Astroline to air Friday on SportsTalk 790 at 6 p.m. CT
HOUSTON, TX - Astroline, the Astros popular offseason radio show, will air its third episode this offseason on Friday night on SportsTalk 790 from 6-7 p.m. CT. Astros radio broadcaster Steve Sparks and Astros legend Bill Brown will serve as co-hosts for the show, which will feature exclusive pre-recorded interviews with relievers Brooks Raley and Andre Scrubb.
The taping of this week's Astroline will be tomorrow from 6-7 p.m. at Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007. Sparks and Brown will be on hand tomorrow from 6-7 p.m. for the taping of Friday night's show. Astroline is open to the public with no admission charge.
In addition to listening along on SportsTalk 790 on Friday, the show can be heard on 94.5 FM HD-2 and at SportsTalk790.com. The show will also be posted online in podcast form at Astros.com/Podcasts and in video form on the Astros official YouTube account.
All Astroline shows, which are presented by Karbach Brewing Company, are scheduled to broadcast on SportsTalk 790, but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Friday's show is the third of a scheduled 14 shows, which will air weekly on most Thursdays from 6-7 p.m. CT during the remainder of the offseason.
Raley, 32, was acquired by the Astros midseason and posted a 3.94 ERA (7ER/16IP) with one save, a 0.75 WHIP and a .143 opponent batting average in 17 appearances out of the Astros bullpen. He also pitched another six times in the postseason, compiling a 3.18 ERA (2ER/5.2IP). Following the season, Houston exercised their club option on Raley's contract, keeping him in an Astros uniform for the 2021 campaign. The 2020 season was a return to Texas for the former Texas A&M Aggie, who spent his last five seasons (2015-19) as a starter in the Korean Baseball Organization. A native Texan, Raley was born in San Antonio, grew up in Uvalde and currently resides in College Station.
Scrubb, 25, debuted for the Astros in 2020, posting a 1-0 record with one save and a 1.90 ERA (5ER/23.2IP) in 20 relief appearances. He fanned 24 in his 23.2 innings pitched and allowed a .190 opponent batting average. Scrubb also pitched four times in the postseason, pitching to a 2.25 ERA (1ER/4IP). The rookie hurler was one of 15 rookie pitchers to pitch for the Astros in 2020, a new franchise record. This offseason, Scrubb has stayed busy, recently volunteering at the Players Alliance "Pull Up Neighbor" Tour stop in New York. The Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization comprised of more than 150 active and former Major League Baseball Players, seeks to improve representation of Black Americans in all levels of the game.
Sparks will also be returning for his ninth season in 2021 as the Astros radio color commentator after being named to the post on Feb. 13, 2013. Prior to joining the Astros radio broadcast team, Sparks served as a pre- and postgame analyst for Astros television games over several seasons following a 17-year playing career. A knuckleballer in his playing days, Sparks pitched in the Major Leagues in parts of nine seasons (1995-2004) for the Brewers, Angels, Tigers, A's and Diamondbacks. His best season came in 2001 for Detroit when he went 14-9 with a 3.65 ERA and a Major League-best eight complete games while tallying 232.0 innings pitched.
The 2020 season was Brown's 34th with the Astros organization and his fourth as Community Outreach Executive. Brown was named the Astros primary TV play-by-play broadcaster in 1987, where he remained for 30 seasons until the conclusion of the 2016 campaign. During his illustrious career, Brown called several of the most memorable moments in franchise history, including seven postseason clinching games, Jeff Bagwell's 400th career homer in 2003 and Craig Biggio's 3,000th career hit in 2007.
ASTROLINE PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):
Day Date Station
Thur. Dec. 17 KBME (tape delayed to Friday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m.)
Thur. Jan. 7 KBME
Thur. Jan. 14 KBME
Thur. Jan. 21 KBME
Thur. Jan. 28 KBME
Thur. Feb. 4 KBME
Thur. Feb. 11 KBME
Thur. Feb. 18 KBME
Thur. Feb. 25 KBME*
Thur. March 4 KBME*
Thur. March 11 KBME*
Thur. March 18 KBME*
*live from West Palm