HOUSTON, TX - Houston Astros left-handed reliever Tony Sipp will be the guest on Astroline tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. CT at Pluckers Wing Bar for the ninth installment of the offseason radio program. Astros radio play-by-play commentator Robert Ford will serve as the host. Ford and fellow radio broadcaster Steve Sparks alternate hosting duties for Astroline.
Tomorrow night's Astroline, which is presented by Karbach Brewing Co., will air on KBME SportsTalk 790 AM and will stream online at Astros.com/Astroline. All shows are scheduled to broadcast on KBME SportsTalk 790, but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Astroline broadcasts live, weekly from 7-8 p.m. CT during the offseason.
For the third consecutive season, Astroline airs from Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007. Pluckers Wing Bar is entering its third year of business in Houston after officially opening to the public in 2013. Astroline runs through March (8 segments), which will be open to all Astros fans with no admission charge.
Fans can submit questions to the show via Twitter using the hashtag #Astroline, before and during the show. As always, fans will also have the option to call the show with questions at 713-212-5790.
Sipp, 32, made 60 appearances out of the Astros bullpen in 2015 as the club's primary left-handed reliever. He owned a 3-4 record with a 1.99 ERA (12ER/54.1IP). Among American League lefty relievers in 2015, his 1.99 ERA ranked second behind Zach Britton (1.92). It was the lowest ERA of his career and ranked sixth all-time among left-handed Astros relievers for a single season, and was the lowest since Billy Wagner posted a 1.78 ERA in 2003. He also ranked fourth in opponent batting average (.208) and sixth in strikeouts-per-9.0 innings (10.27, 62SO/54.1IP) among lefty AL relievers. Sipp has made at least 50 appearances in six straight seasons (2010-15), and is one of only four lefties in the Majors to make 50-or-more appearances in each of the last six years. On Dec. 11, 2015, he signed a three-year contract with the Astros that will take him through the 2018 season.
Ford enters his fourth season as the Astros radio play-by-play commentator after being named to the post on Feb. 13, 2013. Prior to joining the Astros radio broadcast team, Ford spent four seasons as the pre-and postgame host for the Kansas City Royals radio broadcasts on 610 AM KCSP, the Royals flagship station. The 2001 graduate of Syracuse University spent seven years broadcasting minor league baseball, calling more than 800 games during his stints with the Binghamton Mets, Kalamazoo Kings and Yakima Bears. Ford was twice named Frontier League Broadcaster of the Year (2003 and 2004).
*Media Note- Media wishing to interview Tony Sipp must do so immediately before or after the show.
Astroline preliminary schedule (subject to change).
Day           Date               Station
Wed.         Feb. 3             KBME
Thu.           Feb. 11           KBME
Thu.           Feb. 18           KBME
Wed.         Feb. 24           KTRH
Fri.             Mar. 4             KBME
Tue.           Mar. 8             KBME
Tue.           Mar. 15           KBME
Mon.         Mar. 21           KBME
-ASTROS-