Astros Stat of the Day: May 2021
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Astros this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
May 31: Astros 11, Red Sox 2 -- Altuve moving up
Jose Altuve went 2-for-3 with a home run in Monday’s game. The homer was the 140th of his career, which moves him into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time franchise list, passing Bob Watson (139).
May 30: Astros 7, Padres 4 -- Greinke strong vs. SD
Astros starting pitcher Zack Greinke notched his 14th career win against the Padres, which is tied for his most career wins against one team (the Rockies and Giants are the others). He’s 14-3 with a 2.39 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 27 starts against the Padres, all of which have come in the past 10 years.
May 29: Padres 11, Astros 8 (12) -- Bregman adds to streak
Alex Bregman went 1-for-5 with a double and a walk to extend his on-base streak to 16 games, during which he’s batting .286 with 16 walks and seven RBIs.
May 28: Padres 10, Astros 3 (11) -- A hit eludes Altuve
Jose Altuve went 0-for-6 for only the fourth time in his career. He also did so on Sept. 18, 2014, against Cleveland, April 5, 2017, against Seattle and Aug. 2, 2020, against the Angels. He’s never had seven at-bats in a game in his career.
May 26: Astros 5, Dodgers 2 -- Altuve pads resume
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 with a homer, passing Cesar Cedeño and moving into fourth place in franchise history with 1,660 hits. He also tied Bob Watson for eighth in franchise history with his 139th career homer.
May 25: Dodgers 9, Astros 2 -- Greinke reaches milestone
Astros pitcher Zack Greinke became the seventh player in the Wild Card era -- and the 135th all-time -- to reach 3,000 innings pitched. The other six in the Wild Card era are Livan Hernandez, Andy Pettitte, Tim Hudson, Mark Buehrle, Bartolo Colon and CC Sabathia. Greinke is the only active player who has reached the milestone.
May 23: Rangers 3, Astros 2 (10) -- Altuve extends hitting streak
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak to 17 games with an eighth-inning single Sunday. That's the longest hitting streak in the Major Leagues this year and the second-longest of Altuve's career. He had a 19-game hitting streak from July 2-28, 2017.
May 22: Rangers 8, Houston 4 -- Bregman's hot bat
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman went 2-for-4 with a walk Saturday for his 16th multihit game of the season. That matches Yordan Alvarez for the team lead. Bregman has five multihit games in his last seven games, hitting .407 (11-for-27) in that stretch.
May 21: Rangers 7, Astros 5 -- Smith's 800th career game
Astros pitcher Joe Smith appeared in his 800th career game when he recorded two outs to end the sixth inning. Smith is baseball’s active leader in appearances and is tied with Francisco Cordero for 50th place all-time. Two Hall of Fame starting pitchers are immediately ahead of him: Walter Johnson (802) and Nolan Ryan (807).
May 20: Astros 8, A's 4 -- Altuve gets a hit in 14th straight game
Second baseman Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak to 14 games, which is the longest in the Major Leagues this year. It’s his longest streak since hitting safely in a career-high 19 consecutive games from July 2-28, 2017 -- his MVP season. He’s hitting .400 (24-for-64) during the streak.
May 19: Astros 8, A's 1 -- Altuve climbing the charts
One day after moving into fifth place on the Astros’ all-time hits list (and passing Lance Berkman) with 1,649, second baseman Jose Altuve advanced to a tie for ninth place on the club’s all-time home run list. Altuve’s first-inning homer was the 138th of his career, evening him up with Jose Cruz.
May 18: A's 6, Astros 5 -- Altuve passes Berkman
Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 against Oakland on Tuesday night. Altuve's infield single in the seventh off A's right-hander Burch Smith was his 1,649th career hit as an Astro -- passing Lance Berkman for fifth on the Astros' all-time list. Next up is Cesar Cedeno, with 1,659.
May 16, Astros 6, Rangers 2 -- Masterful McCullers
In his last five outings, Lance McCullers Jr. has allowed just six runs across 33 innings (1.64 ERA) with 36 strikeouts to 13 walks.
May 15: Astros 6, Rangers 5 -- Streaking Correa
Over his last four games, Carlos Correa has increased his OPS by 67 points, going 6-for-13 with five walks during that stretch.
May 14: Astros 10, Rangers 4 -- Houston racks up 8 walks
The Astros drew a season-high eight walks Friday, three of which came around to score and two with the bases loaded. It's the first time Houston has recorded eight walks in a game since last Aug. 14 against the Mariners.
May 13: Astros 4, Rangers 3 (11) -- Altuve extends hitting streak
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs and extended his hitting streak to nine games. He’s hitting .375 (15-for-40) during the streak, which is his longest since a 10-game streak from Aug. 23 to Sept. 2, 2019.
May 12: Astros 9, Angels 1 -- Gurriel cooking at home
Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel leads the American League in home batting average. After going 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, Gurriel is hitting .403 (.29-for-72) at Minute Maid Park this year with five homers and 20 RBIs.
May 11: Astros 5, Angels 1 -- McCullers deals at home
By allowing one run in eight innings, Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. lowered his career ERA to 2.63 at Minute Maid Park. That’s the lowest ERA by an Astros pitcher at the venue, which is in its 22nd season.
May 10: Angels 5, Astros 4 -- Altuve's extends hit streak
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 with a double, extending his hitting streak to a season-high six games. He’s batting .423 (11-for-26) during the streak, with two homers, four runs and four RBIs. He has recorded five consecutive multihit games for the first time since July 4-14, 2017 -- his MVP-Award winning year.
May 9: Astros 7, Blue Jays 4 -- No scoring on the 'pen
Astros relievers Bryan Abreu, Kent Emanuel, Ryne Stanek, Andre Scrubb and Ryan Pressly combined to throw five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks. It’s the first time since June 23, 2018 that Astros relievers have thrown as many as five scoreless innings, allowing two hits or fewer and no walks.
May 8: Blue Jays 8, Astros 4 -- Three-knock Alex
Third baseman Alex Bregman has consecutive three-hit games for the first time since Aug. 27-28, 2019. He has a hit in eight of his last nine games, batting .400 (14-for-35) in that span with six RBIs.
May 7: Astros 10, Blue Jays 4 -- Yordan's quick 100
With his RBI groundout in the eighth inning, Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez became the fastest player in the expansion era (since 1961) and the seventh-fastest player all-time to reach 100 RBIs. Friday marked Alvarez’s 114th career game.
May 6: Astros 7, Yankees 4 -- Birthday boy's big blast
Jose Altuve's game-winning home run was cause for celebration on its own. But for it to come on his birthday made it even sweeter. Altuve turned 31 on Thursday, playing on his birthday for an eighth time. He had never hit a home run (or recorded an RBI) on his birthday before. In fact, he has gone just 6-for-27 (.222) historically on his special day -- but hey, this year makes up for all of that.
May 5: Yankees 6, Astros 3 -- New York a puzzle to solve
The Astros might have beaten the Yankees in their past three postseason series dating back to 2015, but during the regular season, they can't find their footing in the Bronx. Houston dropped a 2-1 series in New York in 2018 and 3-1 in 2019, and clinched another series loss in 2021 by falling behind 2-0 with Wednesday's defeat.
May 4: Yankees 7, Astros 3 -- Greinke climbing all-time starts list
Tuesday was the 466th career start of Zack Greinke’s Major League career, which is the most among active pitchers. He moved past Don Drysdale and Milt Pappas and into a tie with Orel Hershiser for 72nd on the all-time list. His next start will tie Chuck Finley for 71st place with 467 starts.
May 2: Rays 5, Astros 4 -- Alvarez ends drought
Yordan Alvarez ended the longest homerless streak of his young career, snapping a 13-game stretch on Sunday against the Rays. Previously, the longest Alvarez had gone without a home run was eight games during his rookie season.
May 1: Astros 3, Rays 1 -- Urquidy dominates Rays
José Urquidy pitched seven shutout innings on Saturday, continuing his dominance over the club. Including the postseason, Urquidy has allowed just two earned runs to Tampa Bay in 15 2/3 career innings.