Hey Astros fans! Hope you’ve had a great Thanksgiving week. This is KPRC 2 Sports Director Randy McIlvoy checking in with this week’s Astros Newsletter. We will be touching base fairly regularly during offseason as news warrants and to keep you updated on all things about your 2022 World Series Champs!

No U.S.-born Black players are projected to be on World Series rosters when the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros meet this week.

Cristian Javier threw six shutout innings and Jake Meyers had two hits in the Houston Astros’ 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.

Yordan Alvarez homered in his first three at-bats, Justin Verlander threw five hitless innings in his return from the injured list and the Houston Astros clinched a postseason berth with a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Yordan Alvarez homered in his first three at-bats, Justin Verlander threw five hitless innings in his return from the injured list and the Houston Astros clinched a postseason berth with a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Drew Rasmussen and three relievers combined for a three-hitter, Brandon Lowe and Ji-Man Choi both homered and the Tampa Bay Rays coasted past the Houston Astros 7-0, giving them the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs.

Manny Machado, Wil Myers and Fernando Tatis Jr. each hit an impressive two-run home run and Joe Musgrove had a solid outing against one of his former teams as the San Diego Padres beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 10-2.

Framber Valdez and the Houston bullpen took a no-hit try into the eighth inning and Astros beat Texas 4-1, sending the Rangers to their season-worst 11th straight loss.

José Altuve hit a grand slam to briefly quiet incessant booing by Cleveland fans, Yordan Alvarez and Michael Brantley also homered, and the Houston Astros snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Indians.

Cedric Mullins homered with four hits and Austin Hays and Maikel Franco had three RBIs each as the Baltimore Orioles broke open the game late to cruise to a 13-3 win over the Houston Astros.

Zack Greinke took a four-hitter into the eighth inning, Myles Straw homered and drove in two runs, and the Houston Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 for their ninth straight victory.

Jake Odorizzi and the Houston bullpen took a bid for a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning, eventually settling for a 10-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles that marked the Astros’ eighth straight win.

Major League Baseball wants to see if moving back the pitcher’s mound will increase offense.

HOUSTON – Astros pitcher Josh James underwent hip surgery and will need six to eight months to recover. Houston general manager James Click said Saturday that James had a labral tear of his left hip repaired Friday. James initially injured his hip Aug. 20 in a game at Colorado and went on the injured list. When the right-hander returned, he had a 1.35 ERA over 6 2-3 innings in his final six appearances of the regular season. For the regular season, James was 1-0 with a 7.27 ERA in 13 appearances (two starts) with 21 strikeouts.

The Astros defeated the Rays 4-3 and the Rays lead the series 3-2 games. The Astros forced Game 6 on Friday, a rematch of the first game started by left-handers Blake Snell of Tampa Bay and Valdéz. Otherwise, big league clubs leading 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason series are 37-1. Correa also hit a walkoff homer in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS off Aroldis Chapman of the New York Yankees. Houston became the first team with a leadoff and walk-off home run in a postseason game.

Oakland Athletics' Chad Pinder, right, celebrates with manager Bob Melvin after the Athletics defeated the Houston Astros in Game 3 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. And just in case Laureano's words did not get the message across, he ripped a double as the A's got a pair of sacrifice flies in the eighth to rally past the Houston Astros 9-7 on Wednesday and avoid elimination in their AL Division Series. “It was awesome.”Houston leads the best-of-five series 2-1 and can advance to its fourth straight AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday. Pinder hit a first-pitch slider to the opposite field for Oakland's fifth homer, a drive chased by right fielder Kyle Tucker until he ran out of room at the short wall. Houston took a 7-4 lead with five runs in the fifth, when the Astros sent 10 batters to the plate.

(AP) – Houston clinched the final spot in the expanded American League playoffs when the Los Angeles Angels lost about two hours after the Astros fell 5-4 to the Texas Rangers in 10 innings Friday night. Houston, which already had its three-year reign atop the division ended by Oakland, currently is the only AL playoff team without a winning record. The Angels' 9-5 loss to the Dodgers made Houston's Dusty Baker the first manager to lead five different franchises to the playoffs. UP NEXTThe Astros were waiting for the LA outcome to decide who would start the third game in the four-game series to finish the regular season. RHP Kyle Gibson (2-6, 5.87 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rangers.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)ARLINGTON, Texas – Houston clinched the final spot in the expanded American League playoffs when the Los Angeles Angels lost about two hours after the Astros fell 5-4 to the Texas Rangers in 10 innings Friday night. Houston, which already had its three-year reign atop the division ended by Oakland, currently is the only AL playoff team without a winning record. The Angels' 9-5 loss to the Dodgers made Houston's Dusty Baker the first manager to lead five different franchises to the playoffs. UP NEXTThe Astros were waiting for the LA outcome to decide who would start the third game in the four-game series to finish the regular season. RHP Kyle Gibson (2-6, 5.87 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rangers.

HOUSTON (AP) – Framber Valdez tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts in 6 1/3 solid innings, Kyle Tucker homered and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 2-1 on Thursday night. Tucker gave the Astros a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer to right in the second. Josh James relieved Valdez and struck out Tejeda before Eli White cut the lead in half with an RBI single to left. Valdez rebounded nicely after being tagged for 13 runs in the last 12 innings over his last two starts. Astros: RHP Zack Greinke (3-2, 3.77) is slated to start on Friday as the Astros open a three-game series against the Diamondbacks.

(AP) – Kyle Gibson threw a four-hitter and Joey Gallo hit a ground-rule RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Texas Rangers over the Houston Astros 1-0 on Wednesday night. Gibson (2-5) walked three and struck out a season-high nine to earn his first win since Aug. 15. Gibson struck out Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley in the ninth before a double by Alex Bregman. Gibson walked Martín Maldonado with two outs in the eighth before fanning George Springer. Trainer’s roomAstros: Houston ace Justin Verlander threw to hitters for the first time since he was injured in the team’s opener on July 24.

Bregman scored on Yuri Gurriel's sacrifice fly to center off Adam Kolarek for a 7-5 lead. The Astros improved to 7-17 on the road after coming in with losses in eight of their previous nine games. But there were multiple reminders that Dodger fans haven’t forgotten the Astros’ cheating scandal from their championship three years ago. Fans aren't allowed inside this season because of the coronavirus, but a group of Dodger supporters greeted the Astros' bus as it pulled in. Dodgers: RHP Dustin May, who took a line drive off his left foot in Arizona, had a CT scan that revealed a contusion but no fracture.

Bielak (3-0) allowed one hit and one run in six innings for the win in his third MLB start. The Rockies have dropped four of their last five games and six of the last eight. The Rockies didnt get another hit until Charlie Blackmon singled on a ball which hit Taylor on the thigh to start the ninth inning. It is the first time the Rockies have lost a game Freeland started this season after they won the first four games he started. Greinke got his first win of the season in his last start when he allowed one run in a season-high 6 1/3 innings against San Francisco.

McCullers (2-1) bounced back from one of the worst performances of his career with a gem where he allowed one hit and struck out five in seven scoreless innings. Ryan Pressly retired the next two batters before the Giants cut it to 6-3 on a run-scoring single by Brandon Crawford. Slater hit an RBI single before Pressly retired pinch-hitter Evan Longoria to get his first save. McCullers, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, retired his first six batters before plunking Slater on the leg to start the third inning. Martn Maldonado snapped a 0-for-13 slump when he connected off Conner Menez for a solo homer to the seats in right field to start Houstons sixth and make it 6-0.

(AP) – Alex Bregman hit an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Houston Astros rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. Bregman also homered, and Josh Reddick delivered the tying RBI single in the ninth as the Astros took two of three at Angel Stadium. Both teams scored in the 10th, with Kyle Tucker advancing on two fly balls in the Astros' hitless half. The Angels loaded the bases in the bottom half with two walks, but Taylor finished strong. UP NEXTAstros: Manager Dusty Baker hasn't said who will start Tuesday night when the Astros open a three-game series at Arizona.

HOUSTON The Houston Astros have had top pitching staffs in the teams 3-year playoff run, with plenty of depth in the minor league system. Some depth may be there in 2020, but at the major league level, the Astros are the thinnest they have been in years. That leaves Josh James in a role he hasnt embraced full-time since 2018 when he had 21 successful minor league starts. Valdez has made 13 major league starts to limited success. Sneed has been relatively reliable but has never stood out at either the major league or the upper minor league level.