In what has to be one of the dumbest games in recent memory, the Astros coughed up a lead five times against Cleveland and lost 10-9 in 14 innings. At 4 hours and 3 minutes, it was the longest game of the season. Houston is 36-28, having lost a season-high four straight games and five of their last six. They've played a game in each of the last 15 days.
*The Astros are now 5-1 when they score 9+ runs in 2023. They're now 54-1 since the beginning of the 2021 season when they score 9+ runs. It's the first time they've scored 9+ runs and lost the game since September 5, 2020, when they lost 10-9 on an Anaheim walkoff.
*Dusty:
That was like a 15-round fight, but we only went 14. We would score, then they would score. My guys battled hard, they battled hard. That's a tough one to lose.
Houston is now 6-7 in one-run games. Cleveland is now 13-17 in one-run games. It's only the 4th time this season Cleveland has put up double-digit runs.
*Houston went 6x28 with runners in scoring position. Surprisingly, for the year, Houston is hitting .273/.349/.454 w/RISP, good enough for a 124 tOPS+ (that's above average for the league).
*Jose Abreu was 2x7 with a 3-run home run. The Astros are now 1-1 in games where Jose Abreu homers.
*Jeremy Pena was hitting 7th in the lineup and went 4x6 with two doubles, but only scored one run. It's his 18th multi-hit game of the season, and the second 4-hit game of his career (July 3, 2022 vs Anaheim). Since May 27 (13 games), Pena is hitting .289/.373/.500.
*Astros pitchers struck out seven Guardians, and walked eight. It's the second time this season they've walked more batters than they struck out. Over this four-game losing streak, Astros pitchers have struck out 29 batters and walked 24. The Astros are 2-3 when they walk 6+ batters.
Astros pitchers, first 60 games: 3.39 K:BB ratio.
Astros pitchers, last 4 games: 1.21 K:BB ratio.
*Yordan Alvarez was placed on the 10-Day IL with a strained right oblique. McTaggart: How can the Astros replace Yordan's production? Bourbon sounds like a plan, for me.
*FanGraphs: Houston's Top 38 Prospects. The Top 10:
1. Hunter Brown (Houston)
2. Yainer Diaz (Houston)
3. Drew Gilbert (Corpus)
4. Korey Lee (Sugar Land)
5. Ryan Clifford (Asheville)
6. Luis Baez (Florida Complex League)
7. Camilo Diaz (Dominican Summer League)
8. Joey Loperfido (Corpus)
9. Trey Dombroski (Fayetteville)
10. Kenedy Corona (Corpus)
*Check out Friend of Astros County David Coleman's new Substack: Three Astros Things.
*ESPN: How the Rangers went from rebuild to contenders, in one offseason. (Hint: It's probably the $775 million they spent on Semien, Seager, Gray, Eovaldi, Gray, and de Grom.)
Updated Playoff Odds, via FanGraphs:
NW Cleburne: 49.4% to win the AL West
Houston: 37.4%
Anaheim: 9.4%
Seattle: 3.8%
Oakland: LOL%
*Oral Roberts was up 8-0 on Oregon...and lost.
*Texas Monthly: 100-degree days are coming next week. How does that compare to the past? On the subject of "teh weather," make sure you've bookmarked The Eyewall - a new joint from Matt Lanza and Eric Berger in which they use the same no-spin approach from SpaceCityWx on potential storms in the Atlantic.
*Vice: The Psychic, the Sheik, and the $90 Million Diamond Heist.
*From the dudes that brought you "Drive To Survive," I watched "Tour de France: Unchained" in two days.
*Leeds United's relegation to the Championship cost Andrea Radrizzani probably $250 million. Good. Now the financial arm of the San Francisco 49ers own Leeds United.
*The Champions League final - between Manchester City and Inter Milan - is today at 2pm Central. Watch and see if City can be the first English team to win the Treble (domestic league, domestic cup, international cup) since 1999.
*A Musical Selection: