A family affair in the dugouts this weekend in Houston (plus Cowser’s return)

HOUSTON – It’s a bit of a family affair in the Houston dugouts this weekend as the Astros host the Orioles for a three-game series. Two good friends, who are now also brothers-in-law, will face off in the O’s Brandon Hyde and Joe Espada of Houston.

Their friendship goes back many years and they married sisters.

Espada had been Houston’s bench coach since 2018 and took over last November after Dusty Baker retired.

“It’s definitely going to be a great experience and a good thing for our family,” Hyde said this afternoon at Minute Maid Park to a crowd of reporters covering each team. “Joe and I go way back. He was my hitting coach (with Greensboro in the South Atlantic League) when I was coaching in 2006. We’ve known each other for a long time and I’m really proud of him and happy that he got this opportunity. It’ll be cool to see him in the dugout in a little different seat this year. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Hyde and Espada were candidates for the same big league managerial position several times, as they both worked their way to getting the jobs they have today.

They coached together on the Florida Marlins staff in 2010 and 2011.

“We carpooled every day from N. Palm Beach, Florida to Ft. Lauderdale. Back and forth every day. Plus, we were on a team together in the minors. So we talked a lot about baseball. I don’t think we ever talked about managing against each other or what that might be,” he said.

A Houston reporter said Espada told him there had been some chatter between the two captains.

“He did it,” Hyde said, sounding surprised and laughing. “We are really close and I hope we beat them in this series.”

Houston has played in the AL Championship Series or World Series every year since 2017, but is now 35-40 and hasn’t reached or exceeded .500 once this year.

Hyde doesn’t let that record fool him, he said.

“They’re a playoff team,” he said. “They’re a really dangerous lineup and they bat extremely well, especially here at home. The back of the bullpen is a playoff bullpen. It’s still a really, really dangerous team. Always athletic with the bigs in the middle of the order and (Jose) Altuve up front.”

Hyde today spoke highly of his team’s run of 30 games in 31 days. It started on May 31 and the Orioles are 14-6 so far. In addition to numerous victories, Hyde said the O’s effort and intensity during this period has been remarkable.

“Our guys literally leave him out there every night.” he said. “They are playing very hard. The preparation is unbelievably excellent in every way.”

The return of Cowser: Born in Houston, O’s outfielder Colton Cowser still lives in the area. He attended Cypress Ranch High School in Cypress, about 26 miles north and west of Houston and led his team to the 6A state playoffs as a senior in 2018. He played his college ball at Sam Houston State, which is about 68 miles north of Houston. .

A few local TV reporters wanted to talk to him today. Cowser estimates he’s seen about 30 games at Minute Maid Park over the years.

“A lot of memories come back to this stadium growing up. I came to a lot of games and it was really cool, really excited. My mom talked to him last night and my parents are excited.

“I just went through my camera roll and found a picture of me, my mom and my brother in the stands here when I was probably five years old. It’s really cool to be able to look at that and where I am today as well,” he said.

There are other Texans on the Orioles, including tonight’s starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez and infielder Jordan Westburg.

In yesterday’s blowout win over the Yankees, four O’s players scored three runs (Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman), tied for the most in a game in franchise history. ‘O. The Orioles have had four players score at least three runs in a game three other times, most recently on August 17, 2008 in Detroit (Aubrey Huff, Nick Markakis, Melvin Mora and Brian Roberts).

From 2016-19, the Orioles went 1-11 in Houston. But since the 2021 season, they are 7-2 at Minute Maid Park and have scored 5.7 points per game during that span.