Tuesday Lunchtime Hot Links

I don't care who wins the NLCS, I will be their biggest fan for the next two weeks, despite the fact that I'll likely not watch a minute of the World Series. This is a time for resetting, for reacquaintance, for recharging. More at the end.

To the Links:

*Only two teams in MLB history have lost all four home games in a seven-game series: the 2019 Astros and the 2023 Astros. As much as I hate the Rangers right now, I might hate the Astros just as much. 

*Chas McCormick, who got 16 plate appearances in seven games in the ALCS:

I mean, we just didn't play well enough at home. That's what finished our season. We didn't win at home. Game 5, when we came back and won, I was like, 'We have this. We're going back to the World Series.' It's a different taste in the mouth just because I've been in the World Series my first two years in the big leagues, so it's different.

Martin Maldonado, who went 1x7 with runners in scoring position in the ALCS:

It's frustrating, but at the same time, I feel like we accomplished a lot of stuff. It wasn't easy all year. We had a lot of injuries. I'm really proud of this group of guys. We never gave up. Just to make it seven in a row, it's pretty special. 

Jeremy Pena, who hit .160/.192/.160 in the ALCS:

I wouldn't consider [this season] a success.

Kyle Tucker, who hit .150/.292/.225 in the 2023 postseason, 0x6 w/RISP in the 2023 ALCS, and .180/.295/.326 in 24 games in the 2022-23 postseasons combined:

We had a good year, a lot of ups and downs throughout the season. And we at least had the opportunity to get there.

Dusty Baker, who is not under contract for the 2024 season and has indicated that 2023 would be his last in the dugout:

There's a whole bunch of stuff you can point to in that ballgame. And so we just got beat. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason. Sometimes you lose and sometimes you get beat. There's a difference. We got beat. 

*Dusty Baker is going to take some time to evaluate his situation for 2024:

I haven't had time to evaluate or think about my future because I'm not that kind of dude. I don't want to steal the spotlight or anything from these guys. You've got to savor what we did. You've got to think about how we can get better. And then I'll evaluate my situation and my life. 

Not a single person has any negative thing to say about Dusty Baker's character. 

*Alex Bregman, who only had four hits in the ALCS but included a triple and two home runs:

I think we fully expected to be here, and we expected to win. We got outplayed, and we'll learn from the mistakes this offseason. We'll get after it and be ready to get back to competing.

Justin Verlander, who allowed 12H/6ER in 12.1IP in the ALCS:

I think moving forward, there's still a good window available. It's a little early to say I'm excited about next year (Ed. note: SAME) I'm still dealing with this, but that was on my mind.

*Career Postseason Home Runs, MLB History:

1. Manny Ramirez: 29

2. Jose Altuve: 27

3. Bernie Williams: 22

4. Derek Jeter / Kyle Schwarber: 20

6. Alex Bregman / Albert Pujols / George Springer: 19

The Astros are apparently focused solely on extending Jose Altuve this off-season.

*Yordan Alvarez, 2023 Postseason: .465/.510/.977, 6HR/15RBI. Yordan's 41st career postseason RBI moved him into a tie for 18th all-time with Lance Berkman and Alex Rodriguez. His .949 career postseason OPS is 5th all-time among players with 50 postseason games played.

*I had completely forgotten that The Bastard Chris Young threw 4IP in G1 of the 2015 ALDS for the Royals. I don't think I've ever hated another team's GM more, and I hope his bicycle gets stuck in a cattle grate and skins up his knee real bad. 

What To Watch, October 24:

2:00pm Central: Champions League: Arsenal at Sevilla.

6:15pm: New Jersey at Montreal

7:07pm: DiamondBacks at Phillies.

*Please allow me a moment of introspection and vulnerability: 51 days ago I decided to stop drinking, which is my personal longest streak since the day I was born until the day I turned 21. It was enough of a problem that I recognized it as a problem. It was not recommended by a doctor (mainly because I don't go to the doctor), it was a personal choice. The first few days were really hard. There were certain triggers around particular days of the week and work milestones and whatnot that I recognized were particularly difficult. Still, I made it through with the help of my wife, a couple of friends who are various stages of their sobriety journey, and a lot of mineral water. I didn't want me opening a beer to be the soundtrack of my kid's childhood. I didn't want to have anxiety about what time I got home in the evenings based on when I could have a drink. It hasn't been easy. It still isn't easy, but I'm not fragile. This weekend I'll go to the wedding of one of my best friends (who happens to be a Ramger fan despite not being able to name three Ramgers on the active roster) armed with a six pack of HEB Lime Mineral Water, and it'll be fine. I feel better, I eat better, I can actually feel rested after sleeping, and get up and go to the gym. I was emotionally dependent on alcohol, and probably will continue to feel that way for a while, but I'm doing fine. If I can make it through an Astros postseason - especially this absolute pile of dogshit of a postseason - without drinking, I feel like I'm invincible. I don't know why I'm telling any of you this, but if you feel like you're in a similar circumstance or vortex or whatever you want to call it, feel free to reach out. FTR. 

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

The Astros enjoyed OktOBERfest haha got em. Hector Neris made it interesting, but the Astros go to Game 2 of the ALDS with a 1-0 lead for the 8th time since 2015, and the 7th straight time from 2017-2023. Houston is 22-7 in the ALDS since the beginning of the 2015 postseason (20-4 since 2017).

*Jose Altuve hit a first-pitch homer to open the game. It's his 24th postseason home run. He needs five more to tie Manny Ramirez for the most in MLB history. It was also his first postseason homer since 2021 World Series G4 - a span of 13 postseason games. 

Altuve RBI, 2022 Postseason: 0

Altuve RBI, 2023 Postseason (so far): 1

Houston Astros with a leadoff postseason home run:

Jose Altuve, G1 2023 ALDS

George Springer, G5 2020 ALCS

Craig Biggio, G7 2004 NLCS

*Justin Verlander is now tied for 2nd all-time with 35 postseason starts. He started Game 1 for an MLB-record 13th time. 

Verlander needed 23 pitches to get out of a (scoreless) 1st Inning. He only had three innings as an Astro in 2023 where he threw more: 2nd Inning September 30, 2nd Inning August 27, and 2nd Inning August 11. He took a little while to settle in:

1st Inning: 23 pitches, 0H/0ER, 0K:2BB

2nd Inning: 13 pitches, 2H/0ER, 0K:0BB

3rd Inning: 19 pitches, 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB

4th Inning: 10 pitches, 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB

5th Inning: 13 pitches, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB, HBP

6th Inning: 15 pitches, 0H/0ER, 1K:1BB

Verlander got two GIDPs in the first two innings, the most he's induced in a game since May 10, 2022 against...the Twins. It's just the 27th time in his career he's gotten two GIDPs in a start, playoffs included, and the 3rd time he's gotten two GIDPs in a postseason outing. G1 was his 545th career MLB start. 

Dusty, on Verlander:

Early, he was forcing his breaking ball...he couldn't get it over. He got in trouble a couple times early, but if you don't get to JV early, he usually finds his groove.

Postseason Wins, MLB Career:

1. Andy Pettitte: 19

2. Justin Verlander: 17

3. John Smoltz: 15

4. Tom Glavine: 14

5. Clayton Kershaw: 13

Verlander, regular season career: 18 seasons, 257-141, 3342K:925BB, 3.24 ERA / 1.12 WHIP

Kershaw, regular season career: 16 seasons, 210-92, 2944K:669BB, 2.48 ERA / 1.00 WHIP

Verlander, postseason career: 36 appearances, 17-11, 236K:71BB, 3.54 ERA / 1.11 WHIP 

Kershaw, postseason career: 39 appearances, 13-13, 213K:51BB, 4.49 ERA / 1.11 WHIP

Verlander:

It's been a whirlwind of a year, season for me. To find myself back here in Houston and pitching in the playoffs is not something I foresaw, but happy to be here, happy to help contribute, and happy to be in the playoffs.

*Jeremy Pena was 1x4. He has at least one hit in 13 of his 14 career postseason games. 

*Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the 3rd, the 7th postseason home run of his career, and the second consecutive postseason game with a home run, going back to the when he turned the game upside-down in G6 of the 2022 World Series. Yordan has at least one RBI in four straight postseason games. 

Worth mentioning that Yordan Alvarez has 199 career post-season plate appearances, and just one GIDP. 

2+ HR games, postseason, Astros history:

Jose Altuve: 3 - G1 2017 ALDS

Yordan Alvarez: 2 - G1 2023 ALDS

Kyle Tucker: 2 - G1 2022 World Series

Michael Brantley: 2 - G4 2020 ALDS (somehow I have zero recollection of this)

George Springer: 2 - G2 2020 ALDS

Carlos Correa: 2 - G1 2020 ALDS

George Springer: 2 - G3 2018 ALDS

Carlos Correa: 2 - G4 2015 ALDS

Carlos Beltran: 2 - G5 2004 NLDS

Yordan:

When I go up there, I try not to think about the situation, try not to think about the noise. Just say to myself, 'I'm the only one that can get the job done at this moment.

Dubon, on Yordan:

It's not easy to face him in general. You have no idea what he's going to do. He can hit a ball out dead center 460 feet or he's on his front foor and (hitting) it out 400 feet. Pick your poison - what do you want?

Twins pitcher Caleb Thielbar had not allowed a home run to a lefty all season. Lefties big, righties small...Yordan hits them all.

*FanGraphs: Behind Verlander's arm, and Yordan's bat, the Astros snatch Game 1. 

*Jose Abreu now has at least one RBI in five of his career eight postseason games. The Athletic: A healthy Jose Abreu now has a clean slate in front of him.

*Hector Neris had not allowed a home run since August 14. So of course he gave up a 3-run shot to make it 5-3 Astros in the 7th and then another one a batter later to make it 5-4. Neris had only given up two homers in a game five times previously in his career. The last time he gave up multiple homers was June 29, 2018. 

Neris, 2022 postseason: 6IP, 2H/1ER, 9K:0BB

Neris, 2023 postseason; 0.2IP, 3H/4ER, 2K:0BB, HBP

*The Astros were 2x10 w/RISP, the Twins were 1x12 w/RISP.

*Kendall Graveman was left off the ALDS Roster because he is literally butthurt. 

*It was the 48th time the Astros have won a postseason game with Carlos Correa in uniform:

Wins with Correa as an Astro: 47

Wins with Correa as a Twin: 1

Elsewhere in the playoffs:

Rangers 3 - 2 Orioles. FanGraphs has it: Rangers 72.6 - 27.4 Orioles

Phillies 3 - 0 Braves. FanGraphs: Phillies 59.9 - 40.1 Braves 

D'Backs 11 - 2 Dodgers. FanGraphs: D'Backs 61.7 - 38.3 Dodgers

Other Stuff

*Two climbers were stranded on a big wall. An iPhone saved the day.

*A 1994 UFO sighting changed lives. What if this guy made it up? 

*The Struggle Is Awesome. 

What To Watch, October 8:

Roma @ Cagliari: 11am Central

Texans @ Falcons: 12pm 

Barcelona @ Grenada: 2pm

Rangers @ Orioles: 3:07pm

Twins @ Astros, 7:03pm

*A Musical Selection:

What, If Anything, Happened to Jeremy Peña?

Look, anyone's judgment could be clouded by Jeremy Peña's 2022 postseason. Because his 2022 regular season wasn't anything to sneeze at, certainly nothing to indicate he was the heir-apparent to Carlos Correa, absolutely nothing to indicate that there was an ALCS and World Series MVP coming the next month. 

Sure, he had 20 doubles and 22 home runs as a rookie. 149 other MLB players had done that. Two other guys did it in 2022 alone (Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Witt). Five dudes had done it in 2021. Eight guys did it in 2023, including the Catcher Who Can't Be Found Yainer Diaz. 

Peña also struck out 135 times in 558 Plate Appearances. His 24.2 K% was the 24th-highest in MLB among 99 players with 550 PAs. 13 of those players racked up less than Peña's 3.4 fWAR. It was fine. Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 24 doubles and 22 homers, a 138 OPS+ to Peña's 102 OPS+ thanks to a .253/.289/.426 line. Again, fine. 

In 2023, however, Peña seemed to have taken a step back. Maybe it's a sophomore slump, maybe it's the respect that comes from hitting .345/.367/.638 on the Astros' way to an 11-2 World Series run. Peña had a hit in 12 of the 13 postseason games. He hit .500/.529/.688 in the World Series, including a 3x4 HR/2RBI night in Game 5, a 3-2 Astros win over Philadelphia that pushed the Phillies to the brink. 

But it's hard to look at that postseason as a stepping stone to a breakout 2023 (as though breaking out in the 2022 Postseason isn't enough), because that didn't happen. The following stats come from FanGraphs:

Barrels, 2022/2023: 38 / 18

Barrel%, 2022/2023: 9.6% / 4.0%

Soft-Hit%, 2022/2023: 16.1% / 15.1%

Medium-Hit%, 2022/2023: 55.4% / 54.9%

Hard-Hit%, 2022/2023: 28.6% / 30.0% (StatCast disagrees, saying Peña's Hard Hit% dipped slightly, from 36.2% to 35.1% in 2023.)

Peña's Groundball Rate jumped pretty significantly, from 46.4% in 2022 to 54.3% in 2023. It seems as though Peña was stinging the ball a little bit more, sort of: his Average Exit Velocity in 2022 was 88.1mph. In 2023 it was 88.0mph. 

Where some of his issues stem from are in his Launch Angle. In 2022, a year good enough to finish 5th in AL Rookie of the Year voting, in which voting is tabulated prior to the postseason, he was averaging an 8.7° Launch Angle. In 2023, it dropped to 5.4°.

He's hitting the ball about as normally - over the course of a full season - as he did in 2022, though Peña was more selective and, as a result, got a little better at making contact:

Swing%, 2022/2023: 54.7% / 52.9%

O-Swing% (outside the zone), 2022/2023: 41.0% / 38.3%

Contact%, 2022/2023: 71.4% / 73.8%

He's making better contact, but at a worse angle, and with a lot more ground balls. 

HOWEVER! On July 25, Peña went 1x4 with two strikeouts to lower his OPS to .653. In the 59 games following that one Peña hit .313/.379/.402, albeit with a .379 BABIP...which has always been on the higher side for Peña. His .298 BABIP in 2022 - while completely normal for a Major-League hitter - jumped to .323 in 2023, and almost matches the .325 BABIP he posted in Sugar Land in 2021 (and is actually way under his 2019 BABIP of .357 at Low-A and .383 at High-A). 

But: From Opening Day to July 25, Peña's BABIP was .277. From July 26-October 1 that jumped to .391. A .391 BABIP in a week is just fluky. It's hard to be fluky for 60 games. From August 8 - the beginning of the first Baltimore series - to the end of the season, he hit .317/.375/.410 on a .392 BABIP. 

I'm not buying the "he traded power for contact" argument, because his contact was fairly consistent, there wasn't a drop-off in home runs to create a higher contact rate from 2022 to 2023. The home runs just...dropped off, because he hits the ball on the ground a lot more. But it could certainly be that Peña's "regressed" back to the mean of the ball finding holes more often than not.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Houston Astros came crashing back to earth after their one (1) win in Seattle and were sloppy as hell, from all accounts (I had to be out of town from about 3:30-11pm yesterday so mercifully I didn't watch a minute of the game). Houston lost 6-2. They're 86-72. There are four games remaining.

*AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore (98-59)

2. Grand Prairie (88-69)

3. Minnesota (84-73)

4. Tampa (96-62)

5. Toronto (87-70)

6. Houston (86-72)

7. Seattle (85-72): +0.5

*AL West Division / Postseason Odds:

FanGraphs:

Grand Prairie: 86.9% / 97.1%

Houston: 6.6% / 58.6%

Seattle: 6.5% / 49.2%

Baseball-Reference:

Grand Prairie: 78.3% / 98.0%

Seattle: 14.0% / 42.5%

Houston: 7.7% / 63.7%

The Game, For Some Reason

*AL West Records, Sept 1-present:

Grand Prairie: 13-11

Oakland: 9-14

Houston: 9-14

Seattle: 9-15

Anaheim: 7-17

*Houston has lost 10 of its last 14 games. Their opponents in those 14 games: v Oakland, at Kansas City, v Baltimore, v Kansas City, at Seattle.

*The Astros committed three errors (Altuve, Bregman, Tucker). The Astros have allowed eight unearned runs in their last eleven games. Dusty:

We had (Kirby) on the ropes in the first inning and then we had another bases loaded and nobody out, and we just got one run out of it. We didn't play real well tonight. We kind of threw the ball around and then we didn't back up the bases a couple of times. We didn't play well.

*Houston got 10 hits last night, but only scored two runs, mainly thanks to going 2x13 with runners in scoring position. Jose Abreu was 0x3 w/RISP, Yordan and Yainer were 0x2 w/RISP. 

*Last night was the 7th time in 2023 the Astros had 10+ hits and lost. Four of those games have come in September. It's the 3rd time in 2023 that the Astros recorded 10+ hits, scored two or fewer runs, and lost. 

*Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena had three hits each. It was the 14th 3-hit game of Altuve's 2023 season, and the 9th of Pena's season. Neither of them scored a run last night. Altuve, on the series finale:

Probably the biggest game of the year. Gotta win. Gotta go out there and score more runs than them and win the game, win the series.

*Yordan went 0x5. It was the 33rd time in 478 games he had at least five Plate Appearances and no hits. 

*Chas McCormick was plunked in his large of the back by a 99mph fastball from Ariel Munoz (I know his name is Andres, I stand by it). It was his 5th HBP to 205 batters faced in 2023. Four of those HBPs have come in September. Dusty: 

I'm tired of our guys getting hit. It makes guys a lot bolder when they don't have to hit. 

The Astros' 72 HBPs are the 6th-highest in the League. Yordan (13) and Chas (11) have worn it the most in 2023. 

*Cristian Javier didn't live up to the tone Verlander set: 4.2IP, 3H/4R (3ER), 6K:3BB. He needed 91 pitches to not get through the 5th Inning. 

*And so was Rafael Montero, who allowed three hits and a walk without recording an out.

*Bennett Sousa threw 1.1IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB. In four appearances for the Astros in 2023, Sousa: 5.1IP, 0H/0ER, 7K:0BB.

*Whoever wins tonight's game will be in the third and final Wild Card spot heading into the last series of the season. 

*The Athletic: Welcome to the "Gold-Plated" Villages the Premier League's elite call home.

*Hello, Nightmare Fuel.

*What To Watch, September 27:

Manchester City @ Newcastle United: 2pm Central

Senators @ Canadiens: 6pm

Yankees @ Blue Jays: 6:07pm

Dynamo @ Inter Miami: 7:30pm

Rangers @ Angels: 8:38pm

Astros @ Mariners: 8:40pm

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

[throws literally everything out on to the curb]

The Houston Astros lost to the Royals yet again, this time 3-2. Houston insists on digging its own grave in the "cushy" part of the schedule. Houston is 18-20 in 1-run games. They are 85-70, 39-41 at Minute Maid Park, clinching a losing home record for the first time since 2014. Today is the last home game of the 2023 season, thank God. 

They have lost 12 of 20 in September. They have lost six of their last eight games. They have lost eight of their last eleven games. Since sweeping the Rangers, the "Astros" have lost nine of their last 14 games and have scored two or fewer runs in six of those games. They have lost 10 of their last 14 home games. They are 10-16 at home since August 1. 

Chas McCormick (who homered):

It's been frustrating, I've never been in this position before. Every team that's come to play us, they want to beat us badly and we just don't want it enough right now...I don't think we're firing on all cylinders and putting a little pressure on ourselves.

Dusty:

Right now, we have to dwell on as many positives as possible and try to delete, negate as many negatives as possible. It brings you down. Brings the town down. We need everybody's thought processes in a positive direction and a positive goal. 

*AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore (96-59)

2. Ovilla (86-68)

3. Minnesota (82-73)

4. Tampa (95-61)

5. Toronto (86-69)

6. Houston (85-70)

7. Seattle (84-70)

*AL West Odds:

FanGraphs (Change from yesterday):

Ovilla: 59.3% (+22.9%)

Houston: 25.0% (-14.9%)

Seattle: 15.7% (-7.8%)

Baseball-Reference:

Ovilla: 59.5%

Seattle: 20.3%

Houston: 20.2%

*The Astros at home, 2023 compared to previous years:

2023: 39-41, .250/.325/.412, 91 HR, .285 BABIP, 97 sOPS+

2022: 55-26, .257/.330/.449, 116 HR, .283 BABIP, 116 sOPS+

2021: 51-30, .267/.342/.445, 105 HR, .302 BABIP, 112 sOPS+

2019: 60-21, .284/.362/.516, 150 HR, .308 BABIP, 128 sOPS+

2018: 46-35, .248/.328/.403, 92 HR, .282 BABIP, 99 sOPS+

2017: 48-33, .279/.340/.472, 115 HR, .302 BABIP, 110 sOPS+

2016: 43-38, .238/.311/.407, 98 HR, .291 BABIP, 91 sOPS+

2015: 53-28, .253/.321/.462, 128 HR, .292 BABIP, 110 sOPS+

2014: 38-43, .245/.315/.398, 90 HR, .303 BABIP, 100 sOPS+

*Kansas City pitcher and Former Astros Great Jordan Lyles: 5IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:2BB. Lyles came into Saturday's game with a -1.5 bWAR. It was the second time in 30 starts in 2023 that Lyles didn't allow an earned run. He has more 7ER outings (4) than he does scoreless ones (2). 54 pitchers have thrown at least 150IP in the Majors in 2023. Lyles ranks among those 54 pitchers:

fWAR: 0.0 (54th)

ERA: 6.43 (54th)

FIP: 5.73 (54th)

xFIP: 5.38 (54th)

HR/FB: 14.5% (43rd)

K/9: 6.10 (52nd)

HR/9: 2.05 (53rd)

And so the Astros - who apparently thought that yesterday was the time to flip the playoff mode switch - had two singles. It was the first time since July 29 that Lyles made it through a start without allowing a home run. It was the first time since July 17 that Lyles didn't allow an extra-base hit. The defending World Series Champions got absolutely shut down at home against the worst pitcher in baseball. Bregman:

It feels like we're playing terrible. That's it. We're not playing good.

It feels like that because it's true. 

*7.5% of the Royals' wins have come against the Astros in the last nine days. Dusty:

It's like Groundhog Day. We're playing hard, they're playing good ball but we're having trouble pushing runs across. You know, hitting with runners in scoring position. When we do good we're going to get a bunch of them for a period of time. I just feel that. We're so close to breaking games open. Just didn't get it done.

Houston is 1.5 games back and the regular season ends a week from today. 

*The Astros are 3x20 with runners in scoring position in these last two games. Jose Altuve was 0x2 w/RISP. 

*Houston has gone four straight games starting the bottom of the 1st Inning down by at least one run.

*Jose Altuve was 0x4 with a walk. In September: .299/.372/.623.

*Alex Bregman was 0x3 with a walk. Since his 3-hit game on September 16 against Kansas City, Bregman is hitting .056/.393/.222. His one hit in that span was a homer. 

*Jose Abreu was 0x3. In his last ten games, Abreu is hitting .184/.238/.447

*Jeremy Pena was 2x4 with 2SB. On August 10, Pena went 0x4 in the final game of the first Baltimore series. Since then, he's hitting .320/.379/.429.

*J.P. France: 5IP, 7H/3R (2ER), 5K:1BB.

*Bullpen: 4IP, 0H/0ER, 6K:0BB. Just completely wasted by this waste of an offense. 

*Bryan Abreu hasn't allowed a run since July 15: 24IP, 9H/0ER, 28K:10BB.

*Bennett Sousa: 2IP, 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB.

*The Astros passed 3,000,000 fans for the first time since 2007 and for the 5th time in franchise history. They're 6-16 when playing in foront of a home sellout crowd.

*The Astros see themselves in the 2023 Orioles. 

*The Ringer: Outkast's Conscious Uncoupling

*Why Colorado and New Mexico are fighting a hot war over green chile.

*What To Watch, September 24:

Newcastle United @ Sheffield United: 10:30am Central

Teggsuns @ Jaguars: 12pm

Blue Jays @ Rays: 12:10pm

Royals @ Astros: 1:10pm

Mariners @ Rangers: 1:35pm

Women's Soccer: South Africa @ USWNT. 4:30pm

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

They did it. They eclipsed the 2017 Harvey Revenge Series, beating the absolute piss out of the Pride-less Rangers in three straight games. Houston is 80-61, the first AL West team to reach 80 wins (an accomplishment the 2023 A's should achieve no later than July 2024). 

*The Astros have won eight of their last eleven games. They're 20-8 in road games since the All-Star Break. The last MLB team to score 39+ runs in three consecutive games was...the Houston Astros, all the way back from August 26-28, 2023. 

*10.3% of the Rangers' home losses in 2023 came in the last 72 hours. Dusty:

It really wasn't about making a statement. It was more about winning games and trying to get into first place. You love to see your offense come alive like that. We got some good pitching performances. We played an excellent series.

Bruce Bochy:

Obviously, it was not a good series, wasn't a lot we did well. We just didn't execute pitches, left a lot up throughout the series and we paid for it...They put it to us, and there's no getting around that. 

The Rangers had never given up 16+ home runs in a three-game span before. 

*AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore (88-51)

2. Houston (80-61)

3. Minnesota (73-67)

4. Tampa (85-55)

5. Seattle (78-61)

6. Toronto (77-63)

- 

7. Pantego +0.5 (76-63)

8. Boston +5.0 (72-68)

If MLB just seeded the teams with the six best records in the AL, Minnesota would be 3.5 games back of Pantego, in 8th. 

*AL West Odds (and change since yesterday):

FanGraphs:

Houston: 67.2% (+2.7%)

Seattle: 28.3% (+1.9%)

Pantego: 4.5% (-4.6%)

Baseball-Reference:

Houston: 67.9% (+6.0%)

Seattle: 25.8% (-0.8%)

Pantego: 6.3% (-5.2%)

The Game

The Astros eclipsed the Harvey Revenge Series of September 2017. In that series, the Astros collected 37 runs on 46 hits - 11 doubles and six home runs. This series, the Astros collected 39 runs on 50 hits - seven doubles and 16 home runs.

The 16 home runs in three games are the 2nd-most in a 3-game span in MLB history, behind the 19 that the 2020 Yankees hit against Toronto in September 2020. Only four other teams hit 16 home runs in a three-game series: the 2023 Astros (just now), the 2019 Nationals, 2019 Yankees, and 1977 Red Sox. The 2023 Astros and 2019 Yankees were the only ones to do it on the road against the same opponent. 

*Most runs in a game, single-team, Globe Life Field's history:

1. 18 - by Pantego vs Oakland: Apr 22, 2023

2. 16 - by Pantego vs Philadelphia: April 1, 2023; by Pantego vs Seattle: June 3, 2023; by Los Angeles vs Pantego, July 22, 2023; 

5. 15 - by Pantego vs New York, April 30, 2023; by Houston vs Pantego, September 13, 2021

7. 14 - by Houston vs Pantego, Sept. 4, 2023; by Oakland vs Pantego, July 12, 2022; by San Diego vs Pantego, August 17, 2020.

10. 13 - by Houston vs Pantego, Sept. 5, 2023; by Pantego vs Colorado, May 21, 2023; by Pantego vs Houston, August 29, 2021; by Oakland by Pantego, June 22, 2021. 

*Jose Abreu was 2x3 with a grand slam and a 3-run homer. The three-run shot left his bat at 113.3mph, his hardest-hit ball of 2023. His 7RBI tie a career-high, also set at Minnesota on September 4, 2016 and against Detroit on September 12, 2020. It's the 20th multi-HR game of his career. Abreu:

If there's one person here that gets impressed by what this team can do, it's me because I'm new here. I think that this organization, these guys, when the lights are shining bright, they know how to handle things, they know how to do things well. I'm just very grateful to be part of this, as well. 

*Yordan Alvarez was 1x3 with 2BB, 2RBI, and his 25th homer of the year. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Yordan is hitting a home run every 16.5 Plate Appearances.

*Michael Brantley was 2x3 with a homer and 2RBI. Brantley has played in six games in 2023, three of them have been 2-hit games. 

*Chas McCormick managed to talk his way into a PA in a blowout and responded by hitting his 20th home run of the season. He had an RBI in all three games of the Rangers series. McCormick has an eight-game hit streak in which he's hitting .375/.432/.563. He has a hit in 10 of his last 11 games. 

Chas McCormick has 384 PAs. Only four centerfielders have a higher fWAR than McCormick's 3.8 fWAR:

1. Julio Rodriguez: 5.5 fWAR (612 PAs).

2. Corbin Carroll: 5.2 fWAR (552 PAs).

3. Luis Robert, Jr.: 5.1 fWAR (538 PAs).

4. Cody Bellinger: 4.2 fWAR (463 PAs).

Chas McCormick leads all MLB CFs with a 147 wRC+. Please find a way to play this man every day.

*Jeremy Pena was 2x6 with a double. It's his 4th straight multi-hit game. Since August 1, Pena is hitting .339/.413/.449.

*Justin Verlander: 7IP, 4H/2R (1ER), 6K:1BB. It's the 133rd start of Verlander's career in which he has thrown at least 7IP and been charged with 0-1 Earned Runs. It's the 31st time he's done it in an Astros jersey. Verlander:

As a starting pitcher, your job is to carry the momentum. Our offense made it pretty easy on us this series. 

Verlander vs. Scherzer last night was the first time that opposing starting pitchers had 3,000 career strikeouts since Schilling vs Clemens on September 16, 2007.

Other Stuff

*Chandler Rome has a pretty electrifying piece in The Athletic, in which it is learned that the front office shares the fans' frustration with the number of Chas-less lineups. Rome:

This week, four people with knowledge of the team's inner workings said that McCormick's weight has become a talking point for Baker. 

Chas:

I like being this heavy. I guess if I was a little lighter it'd be easier, bit easier to move a little bitter. I feel stronger. I feel healthier. I feel I can do more being at 220. Usually I'm at 216. When I'm 210, I'm too light. I was 214 last year, I think, and I felt too light again. I kind of like being where I'm at right now, at 220. 

It's weird. 

*The Ringer: The AL West is MLB's last great hope for an interesting division race.

*Check out this rundown of the Astros' farm system, on ApolloHOU.

*MLB.com's "One Player On Each Team With Something To Prove in 2023" features Cristian Javier.

*Washington Post: The biggest match-fixing network in Tennis is out of an apartment in Brussels.

*The Guardian: The Inside Story of the Unravelling of Liz Truss' Premiership.

*Outside: Walking in the Footsteps of Legends: 10 Amazing Historical Hikes.

What To Watch, September 7, 2023:

The Astros and Rangers are off.

Euro 2024 Qualifying: Ireland at France: 1:45pm Central.

Mariners @ Rays: 5:40pm Central

Murray State @ Louisville: 6:30pm Central

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

The Houston MF Astros beat the piss out of the Tampa Bay Rays, 17-4. Houston is 59-46, one game back of Las Colinas, who are 2-6 since starting the All-Star Break on a 6-0 run. The Astros are 14-9 in July, and 9-5 since the All-Star Break. 

*Houston's 17 runs are the most in a game since August 18, 2022 when they put 21 on the White Sox, and it's the most runs scored at Minute Maid Park since September 8, 2019, which featured a 21-1 win over the Mariners.

*Houston's five home runs are the most since July 16. It's the fourth time they've hit 5+ homers in a game. They have hit at least one home run in ten straight games, and hit 2+ homers in five of those. Houston is 10-0 when hitting 3+ home runs. 

*6-9 in the lineup (Abreu-McCormick-Diaz-Meyers): 11x16, 10 runs scored, 1K:3BB, 8RBI, four extra-base hits. 

*Since the All-Star Break:

Yordan: .455/.538/.818

Chas: .388/.492/.776

Tucker: .365/.469/.750

Bregman: .339/.403/.714

Abreu: .315/.393/.500

Meyers: .304/.385/.522

Yainer: .278/.308/.583

Altuve: .250/.250/.667

Pena: .185/.228/.222 (so, sure, keep hitting him 2nd)

Maldy: .176/.176/.324

Julks: .075/.191/.100

*Corey Julks is going through it. He has 0 hits in his last 33 Plate Appearances and is 3x46 since enjoying a three-hit game against the Mariners on July 6. 

*Jose Altuve hit his 199th career home run. 

*Chas McCormick was 3x5 with a triple and 2RBI, his 4th three-hit game of the season. 

*Jeremy Pena was 2x6 with a career-high 4RBI - 10.3% of his season RBI came in last night's game. He had five RBI from June 29-July 28 (18 games). Pena has RBIs in consecutive games for the first time since May 27-28. 

*Jose Abreu was 3x3 with a homer and 3RBI. Since June 1, Abreu is hitting .288/.330/.484

*Kyle Tucker was 0x6 for the 2nd time in his career, and the first time since May 29, 2021.

*Downtown Hunter Brown: 6IP, 4H/2ER, 4K:2BB. Since the All-Star Break, Brown: 17.1IP, 16H/8ER, 15K:4BB, 4HR. Note the emergence of Hunter Brown's sweeper-slider.

Hunter Brown + Yainer Diaz = Battery of the Future.

*Rafael Montero's 1.8 HR/9inn is the highest of his career since he posted a 1.9 HR/9 in 2016 with the Mets.

*Speaking of the Mets, they traded Max Scherzer to the Rangers yesterday. Scherzer's 4.01 ERA would be the highest of his career since 2011 and his 4.73 FIP is the highest he's ever expected. Since getting lit up by the Yankees on June 13, Scherzer: 8 starts, 51IP, 42H/20ER, 61K:16BB, 3.53 ERA / 1.14 WHIP. 

*Chandler Rome threw water on the Verlander-to-Houston rumors, and wonders who, exactly, is in charge of the Astros.

*Kendall Graveman is excited to be an Astro again. I would be excited, too, if I got traded and jumped 16.5 games up the standings. 

*Sugar Land's Pedro Leon hit a 477-foot home run that left the park.

*Colombia stunned Germany with a 97th minute goal.

*Rolling Stone: An Oral History of "The Fugitive."

*Texas Monthly: The Story Behind Sinead O'Connor's Duet With Willie Nelson.

*A Musical Selection, the greatest B-Side of all-time:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

The Houston MF Astros "swept" the "Rockies" 6-4 in Wednesday's game. Houston is 49-38, 2.0 games back of Watauga. The Astros have won four in a row, seven of their last eight, eight of their last ten. Houston is 24-19 at Minute Maid Park, and 25-19 on the road. The Astros have won three straight series.

*Yainer Diaz hit two home runs to bring his season total to 10, and he did it in just 48 games (174 PAs), which is a 34-homer pace extrapolated to a 162-game season. Diaz joins Yordan Alvarez as the only Astros to have a 2HR game in 2023 (Yordan did it May 22 and May 28). Pena:

It feels like he hits a homer every other game.

McTaggart notes that Diaz is the first Astros rookie catcher with a multi-homer game since Mitch Meluskey  (September 3, 2000 vs Atlanta).

*Jeremy Pena also joined the 10HR Club, giving the Astros five players with double-digit homers.

*It was the Astros 17th straight game with a home run - their longest streak since an 18-gamer from July 19-August 8, 2021. 

*Alex Bregman was 0x2 with 2BB. In the last six games Bregman is hitting .095/.296/.143.

*Kyle Tucker was caught stealing for the 3rd time this season. The Astros are 63-for-80 (78.8%) when attempting to steal a base. On one hand, they're just 20 steals short of their entire 2022 total, but are just a tad worse than they were in 2022, when they went 83-for-105 (79%) when stealing bases. 

That said, the American League is 923-for-1177 (78.4%) when trying to steal a base. So..teams with a worse basestealing rate than the Astros:

Rangers: 78.4%

Guardians: 78.2%

Royals: 77.4%

Tigers: 75.9%

Mariners: 75%

Yankees: 73.2%

Angels: 72.1%

*J.P. France: 6IP, 6H/3ER, 4K:1BB - his seventh consecutive Quality Start, and 9th in first eleven starts of 2023. 

*Ryan Pressly saved his 19th game of the season. He has 95 saves as an Astro, 4th all-time, and just 28 behind Brad Lidge for 3rd in franchise history. Pressly's last ten appearances: 10IP, 0H/1R (0ER), 11K:3BB. 

*The Astros are skipping Cristian Javier's next start, giving him until after the All-Star Break to remember how to pitch. Dana Brown:

This is his first full season as a starter. I think guys [get] tired at times and they get dead arm and they just don't have the zip that they usually have on their stuff. And so at the end of the day, I think giving him a little bit of a break is what we're trying to talk about now. Could be a good thing.

*The Astros will know more about Altuve's oblique today, but they (a) don't think it's as serious as it was the first time he went through it this season and (b) Altuve likely won't play a minute of any of these four Mariners games before the All-Star Break.

*Chandler Rome: How Dana Brown is approaching the Draft.

*If you're trying to off-ramp Twitter, I'm on Threads, but I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it. Here's a little guide to Threads, hailed as the "Twitter Killer."

*Yankees reliever Jimmy Cordero has been suspended for the remainder of the season under MLB's Domestic Violence policy.

*Dave Martinez is a PAB.

*I love two kinds of music: Sad, Bourbon-Soaked Sad Bastard Music and Sugary-Sweet, Cavity-Inducing Pop Music. That said, the WHAM! documentary on Netflix is fan-freaking-tastic. 

*Town & Country: The Joy of Traveling Solo.

*I'm not one to pass judgment on the mental health of another, but this lady at DFW is SPOOKED.

*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:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Well Shawn Dubin did pretty much exactly what the Astros needed him to do, Chas McCormick delivered the Big Hit, Altuve homered. Astros win 5-3 to improve to 46-38, four games back, winners of five of their last seven games. The Astros have an opportunity today to end a weekend at South Euless in which three rookies started having picked up two games. At worst, the Astros will have kept the Ramgers lead at five games through a tough weekend. 

*Dusty:

This club, they like to win. And they know how to win. No matter who we put out there, we expect them to do the job, even though they might not do as good a job as the people they're replacing. But just do what you're capable of doing and do what it takes to help us win.

That is the backhandiest of compliments.

*Shawn Dubin: 4IP, 3H/1ER, 3K:2BB.

Dusty: 

That puts us in position to win the series and leave three games out. We battled today. Our bullpen did a great job. Dubin did an outstanding job. We took him far...we were thinking three, and he went four.

*Bullpen: 5IP, 4H/2ER, 8K:0BB.

*I'm not really sure why Future Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy pulled Andrew Heaney after 5IP and 85 pitches, having allowed just three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts...but I'm glad he did.

*Ramgers Bullpen: 4IP, 7H/5ER, 4K:2BB.

*Jose Abreu was 3x5 with a double. Since June 1 (26 games), Abreu is hitting .298/.321/.510. He has a nine-game on-base streak.

*Jose Altuve hit his 198th career home run in the top of the 9th inning. Since coming back from resting a bruised heel on June 28, Altuve is hitting .316/.458/.842. Four of his six hits in that span have been for extra-bases, and he's been on base 11 times in 19 PAs. He needs two more home runs to be the 5th Astro with 200 career home runs, and needs 26 homers to pass Jimmy Wynn for 4th all-time in franchise history.

*Chas McCormick was 2x4 with a two-out bases-clearing triple to break the game open off of Josh Sbarro Sborz in the 8th inning. It was McCormick's first triple since August 13, 2022, and his first 3RBI game since April 9. On June 9, McCormick was hitting .227/.315/.427 after going 0x6 with 4Ks. Since then, he's hitting .333/.400/.533. He should probably play every day.

McCormick:

I'm just happy to contribute and help the team win. I wanted to come through there with two outs, wanted to be aggressive and ready to hit. Thankfully, we got a win today because that was huge. And if we can get a win tomorrow, that will be even bigger.

*Yainer Diaz was 0x4 with runners in scoring position.

Diaz, bases empty, 2023: 85 PAs, .354/.377/.671.

Diaz, someone on, 2023: 76 PAs, .169/.171/.254.

Diaz, with RISP, 2023: 43 PAs, .132/.140/.158.

There are 295 hitters in MLB with a minimum of 40 PAs w/RISP, and Diaz's .132 BA ranks 292nd.

*Alex Bregman had his 3rd 0x5 day of the season. 

*Framber Valdez and Yordan Alvarez are your 2023 Astros All-Stars. Yordan will attend, not play. Framber might start the game.

*Yordan took BP in the cage yesterday.

*Jeremy Pena missed his third straight game after sleeping wrong. Wasn't it about this time that we all lit up Carlos Correa? 

*The Nationals signed Former Astros Great Daniel Mengden to a minor-league contract while the Rockies called up Former Astros Great Fernando Abad.

*BBC: Will Texas become too hot for humans?

*Today is a hallowed day at ACHQ: It's July 3 aka Dependence Day. The day that me and my household celebrate the last day of America's dependence on England. So grab a Bounty and a Harp, add this to your Spotify playlists and spend the next nine and a half hours with me listening to the finest Britpop. 

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat NW Duncanville 5-3 last night. Houston was down 3-1 and scored the last four runs of the game to secure the win. At 45-37, Houston is four games back for the first time since June 16. The Astros have won three straight games, four of their last five, and six of their last nine games.

*Houston went 13-14 in June, playing 27 games in 30 days. It was their first losing record in a calendar month since September 2020. Or, since that season doesn't exist, since August 2017, when they went 11-17. 

*The Astros are 14-6 against the AL West. The Rangers are 15-9 against the AL West.

*Jose Altuve hit the first pitch of the game over the wall. It was the 197th homer of his career, and his 34th career lead-off home run, and moved him past Lance Berkman into sole possession of 3rd in Astros Runs Scored.

Dubon:

If he goes, we go. That's something that's been going on for a while. To hit it on the first pitch of the game, that's his moment.

Altuve, leading off the game, career: .317/.375/.555. 

Altuve in the leadoff spot, career: .304/.366/.485.

*Dusty Baker:

You always want to win that first game because that puts you on a confidence high for the second game...Four-game series are tough. They're very tough. It was very important for us to win that game.

Chas McCormick, who somehow found himself in the lineup and went 2x4 (likely enraging Dusty):

It felt like a playoff game tonight, and Altuve hitting the first pitch dead-center was pretty awesome. For him to be back in the lineup and get us going, that's pretty special for him to do. He's a great player and that's what great players do.

*Mauricio Dubon was 1x4 with a double and 2RBI. It was his 3rd 2RBI game of the season. 

Dubon:

We're a good team. We know what we can do. It's a long year. Just continue doing what we're doing. 

*Last night was Ronel Blanco's fifth start of the season, and he has allowed nine home runs - four straight games with two homers allowed. Blanco has allowed 15 earned runs in those five starts, 11 of them have come via home run. 

*Houston's bullpen: 4IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:0BB.

*Jeremy Pena was out with a stiff neck from sleeping wrong.

*Jose Urquidy threw a 34-pitch bullpen session yesterday, and will face live batters next week.

*In The Ringer's Midseason Power Rankings, the Astros rank 12th...one spot behind Anaheim.

*Prior to Friday's game the Rangers traded for Aroldis Chapman. 

Chapman, regular season career vs Houston: 20.1IP, 21H/12ER, 36K:14BB. His 5.31 ERA / 1.72 WHIP vs the Astros in the regular season is the highest of any single opponent in his career. 

Also:

*The Rangers loss means that SeattLOLe's 15-4 loss (a game they were leading 4-0) to the Rays keeps them 10 games back. Seattle got booed off the field.

*The Ringer: "Hijack" is Idris Elba at his TV thriller best. Can confirm. I love this show.

*BBC: A culinary archaeologist sets the record straight with the recipe for Pompeii's pizza.

*NY Times: France is on fire.

*The Atlantic: Dave Grohl's monument to mortality.

*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:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

In one of the most bizarre games of the year, the Astros beat the Mets 10-8 to win consecutive games for the third time in June. Cristian Javier's velocity was concerning, the bats kind of weren't? The Astros are 41-34. The Rangers won, the Angels lost, so the Astros are back in second place, a half-game up on Anaheim and 5.5 back of Pantego. 

*Houston went 4-5 on this nine-game NL homestand against the Nationals, Reds, and Mets. They played 26 games in the last 27 days. 

*Houston is 15-12 against NL teams in 2023. The Rangers are 13-10.

*It's the 4th time in the last five games that the pitching staff has allowed 8+ runs. 

*The Astros rank 23rd in FanGraphs' Hard Hit% rate.

*The Astros offense, following a game in which they score 10+ runs: 0-3, 6 total runs scored.

*Alex Bregman was 3x5 with 2RBI. After a 2x22 stretch from June 11-17, Bregman is 8x18 with 5RBI. 

*Corey Julks was 1x3 with a walk and 2RBI - his 4th straight game with a walk. He has raised his OPS 39 points (from .658 to .697) in the last four games.

*Yainer Diaz hit another home run, his 7th of the year. Diaz has played in every game this homestand and hit .286/.286/.657. On the home stand, the Astros hit 13 home runs - Diaz had four of them. 

*Jeremy Pena drew 22 walks in 558 PAs in 2022. With two walks yesterday, Pena is at 17 in 296 PAs in 2023. After walking twice in 58 PAs between May 31-June 17, Pena has four walks in his last 12 PAs. It was the 3rd 2BB game of his career. 

*Chas McCormick was 1x3 with a home run and a walk.

McCormick vs RHP: .242/.336/.455.

McCormick vs LHP: .265/.306/.500.

*Mauricio Dubon started the game at 1B and hit two doubles, making him the lightest Astros 1B since Jose Vizcaino.

Chandler Rome: Dubon starting at 1B shows the Astros' lack of depth.

*Cristian Javier didn't make it out of the 3rd Inning, throwing 2.1IP, 4H/4ER, 1K:5BB, needing 82 pitches to retire seven Mets. 

Javier's top fastball velocity by inning, June 21:

1st Inning: 94.4mph

2nd Inning: 93.9mph

3rd Inning: 91.7mph (his last pitch of the day was a 90.7mph fastball)

Javier: I really don't even know what to tell you what was going on today. I was falling behind a lot of hitters and missing with a lot of pitches.

*Probably the dumbest signing of the GM Jim Crane era was Rafael Montero. Montero gave up 3H/2ER yesterday, raising his ERA to 7.04. Montero has pitched in 32 games in 2023 and has allowed at least one run in 12 of them. He has allowed a hit in 25 of them. In those 32 games, just five have seen Montero enter and exit without allowing a baserunner.   

Dusty, on Montero:

You've got to pitch him sometimes. He's been struggling. I know it, you know it, everybody knows it. You've got to take your shot in the 6th. You've got four innings to do whatever mishaps that happen vs. in the seventh and eighth where he's used to being.

The Astros owe Montero about $28m.

*Meat Wagon update: Jose Urquidy threw another bullpen, Michael Brantley swung a bat, and Yordan Alvarez went for a job.

*Rob Manfred told TIME Magazine that he wishes he could have a do-over with how he handled the Astros' sign-stealing scandal. Asked about what he regrets surrounding it, Manfred:

I'm not sure that I would have approached it with giving players immunity. Once we gave players immunity, it puts you in a box as to what exactly you were going to do in terms of punishment. I might have gone about the investigative process without that grant of immunity and see where it takes us. Starting with, I'm not going to punish anybody, maybe not my best decision ever.

The crazy thing is that the interviewer didn't ask Manfred about the Astros - he brought it up on his own as part of an answer to a "One thing you wish you had done over?" question, after (and I realize that this interview has been edited) answering questions about the Dodgers/LGBTQ kerfuffle and Oakland's impending relocation. So...good work on highlighting that for the public's awareness Rob.

*ESPN: How US Soccer's strange coaching search played out.

*Atlas Obscura: The elusive, maddening mystery of the Bell Witch.

*We Salted Nannie: A True Southern Ghost Story.

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

Jiminy Christmas. Do these men have no respect for dads? Unbelievable. The Reds completed a weekend Father's Day sweep of the Houston Astros. Houston is 39-33, 20-18 at Minute Maid Park, and are now in 3rd place in the AL West, 5.5 back of North Mexia, 1.0 back of Anaheim.

*The Astros had leads of 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, and 5-2 in Sunday's "game."

*It's the first time the Astros have been in 3rd place since May 1, 2022. Tonight will be the 31st game since the beginning of 2021 that the Astros have been in 3rd place or worse. 

*The Astros have lost four straight, five of their last seven, and ten of their last 14 games. 

*Houston is 0-6 when the game goes to extra innings in 2023. They're 16-27 in extra innings since the Ghost Runner Rule was implemented at the beginning of 2020 (a season which did not exist).

*Houston is now 13-2 when they score 7+ runs, 0-2 in the last two instances of scoring 7+ runs.

*The Astros gave up 19 runs in the last two games of the series with the Reds, the most runs allowed in back-to-back games since they got whooped by the Orioles on June 28-29, 2021. 

*Houston went 5x29 with runners in scoring position over the three-game series. They haven't hit a home run with a runner on base since beating Cleveland 6-4 on June 10.

*Chas McCormick:

This isn't anything like us. We'll play better, though. We're just a little injured, but we have to find ways to win. Everyone wants to come beat us because we're world champions. Us winning last year is in the past, so we just have to play better.

*Alex Bregman was (wink) a homer shy of the cycle in a 3x5, BB, RBI day. It's his 4th 3-hit game of the season, and it came on the heels of Brian McCann calling him to give him a hitting tip.

*Yainer Diaz also had a three-hit day, going 3x5 with an RBI. In 12 June games, Diaz is hitting .341/.348/.659. Eight of his 15 hits have been for extra-bases. He has more home runs (5) than walks (3) in 2023. 

*Kyle Tucker was 2x4 with two walks and an RBI. He has four multi-hit games in his last five, and in 16 June games is hitting .339/.400/.516. 

*After going 2x12 against Cincinnati, Jose Abreu's OPS is now back under .600.

*Ronel Blanco: 5.2IP, 7H/5ER, 5K:2BB, with two homers that accounted for three runs. 

*Chandler Rome: The Jeremy Pena Leg-Kick is back!

*Check out new Chronicle beat writer Matt Kawahara's piece on Shawn Dubin's journey to the Majors.

*It has been 51 weeks since Michael Brantley last played a Major League game.

*Jose Urquidy feels "really good" after a bullpen session.

*MLB: The History of the Baseball Cap.

*Lance Lynn struck out 16 batters in a [squints] 5-1 White Sox loss.

*How a grad student uncovered the largest known slave auction in the US.

*Esquire: The Long Fall of One-Eleven Heavy.

*The bastards at AFC Bournemouth hired the manager I wanted Leeds United to manage.

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Well that got weird. The Astros were cruising comfortably - a 96.9% win probability as the 9th Inning opened. Then a couple of throwing errors later it was 4-4. Chaos reigned in the bottom of the 9th (the best time for chaos to reign imo) and the Astros win 5-4. At 39-29, Houston is once again 10 games over .500. Richardson won, so the Astros remain 3.5 back in the division.

*Nationals manager Dave Martinez was Big Mad following the game, in which he held up a screen grab of the camera shot like it was a proof of life video from a terrorist bunker of Jake Meyers on the basepath, presumably because he wasn't on it. Martinez:

There it is right there. Take a look at it. Is that on the line? I don't think so. I'm over this play. Seriously. They need to fix the rule. If this is what the umpire sees that he's running down the line, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it. Fix it. We lost the game, and he had nothing to say about it because he can't make the right call. Brutal.

Dusty:

I think they were disputing whether he was in the baseline or not. That's always a questionable call. Nobody really has the vantage point very good except really the home plate umpire, and he said it was nothing. 

Meyers, eloquently:

I'm not really sure, but I know we scored, and we won. That's good.

You can watch Martinez's Meltdown in full here.

*McTaggart noted the similarities between last night and 2019 World Series Game 6.

*The Astros have won three of their last four following the season-high four-game losing streak.

*Houston is 7-7 in 1-run games this year. 

*Astros pitchers didn't issue a single walk for just the 5th time this season. They're 4-1 in those games. The starting pitcher in all five of those games? Framber Valdez.

*Framber threw extremely well: 7IP, 5H/1ER, 6K:0BB. Framber's last eight starts: 52IP, 37H/12ER, 58K:12BB. 2.08 ERA / 0.94 WHIP.

*Jose Abreu was 3x4 with a home run and a double. On May 27 Abreu's OPS sat at a paltry .519. Since then (16 games), he's hitting .295/.348/.541. He has five hits in his last seven PAs, and multi-hit games in five of his last six games. Last night was Abreu's 3rd 3RBI game, all of which have come since June 9.

Meat Wagon Updates:

*Well the big news of the day, other than Keibert Ruiz's throwing ability, is that Lance McCullers Jr is officially out for the year, having undergone surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm and remove a "lima bean-sized bone spur," which he injured during 2021 ALDS Game 4. That game was played on October 12, 2021...611 days before having surgery.

Dana Brown addressed what the news means for the Astros' activity at the trade deadline, noting that he's looking more at hitting, particularly a lefty bat.

Dusty:

You hate seeing anybody hurt, especially hurt a second time. From what I've talked to the trainers and the doctore, he has a chance to be back as good as new. If anybody can come back, it's Lance because he's in great shape and works his butt off. I'm sure it's a little bit of a downer, but he knew something was wrong.

Lance will not throw a baseball until November and it's unclear when, exactly, in 2024 he'll return. Chandler Rome put McCullers' injury history into some perspective.

*Yordan Alvarez will be out for at least a month with his bad oblique, which he injured during BP...and then proceeded to play in the game, lasting one PA. Seems like a dumb decision to let him play that game. Yordan will be re-evaluated in two weeks, and then three.

Here's who the Astros play in the next month: vs Cincinnati, vs NY Mets, at LA Dodgers, at St. Louis, at Lewisville, vs Colorado, vs Seattle, All-Star Break. Not having Yordan for four at Six Flags over Texas is not ideal. 

*Jeremy Pena should be back in the lineup today, having last played on June 10, presumably down with the sickness

*Check out Chandler Rome's Notes column, in which he addresses Jose Abreu's batting tweaks, Drew Gilbert's not great start at Corpus (plot twist: his elbow hurts), and more.

*ESPN: How the A's and Raiders' relocations to Vegas compare.

*The USMNT plays Mexico tonight at 9pm Central in the CONCACAF Nations League Semi-Final (I think).

*RIP Gordon McQueen.

*Last night (with the Astros game on the laptop on mute) The Wife and I watched the 2013 movie "The World's End," which I had never seen, but very much enjoyed.

*UT will play A&M at Kyle Field in 2024.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

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:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Good morning. This week I was co-hosting a summer camp that required 20 volunteers and 142 campers. I had to be at work at 7am. That alarm has been my nemesis all week. But it's over now, just in time for me to be on the radio at...7am. Rest, wicked, etc. The Astros lost again. They're 36-27, five games back of Southwest Texarkana. 

*Houston's division deficit is the largest they've seen since September 27, 2020. Or, since 2020 was a Mickey Mouse Season, October 2, 2016.

*It was the Astros' 2nd consecutive one-run loss (and 2nd consecutive 3-2 loss). They're 6-6 in one-run games. 

*Houston has lost four of their last five games, scoring two or fewer runs in each of those losses. 

*It's the Astros 3rd three-game losing streak of the season. 

*The Astros scored a total of five runs in the three games following an 11-4 win on Monday.

*Houston is now 14 games into a 17-games-in-17-days stretch. One more series at Cleveland and the Astros finally get a day off. 

*Framber threw 5IP, 4H/3ER, 5K:4BB. It was his second 4+ walk game of the season, but the 6th time he's allowed four or fewer hits in 2023. Three of those four walks later scored. 

*Alex Bregman hit his 9th home run of the season, and his second in seven games in June. 

*Jose Abreu was caught leaning too far off of 2nd base in the 7th inning. Abreu:

I take, obviously, full responsibility there for the mistake I made...I'm a man of my word. I made a mistake, and we lost because of me today. I take full responsibility.

Out of 161 qualified batters in MLB, Abreu's -1.3 fWAR ranks 161st. His 52 wRC+ ranks 160th. 

Apropos of nothing in particular, Yuli Gurriel (who turns 39 today) is hitting .275/.333/.416 in 40 games for Miami. 

*Yordan Alvarez was replaced by Corey Julks after grabbing at his oblique. This is, obviously, Not Great! Dusty:

We'll re-evaluate him tomorrow. That's a tough blow right there. We've just got to regroup and try to figure out how we're going to win some ballgames and get through this.

So that doesn't sound like a 24-hour issue...

*Jeremy Pena lollygagged it down the line when he probably would have been safe in the 8th. 

*Chandler Rome: The story of Phil Maton's lone MLB hit.

*Lance McCullers is getting an MRI today after feeling more discomfort in his right forearm and might not pitch at all this season. It is June 9. An updated timeline of Lance's 2023:

*Lance McCullers Jr is no longer throwing off a mound, only further leading me to believe that they're really slow-walking the "Yeah okay he had Tommy John Surgery again last fall" announcement. A timeline of Lance's "rehab:"

February 18: LMJ gets shut down with "soreness in his throwing arm."

February 19: Dana Brown says LMJ is "day-to-day" and that Brown is "not alarmed at all."

February 22: LMJ tells reporters he has a "small muscle strain" with no structural damage to his arm or UCL.

March 11: LMJ is playing catch.

March 15: LMJ is cleared to resume lifting weights and throwing. It's described as a forearm strain.

March 28: Dana Brown is non-committal on the idea that LMJ will go on the 60-Day IL.

March 30: LMJ is "pain-free."

April 4: LMJ is "ahead of schedule," throwing from 90 feet on flat ground, and is close to throwing on back-to-back days. It's also now described as an elbow strain.

May 13: Dusty isn't sure when LMJ will face live batters.

May 16: Lance hit 93mph in a bullpen session.

May 21: Astros hope LMJ can return "closer to the All-Star Break, or after."

May 29: No longer throwing off a mound.

June 8: LMJ feels discomfort similar to what he felt in February.

June 9: MRI Day.

*Dana Brown said the Astros will be involved in the trade market, looking for starting pitching and possibly another bat. 

*Michael Brantley hit in the batting cage yesterday and threw on the field. 

*Boomer Sooner.

*The Athletic: How US Soccer Fans Fell Out Of Love With Leeds United. 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's because they fired the American manager (deservedly so), Brenden Aaronson sucks, Weston McKinnie sucked and went back to Italy, and Tyler Adams has been hurt since March, and Leeds got relegated. They weren't Leeds United fans at all. They're American Soccer fans. 

*Wired: Inside a secretive life-extension clinic.

*A Musical Selection for your Friday: