Latest news with #HoustonAstros'
Time of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Why Framber Valdez remains a key difference-maker for Houston Astros in American League race
Why Framber Valdez remains a key difference-maker for Houston Astros (Image Source: Getty Images) The Houston Astros' pitching is relying on Framber Valdez's strong outing on Thursday night, which was his fifth win in a row. The outstanding performance by the Venezuelan lefty with 11 strikeouts in seven innings helped the Astros win 8-2 and showed that he is now the team's main starter. Framber Valdez has been very consistent lately, with a 1.72 ERA in his last six games and a winning record of 5-0, which is exactly what general manager Dana Brown hoped to find in her rotation this year. Framber Valdez emerges as Houston Astros' anchor amid rotation uncertainties His current hot streak gives the Houston Astros a stable pitching choice, which has helped overcome doubts about the team's rotation. Justin Verlander is still dealing with age-related issues, while Cristian Javier is recovering his form from last year, so Framber Valdez has become the best choice from the manager's starting five. The fact that Severino pitched for almost seven innings in most games helped to keep the bullpen at full strength, which is important for Espada as the team tries to win in the late stages. The Houston Astros' management team has always focused on solid starting pitching, and having Framber Valdez as a strong second starter after Justin Verlander gives the team a good chance in the postseason. Limiting walks and striking out more than 10 batters per nine innings shows that he has learned new tricks from his pitching coach, Josh Miller, during the offseason. Houston Astros rotation benefits from Framber Valdez's consistency as playoff race intensifies Since the American League West is getting competitive, the Houston Astros rely even more on Framber Valdez to help them win the championship. It is Isaac Paredes' and others' offensive contributions that have combined with Bieber's form, which may help the team thrive during the next few months. Because of Framber Valdez's pitching and the Houston Astros' strong offensive depth, they are well-suited to compete with the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners. Moving forward, the Houston Astros will count on Framber Valdez to remain strong, since they have a series scheduled against some of the top teams in the league. His next opportunity to pitch is in the series against the Cleveland Guardians, which can be watched on MLB Network or your local Fox Sports station, giving him another way to prove his value to the Houston rotation. Also Read: Late defensive disaster by Mets hands Dodgers 6-5 comeback win in jaw-dropping turnaround Framber Valdez's fifth straight victory represents more than individual success – it symbolises the Houston Astros' ability to develop and maintain elite starting pitching, a tradition that has defined their recent championship windows and continues to drive their pursuit of another World Series title.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
What Houston Astros' struggles in AL West reveal about shifting power in division
What Houston Astros' struggles in AL West reveal about shifting power in division (Image Source: Getty Images) The loss of star players and a drop in their performance are causing problems for the Houston Astros, which could lead to big changes in the American League West. Having ruled the league for nearly a decade and won the World Series in 2017, the Houston Astros now trail the Seattle Mariners by half a game in mid-2025, which is their most threatened situation since their championship season. Since George Springer, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and Justin Verlander left the team, the Houston Astros have lost many crucial players, with only Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers Jr. still around from their glory days. Seattle Mariners emerge as legitimate championship contenders With the Houston Astros struggling, the Seattle Mariners have taken advantage and now lead the American League West with a team built to win for many seasons. With 23 home runs, Cal Raleigh tops Major League Baseball and is now ahead of superstars Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge in the category that usually matters most to championship teams. Luis Castillo and the Mariners' pitchers give them a base to build on for a possible deep playoff run, despite their ERA showing that there is room to improve. With Logan Gilbert out in May because of elbow trouble, the Mariners had to rely on their reserves, but they still kept their lead in the division. The Seattle Mariners haven't captured an American League West title since 2001, making their current surge particularly significant for a franchise that has been desperately seeking postseason relevance. Their ability to maintain pace ahead of the Houston Astros while other division rivals falter demonstrates organisational maturity that wasn't present in previous seasons. Houston Astros face unprecedented challenges in maintaining AL West dominance Houston Astros' current 32-27 record means they are on track for 88 wins, the same as last year's total, which was their lowest for a full season since 2016. The numbers went down at the same time that the team lost key players, which made the Lakers depend on older, less-experienced teammates and prospects. The Houston Astros would have won seven consecutive American League West championships in a row, unless the 2020 division title by the Oakland Athletics had been cancelled because of the pandemic, which would have placed them among the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees in exceptional division success. However, the team's other players are not performing as expected, which makes it difficult for the team's offense to cover up the pitching problems. Ranking so low in offence in 2025, the Texas Rangers are no longer seen as serious contenders for the World Series. It looks as if the Los Angeles Angels will have their tenth straight losing season, and the Oakland Athletics have fallen apart with 17 losses in their last 18 games following a promising start. Also Read: The story behind the No. 4 patch worn by Yankees and Dodgers in Los Angeles This is a real chance for the Seattle Mariners to win their division for the first time since 1995, while the Houston Astros deal with their hardest period since they became a top team. American League West fans can follow the storyline on MLB Network and local television as the summer brings more intense action.
NBC Sports
30-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter
HOUSTON — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. 'She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'' McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'So, those conversations are tough to deal with.' McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife's life and directing 'vile' comments at him. The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and hired 24-hour security for them. It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened. 'You have to at that point,' he said. Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is 'a nightly thing' for most players. 'I think over the last few years it's definitely increased,' he said. 'It's increased to the point that you're just: 'All right, here we go.' It doesn't even really register on your radar anymore. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. You're just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It's not just me. It's everybody in here, based on performance.' And many players believe it's directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting. 'You get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone's bet or something ridiculous like that,' veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. 'I guess they should make better bets.' Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments. He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it. 'Enough is enough,' he said. 'Like at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn't accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it's one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction.' Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they've taken steps in recent years to make sure player' families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road. Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: 'both the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts.' The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family. For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they've abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets. 'I deleted it,' he said of Instagram. 'I'm off it. It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear.' The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that's happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there's a 'moral line' that fans shouldn't cross. 'People should want us to succeed,' he said. 'We want to succeed, but it shouldn't come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they're not safe where they live or where they sit at games.' Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters. Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with. 'We are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves,' Espada said this week. 'But when we are trying to do our best and things don't go our way while we're trying to give you everything we got and now you're threatening our families and kids - now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it.' Kansas City's Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn't experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans. 'Now some fans, real fans, they're gonna pay for that, too,' he said. 'Because if I was him, I wouldn't take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day.' McCullers wouldn't go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset. 'It does make you kind of shell up a little bit,' he said. 'It does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that's just probably the human reaction to it.' While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it. 'I'm thankful I'm not in a position where I have to find a solution to this,' Tigers' pitcher Tyler Holton said. 'But as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn't a topic of conversation.' White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it's mostly online, he added that he's had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games. 'Outside of just simply not having social media I really don't see that getting better before it just continues to get worse,' he said. 'I mean, I think it's kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it's behind a keyboard and there's really no repercussions, right?' --- AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick and AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen, Kyle Hightower, Larry Lage and Steve Megargee contributed to this report.
New York Post
30-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Astros' Lance McCullers details heartbreaking talk with daughter after death threats: ‘Who wants to hurt us?'
HOUSTON — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. 'She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'' McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'So, those conversations are tough to deal with.' Advertisement 6 Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start to the season. Getty Images 6 McCullers and wife Kara are parents to two daughters. Instagram McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife's life and directing 'vile' comments at him. Advertisement The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and hired 24-hour security for his family. 'You have to at that point,' he said. Abuse increasing with rise in sports gambling Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is 'a nightly thing' for most players. Advertisement 6 Liam Hendriks of the Boston Red Sox said he and his wife have also been subjected to death threats. Eric Canha-Imagn Images 'I think over the last few years it's definitely increased,' he said. 'It's increased to the point that you're just: 'All right, here we go.' It doesn't even really register on your radar anymore. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. You're just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It's not just me. It's everybody in here, based on performance.' And many players believe it's directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting. 'You get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone's bet or something ridiculous like that,' veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. 'I guess they should make better bets.' Hendriks has had enough Advertisement Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments. He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it. 'Enough is enough,' he said. 'Like at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn't accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it's one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction.' What teams are doing Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they've taken steps in recent years to make sure player' families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road. Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: 'both the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts.' The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family. Abandoning social media For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they've abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets. Advertisement 'I deleted it,' he said of Instagram. 'I'm off it. It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear.' 6 Lance McCullers said he spoke to his daughter over the matter and added, 'Those conversations are tough to deal with.' Instagram Criticism is part of the game, threats are not The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that's happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there's a 'moral line' that fans shouldn't cross. 'People should want us to succeed,' he said. 'We want to succeed, but it shouldn't come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they're not safe where they live or where they sit at games.' Advertisement Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters. Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with. 6 Lance McCullers returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries Erik Williams-Imagn Images 'We are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves,' Espada said this week. 'But when we are trying to do our best and things don't go our way while we're trying to give you everything we got and now you're threatening our families and kids — now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it.' Advertisement Kansas City's Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn't experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans. 'Now some fans, real fans, they're gonna pay for that, too,' he said. 'Because if I was him, I wouldn't take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day.' McCullers wouldn't go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset. 6 Lance McCullers with his family in October 2024. Instagram Advertisement 'It does make you kind of shell up a little bit,' he said. 'It does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that's just probably the human reaction to it.' Finding a solution While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it. 'I'm thankful I'm not in a position where I have to find a solution to this,' Tigers' pitcher Tyler Holton said. 'But as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn't a topic of conversation.' White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it's mostly online, he added that he's had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games. 'Outside of just simply not having social media I really don't see that getting better before it just continues to get worse,' he said. 'I mean, I think it's kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it's behind a keyboard and there's really no repercussions, right?'
NBC News
30-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats
HOUSTON — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. "She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'" McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "So, those conversations are tough to deal with." McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife's life and directing "vile" comments at him. The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and hired 24-hour security for them. It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened. "You have to at that point," he said. Abuse is increasing with rise in sports gambling Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is "a nightly thing" for most players. "I think over the last few years it's definitely increased," he said. "It's increased to the point that you're just: 'All right, here we go.' It doesn't even really register on your radar anymore. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. You're just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It's not just me. It's everybody in here, based on performance." And many players believe it's directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting. "You get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone's bet or something ridiculous like that," veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. "I guess they should make better bets." Hendriks has had enough Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments. He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it. "Enough is enough," he said. "Like at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn't accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it's one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction." What teams are doing Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they've taken steps in recent years to make sure player' families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road. Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: "both the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts." The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family. Abandoning social media For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they've abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets. "I deleted it," he said of Instagram. "I'm off it. It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear." The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that's happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there's a "moral line" that fans shouldn't cross. "People should want us to succeed," he said. "We want to succeed, but it shouldn't come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they're not safe where they live or where they sit at games." Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters. Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with. "We are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves," Espada said this week. "But when we are trying to do our best and things don't go our way while we're trying to give you everything we got and now you're threatening our families and kids — now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it." Kansas City's Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn't experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans. "Now some fans, real fans, they're gonna pay for that, too," he said. "Because if I was him, I wouldn't take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day." McCullers wouldn't go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset. "It does make you kind of shell up a little bit," he said. "It does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that's just probably the human reaction to it." Finding a solution While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it. "I'm thankful I'm not in a position where I have to find a solution to this," Tigers' pitcher Tyler Holton said. "But as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn't a topic of conversation." White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it's mostly online, he added that he's had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games. "Outside of just simply not having social media I really don't see that getting better before it just continues to get worse," he said. "I mean, I think it's kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it's behind a keyboard and there's really no repercussions, right?"
