The 2015 Houston Astros season was the 54th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 51st as the Astros, third in both the American League (AL) and AL West division, and 16th season at Minute Maid Park. They entered the season having finished in fourth place in the AL West with a 70–92 record, breaking a string of three consecutive seasons with at least 106 losses.
The 2015 season was the first for A. J. Hinch as manager, the 23rd in Astros' franchise history, succeeding Tom Lawless.
In the first round of the June MLB draft, the Astros selected third baseman Alex Bregman at number 2 overall and outfielder Kyle Tucker at number 5. The same day, the Astros promoted 2012 number one overall selection Carlos Correa the major leagues, and he achieved a number of rare feats related to brevity of career span that led to selection as June AL Rookie of the Month.
The Houston Astros concluded the 2014 season with a 70–92 win–loss record (.432winning percentage) and fourth-place finish in the AL West, a 19-game improvement from the season before, ending three consecutive seasons each with at least 106 losses and a last-place finish. They missed the postseason for the ninth consecutive season since the 2005 World Series, while their most recent winning season had been in 2008 (86–75).
On September 29, 2014, the Astros announced the hiring of A. J. Hinch as the 23rd manager in franchise history, succeeding interim manager Tom Lawless, who had replaced Bo Porter, fired on September 1, 2014.[2]
On January 6, 2015, results for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum voting revealed that Craig Biggio had been inducted on his third ballot, becoming the first Houston Astro to be so honored. He spent his entire professional career as an Astro, from being drafted to retirement, including 20 major league seasons, and held a number of team records and exclusive major league achievements, such as reaching the 3,000-hit club (3,060 total). He is the only player in MLB history to reach 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 250 home runs, and 400 stolen bases.[3]
Starting pitcher Asher Wojciechowski (0–1) made his major league debut on April 9, ceding four runs on eight hits in four-plus innings as the Astros fell to Cleveland, 5–1. He was nearly on the losing end of a combined no-hitter to Trevor Bauer (1–0). who struck out a career-high 11. However, Jed Lowrie's home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth broke up the bid. The Astros lineup walked a total of seven times but also were struck out 16.[21]
For the month of April, Keuchel was recognized as the AL's Pitcher of the Month, having produced a 3–0 win–loss record (W–L) and an 0.73 earned run average (ERA) over five games started.[23] This was the first of three such awards in 2015 for the left-hander, the season in which his most dominant form as a major leaguer was on display.
May
During their first 25 games of the season, the Astros set a franchise-record 18–7 W–L. Contributing significantly was Altuve, hitting .467 (14-for-30), seven runs, eight RBI, five doubles, and one home run, while sharing AL Player of the Week honors with Josh Reddick of the Oakland Athletics on May 3. Altuve also enjoyed an 11-game hitting streak that spanned April 21—May 2.[24]
On May 6, Will Harris surrendered a seventh inning home run to Carlos Peguero—one of two by Peguero—as the Rangers won, 11–3. The home run snapped Harris' scoreless innings streak at 28+2⁄3 over 26 games, the longest-active in the majors.[25]Adrián Beltré fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle while starter Colby Lewis (2–2) tossed 8 innings with one run allowed as the Rangers swept the three-game set following the Astros' 10 straight winning series. Samuel Deduno (0–1), making his second start for Houston after five appearances in relief, took the loss after yielding career-highs of 11 hits and 10 runs in 4+2⁄3 innings.[26]
After Springer suffered a concussion, the Astros selected outfielder Preston Tucker from Fresno to the major league roster on May 6, and he made his major league debut the following day,[27] versus the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Trailing 2–0 going into the ninth inning, Angels closer Huston Street (2–1) allowed consecutive run-scoring singles to Jake Marisnick and Tucker. It was also Tucker's first major league hit, which he augmented by drawing a walk. Altuve beat a potential inning-ending double play to score Jonathan Villar for the decisive run as the Astros came back to win, 3–2.[28]
Lance McCullers Jr. made his major league debut in 2015.
Lance McCullers Jr. made his major league debut on May 18 as the starting pitcher versus the Oakland Athletics, surrendering one run, three hits, three walks, and struck out five over 4+2⁄3 innings. In the sixth, Brett Lawrie hit a tie-breaking RBI single and the Oakland bullpen tossed 4+2⁄3 scoreless frames to hold on to a 2–1 win. They improved to 2–13 in one-run games to snap a four-game losing streak while ending the Astros' five-game winning streak.[29]
For the month of May, Keuchel repeated as AL Pitcher of the Month, becoming the first pitcher since Johan Santana won two monthly awards in 2004. Keuchel went 4–1 W–L in six May starts, produced a 2.62 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 44+2⁄3 innings while surrendering a .223 batting average against, and closed the month with successive complete games, including a four-hit, 11-strikeout shutout of the White Sox at Minute Maid Park. He tied for first in complete games for the month, tied for fourth in wins, and ranked eighth in strikeouts and ninth in ERA.[30]
June
On June 3, the Astros overcame the Baltimore Orioles, 3–1, led by McCullers' first career complete game in his fourth start to go along with a first-time 11 strikeouts. Chris Carter led the Astros offense with home runs in the second and fifth innings for his 11th career multi-home run game and extend a season-high 11-game hitting streak. George Springer hit another home run in the sixth as the Astros improved to 21–0 in multi-home run games. This win set another record start in franchise history at 34–20.[31]
Chris Colabello extended his career-best 17-game hitting streak on June 7 with two hits, one of which was a walk-off two-run single off Gregerson (0–1), as the Astros fell to the Torontop Blue Jays, 7–6, sweeping the three-game set. José Bautista hit two home runs for Toronto. In the eighth inning, Pat Neshek issued a two-out base on balls to Justin Smoak which ended 24 consecutive appearances without a walk, the second-longest streak to open a season in major league history.[Note 1] The Astros lost for the first time in 30 games when leading after 8 innings.[32]
Carlos Correa, the 2012 draft number 1 selection, made his debut in 2015.
On June 9, Correa singled in the sixth against Chicago and stole his first base before hitting his first MLB home run off Zach Duke in the ninth inning.[38]
On June 10, Velasquez made his major league debut, stifling Chicago over five shutout innings, and Springer attained his first career five-hit game. Velasquez became just the third Astro to feature five or more scoreless innings his major league debut,[Note 2] while Springer's five hits was the first for an Astro since Brandon Barnes on July 19, 2013.[Note 3] In spite of these achievements, the White Sox homered in each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings for a 4–1 decision over Houston and three-game sweep, running the Astros' losing streak to a season-high seven.[39]
Powered by home runs from the quartet of Tucker, Correa, Jake Marisnick, and Carter, the Astros ended June 17 victorious at Coors Field, 8–4. Correa's three hits tallied 14 since his call-up to set a franchise record over the first nine games of a career.[40] With three stolen bases versus the Colorado Rockies in his tenth MLB game on June 18, Correa became the second-youngest player to do so over the preceding century, trailing only Rickey Henderson by 21 days.[41]
Correa hit his fourth home run in just 15 games, and Luis Valbuena went deep twice to power a 13–3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on June 23. Also collecting his 20th hit, Correa surpassed a franchise mark of 19 shared by Doug Rader (1967) and Josh Anderson (2007) for hits in their first 15 games. Collin McHugh (8–3) worked a season-high eight innings, yielding two runs on nine hits.[42]
Dallas Keuchel pitched a six-hit shutout and struck out a career-best 12 on June 25 to lead the Astros over the New York Yankees, 4–0. Jose Altuve collected three hits and scored three runs, and Evan Gattis hit an RBI single in the sixth and an RBI double in the eighth.[43]
On June 28, Correa doubled twice and scored the tie-breaking run on a triple by Evan Gattis in the seventh inning to help lead the Astros over the Yankees, 3–1. Collin McHugh (9–3) was touched for a season-low two hits and struck out eight over eight innings before Luke Gregerson tossed a perfect ninth inning to convert his 18th save. Having hit nine doubles and five homers over his first 20 major league games, Correa's doubles total in that timeframe set an Astros record and he also joined Springer, Bagwell, and Rusty Staub as the only players in franchise history to reach safely in 18 or more of their first 20 games.[44] The 14 extra base hits in the same span also tied Correa with three others behind Chris Dickerson for most in MLB since 1993.[45]
After batting .287 with four stolen bases, five home runs, nine doubles and 15 RBI in 21 games in June, Correa was named AL Rookie of the Month. He led AL rookies in doubles, RBI, and slugging percentage (.852). Correa became the sixth Astro to receive the monthly award, joining teammates McHugh, winner for the previous September, and Springer, who won in May 2014.[46]
July
Jose Altuve became the third Astro to be voted as starting second baseman in the All-Star Game.
Longtime Houston Astro Craig Biggio, who was a Hall of Fame electee for the class of 2015, delivered a thoughtful and commanding induction speech on July 29, 2015, that can be seen here. Randy Johnson, who spent the latter part of the 1998 season in Houston, pitched some of the best baseball of his career including a 1.28 ERA and four shutouts, made his Hall of fame speech.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth on July 23, Altuve's walk-off home run gave the Astros a 5–4 victory over the Boston Red Sox, the final of his four hits. Colby Rasmus and Marwin González also connected for Houston. Josh Fields (3–1) worked the ninth to pick up the win.[49]
Kazmir won his Astros debut on July 24, hurling seven scoreless innings versus Kansas City while allowing three hits and a walk to lead a 4–0 win [50]
Correa's first-inning blast on July 28 ignited a 10–5 win over the Angels. His ninth home run, Correa became the first shortstop since 1914 to hit as many over his first 42 games while overtaking Marcus Semien for the AL lead at shortstop. It was also Correa's seventh 3-hit game to lead AL rookies.[51]
On July 30, Kazmir, a Houston native, made his first home start, allowing three hits and striking out five over 7+2⁄3 scoreless innings. Angels starter Matt Shoemaker was as brilliant, allowing seven hits over seven shutout innings. Valbuena made his first professional start at first base as Jed Lowrie returned from the disabled list and played third. Both teams remained scoreless through eight innings. Jason Castro hit a walk-off, three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to secure a 3–0 win and three-game sweep of the Angels.[52]
The continuation of an outstanding month of July after being acquired, Kazmir produced a 0.26 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 34 innings over five starts split with Oakland and Houston on the way to being named AL Pitcher of the Month for the second time in his career. Kazmir also joined Keuchel for the third time on the season for Astros pitching. The third-lowest July ERA in MLB history, Kazmir surrendered no home runs, and batters managed just a .134 average against.[53]
August
Behind a pair of two-home run games from Hank Conger and Carlos Correa on August 1—the first career multi-home run game for both—the Astros defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9–2. Conger's home run in fourth inning off Jeremy Hellickson (7–7) was also his first career grand slam, and first of the season for the Astros, the major league leader with 147 home runs. Dallas Keuchel yielded two runs on two hits over six innings and tallied 8 strikeouts to move to 13–5. It was Keuchel's 33rd consecutive games going at least 6 innings, which set a franchise record.[54]
Adrián Beltré made history against the Astros on August 3, and McCullers endured the shortest outing of his career as the Rangers won out in a slugfest, 12–9. Beltré hit for the cycle for the third time his career, first to do so since Babe Herman in 1933. McCullers (5-4), the youngest starting pitcher in the majors at 21, induced just one out while surrendering six runs on seven hits. Castro hit a grand slam for Houston, the second in three days for the club, as well as his third homer in 14 at-bats. Correa hit a two-run home run in the first to put the Astros ahead, and Luis Valbuena also hit a solo home run in the second inning, his 20th of the season, and first over 83 at-bats since June 23.[55]
During his first 50 games, Correa hit 13 home runs, the most by a shortstop in major league history,[Note 4] and were the fifth-most among active players.[Note 5] Correa also produced six games with at least three hits and a home run, just the second player with at least as many over the prior 100 years.[Note 6][56]
On August 18, Marwin González belted his first career walk-off home run to punctuate a 3–2 win while making his first start of the year in left field. He went 3-for-4, adding a double and two RBI versus the Tampa Bay Rays before his leadoff blast in the bottom of the 10th inning off All-Star closer Brad Boxberger.[57]
Mike Fiers, making his third start for the Astros, pitched a no-hitter versus the Los Angeles Dodgers to lead a 3–0 win on August 21. The first complete game of his career, Fiers (6–9) threw 134 pitches, and struck out Justin Turner for the game's final at bat. It was the first-ever no-hitter accomplished at Minute Maid Park, the first complete-game no-hitter for the Astros since Darryl Kile on September 8, 1993 versus the Mets, and first overall for Houston since a combined six-pitcher effort on June 11, 2003, against the Yankees.[58] On August 23, Castro hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to complete a three-game sweep of the NL West division-leading Dodgers. In the ninth, Correa hit a leadoff single off Kenley Jansen, vying for an 18th consecutive converted save. Marwin González hit an RBI single that scored the tying run. It was the Astros' fourth last at-bat win over their prior eight game.[59]
Following his no-hit performance, Fiers was named AL Player of the Week. In fact, per the Elias Sports Bureau (ESB), Fiers' sterling outing made him the first since the Texas Rangers' Jim Bibby in 1973 to have changed teams mid-season and author a no-hitter.[60]
On August 25, the Astros won a tense contest at Yankee Stadium, 15–1, led by Keuchel's seven shutout innings and Gattis' and Gómez' one-home run, four-RBI performances apiece. However, after flying out the in sixth inning, Gómez yelled toward the Yankees dugout. Keuchel, meanwhile, became the AL's first 15-game winner.[61]
Keuchel, who was announced as AL Pitcher of the Month for August, became the first Astro to win more than two in a single season. He won four of six starts while turning in a 1.94 ERA, fifth best in the AL. Meanwhile, rotation mates Collin McHugh (1.89) and Scott Feldman (1.33) both produced superior ERAs, highlighting a superlative month for Houston pitching.[62]
September—October
Hank Conger hit his second grand slam of the season on September 4, while Collin McHugh delivered 7+2⁄3 innings with seven hits allowed and six strikeouts as the Astros defeated the Minnesota Twins, 8–0. Conger's slam was his tenth home run of the season, giving the Astros with ten players with at least as many. This broke the franchise record of 9 set in 2000, and was one short of the major league record set by the 2004 Detroit Tigers.[63]
On September 11, Altuve doubled off Jered Weaver at Angel Stadium to procure his 800th career hit. Playing in his 647th career game, Altuve overtook César Cedeño for fastest in club history to the milestone, who did so in 707 games.[64] Down to his final strike in the ninth and 3–0 deficit to the Angels on September 13, Preston Tucker hit a solo home run. Springer tripled just beyond a diving right fielder Kole Calhoun and scored on Altuve's bloop single. Correa then reached as his ground ball stuck inside of Taylor Featherston's glove, setting up pinch hitter Jed Lowrie for a three-run home that also eluded Calhoun's reach and landed into the right-field seats. Lowrie's home run capped the Astros' five-run 9th inning rally off AL saves leader Huston Street (3–3) for a 5–3 victory, evading a four-game losing streak while also battling the Angels for a wild-card berth.[65]
The Astros, having led the AL West since July 28, lost to the Rangers in a walk-off on September 15, who overtook the Astros for sole possession of first place for the first time all season. The Astros lost in the eighth inning or later to Texas for the second consecutive night, and dropped their fifth straight overall to the Rangers, resulting in a road record of 29–44.[66]
Keuchel tossed seven strong innings on September 27 to lead a 4–2 over Texas and improved to 19–8, including to 15–0 at home. He struck out 10, allowed two hits and one run. One strikeout set the club record for strikeouts for a left-hander when he fanned Mike Napoli in the first inning and ended the game with 213. Mike Cuellar had 203 for Houston in 1967. Chris Carter homered off Ross Ohlendorf to up the score 3–1. Pinch runner Carlos Gómez stole second base and scored on a passed ball in the eighth to up Houston's advantage to 4–2.[67]
With a 15–0 W–L record and 1.46 ERA at Minute Maid Park, Keuchel established the major league record for most wins at home while remaining undefeated there in one season. Prior to Keuchel, rotation mates Dave Ferriss and Tex Hughson jointly held the record while with the 1946 Red Sox, each going 13–0 at Fenway Park. Keuchel's ERA was also the lowest home ERA by an AL pitcher since Nolan Ryan surrendered just a 1.07 figure for the 1972 Angels.[68]
Sitting three wins away in the final three games to guarantee a postseason berth, the Astros faced the Seattle Mariners on September 30. A day after being passed for the final wild card slot, the Astros regained control with a 7–6 win. Seattle was ahead 6–3 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Carter hit a game-tying three-run home run, his 24th. Colby Rasmus in an RBI blooper single over the drawn-in infield off Danny Farquhar (1–7) in the seventh for the go-ahead run.[69]
On October 1, Evan Gattis delivered his 11th triple of the season. He was the first major leaguer to log at least 10 triples without a stolen base in one season since Yankees infielder Jerry Lumpe in 1962.[70] The Astros' leader in this category in 2015, Gattis, in this third season, had hit 1 over his first two major league seasons.
On a record-setting night at Chase Field on October 2, Correa hit his 22nd home run of the season to surpass Lance Berkman's record of 21 for an Astros rookie, which he hit in 2000.[Note 7][71] The Astros also set a team scoring record, running away to a 21–5 score. Correa total four runs scored, stole a base, and hit his first triple. George Springer, Rasmus, and Luis Valbuena all added home runs for Houston. Duffy's single in the eighth to score Springer and Villar drove home the record-setting run. Keuchel reached 20 wins, becoming the first Astro to reach the plateau since Roy Oswalt (20–12) in 2005.[72] Leading a 6–2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 4, Collin McHugh was the winning pitcher (19–7), just one behind Keuchel, who led the AL. They became the first Astros duo to win at least 19 apiece since Mike Hampton (22–4) and José Lima (21–10) did so in 1999.[73]
Altuve doubled versus the Diamondbacks on the final day of the season to reach the 200-hit milestone, one season after setting the club record for hits (225), and becoming the first player in club history to record multiple 200-hit seasons.[74] The Astros' regular season ended with a 5–3 loss to Arizona; however, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2005 with an 86–76 record, securing a trip to Yankee Stadium to face New York in the AL Wild Card Game.[75]
Keuchel, who had never had pitched on three days' rest prior to the Wild Card Game, stifled the Yankees with three hits allowed over six innings to lead a 3–0 Astros win. This performance followed another 16 scoreless frames against during the regular season. Colby Rasmus (2nd inning) and Carlos Gómez (4th) both hit leadoff homers for Houston. In the seventh inning, Jonathan Villar pinch-ran for Chris Carter, stole second base, and scored on a single by Jose Altuve for the final run of the contest. Tony Sipp, Will Harris, and Luke Gregerson picked up one scoreless inning apiece, with Gregerson registering the save. The Astros advanced to the American League Division Series to meet the Kansas City Royals.[78]
In the top of the first inning, Houston took a 2–0 lead via RBI groundouts from Colby Rasmus and Evan Gattis. In the second inning, Jose Altuve's RBI single added to the Astros lead for a 3–0 score. Kendrys Morales homered off Astros starter Collin McHugh in the bottom half of the second for Kansas City's first run of the game. George Springer (5th inning) and Rasmus (8th) each homered while the offense struck out 14 times. Behind McHugh, the Astros took Game 1 of the ALDS, 5–2. [79]
Stats key: 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; K = Strikeouts. Team rate stats leaders qualified at 243 batted faced.
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