2009 Houston Astros season

Regular season

Summary

April

;Opening Day starting lineup

The Astros lost their season opening series against the Chidago Cubs, their one win coming off of former Cincinnati Red Jeff Keppinger's tenth inning run batted in (RBI) single in his first at bat with the club.

They were then swept by the Cardinals in St. Louis in a three-game series, giving up 19 runs while only being able to score 5 runs. The team then traveled to Pittsburgh where they lost the first game 7-0. The next day, Mike Hampton won his second start of his second stint with the franchise with an 8 strikeout, 6 inning outing for the win over the Pirates. Lance Berkman's 6th inning 3 run home run helped the Astros win the third game of the series against the Pirates.

The Astros then returned home to Minute Maid Park, where they had three good outings against the Reds by ace Roy Oswalt, journeyman Wandy Rodríguez and Triple-A Round Rock call-up Felipe Paulino. José Valverde gave up a 2-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to Ramón Hernández for the loss in Oswalt's game on April 17, Rodriguez's got the win with a strong offensive outing by the Astros led by Geoff Blum with 3 RBIs on April 18, and Geoff Geary gave up a two-run double to Micah Owings in the top of the seventh inning for the loss in Paulino's game on April 19. In the fourth game of the series, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee's back to back solo shot home runs were not enough to beat the Red's Edwin Encarnación's 2 RBI single and Joey Votto's 2 RBI double to give the Red's the series, 3–1. The Houston Astros are an even 451 wins and 451 losses against the Chicago Cubs.

May

Every starter collected at least two hits on May 13—including pitcher Mike Hampton—for the Astros, who routed the Colorado Rockies, 15–11. Further, Houston piled on 24 hits in all, one short of the franchise record.

During the May 17 contest at Wrigley Field, Iván Rodríguez connected for his 300th career home run. It was one of the first milestones featured in a season highlighting achievement by a number of distinguished veterans on this Astros roster.

As of May 30, Houston had a record of 19–29 for last place in the NL Central division.

June

Two Astros players achieved significant career milestones on June 13—Berkman conenected for his 300th home run, while Miguel Tejada collected his 2,000th hit to lead a 6–4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Berkman joined Jeff Bagwell as the second Astro to have hit as many home runs with the team. Meanwhile, Tejada joined José Cruz (September 15, 1985), Craig Biggio (May 4, 2001) and Bagwell (April 26, 2003, as players to have actualized their 2,000th hit in an Astros uniform.

On June 17, Astros catcher Iván Rodríguez made his 2,227th start behind the dish against the Texas Rangers, his long-time team. This start broke the all-time record for games played at catcher. However, Rodríguez made two crucial errors that helped the Rangers to a 5–4 win.

July

Following a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on July 22, Houston had been on a 30–27 run since the start of June which pulled the club to within a game of first place.

August

Following suit of Iván Rodríguez and Lance Berkman earlier in the year, on August 8, Carlos Lee cranked the 300th home run of his career at Minute Maid Park. Hence, the Astros became the first club in major league history in which three player crossed the 300-home run threshold during the same season.

On August 15, Kazuo Matsui sprinted to record an infield single in Milwaukee for his 2,000th top-level professional hit, combined from his career in both the Pacific League in Japan along with six seasons in the National League. The event received live television coverage back home and play was halted as Japanese officials commemorated Matsui's automatic induction into the Meikyukai (Golden Players Club, an equivalent to the Baseball Hall of Fame). However, the Astros were defeated, 6-2.

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the 2009 campaign with a 74–88 record for fifth place in the NL Central, and 11 games behind the division-champion St. Louis Cardinals, a reduction of 12 wins from the year prior. This was the first of six consecutive losing seasons, an artifact not realized by the club since the inception of the expansion era in 1962 until 1968, during which they also lost 90 or more games every year. In spite of the downturn, Houston maintained their winning ways at home, reeling off a ninth straight winning chapter at Minute Maid Park, at . They concluded their first decade with a combined showing.

In a polling of fans, Craig Biggio’s 3,000th hit on June 28, 2007, was determined the most iconic moment in Minute Maid Park history.

Outfielder Michael Bourn received the Gold Glove Award, the first Astros player at the position since César Cedeño in 1976. Bourn also topped the National League with 61 stolen bases, the second Astro to do so, succeeding Biggio in 1994. With runners in scoring position, Bourn hit a robust .353.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log===

|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || April 6 || Cubs || 4–2 || Zambrano (1–0) || Oswalt (0–1) || Gregg (1) || 43,827 || 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || April 7 || Cubs || 3–2 (10) || Brocail (1–0) || Cotts (0–1) || || 31,121 || 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 3 || April 8 || Cubs || 11–6 || Lilly (1–0) || Moehler (0–1) || || 30,047 || 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 4 || April 10 || @ Cardinals || 5–3 || Piñeiro (1–0) || Hampton (0–1) || McClellan (1) || 37,224 || 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 5 || April 11 || @ Cardinals || 11–2 || Wainwright (1–0) || Oswalt (0–2) || || 43,454 || 1–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 6 || April 12 || @ Cardinals || 3–0 || Lohse (2–0) || Rodríguez (0–1) || || 36,310 || 1–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 7 || April 13 || @ Pirates || 7–0 || Duke (2–0) || Moehler (0–2) || || 38,411 || 1–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 8 || April 15 || @ Pirates || 4–1 || Hampton (1–1) || Ohlendorf (0–2) || || 20,690 || 2–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 9 || April 16 || @ Pirates || 6–3 || Wright (1–0) || Burnett (0–1) || Hawkins (1) || 13,877 || 3–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 10 || April 17 || Reds || 2–1 || Masset (1–0) || Valverde (0–1) || Cordero (3) || 32,268 || 3–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 11 || April 18 || Reds || 7–0 || Rodríguez (1–1) || Harang (1–2) || || 30,141 || 4–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 12 || April 19 || Reds || 4–2 || Vólquez (2–1) || Geary (0–1) || Cordero (4) || 29,372 || 4–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 13 || April 20 || Reds || 4–3 || Arroyo (3–0) || Geary (0–2) || Cordero (5) || 23,308 || 4–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 14 || April 21 || Dodgers || 8–5 || Ortiz (1–0) || Kershaw (0–1) || Valverde (1) || 26,360 || 5–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 15 || April 22 || Dodgers || 6–5 || Sampson (1–0) || Belisario (0–1) || Hawkins (2) || 26,725 || 6–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 16 || April 23 || Dodgers || 2–0 || Billingsley (4–0) || Rodríguez (1–2) || Broxton (5) || 26,081 || 6–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 17 || April 24 || Brewers || 5–2 || Gallardo (2–1) || Paulino (0–1) || || 25,316 || 6–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 18 || April 25 || Brewers || 9–8 (11) || DiFelice (1–0) || Geary (0–3) || || 31,355 || 6–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 19 || April 26 || Brewers || 3–2 || Ortiz (2–0) || Parra (0–4) || Valverde (2) || 27,690 || 7–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 20 || April 27 || @ Reds || 4–1 || Sampson (2–0) || Cordero (0–1) || || 12,365 || 8–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 21 || April 28 || @ Reds || 8–3 || Rodríguez (2–2) || Harang (2–3) || || 9,878 || 9–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 22 || April 29 || @ Reds || 3–0 || Vólquez (3–2) || Paulino (0–2) || Cordero (7) || 12,681 || 9–13 |- |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 23 || May 1 || @ Braves || 7–2 || Lowe (3–1) || Hampton (1–2) || || 29,309 || 9–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 24 || May 2 || @ Braves || 5–1 || Byrdak (1–0) || Carlyle (0–1) || || 28,203 || 10–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 25 || May 3 || @ Braves || 7–5 || Geary (1–3) || Moylan (1–2) || Hawkins (3) || 27,921 || 11–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 26 || May 4 || @ Nationals || 9–4 || Lannan (1–3) || Wright (1–1) || || 14,115 || 11–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 27 || May 5* || @ Nationals || 11–10 || Hanrahan (1–1) || Hawkins (0–1) (1–1) || || 19,328 || 11–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 28 || May 6 || Cubs || 6–3 || Harden (3–1) || Hampton (1–3) || Gregg (5) || 29,415 || 11–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 29 || May 7 || Cubs || 8–5 || Lilly (4–2) || Ortiz (2–1) || || 28,625 || 11–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 30 || May 8 || Padres || 2–0 || Rodríguez (3–2) || Gaudin (0–2) || Hawkins (4) || 28,139 || 12–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 31 || May 9 || Padres || 5–4 || Hawkins (1–0) || Gregerson (0–3) || || 29,141 || 13–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 32 || May 10 || Padres || 12–5 || Oswalt (1–2) || Geer (0–1) || || 30,023 || 14–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 33 || May 12 || @ Rockies || 12–1 || Jiménez (3–4) || Paulino (0–3) || || 23,233 || 14–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 34 || May 13 || @ Rockies || 15–11 || Hampton (2–3) || Marquis (4–3) || || 19,226 || 15–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 35 || May 14 || @ Rockies || 5–3 || Rodríguez (4–2) || Hammel (0–2) || Hawkins (5) || 22,696 || 16–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbbbbb" | || May 15 || @ Cubs || colspan=6 |Postponed |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 36 || May 16 || @ Cubs || 5–4 || Marshall (2–2) || Hawkins (1–1) || || 40,549 || 16–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 37 || May 17 || @ Cubs || 6–5 || Moehler (1–2) || Harden (4–2) || Sampson (1) || 40,478 || 17–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 38 || May 19 || Brewers || 4–2 || Bush (3–0) || Ortiz (2–2) || Hoffman (10) || 29,343 || 17–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 39 || May 20 || Brewers || 6–4 || Rodríguez (5–2) || Gallardo (4–2) || Sampson (2) || 27,160 || 18–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 40 || May 21 || Brewers || 4–3 || McClung (1–1) || Fulchino (0–1) || Hoffman (11) || 25,037 || 18–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 41 || May 22 || Rangers || 6–5 (10) || O'Day (2–0) || Hawkins (1–2) || Francisco (10) || 36,017 || 18–23 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 42 || May 23 || Rangers || 6–3 || Feldman (3–0) || Moehler (1–3) || Wilson (3) || 36,019 || 18–24 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 43 || May 24 || Rangers || 5–0 || McCarthy (4–2) || Hampton (2–4) || || 36,749 || 18–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 44 || May 25 || @ Reds || 8–5 || Harang (5–4) || Rodríguez (5–3) || Cordero (12) || 17,818 || 18–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 45 || May 26 || @ Reds || 6–4 || Masset (2–0) || Byrdak (1–1) || Cordero (13) || 15,619 || 18–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 46 || May 27 || @ Reds || 6–1 || Arroyo (7–3) || Paulino (0–4) || || 17,602 || 18–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 47 || May 29 || @ Pirates || 6–1 || Moehler (2–3) || Ohlendorf (5–5) || || 18,236 || 19–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 48 || May 30 || @ Pirates || 7–4 || Karstens (2–2) || Rodríguez (5–4) || Capps (10) || 37,167 || 19–29 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 49 || May 31 || @ Pirates || 2–1 || Hampton (3–4) || Maholm (3–2) || Hawkins (6) || 19,566 || 20–29

Roster

Major League Baseball draft

;Houston Astros 2009 MLB draft selections

• Round 1 – no. 21: Jio Mier – SS • Bonita High School, La Verne, California • Signed • Career
• Round 6 – no. 191: Enrique Hernández – SS • American Military Academy, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico • Signed • Career
• Round 7 – no. 251: Dallas Keuchel – LHP • University of Arkansas • 2009, Fayetteville, Arkansas • Signed • Career
• Round 20 – no. 611: J. D. Martinez – OF • Nova Southeastern, Fort Lauderdale—Davie, Florida • Signed • Career

Player stats

Note: Team batting and pitching leaders are in bold.

Batting

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; WHIP = (Walks+hits) per innings pitched

Awards and achievements

;Awards

• Darryl Kile Good Guy Award: Brian Moehler
• Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball: Ivy McLemore
• Gold Glove Award—Outfielder: Michael Bourn
• Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year: Adam Dunn (WAS)
• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP): Michael Bourne
• Houston Astros Pitcher of the Year: Wandy Rodríguez
• Houston Astros Rookie of the Year: Jeff Fulchino
• MLB All-Star Game:
  • Reserve outfielder—Hunter Pence
  • Reserve infielder—Miguel Tejada
• National League (NL) Pitcher of the Month—July: Wandy Rodríguez
• NL Player of the Week:—May 24: Miguel Tejada

;Individual batting leaders

• Doubles: Miguel Tejada (46)
• Stolen bases: Michael Bourn (61)

Minor league system

;Awards

• Triple-A All-Star Team—Pitcher: Bud Norris
• Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year: Bud Norris

References

References

1. (April 6, 2009). "Chicago Cubs (4) vs Houston Astros (2) box score". [[Baseball Almanac]].
2. "2009 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com.
3. "Keppinger brings winning presence".
4. "Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos".
5. "Houston 4 - 1 Pittsburgh: Final | 2009-04-15 | Major League Baseball | Yahoo! Sports".
6. "Reds vs. Astros - Box Score - April 17, 2009 - ESPN".
7. "MLB – Cincinnati Reds/Houston Astros Box Score Saturday April 18, 2009 – Yahoo! Sports".
8. "MLB – Cincinnati Reds/Houston Astros Box Score Sunday April 19, 2009 – Yahoo! Sports".
9. "Boxscore: Cincinnati vs. Houston – April 20, 2009 | MLB.com: News".
10. Schwartzberg, Seth. (May 13, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 13". [[SB Nation]].
11. "Astros history – Timeline". [[MLB.com]].
12. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 13, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 13". SB Nation.
13. Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily.
14. Kawahara, Matt. (August 19, 2023). "Astros' Jose Altuve reaches milestone of 2,000 career hits". [[Houston Chronicle]].
15. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 17, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 17". SB Nation.
16. "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com.
17. "MLB Gold Glove Award winners—National League". Baseball-Reference.com.
18. "Yearly league leaders & records for stolen bases". Baseball-Reference.com.
19. "2009 Houston Astros picks in the MLB June amateur draft". Baseball-Reference.com.
20. "Darryl Kile Award". Baseball Almanac.
21. McTaggart, Brian. (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com.
22. "Gold Glove outfielders in the National League". Baseball Almanac.
23. "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com.
24. "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com.
25. "Triple-A All-Star Team". The Baseball Cube.
26. "Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year". The Baseball Cube.