The offense bailed Cristian Javier out as the Astros evened up the series in St. Louis with a 10-7 win. Houston is 43-37 to stay six games back of Upper Joshua, tied with Anaheim in second place. Houston is 4-8 in their last twelve games.
*Last night was the 5th time the Astros have scored double-digit runs. They're 0-4 in the games following a 10+ run outburst.
*The Astros hit two home runs (Altuve, Abreu). They're 17-7 when they hit multiple home runs in a game. Games with the following number of home runs, 2023:
0HR: 24
1HR: 32
2HR: 19
3HR: 1
4HR: 2
5HR: 1
7HR: 1
*Houston drew eight walks for the 6th time this season. Houston is 9-2 when they draw 6+ walks in a game.
*Jose Altuve was 2x3 with a home run and three walks - just his second home run since May 30. It was his first 3BB game since September 7, 2022. Altuve is now at 196 home runs in his career.
I know I've been hurt quite a bit this year, and I'm really trying to stay healthy on the field and play to help this team to win. The days I had off, I was doing a lot of homework, trying to get back to where I want to be with my swing and my timing.
*Kyle Tucker was 3x5 with two doubles - his first multi-XBH game since June 1. Tucker now has more RBI (44) than strikeouts (43) in 2023.
*Jose Abreu was 2x4 with 3RBI. Abreu now has four 3RBI games, and all of them have come in the last 19 days. Abreu, June 2023: .292/.305/.517. Abreu had eight extra-base hits from March-May (225 PAs) and ten extra-base hits in June (95 PAs).
*Congratulations to Bligh Madris, who got his first two hits as an Astro.
*Jake Meyers was 0x2, but scored twice as he drew three walks, a career-high. Meyers had one game with multiple walks in 2021-22, and five such games in 2023.
*Cristian Javier struggled again: 4IP, 8H/6ER, 1K:1BB, 2HR. His fastball sat around 93mph.
Javier's first 14 games of 2023: 80.2IP, 65H/26ER, 76K:19BB, 2.90 ERA.
Javier's last two starts: 6.1IP, 12H/10ER, 2K:6BB, 14.21 ERA.
*Yordan Alvarez hit off a tee yesterday, Michael Brantley hit in the cage, and Jose Urquidy is feeling good.
*GM Dana Brown plans to be aggressive but smart at the trade deadline. On possibly trading Drew Gilbert:
He would be untouchable in a rental. If we can acquire someone that has some more time on their deal, that's a different story. We're not going to be in the business of throwing away our top prospects for rentals.
*Jeremy Pena finds echoes of his father's career in St. Louis.
*Chandler Rome: Korey Lee could be the catcher of the future...but for what team?
*Domingo German threw the fourth perfect game in Yankees history against Oakland last night, and the first perfect game since Felix Hernandez in 2012.
*ESPN: From a cricket field to the top of the MLB draft, Arjun Nimmala's journey is wild.
*Jesus Ferreira had a hat trick as the USMNT beat St. Kitts AND Nevis in the Gold Cup last night.
*With pre-season training camp starting next week, Leeds United appear to be on the verge of hiring Daniel Farke.
*A Musical Selection:
