Houston Astros baseball team

Pitcher Buddy Lamothe, the Astros’ 40th-round selection who was paralyzed in early May in a diving accident, was honored during the ceremonial first pitch at Minute Maid Park on Monday night, sitting next to his San Jacinto Junior College teammate, Tyler Wright, who made the throw.

Lamothe was on the field and talking with Astros players during batting practice before the game.

“I’ve worked since I was four years old to get to this point and be on a Major League field and have my jersey on,” Lamothe said. “I never would have thought it would be in this way, but I’ve got to take what I’m given. It’s just a great feeling to have it on and talk to people like Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn and all those guys.”

Lamothe is hopeful that he will pitch for the Astros one day. He said that much of his optimism is a result of the Astros selecting him after every other Major League team passed on him following his accident.

“They came in and picked me up and pretty much told me, ‘We all have faith you’re going to come back and play again,’” Lamothe said. “That faith has kept me going.”

Lamothe had a 0.77 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings pitched in 2011. He helped guide Lyndon Institute to the 2009 Division II State Championship, and had a fastball that ranged between 92 mph and 95 mph and a breaking ball in the high 80s.

“Being out here just gives me a lot of hope to get back out here one day and pitch for the Astros,” he said. “That’d be nice.”

Lamothe has been rehabbing in Houston and said that he’s seen a great deal of improvement in recent weeks.

“I’ve talked to other people who have had a similar accident, and everyone goes through a depression stage,” he said. “But after that I just bounced back, and I’ve been working harder than anything else.”

Astros manager Brad Mills said that seeing what happened to the promising baseball player makes him realize how little errors and mistakes during a baseball game really matter in the grand scheme of things.

“Some of those missed plays or not getting the bunt down or whatever … Suddenly, it definitely puts those things in perspective,” Mills said.

A week after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child, catcher Carlos Corporan received another thrill Friday, when he joined the Astros after having his contract purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Corporan, 27, was hitting .250 with four doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs this year for Oklahoma City, where he was limited to 22 games after missing a month with a broken finger on his right hand. He will make his first Major League start and catch Jordan Lyles on Saturday.

“It’s been a really good week for me,” said Corporan, who singled in his only Major League at-bat in 2009 with the Brewers. “My son was born, I get called up to the big leagues — that’s all I can ask for.”

Corporan’s son, Carlos Jr., underwent open-heart surgery shortly after he was born to repair a defect in his left chamber and remains in an Oklahoma City hospital, but Corporan said he’s expected to make a full recovery.

“He made it through, and he’s fine and he’s ready to go,” Corporan said. “My boy is ready to go. I’m really happy.”

Corporan, a native of Puerto Rico, said he was thankful to be able to take advantage of this country’s advanced medicine.

“I’m really grateful for this country and the doctors and the facilities,” he said. “Back home, you don’t know what’s going to happen. God bless America. I really appreciate what they’ve done for my son and my family. He’s going to be fine.”

Barely three years after graduating from high school in Hartsville, S.C., right-hander Jordan Lyles — the top prospect in the Astros organization — will fulfill a lifelong dream when he makes his Major League debut on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

The Astros announced Saturday afternoon they will place left-hander Wandy Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list Monday with effusion (fluid) in his left elbow joint and will purchase the contract of Lyles, a right-handed pitcher, from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Rodriguez’s placement on the DL will be retroactive to May 23.

Lyles, 20, the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year last year, will make his Major League debut on Tuesday when he gets the start against the Cubs. He’s 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 10 starts this year for the RedHawks. Lyles is also scheduled to start June 5 in San Diego. He’ll be the fourth-youngest pitcher to start a game for the Astros.

“As a little kid, I always wanted to play in the Majors,” Lyles said. “I never thought I’d pitch in the big leagues at 20 years old, but that will come Tuesday.”

Rodriguez, meanwhile, underwent an MRI on Saturday morning because of discomfort in his elbow, and it showed no structural issues. He was scheduled to start Saturday’s game against Arizona, but was scratched on Friday. Rodriguez is 3-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 10 starts this season, and is 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA in his last seven starts.

Astros general manager Ed Wade said he anticipates Rodriguez will miss only two starts. Rodriguez would be eligible to come off the disabled list on June 7.

“When he threw his side [bullpen session] the other day, the fastball and the changeup, he had no problems,” Wade said. “He said he just didn’t feel comfortable with the breaking ball. Dr. [Tom] Mehlhoff thought, just as a precaution, it made sense to get an MRI done. The MRI showed no structural issues at all. There was a little bit of swelling in the elbow, and the feeling is that he definitely wouldn’t make his start Tuesday, which is the day we’ll need somebody.”

Lyles was scheduled to pitch Monday for Oklahoma City.

“It wasn’t about, ‘Is Jordan ready or not?’” Wade said. “We won’t know if he’s ready or not until he gets up here and gets a chance, and even if he comes up here and struggles in two starts, we’re still not going to know if he’s ready or not. We’re not going to judge him in two starts.”

In Lyles’ last seven starts, he has been one of the top starting pitchers in Triple-A, posting a 3-1 record with a 2.00 ERA. In that span, he has allowed two runs or less in six starts, and one run or less in four starts.

“He’s been pitching well,” Mills said. “His last outing [Wednesday] was six shutout innings, and he only threw 77 pitches. He’s put some pretty good outings together. Everyone’s excited with the way he threw in Spring Training for us, and we’re exited for him. This will be a good time to see him pitch.”

Lyles, the 38th overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, dazzled the Astros in Spring Training, posting a 1.98 ERA in five appearances while competing for the fifth-starter’s job — a spot that eventually went to Nelson Figueroa.

To make room for Lyles on the 40-man roster, catcher Jason Castro will be transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

If they were going to have any kind of chance to stay competitive this year in the National League Central, the Astros needed to have so many things go just right. Nearly one-quarter of the way into the season, not much has.

In addition to injuries to starting catcher Jason Castro, shortstop Clint Barmes and super utility man Jeff Keppinger, Houston’s pitching staff, which was supposed to be its strongest area, ranks last in the Major Leagues in ERA, the defense has been substandard and several key position players have scuffled at the plate.

The Astros are coming off a walk-off win over the Reds on Wednesday afternoon that snapped a four-game losing streak, and they can only hope it will serve as the spark that will turn their season around heading into Friday’s series opener against the Mets at Minute Maid Park.

“There’s really not many people that are counting us in, and we’re pretty low [in the standings], but we still believe, and that’s the thing that really matters,” right fielder Hunter Pence said. “When the going gets tough, you find out what you’re really made of.”

At 14-23 and in last place in the division, the Astros have yet to win more than three games in a row this year, and on Wednesday, they capped an 18-game stretch against divisional opponents in which they went 7-11 with a handful of blown saves.

With the team expected to be sold next week — to Houston businessman Jim Crane — and its best Minor League talent still a couple of years away, Astros general manager Ed Wade has no choice but to ride it out and hope the club can have one of its customary turnarounds.

“We can’t go, ‘Woe is us,’ or, ‘This is tough,’” Wade said. “The reality is you have to grind it out. You throw all the clichs out there about it being a marathon and not a sprint and all that, but you have to go out there and perform. You have to show up and prepare every day.”

Pitching was expected to be the Astros’ area of strength, especially with a starting rotation that posted the third-best ERA in the NL after the All-Star break last year. Brett Myers (1-3, 5.01 ERA) and J.A. Happ (2-4, 5.75) have been inconsistent, though Bud Norris (2-2, 3.16) and Wandy Rodriguez (2-3, 3.98) are off to good starts.

What’s more, the Astros have blown a Major League-high nine saves, including four by closer Brandon Lyon. He landed on the disabled list last week with right biceps tendinitis and a partial tear of his rotator cuff, injuries he’s hoping to repair non-surgically.

The Astros rank eighth in the Majors with a .261 batting average, but they don’t hit for much power. Second baseman Bill Hall has been a disappointment, third baseman Chris Johnson hasn’t been able to duplicate last year’s strong rookie season and left fielder Carlos Lee is again struggling.

But there have been bright spots. Pence is off to a terrific start at the plate and is third in the NL in RBIs with 31, and first baseman Brett Wallace has settled in nicely as a starter and is eighth in the NL in batting average (.328).

“We’re inconsistent, and inconsistency’s not a good thing when you’re into May,” Wade said. “We’ve done this before, and last year we rebounded [by going 59-52 after a 17-34 start]. We have to establish a measure of consistency on a regular basis. We’re giving a lot of young guys opportunities to succeed at this level, and they have to take advantage of that.

“You look at our bullpen, and we’ve got seven young guys with all really good arms and really good stuff, but it needs to show up just about every day for them to be successful. ”

The Astros haven’t yet built enough depth in their Minor League system to make any kind of trades that will bring in talent to help at the Major League level, and the payroll is at a standstill while the team undergoes an ownership transition.

For now, Wade is banking on players like Myers, Barmes, Lee, Hall and Lyon — all of whom have had recent success — to get on track.

“We’ve got the 25 best players in our organization here right now,” Wade said. “This is a great opportunity. We’re in transition into a different mix of guys here, and some will rise to the occasion very quickly, and some will take more time and some will eliminate themselves. We hope fewer will eliminate themselves than will rise to the occasion.”

Brian Bogusevic arrived at Minute Maid Park in time to miss the game’s first pitch and became a hero. Angel Sanchez couldn’t get a bunt down and wound up singling. Bill Hall had grounded into a bases-loaded double play in his previous at-bat and was thirsty for another shot.

The bottom of the ninth inning was dripping with drama, some of it nothing more than the Astros being able to take advantage of a few breaks, while a handful of heroes emerged to make the most of their chances with the game on the line.

And when Hall stroked a single through the left side of the infield with the bases loaded to score Michael Bourn with the winning run, the Astros had completed a dramatic and improbable 6-5 victory over the Cardinals for their first walk-off win of the season.

“It’s huge, obviously, for us to battle back the way we did,” said Hall, who recorded his seventh career walk-off hit. “Our record definitely doesn’t dictate how well we’ve been playing. We’ve been battling for nine innings. Obviously, we’ve let some games slip away, but today, we kept battling and gave ourselves a chance to win the bottom of the ninth.”

Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman, who played 12 years in Houston, went 2-for-5 and received a nice reception by the crowd of 25,526 in his return, but it was the Astros who were left feeling warm and fuzzy.

“Hopefully, this is the start of something big,” Hall said. “We definitely need a good homestand, a big homestand with a lot of victories. This is a good way to start out.”

Most of the attention Tuesday was focused on Berkman, who made his first appearance at Minute Maid Park in an opposing uniform. Berkman looked like he was going to play the role of hero when he doubled home Matt Holliday in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie, but the Astros had another ideas.

The game-winning rally was sparked by Bogusevic, who was called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Oklahoma City and flew to Houston from Round Rock, Texas, arriving to the ballpark at 7 p.m. CT. He pinch-hit in the ninth and delivered a single to right field.

“Talk about getting your feet wet,” he said.

Then came Bourn, who put down a bunt and wound up reaching base when Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs misplayed the roller. Bogusevic scored the tying run from third base when Boggs misfired badly on a wild pitch.

“It’s exciting,” Bogusevic said of the rally. “It was a long afternoon and I kind of took the first couple of innings to relax a little bit. I figured I might get in at the end of the game and just tried to do something. I tried to get a fastball and put a good swing on it and hoped it found a hole.”

Sanchez, whose two-out error in the sixth led to three Cardinals unearned runs, failed to get a bunt down and wound up swinging away on 2-2. He ripped a single to right to move Bourn to second. Hunter Pence followed with a single to load the bases.

“It’s good to see the guys battle in the ninth inning,” Astros manager Brad Mills said.

After Carlos Lee popped out, Hall battled for seven pitches before sending a ground ball into left field to score Bourn easily and spark chaos on the infield. It was the Astros’ first walk-off win since June 3, 2010.

“It was eventful,” Bourn said. “We never stopped fighting.”

It was sweet redemption for Hall, who had grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the seventh after Lee was intentionally walked. The walk-off hit was his first since May 25, 2009, also against the Cardinals, when Hall was with the Brewers.

“Any time somebody gets walked in front of me to give me a chance to hit and I don’t succeed, I’m pretty upset with myself,” Hall said. “I wanted another shot. I was able to get another shot and this game is a game of inches. I pretty much hit the same ground ball and pulled it a little bit more, but if they’re in double-play depth it’s probably another double-play ball. Being that it was infield in, it found a hole.”

Astros starter Bud Norris threw six innings without allowing an earned run for the second time in three starts, holding the Cardinals to seven hits and two walks while striking out six batters. He lowered his career ERA against St. Louis to 1.97.

“His stuff is as good as any in the league,” Berkman said. “I sense some maturity that he didn’t have when he first came up.”

Pence hit his first homer of the season at Minute Maid — and fourth overall — in the fourth inning off Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia, and Brett Wallace and Chris Johnson had consecutive hits with the bases loaded in a three-run sixth that allowed the Astros to take a 4-3 lead.

“I’ve been struggling and everybody knows I’ve been struggling a little bit,” said Johnson, who snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a fifth-inning single. “You try to make adjustments to what guys are doing to me and I’m getting pitched a lot different than last year. I’m trying my best to learn as much as I can and make adjustments. I know I can hit and I have to stick with it.”

The Cardinals got a run in the eighth off Jeff Fulchino to tie the game, and Berkman’s double off Brandon Lyon in the ninth appeared as though it would drive a stake through Astros’ fans hearts. The Astros made sure to spoil Berkman’s homecoming.

“All in all, it still worked out,” Bourn said.

The Astros’ Chris Johnson, Matt Downs, Brett Wallace and Joe Inglett took early batting practice under the sun at Minute Maid Park on Monday afternoon. Hitting coach Mike Barnett said he’ll have groups take early hitting from time to time during the season.

“Wally just wanted a few extra swings and so did C.J.,” Barnett said. “C.J. wanted to work on staying behind the baseball and inside the baseball and just to get a few extra swings. Joe’s playing [in the starting lineup Monday and he wanted to get a few extras to stay sharp, and the same thing with Downs.

The extra work resulted in a mixed bag of production during Monday’s game. All four players had hits, with Downs’ pinch-hit driving in a run in the fifth inning. Wallace and Johnson both went 1-for-3, and Inglett went 1-for-5.

“The guys coming off the bench, you like to get those guys as many swings as you can during the day,” Barnett said before the game. “That’s why Downs jumped in. More than anything — it’s not really working on anything super special — just getting some extra swings.”

The Astros set season highs for hits and runs in the final two games of the weekend series against the Marlins, bashing 16 hits on Sunday and scoring seven times.

“Things are picking up,” Barnett said. “It’s early, and we’ve got to stay the course and keep grinding every day. That’s the big thing. I think we’ve done a lot of good things. We’ve been pretty pleased with situational hitting to this point, but it’s something we’ve still go to get better at. I thought our approach Sunday was real good and our pitch selection was better, and that’s something day in and day out we’ve always got to get better at.”

The Red Sox scored five first-inning runs off Astros starter Nelson Figueroa while Josh Beckett silenced Houston hitters, leading to a 10-0 exhibition victory for Boston in front of 25,755 at Minute Maid Park.

It was the final spring contest before each team’s Opening Day on Friday. The Red Sox will open their season at Texas behind left-hander Jon Lester, while the Astros will begin in Philadelphia with right-hander Brett Myers.

In Wednesday’s exhibition finale, Red Sox offseason additions Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez opened the scoring with back-to-back RBI singles in the first off Figueroa, who struggled with his command.

To that end, Boston’s J.D. Drew worked a bases-loaded walk to score another run before catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia capped the inning with a two-run single to center.

That was more than enough support for Beckett. A Houston native, the Red Sox right-hander cruised against his hometown team, allowing just one hit while striking out three in five innings.

Boston struck again against Figueroa in the fourth, when Jacoby Ellsbury drove in Saltalamacchia with a double and Crawford singled in two more.

Ellsbury and Saltalamacchia paced the Red Sox’s offense with three hits each.

Figueroa, slated fifth in Houston’s starting rotation, lasted just three-plus innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits with four walks. He threw 80 pitches with only 46 for strikes.

Brett Wallace, Chris Johnson, Carlos Lee and Matt Downs each singled for the Astros.

Boston finished its exhibition slate 14-19, while Houston dropped to 11-24.

Up next for Red Sox: Boston opens its regular season with a three-game series at defending American League champion Texas starting at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday, as Lester goes up against left-hander C.J. Wilson. It’s the third consecutive year in which the Red Sox have opened against the defending league champion. Lester will become the 12th left-hander to start for Boston on Opening Day, and the first since David Wells did it in 2005.

Up next for Astros: Houston begins its year with a three-game set against the vaunted Phillies rotation, which features Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and former Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt. In Friday’s opener at 12:05 p.m. CT, the Astros will counter with Myers. The former Phillies pitcher was a pleasant surprise in 2010, going 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA, tops in Houston’s rotation. That earned him a two-year contract extension with a third-year option. Myers is the first Astros pitcher other than Oswalt to start Opening Day since 2002.

Powered by Brett Wallace’s grand slam, the Astros toppled the Orioles, 14-8, on Tuesday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium.

After a fourth-inning single, Wallace picked the perfect time for his first spring homer, taking Orioles reliever — and closer hopeful — Kevin Gregg deep with one out in the fifth. Wallace’s homer was the third of four hits allowed by Gregg, whose spring ERA rose to 13.50. Gregg exited after recording just one out.

Wallace finished the day going 4-for-5 with seven RBIs.

Second baseman Bill Hall hit a two-run shot with two outs in the fourth inning, making it 3-1. Hall’s homer, also his first of the spring, came off Orioles starter Brad Bergesen.

Bergesen went four innings, allowing the three runs on four hits and finished with two walks and a strikeout against an Astros road squad with only three regulars in the starting lineup. In his last three starts, Bergesen has allowed nine earned runs with 16 hits and a five walks over 9 2/3 innings.

“I think just putting it all together, just getting in a rhythm, finding a tempo for myself,” said Bergesen. “Just attacking guys like I did. Getting ahead of guys. That allows me to get strike one and strike two, and then I can go to work on guys. That’s really my style, so that’s where I need to get to these next couple starts.”

Red-hot Jake Fox continued his bid to make the Orioles, clubbing his team-leading fifth homer off Astros starter Aneury Rodriguez. It was the only run allowed by Rodriguez, who was followed by top pitching prospect Jordan Lyles. Lyles tossed two scoreless frames.

“I felt good coming into today,” said Lyles. “I just wanted to continue to throw some, get some fastballs over, then I decided to go to the curveball early. Started working on that, it was kind of difficult getting it down to start off with, but I kept working on it. For the most part, I felt it was a pretty good outing.”

The Orioles rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth, with Fox opening the frame with a walk.

Up next for the Astros: The Astros will return home to Kissimmee, Fla., to face the Washington Nationals on Wednesday before taking Thursday’s scheduled off-day. Right-hander Brett Myers will take the mound for Houston opposite the Nats’ Ross Detwiler. The contest is scheduled for a 12:05 p.m. CT first pitch and will be available on Gameday Audio.

Up next for the Orioles: The Orioles will travel to Tampa, Fla., for the first time this spring for Wednesday night’s 7:05 p.m. ET game against the American League East rival Yankees, available on MLB.TV. Likely Opening Day starter Jeremy Guthrie will throw in a Minor League game in Sarasota, while Rick VandenHurk — who is trying to make the team as a bullpen arm or starter — will face New York. Right-hander Ivan Nova will get the start for the Yankees.

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Kyle McClellan threw three shutout innings in his spring debut on Saturday, and the Cardinals’ bullpen capably supported him in a 1-0 victory over the split-squad Astros. St. Louis faced just one batter over the minimum through the sixth inning and retired 12 straight batters at one point, and Colby Rasmus scored the game’s only run on a Matt Holliday single in the third inning.

McClellan, bidding for the Cardinals’ fifth rotation slot, pitched a perfect first inning and struck out three batters without a walk. He allowed two hits, but the Cardinals turned a double play to erase one of the runners in the second inning. Houston shortstop Tommy Manzella singled and stole second in the third, but he was stranded on a fly ball and a grounder.

Houston starter Jordan Lyles survived an error in the first inning and got through the second unscathed before St. Louis pushed through for the only run in the third. Rasmus reached on an error by first baseman Brett Wallace, and then the Cardinals got consecutive two-out singles from Albert Pujols and Holliday to forge ahead.

The Cardinals got outstanding work in relief, fronted by a scoreless fourth inning from southpaw Trevor Miller. Bryan Augenstein retired six batters in a row, and John Gast gave up a single but erased the runner on a pickoff in the seventh. Raul Valdes allowed two hits in the eighth but got a double play, and Fernando Salas earned his second save in the ninth.

Houston got comparable work from its bullpen, as Dave Carpenter, Sergio Escalona, Enerio Del Rosario, Cesar Carrillo and Jorge De Leon all worked scoreless innings. Third baseman Chris Johnson had two of Houston’s five hits, and Pujols doubled late in the game for the Cardinals. The Astros made three errors in the loss.

Up next for the Cardinals: Kevin Thomas will start for St. Louis, and Florida will counter with Chris Volstad in a clash of home tenants at Jupiter, Fla., at 12:05 p.m. CT on Sunday. Brian Tallet and Ryan Franklin are expected to pitch in relief.

Up next for Astros: The Yankees make their only visit of the spring to Osceola County Stadium at 12:05 p.m. CT on Sunday. Brett Myers, who is expected to be the Astros’ Opening Day starter, will make his second start of the spring after throwing two scoreless innings on Tuesday against the Braves. Also scheduled to pitch for the Astros: Brandon Lyon, Jeff Fulchino, Fernando Abad, Mark Melancon, Lance Pendleton, Wesley Wright and Aneury Rodriguez.