Astros designate Ankiel for assignment

Published May 06, 2013

Sports Network

Houston, TX –  Outfielders Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez were each designated for assignment by the Houston Astros amid a flurry of roster moves made by the team on Monday.

Houston also optioned infielder Brandon Laird to Triple-A Oklahoma City while promoting outfielders Jimmy Paredes and Trevor Crowe from its Pacific Coast League affiliate. In addition, outfielder J.D. Martinez was activated from the 15-day disabled list.

Ankiel ranks second among Houston players with five home runs and is third on the team in RBI (11), but batted only .194 in 25 games and struck out a troubling 35 times in 62 at-bats. Martinez went just 6-for-33 (1.82) with a homer and three RBI in 11 outings after beginning the year on the DL with an oblique strain.

Paredes earned his callup after ranking fifth in the PCL with a .376 average while compiling three homers, 15 RBI and seven steals with the RedHawks. Crowe, who appeared in 205 major league games with Cleveland from 2009-11, was batting .300 with two homers, 14 RBI and a team-best 11 stolen bases through 29 games at Oklahoma City.

Martinez has been sidelined since April 20 with a right knee sprain, with the 25-year-old hitting .244 with two homers and seven RBI in 15 games prior to going on the DL.

Laird hit just .200 with two homers and five RBI over 11 contests with the Astros this year.

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Tigers outlast Astros in 14-inning affair

Houston, TX –  Don Kelly's RBI single was the go-ahead hit in a four-run 14th inning, as Detroit outlasted Houston, 7-3, in the opener of a four-game series.

Matt Tuiasosopo added a two-run double and Jhonny Peralta also drove in a run during the deciding frame for the Tigers, who have won six of their last seven.

Luke Putkonen (1-0) worked 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the win. He fanned four and gave up just one walk for his first major league victory.

Jason Castro hit a two-run homer and Carlos Pena added a solo shot for the Astros, who kicked off a season-long 10-game homestand with a defeat in their first extra-inning game of the year.

Dallas Keuchel (0-1) was charged with four runs on seven hits with four walks and as many strikeouts over 4 1/3 relief frames.

Austin Jackson began the inning with a ground-rule double off Keuchel and moved up on a Torii Hunter groundout. Both Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder were given free passes to load the bases, but the move backfired when Kelly singled home the lead run.

Jose Cisnero entered but served up a two-run double from Tuiasosopo and a sacrifice fly from Peralta which made it 7-3.

Putkonen completed his outing by fanning Pena with a runner on second to end the game.

Robbie Grossman began the home first with a double and Castro followed two batters later with a two-run shot.

Back-to-back RBI singles from Hunter and Cabrera in the third tied the score, but Pena's one-out solo shot in the home fourth put Houston back on top.

Detroit evened the score in the eighth. Fielder was plunked by Wesley Wright, who came on for Hector Ambriz after he induced a double-play grounder from Cabrera. Victor Martinez followed with a single, and when Astros outfielder Rick Ankiel couldn't field the ball cleanly, Fielder raced home.

Tuiasosopo walked with two down in the 11th and later was thrown out at home attempting to score on a Brayan Pena single.

Game Notes

The Astros fell to 9-7 all-time vs. Detroit with a 5-2 mark in Houston ... Prior to the game, the Tigers recalled Putkonen from Triple-A Toledo, while Houston recalled starter Jordan Lyles and Keuchel from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned pitchers Brad Peacock and Rhiner Cruz to OKC ... Lyles lasted five innings, during which he allowed six hits and a pair of runs with six strikeouts ... Detroit starter Rick Porcello worked seven full frames, yielding five hits and three runs while fanning seven.

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Lackey sharp in return as Red Sox complete sweep of Astros

Published April 28, 2013

Sports Network

Boston, MA –  Stephen Drew and David Ortiz each drove in a pair of runs while John Lackey pitched six strong innings for the Boston Red Sox, who completed a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-1 win at Fenway Park.

Lackey (1-1), activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, needed just 81 pitches to get through six innings in his second outing of the season. He allowed a run and five hits to go with four strikeouts as Boston completed its third series sweep of the season and retained the best record in the major leagues.

Daniel Nava and Matt Carp each had two hits for the Sox. Nava also scored three runs and ended the game with a diving catch out in right field.

Bud Norris (3-3) recorded the loss for Houston after surrendering five runs -- three earned -- on nine hits in six innings of work.

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A's score early, hold on to sweep Astros

Oakland, CA –  Jed Lowrie had two hits, one RBI and one run scored, while Bartolo Colon pitched six strong innings as the Oakland Athletics swept a three-game series from the Houston Astros for the second time this season with a 7-5 victory.

Josh Reddick drove in two runs with a double for Oakland, which has won 12 of 14 after dropping its first two games of the season. John Jaso added an RBI, two hits and a run scored and Seth Smith went 3-for-5.

Colon (2-0) yielded one run on four hits and struck out three in the victory.

Carlos Pena and Rick Ankiel each hit solo homers for the Astros, who have dropped five straight. Starter Bud Norris (2-2) lasted only two-thirds of an inning and gave up six runs on five hits while walking three batters. He threw 46 pitches before exiting.

Norris also struggled in a 6-3 loss to Oakland on April 6, allowing five runs - two earned - while throwing 122 pitches in 5 2/3 innings.

Houston made it a 1-0 game in the first inning. With one out, Chris Carter's fielder's choice scored Jose Altuve, who singled to lead off the frame.

The lead was short-lived, though, as Jaso doubled just inside the left-field line to lead off the first frame for the home team. Chris Young plated Jaso to make it 1-1 with a single to left-center. After Smith hit an infield single, Lowrie drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.

Josh Donaldson fouled out to first base, but Reddick followed and made the most of the opportunity with a two-run double to right field to make it 3-1. Derek Norris walked to once again load the bases and Eric Sogard hit a line drive through the right side scoring Lowrie.

The inning still wasn't done, as Shane Peterson drew a walk to make it 5-1 and Jaso, batting for the second time in the frame, hit a fielder's choice to second base scoring Norris which made it 6-1. Lowrie's fielders choice in the fourth scored Peterson to make it 7-1.

The Astros still trailed by six in the seventh, before Pena came through with a one-out solo blast to right to make it 7-2. Later in the frame, Marwin Gonzalez singled to center to score Brandon Barnes and Altuve followed with an RBI single to right to cut the deficit to 7-4.

Ankiel knocked a pinch-hit solo home run to right-center in the ninth off Grant Balfour. After Matt Dominguez singled to left, Balfour got Gonzalez to ground into a force out at second and Altuve's chopper turned into an easy double play which ended the game and gave the righty reliever his third save of the year.

Game Notes

Colon beat the Astros in his first start of the year and is 5-2 over eight starts in his career ... Norris joined fellow Astros pitcher Erik Bedard (April 15 versus Oakland) as the second Houston starter this season to last two-thirds innings or fewer and allow six-plus earned runs ... Oakland has won 11 straight versus AL West foes.

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Rick Porcello Ks 6 in 4 innings, Tigers beat Astros 8-5

LAKELAND, Fla. –  Rick Porcello pitched a spring training-high four scoreless innings, and Alex Avila had three RBIs to lead the Detroit Tigers to an 8-5 win over the Houston Astros on Monday.

Porcello, competing with several others for one of the remaining openings in the Tigers rotation, allowed three hits and struck out six. He lowered his spring ERA to 3.38. Potential Tigers closers Brayan Villarreal and Al Albuquerque each struck the side.

For Villarreal, it was his first appearance since his family in Venezuela was the target of an armed kidnapping attempt on Friday. None of his family members were harmed.

Jared Cosart started for the Astros and allowed three runs in two innings. He also walked four.

The Astros walked nine and committed two errors.

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