Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Oh I guess the Winter Meetings started, marking the end of this eternal offseason slumber...in theory, anyway. Let's see who said what and what it may or may not mean. 

*Dana Brown is "not entertaining" trading Alex Bregman. Check out this Chandler Rome article, where he's as incredulous as I am that Dana Brown and Jim Crane haven't discussed a budget yet.

*The Astros will get a 4th option year on Forrest Whitley, who will apparently report to Spring Training as a reliever, because Dana Brown is "not interested in overpaying for a reliever."

That's smart. Because some idiot gave Rafael Montero a 3yr/$34.5m contract a year ago and set the market way too high. As soon as we find the guy that did that we ought to whoop his ass. 

So it's interesting to note that the Astros are allegedly interested in free agent Cy-Creek guy Jordan Hicks. And have talked to Hector Neris about re-upping.

*Dana Brown says things aren't to the "exchanging medical information" stage yet but things are "heating up."

*Joe Espada wouldn't name an everyday CF yet, saying that Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick will play in Spring Training. Mauricio Dubon will play everywhere.

It's a tough one. On one hand you have Jake Meyers, proud owner of a career 88 wRC+ (albeit with a 7.8 DEF rating). On the other you have Chas McCormick, fresh off a 133 wRC+ and a slightly worse 3.2 DEF rating. That 133 wRC+ is 3rd among CFs with at least 300PAs, behind Cody Bellinger and Mike Trout's 134 wRC+. McCormick was 8th among CFs with at least 300PAs in fWAR, at 3.8 - better than Brandon Marsh. But you know, lotta winter left before you make a decision. 

Okay. I guess I should have made this more clear. Yes, Chas can play LF and Jake can play CF. That's in play. 

*Joe Espada has talked to Yainer Diaz "once a week" since Espada took the reins. On the backup side, the Astros have allegedly been in contact with catcher Tucker Barnhart, giving Real Gs the opportunity to have a fantasy team named "Kyle Tucker Barnhart."

*Speaking of backup catchers, the Angels, White Sox, Padres, and Marlins are interested in the services of Martin Maldonado.

*A few days ago the Astros signed reliever Kervin Castro to a minor-league deal. He's not in the mix for 2024 as he's recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

*You can get tickets to the Astros Foundation College Classic, featuring ut, UH, Texas State, Vanderbilt, LSU, and the University of Louisiana - March 1-3, 2024. 

Elsewhere

*A.J. Hinch signed a long-term extension with the Tigers.

*Toronto has apparently met with Shohei Ohtani. But maybe not.

*The Athletic: Quincy Promes, and how Amsterdam's criminal underworld preys on [soccer players].

*Esquire: La Cote Basque, 1965.

*Outside: Running the Nakasendo, an ancient postal route across the Japanese Alps.

*The Texans haven't won seven of their first 12 games since 2019, when they started out 8-4. 

A Musical Selection

Check out the Spotify version here.

Monday Morning Hot Links

Nice of the Astros to remember that there's a division to win - they're not used to having to play games that kinda matter in September, so I get it. Houston finally beat the vaunted Royals 7-1. They're 84-66, 1.5 up on the Rangers, who lost. Also, after dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging for 3.5 years, I have COVID. I had a booster scheduled for today lol. It feels like the worst sinus infection I've ever had. I wore a mask this morning to the grocery store, so it was great to slime the inside of that thing up like gahdang Alien.

*AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore: 93-56

2. Houston : 84-66

3. Minnesota: 79-71

4. Tampa: 92-59

5. Toronto: 83-67

6. Trinity River: 82-67

7. Seattle: 81-68

Now, let's extrapolate: the first tie-breaker is head-to-head record. 

What happens if there's a tie between Seattle and Trinity River? Well they have seven games against each other remaining, so it's way too soon to be thinking about tie-breakers between those two. 

What about a tie between Toronto and Trinity River? Given that Toronto just got their asses handed to them at home by Weatherford, the Rangers would edge out the Blue Jays. 

What about a tie between Toronto and Houston? The Blue Jays and Astros played their last head-to-head game of the season on June 8, but the Blue Jays won 3-2 on both June 7 and June 8 to take the season series 4-3. Toronto would win that tie-breaker. 

What about a tie between Trinity River and Houston? Houston has the head-to-head.

What about a tie between Seattle and Houston? Seattle has the head-to-head, no matter what happens September 25-27, thanks to the Astros just dying to get to the All-Star Break and mailing it in for that July series.

What about a tie between Seattle and Toronto? They finished the regular season with a 3-3 split lol. So the second tie-breaker is division record. Toronto is 15-25 against the AL East, while Seattle is 26-13 against the AL West. If Seattle does poorly enough against the AL West down the stretch to allow Toronto to catch them...Seattle ain't gonna be in the playoffs. 

*AL West Division Odds (change from yesterday):

FanGraphs:

Houston: 73.8% (+13.5%)

Seattle: 15.2% (-5.0%)

Trinity River: 11.0% (-8.5%)

Baseball-Reference:

Houston: 67.6% (+10.6%)

Trinity River: 18.6% (6.7%)

Seattle: 13.8% (-3.8%)

The Game

*Houston is now 46-29 on the road. Away Records, recent seasons:

2022: 51-30

2021: 44-37

2019: 47-34

2018: 57-24

2017: 53-28

2016: 41-40

2015: 33-48

*We can trust Framber again! Framber threw his fifth straight Quality Start, yesterday going 7IP, 5H/1R (0ER), 5K:1BB. It's his third straight start of 21 outs. Framber's last five starts: 34IP, 20H/6ER, 30K:11BB. Dusty:

You go through streaks where you're not yourself. Then you go through streaks where you're adding on and adding on and getting consecutive games, and your confidence grows. We need Framber, and it was big for him.

*Jose Altuve was 3x5 with a double and an RBI. It's his 13th 3-hit game of the season. He only has RBIs in five of his last 18 games - but all five of those are multi-RBI games. 

*Yordan Alvarez was 1x3 with his 28th home run of the season, and a walk. He has 7RBI in his last four games and is at 92RBI for the season. 

*Jake Meyers hit his 10th home run of the season - his first since hitting 2HR at Yankee Stadium on August 6 - it's his 2nd RBI since then.

*Bryan Abreu has not allowed a run - earned or otherwise - since July 15. That's 21.2IP, 9H/0ER, 24K:10BB in that streak. Longest active streak for appearances without an earned run (though Abreu's 21.2IP is the longest active number of scoreless innings):

1. Sam Hentges (CLE): 23

2. Bryan Abreu (HOU): 22

3. Former Astros Great Cionel Perez (BAL): 21

It's only the 16th time in Astros history that a pitcher has thrown 22 consecutive outings without allowing an earned run. Looking ahead at Abreu's streak:

23: Will Harris (2018-19)

24: Trever Miller (2006)

25: Billy Wagner (1999-2000)

26: Will Harris (2016)

27: Joe Sambito (1979)

30: Ryne Stanek (2022)

40: Ryan Pressly (2018-19)

*Chas McCormick went 3x4 and stole two bases to give him 18 on the year. Two more SBs and he joins the 20/20 Club.

*The Astros were 2x13 w/RISP on Sunday. They were 6x30 in the weekend series. 

*ESPN asks if the 2023 Braves have the greatest lineup ever. I'm asking if ESPN remembers the 2019 Astros' lineup. Let's look (2023 Braves / 2019 Astros):

BA: .275 / .272

OBP: .343 / .352

SLG: .501 / .495

wRC+: 125 / 124

HR: 288 / 288

fWAR: 35.7 / 42.0

Settle tf down, ESPN. 

*Jose Abreu celebrated 10 years of MLB service time. Though I don't know how much this year should count...

*It'll be Verlander-Brown-TBD to face the Orioles starting tonight. Just put Urquidy in on Wednesday and let Javier be the swing guy. 

*The first 10,000 fans to MMP next Sunday will [chuckles] get this [snickers] MLB Network [outright guffaw] hat. The 10,001st fan will get all 10,000.

*The Orioles clinched their first playoff berth since 2016, turning from a laughing-stock into legit contenders. Good work and congratulations to Mike and Sig. They join the 2013-2015 Astros as the only teams in MLB history to go from 110+ losses to the playoffs in a three-year span.

*What To Watch, September 18:

Burnley @ Nottingham Forest: 1:45pm Central

Saints @ Panthers: 6:15pm

Red Sox @ Rangers: 7:05pm

Orioles @ Astros: 7:10pm

Mariners @ A's: 8:40pm

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros "returned" from a road trip, sadly, and were forced to play in front of 40,000 of their own fans last night. Stupid Manfred. Bad Manfred. Houston lost to the Yankees at Minute Maid Park for the first time since July 10, 2021. The Astros are 77-59, and are 35-32 at "home." 

*The "Good News" is that the Mariners and Rangers both lost. It's the second time since the All-Star Break that all three AL West teams (there are two AL West JV teams in the division, as well) lost on the same day. 

*Here's the AL Playoff Picture going into Partidos de 2 Septiembre:

1. Baltimore (83-51)

2. Seattle (76-58)

3. Cleveland (70-65)

4. Tampa (82-53): +6.5

5. Houston (77-59): +1.0

6. East Benbrook (75-59): -

7. Toronto (74-61): -1.5

8. Boston (69-66): -6.5

*Unfortunately, we're Scoreboard and Playoff Odds watching all month. Odds to win the division:

FanGraphs (and the change from yesterday):

Houston: 52.4% (-0.0%)

Seattle: 33.1% (-0.0%)

East Benbrook: 14.5% (-0.1%)

Baseball-Reference (and the change from yesterday):

Houston: 43.9% (-1.8%)

Seattle: 36.6% (-1.8%)

East Benbrook: 19.5% (-7.8%)

The Game

*The Astros, according to Win Expectancy, were never favored to win last night's game.

*Justin Verlander was Efficiently Bad, only needing 88 pitches to give up 8 hits - four of them home runs - and 6ER in 6IP. He had allowed 9ER in his previous five starts as an Astro. It's the fifth time in his career, and his third time as an Astro, that Verlander allowed four home runs in a single game.

He allowed two home runs in the first inning, the second time this season he's allowed 2HR in the same inning (his season debut - May 4 - was the first time).

*Astros pitchers only needed 112 pitches total to lose to the Yankees, tied for the 7th-fewest number of pitches to get 27 outs in 2023. Houston is 5-3 when throwing 112 or fewer pitches.

*There were 11 balls put in play with an Exit Velocity over 100mph: eight for the Yankees, three for the Astros (Diaz's single, Abreu's homer, Tucker's double).

*The offense didn't do much, collecting just four hits - three of them for extra bases. 

*Houston's offense at home, 2023: 67 games, .252/.327/.411, 76 home runs, .737 OPS.

Houston's offense on the road, 2023: 69 games, .261/.332/.442, 102 home runs, .775 OPS.

*Jose Altuve forgot that there was a piece of equipment available that guarded your shins, fouled a ball off of it (for apparently the umpteenth time this season!), and left the game. Mauricio Dubon was 0x3 as his replacement.

*Jake Meyers was 0x3. Since the All-Star Break, Meyers (30 games, 22 starts): .238/.281/.405. Since his 2HR game at Yankee Stadium on August 6: 45 PAs, .186/.222/.233.

Meyers vs LHP, 2023: 76 PAs, .269/.355/.463.

Chas McCormick since the All-Star Break (40 games, 39 starts): .309/.393/.571.

McCormick vs LHP, 2023: 112 PAs, .356/.420/.663.

I had an idea of what I'd find when I looked that up, but Holy God starting Jake Meyers over McCormick, for any reason, is indefensible. Unless Chas is hurt, I guess. And then I'd want to know what hurt. 

*Since coming off the IL, Jose Abreu is hitting .292/.370/.583, with hits in five of the six games in which he has appeared.

*Kendall Graveman is feeling better.

*Rafael Montero is regaining the Astros' trust.

*Boston lost to Kansas City 13-2. The Fightin' Coras have now allowed 7+ runs for the fourth straight game, the first three coming against the Houston MF Astros. The Red Sox let Former Astros Great Jordan Lyles throw 8IP, 4H/2ER, 7K:0BB and improving his 2023 ERA from 6.51 to 6.29. Since August 26 Boston's chances of making the playoffs have slipped from 16.7% to 3.2%. Unlucky. Alex Cora is a piece of shit.

*Michael Clair: The baseball game that never ends - on purpose and for charity.

*Texas Monthly: A Cheat Sheet to Ken Paxton's Impeachment Trial.

*The fruits that are rich in antioxidants.

What To Watch, 2 September:

Arkansas State @ Oklahoma: 11am Central (ESPN)

Newcastle @ Brighton: 11:30am

Rice @ Texas: 2:30pm (ABC)

New Mexico @ Texas A&M: 6pm (ESPN)

UTSA @ UH: 6pm (FS1)

Yankees @ Astros: 6:10pm 

Mariners @ Mets: 6:10pm 

Twins @ Rangers: 6:15pm (Fox)

Blue Jays @ Rockies: 7:10pm

Sam Houston State @ BYU: 9:15pm (FS1)

*A Musical Selection:

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:

Sunday Evening Hot Links

Short one as I might be switching to evening posts this week, because I have to be out of the house at 6:30am every day this week? Why? That is not your business, friend. Kindly move on. The Astros salvaged a split at the home of the AL East Basement-Dwelling New York Yankees with an extremely unattractive 9-7 win. Houston is 64-49, still 2.5 back of Aledo because they aren't allowed to lose anymore. 

*Houston struck out 14 times. It's the 5th time this season the Astros have struck out at least 14 times. They're now 1-4 in those games. The last time they struck out 14+ times and won was August 21, 2022 in a 5-4 win against Atlanta.

*Astros pitchers walked 12 batters. And won. They had not walked 10 batters in a game all season. The last time they walked 10+ batters in a game was July 11, 2021 in an 8-7 win against...the Yankees, which was the last time any MLB team walked 12+ batters and still won the game, despite all the dick-stepping. It's only the 3rd time in MLB this season that a team has walked 12+ batters.

*The Astros hit four home runs for the 11th time in 2023, and they're 11-0 in those games. 

*Jake Meyers hit two of them hoes for the first time since hitting career home runs 1 & 2 on August 14, 2021. It was the 59th time an Astros batter has recorded 6+ RBI in a game. You have to go all the way back to July 24 to find the last time an Astro had 6RBI (Chas McCormick against Aledo). The Astros are 55-4 when a player has 6+ RBI in a game.

Is Jake Meyers the new LHP weapon?

*Martin Maldonado hit a home run, his first extra-base hit since July 25. 

*Yordan Alvarez hit his 21st home run. He has 283 PAs in 67 games in 2023. Nobody in MLB with 21+ home runs has done it in as few games as Yordan (though Former Astros Great Jose Siri has 21 home runs in 75 games for Tampa). 

*Jon Singleton might be on his way to Houston? Dana Brown:

I think if he can come up here - and we'll give him a shot - if he can come up here and hit the ball well and have quality at-bats, I think he's a guy that Dusty can say 'I want to get some more reps on.' It will be a Dusty call at the end of the day. If we get him up here and Dusty really likes him, we'll roll with him. If Dusty says 'I'm limited with this guy,' it'll be his call once we get him up here.

*How is Angel Hernandez still employed?

*Seasonal Affective Disorder is a summer thing, as well.

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Weird day, between all the Injury Updates and Bielaking. To the game, the Astros beat the Rockies 4-1 to improve to 48-38. Houston is still three games back of Gun Barrel City, but have managed to move to 16-15 since June 1. 

*The Astros are ten games over .500 for the first time since June 14, when they were 39-29. 

*Houston has won six of their last seven, and seven of their last nine games. 

*Colorado's three hits were the lowest allowed by Astros pitchers since Houston beat the White Sox on May 12. The pitching staff held their opponent to three or fewer runs in four of their last six games.

*Houston's offense produced 13 hits. It's the third straight game - and 7th in their last ten - with 10+ hits. The last time they had a span of three straight games with double-digit hits was September 11-13, 2022. 

*Brandon Bielak was nails in a much-needed long start, going 7IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:4BB - the deepest into a game he's ever gone. 

*Corey Julks was 4x5 with a double and an RBI. Since June 18 (12 games), Julks is hitting .378/.451/.511 with 8K:6BB. 

*Grae Kessinger was 2x4 with his first career MLB home run. The Kessinger Family Home Run Leaderboard:

Don Kessinger: 14

Keith Kessinger: 1

Grae Kessinger: 1

*Alex Bregman was 0x4 with a walk, extending a five-game stretch in which he's 2x19.

*Jake Meyers had his first multi-hit game since going 4x5 at Toronto on June 5. In the 19 games since that outburst, Meyers is hitting .154/.274/.212.

*Chas McCormick has driven in at least one run in three straight games, the first time that's happened since May 12-14, 2022. 

*Mauricio Dubon's second triple of the season is a career-high.

*The biggest news of the day is that Jose Altuve was scratched during BP. Dusty:

It's tough to take, but you've got to move on. You have no choice. You feel terrible, especially for the injured player and for the team, but, you just...say, hey, next man up.

Chandler Rome wrote up what he knows about Altuve's injury, which is being described as "left side discomfort" which sounds like an oblique injury, the same that has kept Yordan out since June 8. He deftly notes that Altuve and Yordan have been in the same lineup 13 times out of the 86 games the Astros have played. 

*Rough few hours for Anaheim as Mike Trout was put on the IL, and then Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon left last night's loss with injuries. Kyle Tucker will replace Trout on the AL All-Star Game roster. 

*Jeremy Pena will be in the lineup today, having missed the last five games with a stiff neck. Yordan tracked live pitches during BP from Jose Urquidy (who threw 20 pitches and hit 94-95mph), but did not swing, and will likely head out on a rehab assignment after the All-Star Break. 

*The Astros announced that Michael Brantley has been shut down from baseball activities for 3-4 days. Dusty:

They shut him down for a while to calm that shoulder down. We're going to give him three or four days where we don't want him to do anything apart from run and keep his legs sharp.

It's been 373 days since Michael Brantley last played in an MLB game. 

*Today will be the Astros' fifth straight day game, a streak we don't usually see until the ALDS. 

*This runner made a wrong turn meters from the finish line, costing her a repeat win and $7000 in prize money.

*The WHAM! documentary is out today, on Netflix. 

*Texas Monthly: An Artist's Guide to the Hidden-Gem Painted Churches of Texas.

*Leeds United have, finally, appointed former Norwich boss Daniel Farke as their new head coach.

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

The Astros just kind of stumbled along in a 5-2 loss to East Haltom City. Houston is 45-38, back to five games back. 

*The Rangers' 15 hits were a season high for the Astros' pitching staff. 11 of them were singles.

*Hunter Brown, the day before Shawn Dubin starts for the Astros, really could have helped everyone out with a strong performance. Instead: 4IP, 10H/3ER, 6K:0BB, needing 91 pitches to get through those four innings. 

Brown:

I put some pitches in some good spots. Whether they fought them off or worked a hit out of it, they just made it difficult on me today. I don't think I was overly mis-executing. But it's kind of difficult to not think how you could have done better when they put up 10 hits on you.

Brown has faced three teams a second time in 2023:

Minnesota, April 9: 7IP, 2H/1R (0ER), 7K:2BB.

Minnesota, May 31: 4.2IP, 6H/5ER, 8K:2BB.

Oakland, May 20: 6IP, 5H/2R (1ER), 9K:0BB.

Oakland, May 26: 7IP, 4H/2ER, 10K:1BB.

Arlington, April 15: 7IP, 5H/2R (0ER), 5K:1BB

Arlington, July 1: 4IP, 10H/3ER, 6K:0BB

So let this be your confirmation that Oakland does, in fact, suck.

Brown's 56 strikes were a season low, as were the nine strikes looking, as were the eight line drives the Rangers hit.

*Rafael Montero: 1IP, 1H/1ER, 1K:1BB. Montero has now given up at least one run in 13 of his 35 appearances.

*Houston only had two plate appearances with a runner in scoring position. 

*6-9 in the lineup (Dubon, Julks, Meyers, Maldonado) went a combined 0x10, 3K:2BB.

*Jake Meyers was 0x3, 1K:0BB.

Jake Meyers, 2021: 163 PAs, .260/.323/.438, 6HR.

Jake Meyers, since: 387 PAs, .226/.295/.351, 7HR.

For no reason at all:

Chas McCormick, 2021: 320 PAs, .257/.319/.447, 14HR.

Chas McCormick, since: 578 PAs, .247/.333/.418, 21HR.

*Kyle Tucker hit his 12th home run of the season in the 9th to provide the Astros' only runs. Tucker has an eight-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .387/.457/.774. Six of his 12 hits in this span have been for extra-bases (three doubles, three homers). 

Tucker has two home runs in his last nine PAs. He had two homers in his previous 91 PAs. 

*Alex Bregman was 1x3 with a double and a walk. He has six walks in his last four games. Bregs is hitting .267/.421/.533 through this eight-game road trip.

*Framber Valdez will not make today's start due to a sprained ankle, which the Astros say (eyes roll completely out of head) happened against the Mets when he slipped down the dugout stairs. Framber sprained his ankle so badly that he made his next start a week later, losing the one game against the Cardinals (but not pitching terribly). Valdez:

I twisted it there and just continued pitching, maybe because of the heat or adrenaline there. But when I pitched in St. Louis, I felt it a little bit more, felt it a little more tender. And just figure better to skip a start than to regret it the rest of the season.

*Eno Sarris, on Cristian Javier's fastball decline.

*McTaggart: Altuve is staking his claim on the Astros' Mount Rushmore.

*Watch Yordan Alvarez and Michael Brantley run at you.

*The Astros are thriving as the underdogs in sports betting.

*Infielder Zach Dezenzo, 2023:

Asheville: .407/.474/.628

Corpus: .274/.371/.429 

*The Rangers classed up the joint by having a bunch of different mascots beat up a replica Orbit in their replica ballpark prior to the game. Which is pretty on-brand for a franchise whose generational highlight is punching Jose Bautista.

*How long will Canada burn?

*How to listen to, and enjoy, classical music.

*If you're having trouble using Twitter, but still want to follow Astros reporters/accounts, lists don't seem to be rate limited, so you can find my Astros Media list here.

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

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.

Altuve:

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:

Memorial Day Hot Links

The Astros bludgeoned the Oakland "Athletics" 10-1, hitting seven home runs in the process. Houston is 31-21, ten games over .500 for the first time this season. The Rangers lost, so the Astros are two games back. As today is Memorial Day, the day until which I said that I would reserve judgment about the Astros, my overall takeaway is this: The Astros are good, and have accomplished all of this largely missing Jose Altuve and prominently featuring a "somehow not quite there yet" Alex Bregman and a mostly-dead Jose Abreu (more on him in a minute). The rotation is thin but holding it together. The bullpen is freaking nails (5th-highest WAR of any bullpen)...for now. I thought the Rangers would be a lot better than they were last year, and I was right about that, however they are extremely annoying and need to get out of the way. 

Memorial Day Playoff Odds Check:

FanGraphs: 51.1% to win the division, 83.2% to make the playoffs, 9.8% to win the World Series.

B-Ref: 75.9% to win the division, 95.6% to make the playoffs, 19.4% to win the World Series.

*The first four runs for the Astros came from home runs with two outs. Astros home runs, 2023, with number of outs:

0 outs: 15

1 out: 23

2 outs: 15

*Houston hit seven home runs in a single game. It's the fourth time this season - and the second time in the last four days, Pittsburgh did it against Seattle on May 26, - that a team has hit seven homers in a game. Astros games featuring seven Astros homers, franchise history:

Yesterday at Oakland.

September 9, 2019 vs Oakland.

September 9, 2000 (for real) at Wrigley Field.

The Astros hit seven home runs total in eleven games between May 1-13. 

*Futility Watch, after 54 games:

2013 Astros: 17-37

2018 Orioles: 17-37

1916 A's: 16-38-1

2023 A's: 10-44

*Yordan hit his 13th and 14th home runs of the season. He has 48 RBIs in 46 games. Franchise Single-Season RBI record holder 2006 Lance Berkman, through 46 games: 43 RBIs. 

*Jake Meyers hit his 4th home run of the season - a three-run shot. Meyers' last 15 games: .275/.383/.510. 

*Shoutout to Jose Abreu, who got his first home run as an Astro and then sprinted around the bases. It was his first home run since September 13, 2022. Abreu:

I think when I stepped on first base, that was when I noticed that the ball wasn't in play anymore. I think that's when I flipped the switch.

Josh Criswell: Is Abreu about to get hot?

*Cristian Javier: 5IP, 4H/1ER, 3K:3BB. Javier, May 2023: 5 Starts, 30IP, 16H/8ER, 32K:9BB, 2.40 ERA / 0.83 WHIP. 

Best Rotations in Baseball, according to fWAR:

1. Seattle - 7.0

2. Minnesota - 6.9

3. Farmers Branch - 6.0

4. Houston - 5.6

So three of the four top rotations are in the AL West...just like everyone predicted. 

*The Astros are considering a Six-Man Rotation.

*Jose Urquidy has begun a throwing program.

*Forrest Whitley, who was recently pulled from a start - and I know this will be a shock to you - with an injury (this time a right lat strain), will be out for an unknown amount of time (but was in the mix for the expanded rotation).

*Last week I told you how much I was enjoying The Left Right Game podcast. Having now finished it, it's crap. I hate it. 

*For the nannies of the 1%, Summer is no vacation.

*Folks, it's over. In a must-win game, Leeds United [squints] gave up a goal in the first 90 seconds and went on to lose 4-1. They will be playing in the Championship which sounds cool but is actually the second division. So here's the entrance to Elland Road, Leeds United's home stadium, which will be in the second division:

And here is the entrance to Kenilworth Road, home of Luton Town, who will be in the Premier League next season (and I mean this with absolutely zero sarcasm, honestly: that will be freaking cool):

*The Athletic: Elland Road United in Despair (accurate).

*Early odds are 11/2 (2nd-best) for Leeds to get promoted right back to the Premier League next season. But the owner can't decide if he wants to sell the club, there's no Director of Football (think GM), no coach...

*You can play a very detailed version of Football Manager on Apple Arcade, so my entire summer just got blown up. 

*The Wife and I are going to start this "Succession" show tonight and it will be Extremely Fun to try to avoid finding out literally anything about it.

*A Musical Selection:

A reminder that the Hot Links Playlist is on Spotify and now features 483 songs and almost 31 hours of my favorite songs of all-time.