Happy hump day everyone! The Astros won quite big last night, so I decided to bring you the game recap from The Olympian, because they don't seem to be "digging it". I dig it, however, and I really enjoyed the sad undertones throughout this piece. This win takes the Astros to 5 games up on the A's, who lost to the Angels 9-7 last night. The magic number to clinch division: 7. The magic number to officially clinch playoffs: 2. Also, I believe this is the first Hot Links that I have made where Marwin hit a home run the night before. Here have a look!
Josh Reddick feels perfectly fine, but will likely be kept out of the lineup until Friday out of precaution.
Lance McCullers on the other hand, is a different story. He pitched a simulated game, but is running out of time to show he is ready for October.
MLB.com is talking about how good the Astros are again.
The Fresno Grizzlies have moved on from Houston and are going to be the affiliates of *checks notes, squints, and tilts head slightly to the right to signal a slight feeling of confusion* the Washington Nationals? I saw this news yesterday, and made a fun tweet about it. Honestly, it's probably one of my better geographical tweets I've made.
Speaking of new AAA teams, it looks like the Astros will be relocating their AAA team to Round Rock.
That Astros vodka I've shared on this blog before is now being sold at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros are parting ways with four minor league managers, including AAA manager Rodney Linares and High-A Buies Creek manager Morgan Ensberg.
The Astros gave a 3-year old fighting cancer a World Series ring and a chance to meet Jose Altuve.
Why the Astros outfield isn't perfect, but more than sufficient.
The Orioles wore their Braille jerseys last night.
There is a California town where the mayor is a dog wearing a tie. What a country. Here is his official website, so contact him and make sure to tell him he is being a good boy.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 1973, Astros infielder Dave Campbell hit a first inning double, snapping a record 0-45 streak.
In 1980, Al Kaline became the first Tiger to get his number retired.
In 1982, Orlando Mercado's first hit in the big leagues was a grand slam.
In 2007, the Tampa Bay Rays became the first team to lose at least 90 games for 10 consecutive years.
In 2010, Tyler Colvin's chest was punctured by a broken bat. He did not play for the rest of the year and was immediately taken to the hospital.
In 2011, Mariano Rivera recorded his 602nd save, the most in Major League Baseball history.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
