Good morning. This week I was co-hosting a summer camp that required 20 volunteers and 142 campers. I had to be at work at 7am. That alarm has been my nemesis all week. But it's over now, just in time for me to be on the radio at...7am. Rest, wicked, etc. The Astros lost again. They're 36-27, five games back of Southwest Texarkana.
*Houston's division deficit is the largest they've seen since September 27, 2020. Or, since 2020 was a Mickey Mouse Season, October 2, 2016.
*It was the Astros' 2nd consecutive one-run loss (and 2nd consecutive 3-2 loss). They're 6-6 in one-run games.
*Houston has lost four of their last five games, scoring two or fewer runs in each of those losses.
*It's the Astros 3rd three-game losing streak of the season.
*The Astros scored a total of five runs in the three games following an 11-4 win on Monday.
*Houston is now 14 games into a 17-games-in-17-days stretch. One more series at Cleveland and the Astros finally get a day off.
*Framber threw 5IP, 4H/3ER, 5K:4BB. It was his second 4+ walk game of the season, but the 6th time he's allowed four or fewer hits in 2023. Three of those four walks later scored.
*Alex Bregman hit his 9th home run of the season, and his second in seven games in June.
*Jose Abreu was caught leaning too far off of 2nd base in the 7th inning. Abreu:
I take, obviously, full responsibility there for the mistake I made...I'm a man of my word. I made a mistake, and we lost because of me today. I take full responsibility.
Out of 161 qualified batters in MLB, Abreu's -1.3 fWAR ranks 161st. His 52 wRC+ ranks 160th.
Apropos of nothing in particular, Yuli Gurriel (who turns 39 today) is hitting .275/.333/.416 in 40 games for Miami.
*Yordan Alvarez was replaced by Corey Julks after grabbing at his oblique. This is, obviously, Not Great! Dusty:
We'll re-evaluate him tomorrow. That's a tough blow right there. We've just got to regroup and try to figure out how we're going to win some ballgames and get through this.
So that doesn't sound like a 24-hour issue...
*Jeremy Pena lollygagged it down the line when he probably would have been safe in the 8th.
*Chandler Rome: The story of Phil Maton's lone MLB hit.
*Lance McCullers is getting an MRI today after feeling more discomfort in his right forearm and might not pitch at all this season. It is June 9. An updated timeline of Lance's 2023:
*Lance McCullers Jr is no longer throwing off a mound, only further leading me to believe that they're really slow-walking the "Yeah okay he had Tommy John Surgery again last fall" announcement. A timeline of Lance's "rehab:"
February 18: LMJ gets shut down with "soreness in his throwing arm."
February 19: Dana Brown says LMJ is "day-to-day" and that Brown is "not alarmed at all."
February 22: LMJ tells reporters he has a "small muscle strain" with no structural damage to his arm or UCL.
March 11: LMJ is playing catch.
March 15: LMJ is cleared to resume lifting weights and throwing. It's described as a forearm strain.
March 28: Dana Brown is non-committal on the idea that LMJ will go on the 60-Day IL.
March 30: LMJ is "pain-free."
April 4: LMJ is "ahead of schedule," throwing from 90 feet on flat ground, and is close to throwing on back-to-back days. It's also now described as an elbow strain.
May 13: Dusty isn't sure when LMJ will face live batters.
May 16: Lance hit 93mph in a bullpen session.
May 21: Astros hope LMJ can return "closer to the All-Star Break, or after."
May 29: No longer throwing off a mound.
June 8: LMJ feels discomfort similar to what he felt in February.
June 9: MRI Day.
*Dana Brown said the Astros will be involved in the trade market, looking for starting pitching and possibly another bat.
*Michael Brantley hit in the batting cage yesterday and threw on the field.
*The Athletic: How US Soccer Fans Fell Out Of Love With Leeds United.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's because they fired the American manager (deservedly so), Brenden Aaronson sucks, Weston McKinnie sucked and went back to Italy, and Tyler Adams has been hurt since March, and Leeds got relegated. They weren't Leeds United fans at all. They're American Soccer fans.
*Wired: Inside a secretive life-extension clinic.
*A Musical Selection for your Friday: