Sunday, August 27, 2023

Sunday Morning Hot Links

 *The Astros won. The Mariners won. The Rangers won. Houston is 73-58, one game behind Seattle/Weatherford. 

*There are 31 games remaining in the regular season. The combined winning percentage of remaining opponents (adjusted for home/away):

Houston: .467 (300-342)

Seattle: .498 (322-324)

Weatherford: .499 (321-322)

The Rangers and Mariners are both 41-23 against teams at or below .500. Houston is 41-20. 

*Alex Bregman was 3x3 with two walks, two doubles, a home run, and 4RBI. It's the 17th 4+ RBI game of his career, and the 9th 3XBH game of his career. It's the 6th time Bregman reached base five times in a game, and the 3rd time in 2023. 

Dusty:

That was a really big night for Alex, because we know he's always been a second-half player and we're starting to see that. His OPS is always a lot higher in the second half, and he's already got his average back over .260. Hopefully, .270 is the next stop.

Fact-Check: 

Bregman, 1st Half OPS: .830

Bregman, 2nd Half OPS: .923

Alex Bregman doesn't want a day off.

*Jose Altuve was 2x3 with a walk. Since returning from the IL on July 26, Altuve is hitting .373/.452/.536. Miguel Cabrera thinks Altuve has a chance at 3,000 hits.

*Jose Abreu was 2x5 with 2RBI - his first multi-hit game since July 29. 

*Jake Meyers was 0x4 with 2K:0BB. Since his 2HR game at Yankee Stadium on August 6, Meyers is "hitting" .211/.250/.263 with 8K:1BB.

*Hunter Brown: 5IP, 4H/2ER, 9K:2BB. He's 2-0 with a 4.60 ERA when pitching in his hometown of Detroit. He altered his delivery a little bit.

*After throwing two scoreless IPs, Ronel Blanco was sent back to Sugar Land to make way for Phil Maton. It's his fifth option of the season. If the Astros call him back up and send him back down in 2023, they have to put him on waivers.

*Michael Brantley, Sugar Land, 2023: .298/.453/.447, 1K:15BB, 

*Oakland is 6-28 against the AL West. They're 2-5 against Anaheim, 3-7 against Weatherford, 1-9 against Houston, and 0-7 against Seattle.

*Ipswich 3 - 4 Leeds United. It's Leeds' first league win since April 4

*A Musical Selection: