The Astros have decided to call up Hunter Pence and make him their starting centerfielder. He played in 21 games this season in AAA ball and he has hit .325 (.936 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 3 homers and 19 RBIs. Pence will take over for Chris Burke who will return to his utility role. Burke has played in 21 games so far this season for the Astros and he’s 16 for 73 (.219 avg, .658 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

Mark Loretta will earn more at bats from the Astros soon if he continues to hit like he is right now. Loretta has played in 13 games so far this season and he’s 13 for 36 (.361 avg, .827 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 5 RBIs. He has been playing all over the infield and he’s a solid pinch hitter for the Astros. Look for him to get more playing time at second base after Craig Biggio gets his 3,000th hit later in the season.

The Houston Astros have placed Rick White on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique muscle. That’s a shame that White injured himself because he’s pitched really well so far this season. He is 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP so far this season. White has been so nasty that he’s only allowed 5 hits in 11.2 innings so far this season. The Astros have recalled lefty reliever Stephen Randolph to help out in the bullpen. Randolph has good stuff but he’s been really wild so far in his major league career. Randolph has walked an amazing 119 batters in 142 career innings in the majors. If he’s wild like that again for the Astros, he won’t be with the big league team too long.

The Astros need Lance Berkman to get back on track for the offense to really start clicking. He’s batting 3rd in the lineup and he should keep getting good pitches to hit as he’s batting ahead of Carlos Lee who’s been mashing the ball. Berkman has played in all 18 games this season for the Astros and he’s only hitting .213 with a .703 OPS. He’s still producing runs as he’s scored 11, hit 2 homers and drove in 8 runs. He should pick it up with his bat soon and they opposing pitchers better watch out as the Stros’ will start scoring a lot of runs.

The Astros went 5-2 last week as they outscored their opponents 38-27. The bats came alive last week for the Astros and they will need to continue to hit the ball like they currently are because their starting pitching has been a tad shaky so far this season. The Stros’ are currently in 2nd place in the National League Central with a 9-8 record, 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

Brad Lidge has been so bad this season that he’s been demoted from the closer’s job to that of the mop-up man. He has pitched in 5 games so far this season and he’s 0-0 with a 7.36 ERA and a 3.55 WHIP! In 3.2 innings this season Lidge has given up 8 hits, 3 earned runs, walked 5 batters and allowed a homer. Don’t look for Lidge to get his old closer’s job back from Dan Wheeler anytime soon, if at all.

The Houston Astros were 3-1 last week as they outscored their opponents 23-19. The Astros won those games last week as their offense finally started to wake up. Carlos Lee ripped three homers in one game last week! The Astros are now tied for 4th place with the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 4-6 record, 2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.

The Astros have placed Jason Jennings on the 15-day disabled list with elbow tendinitis. This will be a loss to the Astros, but he will likely only miss his next two starts. In two starts so far this season he’s 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He also has whiffed 12 batters in 12 innings so far this season.

Chris Sampson won the #5 job in Spring Training for the Astros and he’s been great so far for them this season. He has pitched in 2 games (1 start) so far this season and he’s thrown 8 innings and he’s only given up 5 hits and 1 walk. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. Obviously he won’t keep this up because his ERA and WHIP will go up, but if he can be effective for the Astros, they will have a really good rotation.

Brad Lidge has lost his job as the closer of the Astros because of how poor he has started this season. He has thrown 1.2 innings so far this season and he’s allowed 5 hits, 3 earned runs and walked 3 batters. He may need a change of scenery to get back to his old self. Brian Moehler only has thrown 1 inning this season, but it was a really bad one. He gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs.Â