Happy Birthday - 12/18

Happy Birthday to ~

DH/1B/LF Chris Carter (28)
Originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 15th round in 2005, Carter came to the Astros, along with Brad Peacock and Max Stassi, in the February 2013 trade that sent Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez to Oakland. In 145 games for Houston in 2014, Carter hit .227/.308/.491 with 21 doubles, one triple, 37 home runs (second in the AL) and 88 RBI. He dropped from first to second place in strikeouts in the league in 2014, letting Mike Trout have the honors for the year.

RHP Edison Frias (24)
Frias was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. Frias pitched for the Quad Cities team in 2014, compiling an 8-5 record with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.326 WHIP in 17 games (12 starts).

These former Astros celebrate the day as well ~

LHP Rudy Owens (27)
Originally drafted by the Pirates in the 28th round in 2006, Owens came to Houston in the 2012 trade that sent Wandy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh. Owens made his major league debut for Houston in a spot start on May 23, 2014, but otherwise pitched his entire season with AAA Oklahoma City. In 25 games (21 starts), he was 8-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.252 WHIP. He recently signed with Oakland as a free agent.

OF Mike White (76)
Originally drafted from the Angels in the minor league draft in 1961, White played in 100 games for the 1963 and 1964 Colt .45's and the 1965 Astros, hitting .264/.311/.321.

RHP Jim Clancy (59)
A fourth round pick by the Rangers in 1974, Clancy signed with Houston as a free agent in December 1988. In 96 games (36 starts) for Houston from 1989 to 1991, he had a 9-25 record with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP. His best years were for the Toronto Blue Jays for whom he pitched for 12 seasons and won his one All-Star nod in 1982.

RHP Willie Blair (49)
Drafted by the Blue Jays in the 11th round in 1986, Blair came to Houston in a December 1991 trade with the Indians. In 29 games (eight starts) pitched for the Astros in 1992, he was 5-7 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.258 WHIP. Most recently, he was the bullpen coach for the San Diego Padres in 2014.

2014 Grapefruit League Recaps, Games 8 & 9

*I embedded some highlights from MLB.com, which may take time to fill the wide swaths of empty space in this post.

New York Yankees 9, Houston Astros 6

2014 Grapefruit League record, after this game: 3-5

W- Chase Whitley (1-2)

L- Jose Cisnero (0-1)

S- Chris Leroux (1)

Astros home runs: Chris Carter (1)

After the Astros took a 6-4 lead courtesy of a 3-run homer from Chris Carter in the 5th, the Yankees responded with 5 unanswered (3 in the 6th, 2 in the 7th) to seize control of the game.

Starting Pitcher: Jarred Cosart

Cosart worked around a couple of walks to throw a scoreless 1st inning, striking out 2. In the 2nd, though, he gave up a leadoff single to Dean Anna, and an error on Jose Altuve allowed the Yankees to get on the board. An RBI double from Mason Williams drew the Yankees even in the inning. Cosart left after getting Brett Gardner to ground out for the 2nd out of the inning.

Final line: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 2 K

Bullpen

Jorge De Leon finished the 2nd by striking out Eduardo Nuñez. 

Darin Downs came on for the next 2 innings and gave up a 2-run homer to Kelly Johnson in the 3rd. He threw a scoreless 4th, and walked 2 in his outing.

Chad Qualls struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 5th.

Jose Cisnero got tagged with the loss, as he gave up the Yankees' 3 runs in the 6th. Only one of those runs were earned. He allowed 3 hits, walked 1, and fanned 1.

Jake Buchanan gave up 2 in the 7th on a pop fly single and a fielder's choice. He also struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 8th.

Nick Tropeano allowed a 1-out single, but nothing came of it as he struck out 2 in a scoreless 9th.

Offense

Jason Castro went the other way with a nice 2-run double to open the scoring for the Astros in the 1st.

In the 2nd, Cesar Izturis dropped an RBI single right in between a couple of Yankee outfielders.

And finally, Chris Carter put the Astros in front at that point with this 3-run shot:


It was nice to see Rio Ruiz and Teoscar Hernandez see some action with the big club. They both went 0-1, with Rio drawing a walk and Teoscar scoring a run. Nolan Fontana came on as a pinch-hitter for Izturis in the 9th and doubled.

Philadelphia Phillies 11, Houston Astros 3

2014 Grapefruit League record, after Saturday: 3-6

W- Jesse Biddle (1-0)

L- Collin McHugh (0-1)

Astros home runs: None.

It was not exactly a banner spring training game day as both Astros squads wound up taking losses. This one got away in the middle portions of the game, as the Phillies went on an 11-2 run from the 5th to the 9th.

Starting Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel

Keuchel was excellent, delivering 3 no-hit innings. The only Phillies to reach on him were Chase Utley (via walk in the 1st) and Carlos Ruiz (via error from Matt Dominguez in the 2nd).

Final line: 3 IP, BB, 2 K

Bullpen

Collin McHugh was the first man out, and after a scoreless 4th, the wheels fell off. I'll leave it at that.

Jason Stoffel got the final 2 outs of the 6th, but allowed both of the runners he inherited from McHugh to score, and gave up one of his own.

Luis Cruz got rocked in the 7th; David Martinez had to clean up that mess.

Chia-Jen Lo allowed an unearned run in the 8th; Bobby Doran allowed that run to score, but was able to avoid further damage.

Offense

Robbie Grossman put the Astros on the board first with this exquisite hit-and-run:


Houston managed to tie the game at 3, as Jesse Biddle uncorked a wild one...



...and Gregorio Petit poked a hole through the left side of the Phillies infield.

These guys were much more patient than the squad in Kissimmee, outwalking them 9-2.

Japhet Amador made his spring debut for the Astros, going 0-2 with a K after replacing Brett Wallace at DH.

Ruben Sosa and Chris Epps made appearances as pinch-hitters in the 9th. They both grounded out.

Three Stars

3.

Chris Carter, 1B/DH
vs. NYY 1-3, 3-R HR (1) in 5th

2.

Cesar Izturis, SS
vs. NYY: 2-3, RBI single in 2nd

1.

 Dallas Keuchel, LHP
@PHI: 3 IP, BB, 2 K

Honorable Mentions: Jose Altuve, Jason Castro

Next Up

The Astros will have a full squad in Kissimmee to welcome the Blue Jays. Rudy Owens will look to rebound from a rough first start as he takes on R.A. Dickey at 1:05 Eastern.

Happy Birthday - 12/18

Happy Birthday to ~

1B/LF/DH Chris Carter (27)
Originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 15th round in 2005, Carter came to the Astros, along with Brad Peacock and Max Stassi, in the February 2013 trade that sent Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez to Oakland. In 148 games for Houston in 2013, Carter hit .223/.320/.451 with 24 doubles, two triples and a team-leading 29 home runs and 82 RBI. He also had the ignominious distinction of striking out 212 times, landing third on the all-time season record list.

LHP Rudy Owens (26)
Originally drafted by the Pirates in the 28th round in 2006, Owens came to Houston in the 2012 trade that sent Wandy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh. Owens had surgery for a stress fracture in his foot and missed most of the 2013 season, making only four appearances with Oklahoma City in April. In the Dominican winter league, Owens went 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA and a 0.986 WHIP in 10 starts. He held batters to a .191 batting average.

RHP Edison Frias (23)
Frias was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. Frias started and ended his 2013 season with the Tri-City team, but spent the majority of the season with the Rookie League Greeneville team. In a combined 12 appearances (10 starts) between the two venues, he was 4-3 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.214 WHIP.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Mike White (75)
Originally drafted from the Angels in the minor league draft in 1961, White played in 100 games for the 1963 and 1964 Colt .45's and the 1965 Astros, hitting .264/.311/.321.

RHP Jim Clancy (58)
A fourth round pick by the Rangers in 1974, Clancy signed with Houston as a free agent in December 1988. In 96 games (36 starts) for Houston from 1989 to 1991, he had a 9-25 record with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP. His best years were for the Toronto Blue Jays for whom he pitched for 12 seasons and won his one All-Star nod in 1982.

RHP Willie Blair (48)
Drafted by the Blue Jays in the 11th round in 1986, Blair came to Houston in a December 1991 trade with the Indians. In 29 games (eight starts) pitched for the Astros in 1992, he was 5-7 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.258 WHIP. Most recently, he was the bullpen coach for the San Diego Padres in 2013.

Jed Lowrie and Francisco Rodriguez Traded

The Astros announced the trade of SS Jed Lowrie and RHP Francisco Rodriguez to the Oakland A's on Monday for 1B Chris Carter, RHP Brad Peacock and C Max Stassi.

Carter, 26, has played a total of 106 games over three seasons in the majors with Oakland, 67 in 2012 in which he hit .239/.350/.514 with 16 home runs and 39 RBIs.

According to the Astros press release, Carter's minor league resume has been impressive:

Carter (6-4, 244), who has played parts of the last three seasons (2010-12) with the A’s big club, has had an outstanding minor league career, twice winning Oakland’s Organizational Player of the Year Award (2008-09). In 2008 at Single A Stockton, he tallied 39 HR, 32 doubles, 104 RBI and 101 runs scored while posting a .569 slugging pct. In 2009, he hit a combined .329 at Midland (AA) and Sacramento (AAA) with 28 HR and 115 RBI with a .422 on-base-pct. and a .570 slugging pct. en route to earning Texas League Player of the Year honors. In 826 career minor league games, Carter has a .535 slugging pct. and a .913 OPS.

Peacock, 25, has only pitched in three games at the major league level (for Washington in 2011) with excellent results. In 28 appearances (25 starts) at AAA in 2012, he went 12-9 with a 6.01 ERA, 1.584 WHIP and 9.3 SO/9. In 2011, prior to his trade to Oakland, he was Washington’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year and also won Eastern League Pitcher of the Year honors. He was listed by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in the A's organization going into the 2013 season.

The 21-year-old Stassi, hit .268/.331/.468 with 15 HR and 45 RBI in 84 games at Single A Stockton in 2012 . He has seen limited playing time the last two seasons due to injury, but is said to be a good defensive catcher that profiles to have a respectable amount of pop in his bat.

Both Carter and Peacock have been placed on the 40-man roster. Stassi will be a non-roster invitee.

GM Jeff Luhnow will have to have some tricks up his sleeve in order to figure out where he's going to put his extra ration of first basemen. Between Carlos Pena, Brett Wallace, Nate Freiman and now Chris Carter, something is going to have to give somewhere even after factoring in the DH. The same thing can be said of right-handed pitchers who are competing for spots in the starting rotation. In addition to Bud Norris, Lucas Harrell and Jordan Lyles, you'll have John Ely, Phil Humber, Alex White and now Brad Peacock. And that doesn't even include up-and-comer Jarred Cosart and NRI Edgar Gonzalez. I do not envy Bo Porter and company in trying to find enough innings for everyone.