitcher was still confidently answering questions from the media. The Astros fought back to..." May 19

Houston Chronicle "With his father, Nolan Ryan, looking on from the second row of seats at Minute Maid Park’s news conference room, Reid Ryan was introduced today as the new president of business operations of the Astros. Reid Ryan, the CEO of Ryan Sanders Baseball, which operates minor league clubs in Round Rock..." May 18

Houston Chronicle "The Astros are on the verge of a naming a president to replace George Postolos, who unexpectedly resigned Monday. An announcement is expected to be made by Friday. Postolos left the Astros to return to a role as an adviser in major league franchise acquisitions. He was a key figure in owner Jim..." May 16

ESPN.com "Reid Ryan, the son of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, will be named the next president of the Houston Astros, MLB.com reported Thursday. Reid Ryan currently runs the Triple-A Round Rock Express (Rangers) and Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros), both of which are owned by Nolan Ryan and..." May 16

CBSSports.com "Reid Ryan, son of the legendary Nolan Ryan and an accomplished businessman in his own right, appears in line to replace George Postolos as Astros president, sources told CBSSports.com. Ryan was first reported to be a "strong candidate'' for the top Astros job by FOX 26 Sports in Houston, and..." May 16

Houston Chronicle "Carlos Corporan took the Tigers’’ series sweep and lined it to deep left-center field. The Astros catcher’’s RBI double off Detroit’s Phil Coke in the top of the ninth was a go-ahead game-winner, pushing a struggling club to a 7-5 victory Wednesday at Comerica Park. The Astros (11-30) ended..." May 16

Houston Chronicle "Twenty-three years after Nancy Caminiti and Patty Biggio began an annual fundraising dinner that raised nearly $4 million to combat domestic violence and sexual abuse, the Astros Wives Black Ties and Baseball Caps Gala is no more. Two key factors led to the demise of the annual event: The..." May 15

Detroit News "With their success against Houston this season, the Tigers may be wondering why the Astros didn't move to the American League sooner. Prior to this season, the Tigers were 6-9 all-time against Houston but they are enjoying a dominant stretch, winning the first five, including a four-game sweep..." May 15

Detroit News "If at first you don't succeed, wait an inning. You're playing the Astros. Down by a run after the third, the Tigers were up by five after the fourth. With Andy Dirks' first career grand slam to lift them, the Tigers downed the Houston Astros 7-2 on Monday night at Comerica Park. It was the..." May 14

Houston Chronicle "Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was placed on the bereavement list Tuesday following the death of his grandmother. Players must stay on the list for a minimum of three days and are allowed a maximum of seven. The Astros called up infielder Jake Elmore from Class AAA Oklahoma City to..." May 14

Houston Chronicle "The hitter-friendly California League isn’t associated with near-perfection by pitchers. But that’s what two Astros minor-league hurlers achieved Sunday. Lefthanders Kyle Hallock and Luis Cruz combined for a no-hitter during high A Lancaster’s 2-0 victory against Stockton. Hallock threw the..." May 13

Houston Chronicle "In this season of defeat after defeat interspersed with the occasional win, Astros manager Bo Porter was reduced Sunday to complimenting a veteran’s comeback effort and hoping a young pitcher can discover the fine line that prevents bad innings from getting worse. Astros pitchers Jordan Lyles..." May 13

Houston Chronicle "George Postolos has resigned as Astros president and CEO, the team announced in a news release today. Postolos, who played a key role working with Astros owner Jim Crane and his group in the purchase of the team, had been the team president and CEO since November 2011. He worked for seven years..." May 13

New York Daily News "The Mets signed veteran outfielder Rick Ankiel Monday to try and bolster their struggling offense. Ankiel was expected to join the team and be in the lineup for the game Monday night in St. Louis. The pitcher-turned-outfielder hit just .192 with five homers and 35 strikeouts in 65 plate..." May 13

Houston Chronicle "Bo Porter sits on a wooden bench in the middle of the Astros’ dugout, which has been cleared of cameras, players and clubhouse personnel on a bright Sunday morning in early May. Minute Maid Park is nearly empty when Porter begins running through his initial three months as Astros manager. He..." May 12

Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Yu Darvish and Nelson Cruz said the same three words to describe their emotions in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Houston Astros were threatening to come back from a four-run deficit. No, they weren’t nervous about seeing the game slip away. “We got Nathan,” they said. That would..." May 12

Houston Chronicle "Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez was back in the lineup one night after committing a career-high three errors. Dominguez booted one ball and air-mailed three throws over the first baseman Thursday, but the official scorer didn’t rule one of the throws an error. “It just kind of got away..." May 11

MLB.com "Umpire Fieldin Culbreth, the crew chief in Thursday night's game between the Angels and Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, has received a two-game suspension and a fine for the misapplication of Rule 3.05(b) in the top of the seventh inning, Major League Baseball announced Friday..." May 10

Los Angeles Times "It took more than four hours of baseball, the last of which was played under protest, a dramatic three-run, eighth-inning rally and the second five-out save from closer Ernesto Frieri in nine days, but the Angels finally did it. They beat the Houston Astros. Mark Trumbo, fighting off a tough..." May 10

Houston Chronicle "The names and numbers continue to change. Players come and go. Bud Norris keeps taking the mound at Minute Maid Park. Owning it. Delivering. Embracing the honor of being a No. 1 starter in Major League Baseball and throwing as if every pitch, every count and every game matter. The 28-year-old..." May 09

Houston Chronicle "Goodbye to the Astros’ six-game losing streak. Hello to more trouble for the under-performing Angels. Down three runs after the top of the first inning, the struggling Astros finally turned themselves around Tuesday, rallying for a 7-6 win at Minute Maid Park before an announced crowd of..." May 08

Houston Chronicle "Thirty-two games into a new season, the rebuilding Astros already had restructured their starting rotation and bullpen. Monday was the outfield’s turn. Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez were designated for assignment; Trevor Crowe and Jimmy Paredes were added from Class AAA Oklahoma City;..." May 07

Houston Chronicle "The Astros’s experiment with veteran Rick Ankiel could be over. The team designated the outfielder for assignment along with outfielder Fernando Martinez and sent infielder Brandon Laird back to Oklahoma City. The team is bringing up outfielder Trevor Crowe and infielder/outfielder Jimmy..." May 07

Houston Chronicle "Astros pitcher Lucas Harrell was sick of watching the Detroit Tigers constantly high-five during a brutal four-game series sweep at Minute Maid Park. Reliever Wesley Wright said the Astros’ constant failure had become a “manhood” issue. Detroit starter Justin Verlander didn’t allow a hit until..." May 06

Houston Chronicle "Philip Humber’s dream season with the Astros has reached a breaking point. The veteran righthander gave up seven runs in the first two innings of Sunday’s 9-0 blowout loss to Detroit. He exited the game having allowed eight hits and eight runs while walking three in just four innings. Humber’s..." May 06

Houston Chronicle "The Astros’s experiment with veteran Rick Ankiel could be over. The team designated the outfielder for assignment along with outfielder Fernando Martinez and sent infielder Brandon Laird back to Oklahoma City. The team is bringing up outfielder Trevor Crowe and infielder/outfielder Jimmy..." May 06

MLB.com "The First-Year Player Draft is a month away, and the Houston Astros are, as they say, on the clock. Of course, the Astros have known they would pick No. 1 overall since the conclusion of last season, when they finished with the lowest winning percentage in Major League Baseball. So the scouting..." May 06

Detroit News "Some nights you simply accept. Happily accept. The Tigers had one of those Saturday at Minute Maid Park, where they torched every pitcher the Astros could throw at them in a 17-2 romp, which featured 21 hits by Detroit to six by Houston. Miguel Cabrera slammed two home runs and had six RBIs,..." May 05

Houston Chronicle "Although the home clubhouse was relatively quiet, it wasn’t somber Friday night. On orders from their manager, the Astros didn’t hang their heads after another gut-wrenching loss to the Tigers. Not long after Jose Veras failed to close out the game, Astros manager Bo Porter addressed his team..." May 04

Michigan Live "Here are three stars from the Detroit Tigers following their 7-3 win over the Houston Astros in 14 innings on Thursday: FIRST STAR: DON KELLY Don Kelly has had some clutch moments in his brief career in Detroit. He added another Thursday with a go-ahead RBI single -- the centerpiece to a..." May 03

Newark Star-Ledger "This was not a night blessed with aesthetic beauty, this 5-4 Yankees victory, but there was still a moment of tactical serendipity. In the sixth inning, as Lyle Overbay stood at first, first-base coach Mick Kelleher pointed out the shallow depth of Houston second baseman Jose Altuve. With one..." May 02

MLB.com "The thing Astros manager Bo Porter likes most about playing his home games at Minute Maid Park? There will never be a rainout. That was one of the tidbits the first-year manager shared with fans, who were able to ask Porter questions on Tuesday afternoon through Facebook, Twitter and video in..." May 01

New York Post "A four-game winning streak had been snapped by a loss to the Astros Monday, when the AL West’s new punching bag shelled Andy Pettitte. Last night, the Yankees turned to Hiroki Kuroda to help restore order to the universe. Kuroda did the job. The right-hander blanked Houston for seven innings..." May 01

New York Post "The Yankees have defied the general principles of sports this year by playing better and better in conjunction with losing more and more players. They have been the Bizarro Yankees. Their roster got uglier and their record got prettier. It made no sense. Their players dropped and their fortunes..." April 30

New York Post "Pass the Imodium. Start with Andy Pettitte, move to Adam Warren and then liberally distribute throughout the Yankees’ lineup that was handcuffed by Lucas Harrell. “We have been playing well and to give up five runs early in the game, we didn’t have a chance to win,’’ Pettitte said. “It makes..." April 30

Boston Herald "Let the record show that the Red Sox posted a 7-3 record during their longest homestand of the season, which concluded yesterday with another no-sweat-required victory, 6-1 over the meek Houston Astros. But the enduring image may have come in the fifth inning. After banging an RBI double off..." April 29

Houston Chronicle "The Astros were still waking up. It was a bright, clear spring morning at Fenway Park. Baseball, daily history and a soon-to-be-sold-out stadium filled with devoted Red Sox fans watching the best team in the game waited. But Saturday night had been devoted to another Astros loss. And just 12..." April 29

Boston Globe "Mike Napoli has known John Lackey a long time. They played together in Anaheim from 2006-09, when Napoli caught him 61 times (for a 3.63 ERA). They are now on the Red Sox, and with Napoli now a first baseman, their interaction is a bit different. But Napoli doesn’t forget what his old..." April 29

Houston Chronicle "About four hours before the American League’s worst team played the AL East’s best Saturday, an Astros player spun manager Bo Porter’s Wheel of Fortune-like Flywheel inside the team’s tiny clubhouse. The wheel spun and spun, with psychological code words and new-age help terms revolving in an..." April 28

WEEI Boston "John Lackey picked up right where he left off before suffering his injury scare in Toronto. The Red Sox starter allowed one run on five hits over six innings, leading his team to a 6-1 win over the Astros Sunday at Fenway Park. Lackey’s ERA after two starts stands at 2.61, having given up two..." April 28

CBSSports.com "Baseball commissioner Bud Selig seemingly has planned to step down, retire or vacate his job almost since he took office back in 1992. But this time, he is much more emphatic about his retirement pronouncements, even to the point of believability. “You can believe it,'' Selig said, pretty..." April 26

Houston Chronicle "The Astros announced Friday that center fielder Justin Maxwell, who fractured his left hand on Tuesday after being hit by a pitch, is estimated to return to competition in 4-6 weeks. Lefthanded pitcher Rudy Owens, who’s on the club’s 40-man roster and assigned to Class AAA Oklahoma City, has a..." April 26