Major league roundup: Surging Astros haven't relied on confusing offense

Quick hits on the latest baseball news:

* The Houston Astros have a comfortable lead in the American League West, and they are doing it with a strong bullpen, two excellent starting pitchers and an all-or-nothing lineup that leads the league with 57 home runs. But they are certainly not doing it with a pesky offense that drives opponents crazy: They have a .302 on-base percentage and their .229 team average is the lowest in the league. Evan Gattis is hitting .188, George Springer .190, Luis Valbuena .206, Chris Carter .163 and Colby Rasmus .263.

* No manager's job is safe, but Marlins managers are especially vulnerable. The Marlins named general manager Dan Jennings as the guy to replace Mike Redmond, who was fired Sunday. With Jennings, Ozzie Guillen and Redmond (who replaced the fired Guillen), the Marlins have three managers on the payroll. Jennings got into the game as a scout and then a team executive, so he's a bizarre choice given that he hasn't managed or a coached a team since he did in high school in Mobile, Ala. His bench coach, Mike Goff, is a minor-league player who has 10 seasons of experience managing in the minor leagues. ...The Marlins are 16-22, the same record they had in 2003 when Jack McKeon replaced Jeff Torborg and they went on to win the World Series. McKeon, now 84, is feeling better than ever and is hanging around the Marlins clubhouse, but he apparently wasn't considered for the job.

* Atlanta's Shelby Miller came within one out of pitching a no-hitter in the Braves' 6-0 win against Miami on Sunday. It would have been the Braves' first no-no since Kent Mercker in 1994. The Braves won the game, so they're happy, but you have to wonder what the St. Louis Cardinals are thinking. They traded Miller, one of their top pitching prospects, to Atlanta for right fielder Jason Heyward, who has come nowhere close to giving the Cardinals the power they were expecting. In fact, pending free agent Heyward has been so weak offensively that he could end up in a platoon situation with prospect Randall Grichuk. Miller's catcher yesterday was A.J. Pierzynski, who was catching when Yu Darvish and Yusmeiro Petit each lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning. ... The most painful no-no, and in this case a perfect game, to end with two outs in the ninth inning came on June 2, 2010, when first base umpire Jim Joyce blew the 27th out call that cost Detroit's Armando Galarraga a chance at history.

* Yankees lefty CC Sabathia has been dealing with speculation that his career is done, and after watching him pitch in April, there was good reason to think that. But Sabathia has been a different pitcher in May, pitching into the seventh inning in three of his last four starts, completing seven in two of them. His 95 mph fastball isn't there any more, but he's looking more comfortable pitching with a fastball in the range of 88-91 mph.

* Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, 30, apparently wants to be traded. While he's one of the top offensive shortstops in the game, he's never healthy and he's got $118 million left on his contract. The three teams that have been mentioned in connection with Tulowitzki are San Diego, the New York Mets and Nationals.
... The Padres have been hitting well, and their biggest lineup hole is at shortstop, but would they really pay the price? Given that David Wright is hurt and Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer aren't hitting, the Mets could use a bat, but prospect Wilmer Flores hits home runs, even if he doesn't play good defense. And it seems the Nationals would only take that deal if they could get Tulowitzki on the cheap. Best bet: Tulo stays with the Rockies.