Well well well. The Astros win 7-6 in Arlington and improve to 9-26 against the Rangers since the beginning of 2015.
*Unbelievably, George Springer became the first Astro to score 100 runs in a season since Lance Berkman did it in 2008.
*Evan Gattis' 16th homer of the season as a catcher tied Jason Castro's 2013 franchise record.
*Who Won Yesterday: Blue Jays, Yankees, Tigers
*Who Lost Yesterday: Orioles, Royals, Red Sox, Mariners
Wild Card picture:
Boston: +2
Baltimore/Detroit: 0
Houston: -2
Boston goes to San Diego, Baltimore goes to Tampa Bay, Detroit goes to Chicago (White Sox), and the Astros go to Cleveland.
*FanGraphs gives the Astros an 18.3% chance of making the playoffs.
FiveThirtyEight gives the Astros a 19% chance of making the playoffs.
*Who knew that the Astros even had a game plan when facing the Rangers? I guess they do, and yesterday's plan worked perfectly. Hinch:
We had him at 60-plus pitches through three innings. We made him work, we made him throw strikes, we drew a couple of walks, got a couple of big hits. We put together a really good game plan.
*A.J. Hinch put Altuve at DH for yesterday's game after Altuve ended Saturday's game limping with a cramp. But Hinch is seeing Altuve struggle lately:
As you get towards this time of year, guys always want to carry the team and he knows he's a central figure of our offense. So he gets a little bit anxious at the plate, I see him a little bit more pull-conscious than when he's at his best.
*How Dallas Keuchel feels today will affect whether he will pitch tomorrow night.
*Akeem Bostick is growing in the California League, and that growth involves "throwing the piss out of the ball."
*Vin Scully's final game should be heard nationwide.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
