Catcher Jason Castro scored the game-winner when he slid past the tag attempt of Pirates catcher Russell Martin on a fielder's choice by Matt Dominguez to give the Astros a hard-fought 4-2 win at PNC Park.
The Astros will hold the first of four regional workouts of high school and college players on Sunday in anticipation of next month's First-Year Player Draft. Sunday's workout will be held in the Los Angeles area, with about 20 prospects invited to attend.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates, marking his first action since Monday's game in Detroit.
Had the Astros had their full complement of players on Friday, Jimmy Paredes wouldn't have even been in the game in the ninth inning. Paredes committed an error when he collided with second baseman Jake Elmore and caused him to drop the ball, allowing the Pirates to score the winning run.
Astros bench coach Eduardo Perez and first-base coach Dave Clark both had conversations with outfielder Jimmy Paredes on Saturday, a day after he crashed into teammate Jake Elmore and forced him to drop a ball that allowed the Pirates to score the winning run in the ninth inning.
In the rubber match at PNC Park on Sunday, it will be the Astros' Lucas Harrell taking the mound to face Pittsburgh's Jeff Locke.
The Astros celebrated the opening of three youth baseball fields on Saturday in southeast Houston, part of the team's charity mission to promote the sport in disadvantaged areas of the city.
Astros right fielder Jimmy Paredes crashed into second baseman Jake Elmore just as the ball was about to hit his glove, knocking him and the ball to the ground and allowing the winning run to score from third base and give the Pirates a stunning 5-4 win at PNC Park on Friday.
There have been no shortage of good things said about Reid Ryan, introduced Friday as the Astros president of business operations, from those who know him well.
Nolan Ryan spoke as a proud parent. He spoke as a baseball man, too. He thought Astros owner Jim Crane got it right in naming his oldest son, Reid Ryan, 41, the team's president of business operations on Friday.
Reid Ryan represents a connection to the Astros' past while offering an enthusiastic vision for its future. He's Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan's oldest son, and that means plenty around these parts.
Righty Bud Norris, who left his most recent start, Monday in Detroit, with lower back spasms, could have taken his normal turn in the rotation on Sunday, but Astros manager Bo Porter decided to give him two extra days and push him back until Tuesday at home against the Royals.
Outfielder Robbie Grossman, who was acquired by the Astros in last year's trade that sent Wandy Rodriguez to the Pirates, was drafted in the sixth round by the Pirates in 2008 out of Cy-Fair High School in Houston and spent four years in the Pirates organization, reaching Double-A Altoona last year.
All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve will be in Saturday's lineup against the Pirates after missing three games on the bereavement list following the death of his grandmother in Venezuela.
Astros owner Jim Crane has a long-term vision to someday take over ownership of the majority of the Astros' Minor League affiliates. While there are no guarantees he will attain that lofty goal, he can check one off the list: Double-A Corpus Christi.
The news conference to introduce Reid Ryan as president of business operations of the Houston Astros on Friday was technically labeled as "introductory," but in essence, the 41-year-old offspring of a Texas baseball legend already knew half of the people in the room.
Reid Ryan's hiring as team president is a stroke of genius by Astros owner Jim Crane. It makes sense on so many levels that it's difficult to know where to start.
There is no clear-cut No. 1 choice in the First-Year Player Draft for the second year in a row, which means the Astros are putting in extra man hours and doing even more homework to make sure they make the right selection when they make the top pick next month.
Reid Ryan, the son of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and president and CEO of Ryan-Sanders Baseball, will be named the next president of the Astros, a source confirmed to MLB.com on Thursday.
Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray, Stanford right-hander Mark Appel and San Diego third baseman Kris Bryant figure to be the first three picks in the June 6-8 First-Year Player Draft.
It's only been two days since manager Bo Porter named J.D. Martinez as one of his three everyday outfielders. Already, the Astros are beginning to see the benefits of the move.
Two days after tweaking his back throwing warmup pitches prior to the sixth inning of his start in Monday's 7-2 loss to Detroit, Astros starter Bud Norris' status is still in question for Sunday's series finale against the Pirates.
Defensively, the Astros are constantly shifting their positioning in the field with each batter. To this point, it's led them to the Major League lead in double plays turned (53). It's also, at times, cost them. Lucas Harrell felt Tuesday night's 6-2 loss to Detroit was one of those times.
The finale belonged to the backups. Carlos Corporan's go-ahead double put the Astros in the lead for good, and after a drama-filled bottom of the ninth, Brandon Barnes capped off Houston's first win in Detroit since 2000 with a game-saving catch in right-center.
Lucas Harrell started off strong before running into trouble in the fifth, and the Astros' bats were held in check in a 6-2 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday at Comerica Park.
Jose Altuve had already been questionable for Tuesday's game against the Tigers with a partially dislocated right jaw suffered Monday.
Astros starter Bud Norris remained sore on Tuesday after tweaking his back throwing warmup pitches prior to the sixth inning and exiting Monday night's game against the Tigers.
Paul Clemens had spent the majority of his Minor League career preparing to be a starting pitcher in the big leagues. However, it's in the bullpen that the right-hander is beginning to make a name for himself.
Manager Bo Porter said Erik Bedard, who returned to the rotation after a brief stint in the bullpen with five innings of two-run ball against Texas on Saturday, will have his next start pushed back a day.
Jose Altuve and Bud Norris left Monday's 7-2 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park with injuries -- Altuve a partially dislocated right jaw, Norris with back spasms.
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