Be sure to check out the Masked Marvel's recap of the 1-0 walk-off loss at Yankee Stadium last night, allowing the Rangers and Angels to pick up a half-game on the Astros. FanGraphs gives the Astros an 80.6% chance of winning the division, a 92.1% chance of making the postseason, and an 11.3% chance of winning the World Series.
The Astros are 45-21 at home, 24-36 on the road. Quick math will tell you that the Astros have 15 home games left, and 21 road games left, so you might be thinking "Oh no this is bad," and you might be right to feel its unfair to not just let the Astros play every game at home from here on out. Do keep in mind, however, that 13 of the 36 games remaining come against the Rangers and Angels - seven on the road between September 11-17, and six at home between September 21-27.
*The Astros and Dallas Keuchel are working out details of a contract extension. Keuchel says it's about staying in Houston and winning and not about money. Well, maybe a little bit about money:
Me personally, it's not about the dollar amount. It's about winning, because it doesn't last forever...So at the end of the day, I just want to win. I want one of those rings. With that being said, it's got to be something that's fair and that's right for both parties. I'm not trying to break the bank. I'm just out here to have fun and pitch and do the best I can.
*George Springers took BP yesterday.
*Ken Rosenthal discussed the Astros' solid bullpen.
*On the day Mike Fiers was given AL Player of the Week, FanGraphs' Matthew Kory looked at the PITCHf/x data from Mike Fiers' (The No-No Guy) no-hitter to see if he was cheating.
*We took a look at recently-promoted Francis Martes.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
