Monday Morning Hot Links

*Hey whaddayaknow. The Rangers beat the Astros again. Shocker.

*As of August 8 FanGraphs gives the Astros a 6.1% chance of winning the division and a 16.2% chance of making the postseason. Check this out:

July 24: 53.1% ALW / 70.8% Playoffs
August 1: 18.2% ALW / 40.8% Playoffs
August 8: 6.1% ALW / 16.2% Playoffs

*The Astros are in 3rd place for the first time since June 21. Since putting up 22 runs on the Angels from July 22-24, the Astros have scored 31 runs in 13 games, going 3-10. The Astros are 7.5 GB of the Rangers, 4.0 GB of WC2 and 5.5 GB of WC1.

*Pitching, since July 24: 3.92 ERA / 1.18 WHIP. 137K:26BB. The Astros' starting pitcher has racked up a Game Score of 60 or better in seven of the 13 games.
*Hitting, since July 24: .205/.261/.306, 128K:32BB. The opposing pitcher has racked up a Game Score of 60 or better in nine of the 13 games.

*After hitting eight home runs in the final two games of the Angels series, the Astros have hit eight home runs in the last 13 games.

*The Rangers are 24-8 in 1-run games. The Astros are 19-21. This is stupid. The Astros are 40-50 in 1-run games since the beginning of 2015. The Rangers are 51-30 in 1-run games since the beginning of 2015. This is very stupid.

*The Astros are 8-24 against the Rangers since the beginning of 2015. This, too, is stupid. The Astros are 2-11 against Texas this season with a run differential of -15. Nine of these losses have been within two runs. Incredibly stupid.

*Hinch is pissed.
Any time I leave this podium after a loss, I hate it. I don't care what team is on the other side. I don't care what division they're in, what league they're in, how the loss happened...I'm not naive. I know that those games [against the Rangers] are going to be magnified...but if we had lost to an unnamed team not named the Rangers, I would be just as disappointed.

*Contrary to what you might see when you, you know, watch the games, the Astros say they know how important these games are. Hinch:
We've worked our tail off to get to even where we're at...I know it's been a little bit of a roller-coaster season for us, but for those of us that have been here the entire season, it's been a grind and an uphill battle.

*Joe Musgrove was great. Musgrove:
Any time you go out and face a team like that, especially with a guy like Darvish on the mound, you can't really afford to give up many runs. If our guys aren't hitting, I have to do everything I can to keep them off the board. And if the pitching's not there, the hitting has to come around to pick us up.

*Tony Kemp, battling a severe toothache while catching a red-eye to Houston, was basically the only offensive bright spot yesterday. Kemp didn't get the tooth fixed until just before the game:
He's giving me shots in my mouth and I'm wondering if I'm gonna pinch-hit in the sixth inning.

*Colby Rasmus landed on the DL with the cyst behind his ear drum. It has led to vertigo and dizziness and flying was becoming an issue. Rasmus:
I'm hoping that I won't be out too long and can get back to playing at 100 percent to help this team. I haven't been doing quite as well as I would like or the team would like, so I feel that I need to do something to try to get it right.

*Ken Giles became the third pitcher since 1913 to strike out six batters in 1.2IP. Hinch:
He's been so good in his run here of sort of getting his swag back in terms of how he goes about it. He comes out there with a ton of confidence, and he doesn't back down.

*Luis Valbuena hasn't even started running yet.

*Yulieski Gurriel hit a grand slam and drove in five runs for Lancaster yesterday. He'll join Corpus tomorrow.

*We recorded Episode 21 of Lima Time Time with SportsRadio 610's Seth Payne.

*Colin Moran hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th.

*With Tony Kemp's arrival in Houston, Derek Fisher got called up to Fresno.

*Tri-City beat Brooklyn 18-4 with only two extra-base hits - both from 2016 16th Round pick Spencer Johnson.

*Ichiro joined the 3000-hit club yesterday.

*How the NFL's Hall of Fame Game got cancelled.