Okay, Astros...you have ten games to figure it out. Houston lost. At home. Again. Theyre 84-68, a ridiculously stupid 38-39 at home. The Rangers and Mariners both won. Idiots. Houston has lost 10 of their last 13 games at home.
*AL Playoff Picture:
1. Baltimore (95-56)
2. Houston (84-68)
3. Minnesota (80-72)
4. Tampa (93-59)
5. Toronto (84-67)
6. Coppell (83-68)
7. Seattle (83-68)
*AL West Odds
Houston: 51.8%
Seattle: 30.2%
Coppell: 18.0%
*Postseason Odds. Three of the following will make the playoffs:
Houston: 89.6%
Toronto: 82.7%
Coppell: 64.9%
Seattle: 62.7%
The Game
*What a nightmare. The Astros never had the lead, losing 2-0, tied 2-2, losing 5-2, 5-3, 7-3, 7-5, 9-5. Houston was 2x12 with runners in scoring position.
*Houston has lost six of their last eight games, and 14 of their last 19 home games. This is guaranteed to be the Astros' worst home record since 2014. Dusty:
I've got concern, but concern is not going to solve the issue. We've got four more games here, and we're going to have to figure it out. I don't know exactly what it is. We've tried to put our finger on it.
Well I mean it's only been 77 games at home so far this season. That's a lot of fingering.
*It's the Astros 83rd game in 2023 in which they've scored 5+ runs. They're 69-14 in those games.
*It's the second time in 2023 that Houston hit 3+ home runs and lost.
*Kyle Tucker hit his 28th home run of the season and now has an AL-leading (and career high) 108 RBI. With 28 steals, he needs two more homers and two steals to join the 30/30 Club.
*Alex Bregman hit his 24th home run of the season - his highest HR total since hitting 41 in 2019. Bregman, on the 2023 Astros:
It's a good league. You better show up and do it or you're not going to get the results you want and you're going to be sitting on your ass in October instead of playing. It comes down to doing it, that's it.
*Jose Altuve was 2x4 to collect his 100th hit of the season. It's his 4th straight multi-hit game, he's slashing .474/.500/.842. The Astros are 1-3 in these games.
*Yordan Alvarez had back-to-back hitless game for the first time since May 31-June 1.
*Baltimore put up 10 hits, a night after racking up 16 hits. It's the first time the pitching staff has allowed back-to-back double-digit hit games since doing it in four straight between August 19-22.
*Mid-Town Hunter Brown: 5.1IP, 6H/7ER, 5K:2BB (although Phil Maton allowed two inherited runners to score).
Brown, since the All-Star Break: 12 games, 57.2IP, 59H/39ER, 63K:20BB, 13HR. 6.09 ERA / 1.37 WHIP.
It's his 3rd start with a Game Score under 40 in his last five starts. Brown:
I thought they spoiled some really good pitches. And then they made me pay for the mistakes that I made tonight. I think that was probably the biggest difference, you know?
Yes. I do know.
*Shoutout to Bennett Sousa, appearing in his second game as an Astro: 1.2IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:0BB.
*Phil Cuzzi was throwing people out last night.
*Michael Brantley didn't play for a second straight day due to being "a little sore."
*Cool story from Chandler re: Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Astros Manager-in-Waiting Joe Espada.
*FanGraphs: J.P. France embraces his inner updog underdog.
*ESPN says that "staying afloat" is the Astros' biggest success in 2023, while Jose Abreu was the biggest failure.
*Will Wagner - Billy's son (how am I just now finding this out?) got promoted to Sugar Land and went 2x4 with a double last night in his Triple-A debut.
*Cavan Biggio is stepping up for Toronto.
*The New Yorker: The Rock Stars Singing About Shohei Ohtani
*What To Watch, September 20:
FC Union Berlin @ Real Madrid: 11:45am Central
Red Sox @ Rangers: 1:05pm
Orioles @ Astros: 1:10pm
Leeds United @ Hull: 1:45pm
PSV Eindhoven @ Arsenal: 2pm
Manchester United @ Bayern Munich: 2pm
Mariners @ A's: 2:37pm
Blue Jays @ Yankees: 6:05pm
Vancouver @ Houston Dynamo: 7:30pm
*A Musical Selection: