video thumbnail

Miley earns ninth win with sterling outing

When the Astros went back to a five-man rotation to start the second half of the season, rookie left-hander Dallas Keuchel was the odd man out despite a solid start to his Major League career.

But after the Astros traded J.A. Happ, Saturday's original starter, along with Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter to the Blue Jays for seven players, they tapped Keuchel to start Saturday's game against the D-backs at Chase Field.

The 24-year-old was called up to the Majors for the first time on June 17. He made four starts and compiled a 2.45 ERA. His first victory came in a complete game on June 23, and he gave up one run in each of his first three starts.

His lone shaky outing was his last, when he gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings in Pittsburgh on July 4.

"I just wanted to have a good first impression on everybody," Keuchel said. "I didn't go to big league camp, so I wanted to come out and prove what I could do, and I thought I did a good job of that and put myself in a good position to come back."

"When we had to send him down, it was because we needed a roster spot, and we told him that," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "We told him that when the opportunity presents itself, that even though we can't make any promises, he's earned the opportunity to get a few more starts in. We are very happy we are able to get him some more starts."

The D-backs counter with their own rookie left-hander, Wade Miley. The All-Star, sitting on a 10-5 record, needs one more win to set the D-backs' rookie record.

He's struggled a bit recently, going 1-2 with a 8.44 ERA in his last three starts. His most recent outing was the best of the stretch, though. He pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs, none after the second inning. Manager Kirk Gibson and Miley had a talk after the second inning that seemed to help the 25-year-old find a groove.

"[Gibson] came over to the dugout and just said, 'Let's challenge these guys and go right after them. Pick it up a little bit, pick up the pace,'" Miley said. "I was working slow and frustrated. I wasn't locating the fastball, but after we had a little talk, I kind of settled in a little bit."

Astros: New players chip in right away
Houston picked up seven players -- two Major Leaguers, four prospects and a player to be named -- in Friday's trade with the Blue Jays.

Reliever Francisco Cordero and outfielder Ben Francisco joined the club in Phoenix on Friday. Francisco pinch hit in the top of the eighth inning and singled. Cordero pitched a hitless bottom of the eighth.

General manager Jeff Luhnow said the four prospects -- right-handers Asher Wojciechowski and Joe Musgrove, left-hander David Rollins and catcher Carlos Perez -- definitely figure into the team's long-term plans.

"We're very excited about the prospects that we're getting back, and felt like this was a deal we needed to do to further our mission in Houston, which is to develop the best young talent in baseball," Luhnow said. "We need arms. It's one of the things we were desperately trying to address, and by getting Wojciechowski, getting Musgrove and getting Rollins, we feel like we've really added to our depth."

Happ was 18-28 with a 4.84 ERA in his two years with the Astros. Out of the bullpen this season, Lyon was 0-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 36 innings and Carpenter was 0-2 with a 6.07 ERA in 29 2/3 innings.

• Chris Johnson was taken out of Friday's game as a precautionary measure after fouling a ball off his leg in the sixth inning. He'll be reevaluated on Saturday.

D-backs: Blum released, Wheeler called up
Veteran Geoff Blum was released on Friday, making room for Minor League RBI leader Ryan Wheeler, who was recalled from Triple-A Reno.

The 24-year-old third baseman made his Major League debut on Friday, batting eighth with family in attendance. He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.

A fifth-round pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, Wheeler went to Loyola Maramount University. He was named the organization's co-Player of the Month for June after hitting .442 (50-for-113).

"He's had a great year down in Triple-A," manager Kirk Gibson said. "He's matured quite a bit since the last time we saw him in the spring. In all aspects of his game, he's worked hard. He's evolving as a player and into someone we've decided to give an opportunity to help us get to where we are going."

Blum, 39, hit .143 in 17 games for the D-backs.

Worth noting
• Brian Bixler is the only Astros player to have faced Miley before. He is 1-for-3 against the rookie lefty.

MLB.com Comments