| 2011 Houston Astros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | Central | |||
| Ballpark | Minute Maid Park | |||
| City | Houston,Texas | |||
| Record | 56–106 (.346) | |||
| Divisional place | 6th | |||
| Owners | Drayton McLane | |||
| General managers | Ed Wade | |||
| Managers | Brad Mills | |||
| Television | Fox Sports Houston KTXH (Bill Brown,Jim Deshaies) | |||
| Radio | KTRH (Milo Hamilton,Brett Dolan,Dave Raymond) KLAT (Spanish) (Francisco Romero,Alex Treviño) | |||
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference | |||
| ||||
The2011Houston Astros season was the50th season for theMajor League Baseball (MLB) franchise located inHouston,Texas, their 47th as the Astros, 50th in theNational League (NL), 18th in theNL Central division, and 12th atMinute Maid Park. The Astros entered the season as having finished in fourth place in the NL Central with 76–86record and 15games behind the division-championCincinnati Reds.
The Astros commenced the season on April 1 atCitizens Bank Park, when pitcherBrett Myers made theOpening Day start for Houston, but were defeated by thePhiladelphia Phillies, 5–4. On May 16, the Astros announced a sale of the team to group of investors led byJim Crane. In theamateur draft, the Astros'first round selection was outfielderGeorge Springer at 11th overall, and subsequent picks included pitcherAdrian Houser in the second round, pitcherNick Tropeano in the fifth round, and third basemanMatt Duffy in the 20th round.
Right fielderHunter Pence was selected to theMLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, the second selection of his career.
Houston concluded the 2011 season with a 56–106 record and in last place, 40 games behind the division-championMilwaukee Brewers, and worst record in the major leagues. This was the first time in the franchise's 50-year history that they had lost 100 games in a single season, surpassing the record of 97 jointly held by the1965,1975, and1991 teams, and was surpassed again the following season. The 40 games behind first place at the time represented the second-most in franchise history to the 1975 club (43+1⁄2).
| 21 | Michael Bourn | CF |
| 36 | Ángel Sánchez | SS |
| 9 | Hunter Pence | RF |
| 45 | Carlos Lee | LF |
| 22 | Bill Hall | 2B |
| 23 | Chris Johnson | 3B |
| 29 | Brett Wallace | 1B |
| 77 | Humberto Quintero | C |
| 39 | Brett Myers | P |
| Venue: | Citizens Bank Park • PHI 5, | HOU 4 |
Opening Day for the 2011 season represented the first since2002 that someone not namedRoy Oswalt took the hill for the Astros, which wasWade Miller that year. Following his club-record eighth consecutive Opening Day start in 2010, Oswalt continued his usual excellent pitching and was sent toPhiladelphia in a trade-deadline deal in July to give him the opportunity to pitch for aplayoff contender.
Following 11 magnificent seasons slugging his into one of the most accomplished hitters in franchise history, on April 26,Lance Berkman made his first return to Minute Maid Park as a visitor. Now aSt. Louis Cardinal, Berkman received mainly applause. In the ninth inning, he ripped a go-aheaddouble, only to see the home team mount a comeback and win in it the bottom of the ninth, 6–5.[3]

The Astros announced on May 16 the sale of their team to a group of investors headed byJim Crane for the price of $680 million. The Astros dropped a contest to theAtlanta Braves, 3–2, with Houston's record slipping to 15–26, worst in the National League. This date corresponded the approval of another sale of the team which took place in1979.[4]
Starting May 19 atBusch Stadium, outfielderHunter Pence struck a single to left field offKyle McClellan to launch a 23-gamehitting streak and energize one of the dreariest seasons in club annals. His streak continued through a June 13th victory over Atlanta. Though he struggled with lower back pain, the All-Starbatted .406 (39-for-96) with 19runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 19runs batted in (RBI). The Astros posted a record of 10–13 (.435) during Pence's streak to play above their season average.[5]
Jordan Lyles made his major league debut on May 31, hurling seven clean innings over theChicago Cubs before his own error put him in line for the loss. The team proceeded to back him up, scoring six runs in the ninth to set up a 7–3 Astros victory.[6]
On July 19, the Astros promoted second base prospectJose Altuve to the major leagues, who started for the first time the following day versus theWashington Nationals. Going 1-for-5 in his debut, Altuvesingled offTyler Clippard in the 9th inning for his first major league hit.[7] After authoring ahitting streak that accounted for each of his first seven games, on July 27, 2011, Altuve tied an Astros franchise record withRuss Johnson for most successive games with a hit to start a career with 7, who accomplished his in1997.[8]
The Astros called up prospectJ. D. Martinez on July 29 to replace Pence, who had been traded to the Philadelphia. Martinez started 52 of the remaining 55 games in the outfield for Houston.[9]
On August 16, outfielderBrian Bogusevic hit the 26thultimate grand slam in major league history, classified as a bases-loaded, walk-off grand slam with the batter's team trailing by three runs, signifying that the batter is also the winning and walk-off run.[10] Bogusevic connected offChicago Cubs relieverCarlos Mármol for a 6–5 Houston victory. This was the Astros' lone walk-off homer in 2011.[11] It followed other walk-off grand slams byGregg Zaun in2002, andCarlos Lee on June 28,2007.
On August 20, 2011, Altuve connected forleadoffinside-the-park home run for his first major league home run and J. D. Martinez had fourruns batted in (RBI) to burn theSan Francisco Giants Minute Maid Park, 7–5, and attain a season-high four-gamewinning streak. On the day, Altuve collected three hits, and Martinez also homered homered and doubled. Altuve became the first Houston Astro to achieve the following: first sinceAdam Everett on August 6,2003 at Minute Maid Park, to hit an inside-the-park home run, the first since pitcherButch Henry on May 8,1992 atThree Rivers Stadium to crank his first major league home run on an inside-the-parker, and the first sinceBill Doran on April 22,1987, against theAtlanta Braves, to lead off the game in this manner.[12]
For the month of August, his first in the major leagues, outfielder J. D. Martinez collected 28 RBI to set a franchise rookie record for any month, while ranking second in the National League.[9]
The 2011 season signaled the continuation of transition for the franchise during their rebuilding process, owing to a then-club record 106 losses and first-ever 100-loss season, while rostering a staggering 20 rookies who all played at some point during the season. Moreover, rookies assumed larger roles on the team during the second half.Matt Downs proved a reliable weapon off the bench, including garnering a major-league bestpinch-hit 15 RBI.[13]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | 96 | 66 | .593 | — | 57–24 | 39–42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 90 | 72 | .556 | 6 | 45–36 | 45–36 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 79 | 83 | .488 | 17 | 42–39 | 37–44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 72 | 90 | .444 | 24 | 36–45 | 36–45 |
| Chicago Cubs | 71 | 91 | .438 | 25 | 39–42 | 32–49 |
| Houston Astros | 56 | 106 | .346 | 40 | 31–50 | 25–56 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 102 | 60 | .630 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 96 | 66 | .593 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 94 | 68 | .580 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 90 | 72 | .556 | — |
| Atlanta Braves | 89 | 73 | .549 | 1 |
| San Francisco Giants | 86 | 76 | .531 | 4 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 82 | 79 | .509 | 7½ |
| Washington Nationals | 80 | 81 | .497 | 9½ |
| Cincinnati Reds | 79 | 83 | .488 | 11 |
| New York Mets | 77 | 85 | .475 | 13 |
| Colorado Rockies | 73 | 89 | .451 | 17 |
| Florida Marlins | 72 | 90 | .444 | 18 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 72 | 90 | .444 | 18 |
| Chicago Cubs | 71 | 91 | .438 | 19 |
| San Diego Padres | 71 | 91 | .438 | 19 |
| Houston Astros | 56 | 106 | .346 | 34 |
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | – | 2–3 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 13–5 | 5–2 | 6–1 | 10–8 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 3–4 | 5–3 | 10–8 |
| Atlanta | 3–2 | – | 4–3 | 3–3 | 6–2 | 12–6 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 5–3 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 4–2 | 4–5 | 6–1 | 1–5 | 9–9 | 10–5 |
| Chicago | 4–3 | 3–4 | – | 7–11 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 8–7 | 3–3 | 6–10 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 8–8 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 5–10 | 3–4 | 5–10 |
| Cincinnati | 2–4 | 3–3 | 11–7 | – | 3–4 | 3–3 | 9–6 | 4–2 | 8–8 | 2–5 | 1–7 | 5–10 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 9–6 | 4–2 | 6–12 |
| Colorado | 5–13 | 2–6 | 4–2 | 4–3 | – | 3–3 | 5–2 | 9–9 | 3–6 | 5–2 | 1–4 | 4–3 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 8–7 |
| Florida | 2–5 | 6–12 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 3–3 | – | 6–1 | 3–3 | 0–7 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–0 | 0–7 | 4–2 | 2–6 | 11–7 | 8–10 |
| Houston | 1–6 | 1–5 | 7–8 | 6–9 | 2–5 | 1–6 | – | 4–5 | 3–12 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–11 | 3–5 | 4–3 | 5–10 | 3–3 | 4–11 |
| Los Angeles | 8–10 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 9–9 | 3–3 | 5–4 | – | 2–4 | 2–5 | 1–5 | 6–2 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 6–9 |
| Milwaukee | 3–4 | 3–5 | 10–6 | 8–8 | 6–3 | 7–0 | 12–3 | 4–2 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 12–3 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 9–9 | 3–3 | 6–9 |
| New York | 3–3 | 9–9 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 2–5 | 9–9 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 2–4 | – | 7–11 | 4–4 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 8–10 | 9–9 |
| Philadelphia | 3–3 | 12–6 | 5–2 | 7–1 | 4–1 | 12–6 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 11–7 | – | 4–2 | 7–1 | 4–3 | 3–6 | 8–10 | 9–6 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–3 | 2–4 | 8–8 | 10–5 | 3–4 | 0–6 | 11–7 | 2–6 | 3–12 | 4–4 | 2–4 | – | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–9 | 4–4 | 8–7 |
| San Diego | 7–11 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 9–9 | 7–0 | 5–3 | 5–13 | 2–3 | 3–4 | 1–7 | 4–2 | – | 6–12 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 6–9 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 1–6 | 4–5 | 2–5 | 13–5 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 12–6 | – | 5–2 | 3–4 | 10–5 |
| St. Louis | 4–3 | 5–1 | 10–5 | 6–9 | 4–2 | 6–2 | 10–5 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 3–3 | 6–3 | 9–7 | 3–3 | 2–5 | – | 2–4 | 8–7 |
| Washington | 3–5 | 9–9 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 7–11 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 4–4 | 4–3 | 4–3 | 4–2 | – | 8–7 |
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| 2011 Houston Astros | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
| Astros Win | Astros Loss | Game Postponed | ASG | Eliminated from Playoff Contention |
|---|
Note: G=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs scored; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; BB=Base on balls; SO=Strikeouts; SB=Stolen bases; AVG=Batting average
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Lee | 155 | 585 | 66 | 161 | 38 | 4 | 18 | 94 | 59 | 60 | 4 | 0.275 |
| Clint Barmes | 123 | 446 | 47 | 109 | 27 | 0 | 12 | 39 | 38 | 88 | 3 | 0.244 |
| Michael Bournx | 105 | 429 | 64 | 130 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 32 | 38 | 90 | 39 | 0.303 |
| Hunter Pencex | 100 | 399 | 49 | 123 | 26 | 3 | 11 | 62 | 30 | 86 | 7 | 0.308 |
| Chris Johnson | 107 | 378 | 32 | 95 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 42 | 16 | 97 | 2 | 0.251 |
| Brett Wallace | 115 | 336 | 37 | 87 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 29 | 36 | 91 | 1 | 0.259 |
| Angel Sanchez | 110 | 288 | 35 | 69 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 27 | 44 | 3 | 0.240 |
| Humberto Quintero | 79 | 262 | 22 | 63 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 6 | 53 | 1 | 0.240 |
| Jason Bourgeois | 93 | 238 | 30 | 70 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 24 | 31 | 0.294 |
| Jose Altuve | 57 | 221 | 26 | 61 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 29 | 7 | 0.276 |
| J.D. Martinez | 53 | 208 | 29 | 57 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 35 | 13 | 48 | 0 | 0.274 |
| Matt Downs | 106 | 199 | 29 | 55 | 18 | 0 | 10 | 41 | 17 | 47 | 0 | 0.276 |
| Jimmy Paredes | 46 | 168 | 16 | 48 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 47 | 5 | 0.286 |
| Brian Bogusevic | 87 | 164 | 22 | 47 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 40 | 4 | 0.287 |
| Jeff Keppinger | 43 | 163 | 22 | 50 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.307 |
| Jason Michaels | 89 | 156 | 10 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 31 | 1 | 0.199 |
| Carlos Corporán | 52 | 154 | 9 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 49 | 0 | 0.188 |
| J.R. Towles | 54 | 147 | 11 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 26 | 0 | 0.184 |
| Bill Hall | 46 | 147 | 18 | 33 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 55 | 1 | 0.224 |
| Jordan Schafer | 30 | 106 | 14 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 28 | 7 | 0.245 |
| JB Shuck | 37 | 81 | 9 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0.272 |
| Joe Inglett | 20 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 |
| Robinson Cancel | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Luis Durango | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.167 |
| Pitcher Totals | 162 | 284 | 15 | 42 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 105 | 0 | 0.148 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5598 | 615 | 1442 | 309 | 28 | 95 | 579 | 401 | 1164 | 118 | 0.258 |
x Was not part of the team at end of the season
Note: W=Wins; L=Losses; ERA=Earned run average; G=Games pitched; GS=Games started; SV=Saves; IP=Innings pitched; H=Hits allowed; R=Runs allowed; ER=Earned runs allowed; HR=Home runs allowed; BB=Walks allowed; SO=Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Myers | 7 | 14 | 4.46 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 216.0 | 226 | 116 | 107 | 31 | 57 | 160 |
| Wandy Rodríguez | 11 | 11 | 3.49 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 191.0 | 182 | 81 | 74 | 25 | 69 | 166 |
| Bud Norris | 6 | 11 | 3.77 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 186.0 | 177 | 93 | 78 | 24 | 70 | 176 |
| J. A. Happ | 6 | 15 | 5.35 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 156.1 | 157 | 103 | 93 | 21 | 83 | 134 |
| Jordan Lyles | 2 | 8 | 5.36 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 94.0 | 107 | 61 | 56 | 14 | 26 | 67 |
| Aneury Rodríguez | 1 | 6 | 5.27 | 43 | 8 | 0 | 85.1 | 83 | 57 | 50 | 13 | 32 | 64 |
| Mark Melancon | 8 | 4 | 2.78 | 71 | 0 | 20 | 74.1 | 65 | 28 | 23 | 5 | 26 | 66 |
| Wilton López | 2 | 6 | 2.79 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 71.0 | 72 | 26 | 22 | 6 | 18 | 56 |
| Henry Sosa | 3 | 5 | 5.23 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 53.1 | 54 | 31 | 31 | 7 | 23 | 38 |
| Enerio Del Rosario | 0 | 3 | 4.58 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 53.0 | 59 | 30 | 27 | 3 | 31 | 31 |
| Fernando Rodriguez | 2 | 3 | 3.96 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 52.1 | 51 | 24 | 23 | 6 | 30 | 57 |
| Jeff Fulchino | 1 | 4 | 5.18 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 33.0 | 34 | 19 | 19 | 5 | 18 | 31 |
| Nelson Figueroa | 0 | 3 | 8.69 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 29.0 | 45 | 33 | 28 | 3 | 16 | 17 |
| David Carpenter | 1 | 3 | 2.93 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 27.2 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 29 |
| Sergio Escalona | 2 | 1 | 2.93 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 24 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 25 |
| Fernando Abad | 1 | 4 | 7.32 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 | 28 | 18 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 15 |
| José Valdez | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 15 |
| Brandon Lyon | 3 | 3 | 11.48 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 13.1 | 27 | 17 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Lucas Harrell | 0 | 2 | 3.46 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 13.0 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Wesley Wright | 0 | 0 | 1.50 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 111 |
| Juan Abreu | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| Lance Pendleton | 0 | 0 | 17.36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Xavier Cedeño | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 56 | 106 | 4.51 | 162 | 162 | 25 | 1435.0 | 1477 | 796 | 719 | 188 | 560 | 1191 |
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Oklahoma City RedHawks | Pacific Coast League | Tony DeFrancesco |
| AA | Corpus Christi Hooks | Texas League | Tom Lawless |
| A | Lancaster JetHawks | California League | Tom Spencer |
| A | Lexington Legends | South Atlantic League | Rodney Linares |
| A-Short Season | Tri-City ValleyCats | New York–Penn League | Stubby Clapp |
| Rookie | Greeneville Astros | Appalachian League | Omar López |
| Rookie | GCL Astros | Gulf Coast League | Ed Romero |