Thursday Lunch Links

The Astros have advanced to the ALCS for the 7th straight year, or every single year in which Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Urquidy, Framber Valdez, and anyone else whose career began with the Astros after 2016 have been in the Majors. This is a dynasty, and anyone who says otherwise deserves to get their teeth knocked into their throat. 

*Franchises to make seven straight League Championship Series:

Atlanta: 8 (1991-1999, there were no playoffs in 1994)

Houston: 7 (2017-2023)

*Playoff Wins, 2015-2023 (as of the morning of October 12):

Houston: 60

Los Angeles: 47

Atlanta: 24

New York Yankees: 20

Chicago Cubs: 19

Boston: 18

Cleveland/Washington: 16

Philadelphia/Tampa: 15

Kansas City: 11

Toronto: 10

New York Mets: 9

San Diego: 8

Milwaukee: 7

Arizona/Six Flags: 6

St. Louis: 5

San Francisco: 4

Minnesota/Oakland: 3

Chicago White Sox/Miami/Seattle: 2

Colorado: 1

Anaheim/Baltimore/Cincinnati/Detroit/Pittsburgh: 0

Verlander:

We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the bond that we have and the relationships that we have in this locker room, and we hold each other accountable in a good way. Obviously, this team is built different. These guys are built different. When it's time to step up, we play our best baseball.

*The Astros were held to six hits. Two of them, accounting for all three runs, were home runs. Houston is now 16-32 in postseason games in which they've recorded six or fewer hits. 

Houston is also now 1-5 in games where they do not draw a walk. 

15 straight Astros were retired until Jose Abreu got a base hit with two outs in the top of the 9th. 

*Jose Urquidy: 5.2IP, 3H/2ER, 6K:1BB. 53 of his 82 pitches were for strikes. Three of his 17 starts for the 2023 Astros went 17 outs or longer. Urquidy has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 13 career postseason appearances. 

Bregman, on Urquidy, Mr. Game 4:

We've seen that since his rookie year, winning World Series games for us. We have a lot of confidence every time he goes and takes the mound. We know what we're going to get every single time: a guy who's competing, a guy who's trying to go execute pitches.

*The bullpen of Neris/Abreu/Pressly struck out eight of the last ten Twins batters in G4. 

*Bullpens:

Houston: 15IP, 10H/6ER, 26K:4BB (4ER were courtesy of Hector Neris in G1)

Minnesota: 19IP, 16H/8ER, 21K:7BB

*Carlos Correa watched Max Kepler watch Strike Three to end the series from the on-deck circle. 

Correa, Games 1/2: 5x8, 3 doubles, 3RBI, 2K:1BB

Correa, Games 3/4: 1x7, 0RBI, 2K:0BB

Correa:

I wanted that at-bat (in the 9th) so bad. I know Pressly very well, and it would've been a fun matchup. It didn't get there, but that's the way it's supposed to be.

Imagine moving Correa down in the order so that Max Kepler can represent the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th and swing twice. 

*What a find by GMs Jim Crane/Jeff Bagwell in this Jose Abreu fella. Abreu was 2x4 with the eventual go-ahead 2-run homer. Abreu had 2HR/7RBI in Games 3&4. Abreu:

The only thing I can say is thank you.k The person that's not grateful with what life has given them isn't going to reach many goals. I can't say anything other than thank you. I'm just very grateful to be here.

*Michael Brantley hit his first postseason home run since 2020 ALCS G3 - a span of 22 games. Brantley:

The core guys that have been here the last seven years, they know how to win games. Since I got here five years ago, you can call it pressure, or when our back is against the wall, we play our best baseball. We always have. And it's a testament to those guys.

*Jeremy Pena went hitless for just the second time in 17 career postseason games. 

*Bryan Abreu: 1IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB. 

Bryan Abreu since July 18: 31IP, 13H/0ER, 41K:13BB

*Ryan Pressly: 1IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:0BB.

Pressly, postseason career (all with Houston): 40.2IP, 30H/11ER, 53K:12BB. 2.43 ERA/1.03 WHIP.

Pressly last gave up an earned run in the postseason in 2021 ALCS G1. In the 17 postseason games since: 18.2IP, 6H/0ER, 28K:5BB. 0.00 ERA / 0.59 WHIP.

*Correa, on Maldonado:

He knows what he's doing behind the plate, and he knows every hitter's weaknesses and he's going to try to exploit. He pitches against the xSLG...and we knew it, and still it was hard to make the adjustments, the way he was pitching backwards. Hitters counts, he would go off-speed, and then a count where he would go off-speed regularly, he would go fastballs up. 

*Verlander, on the Astros' culture: 

There's been a culture established here that hasn't faded away. It's still very present, and that's a testament to the guys that were here before and the guys that remain here and the guys that are leaders of this ballclub. They don't allow slacking off, but they do it in a respectful manner. They expect the best of everyone because they're giving their best every single day. What a great way to lead by example. I think our culture is something not tangible. Funny that one (for) one of the most analytic-forward teams in baseball, something that makes this team so special is something that's not measurable. 

*Jeff Passan:

For seven years - one short of Atlanta's record eight-straight championship series appearances - the Astros have managed to win at least one playoff series. And as dissatisfying as that might be for those who harbor resentment against the organizaiton for its cheating in 2017, anyone who refuses to acknowledge the Astros' exceptional staying power is just willfully ignorant.

*FanGraphs: Houston 60.9 - 30.1 Six Flags

Other Stuff:

*100-win teams (Baltimore, Atlanta, Los Angeles), 2023 postseason: 1-8.

Pretty sweet to watch the Astros clinch the ALDS and then turn it over to watch the Dloldgers get swept by a team that went 5-8 against them in the regular season. The Dodgers are the second team in MLB history to win 100 games in the regular season and never even hold a lead in the postseason. The Bastard Dave Roberts:

There's some things with the format that people can dissect or whatever, but the bottom line is we've gotten outplayed in the postseason. 

Read every single word above this section to see why maybe the playoff format isn't the reason. 

Dodgers, regular season, 2018-2023: 558-313 (.641)

Dodgers, postseason, 2018-2023: 30-28 (.517)

Or, Dodgers, postseason, non Mickey Mouse years (2018-19, 2021-23): 17-23 (.425)

*Jay Jaffe: Dodgers take another early exit from the postseason tournament.

*London to Norman: Inside one recruit's 5,000 mile official visit

*Respect to The Ringer for not having a single solitary baseball article on the front page of their website. 

*The radical empathy of Jason Isbell.

What To Watch, October 12:

1:45pm Central: UEFA Euro Qualifying - Scotland @ Spain

3:30pm: CONMEBOL Qualifying - Uruguay @ Peru

7:00pm: Rockets @ Pelicans 

7:07pm: Braves @ Phillies

*How Braves-Phillies became Baseball's Best Rivalry.

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Night Hot Links

Doing this tonight so I have time to do something else in the morning. Nothing has changed in the FanGraphs Playoff Odds. Here's what else is going on in and around the Astros...

*Justin Verlander will start Game 1 on Saturday at 3:45pm, Framber Valdez will start Game 2 on Sunday at 7:03pm. We don't know who starts Game 3, but it will be Tuesday in Minneapolis at 3:07pm.

Verlander, career, ALDS Game 1: 23.1IP, 21H/12ER, 25K:11BB

This is clouded, somewhat, by his 2022 ALDS G1, in which he gave up 10H/6ER, 3K:1BB in 4IP against Seattle - the game that Yordan walked off when the Mariners hilariously threw Robbie Ray. 

*Dusty, on Minnesota:

Nobody gave them a chance to beat Toronto, I don't think. They've got good pitching, they've got good defense, they've got a number of left-handed hitters, which poses a problem. They've got a good manager. I mean, they're a good team.

*The Chronicle's Matt Kawahara has a good piece on the Astros' ALDS roster decisions, which have to be finalized Saturday morning,

*Chandler Rome's Notes Column in The Athletic runs down the following:

-Michael Brantley is available for the ALDS

-Get ready to watch a lot of Yainer Diaz on the bench in the ALDS

-Jose Urquidy will shift to the bullpen, which pretty much ensures Cristian Javier will start Game 3. 

-There will be some promotions in the front office this offseason

*Dusty Baker would very much like everyone at MMP to be quite loud.

*Here is MLB.com's position-by-position breakdown between the Astros and Twins.

*Hector Neris has been fined for his actions "against" Julio Rodriguez, but he won't be suspended.

*FanGraphs: The 30/30 Season That Wasn't, Then Was, Then Wasn't (And Still May Be)

*A former Astros video room employee answered questions on Reddit about the Ben Reiter doc on PBS.

*Minnesota's Byron Buxton and Nick Gordon are enjoying the Twins' ride, despite just sitting there wanting to play. Click the link for other notes from Minneapolis. 

*Former Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons STFU Challenge.

*ESPN: Which impending free agents have made - or lost - the most money in the playoffs so far?

*The Mets and the very-recently-resigned Billy Eppler are under investigation for abusing IL rules.

*Jose Altuve, by postseason series, career:

2015 AL Wild Card vs New York: .250/.250/.250, 1RBI, 1K:0BB

2015 ALDS vs Kansas City: .136/.174/.136, 1RBI, 2K:1BB

2017 ALDS vs Boston: .533/.632/1.133, 3HR/4RBI, 2K:4BB

2017 ALCS vs New York: .320/.414/.560, 2HR/4RBI, 5K:4BB

2017 World Series vs Los Angeles: .194/.219/.452, 2HR/6RBI, 7K:1BB

2018 ALDS vs Cleveland: .286/.286/.571, 1HR/2RBI, 2K:0BB

2018 ALCS vs Boston: .250/.348/.300, 2RBI, 4K:3BB

2019 ALDS vs Tampa: .350/.381/.900, 3HR/5RBI, 3K:1BB

2019 ALCS vs New York: .348/.444/.652, 2HR/3RBI, 1K:4BB

2019 World Series vs Washington: .303/.294/.394, 1RBI, 3K:0BB

2020 Wild Card vs Minnesota: .000/.222/.000, 1RBI, 0K:2BB

2020 ALDS vs Oakland: .400/.526/.800, 2HR/5RBI, 3K:3BB

2020 ALCS vs Tampa: .462/.563/.885, 3HR/5RBI, 5K:6BB

2021 ALDS vs Chicago: .313/.476/.625, 1HR/3RBI, 5K:4BB

2021 ALCS vs Boston: .125/.214/.375, 2HR/4RBI, 3K:3BB

2021 World Series vs Atlanta: .222/.250/.482, 2HR/2RBI, 9K:1BB

2022 ALDS vs Seattle: .000/.059/.000, 6K:1BB

2022 ALCS vs New York: .188/.278/.250, 5K:2BB

2022 World Series vs Philadelphia: .308/.333/.385, 3K:1BB

*Astros Postseason Record When Altuve Gets...

0 Hits: 13-16

1 Hit: 21-11

2 Hits: 16-6

3 Hits: 6-3

*Astros Postseason Record When Altuve Homers: 16-5

*Most Career Postseason Home Runs, MLB History:

1. Manny Ramirez: 29

2. Jose Altuve: 23

3. Bernie Williams: 22

4. Derek Jeter: 20

5. Albert Pujols / George Springer: 19

7. Carlos Correa / Nelson Cruz / Reggie Jackson / Mickey Mantle: 18

*Esquire: The Scout Who Found Patrick Mahomes

*The Ringer: Inside the Ugly Standoff Between James Harden and Daryl Morey.

*Rolling Stone: The 50 Best Latin American Rock Albums

*In the wake of Kevin McCarthy's historic ousting as Speaker of the House of Representatives, I took a look at the last time the House tried to body-check the Speaker (all the way back in 1910).

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

Yet again the Dumb Ass Houston Astros couldn't do what other teams have done 102 times this season: beat the Kansas City Royals. Houston is 85-69, 39-40 at "home." They're idiots, and I hate them at the moment. They've lost seven of their last ten games. There are a maximum of eight games remaining. Those nuns who fronted Alex Cora need to bring wheelbarrows full of sage.

I do not want the Astros to miss the playoffs out of spite. Dusty has done some incomprehensible things (Dubon batting leadoff, Abreu batting cleanup, scroll down for Maldonado Slander) but I still want him to succeed because that means this God-forsaken team (meaning 2023) succeeds. That said, should the Astros miss the playoffs they have absolutely nobody to blame but themselves. At some point we'll talk about Jim Crane's Jerry Jones Heel Turn last fall, but that's another talk for another time. 

Dusty:

It's very frustrating. The guys are a little frustrated, but we are still in a good position.

*AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore (95-60)

2. Haltom City (85-68)

3. Minnesota (82-72)

4. Tampa (94-61)

5. Toronto (86-68)

6. Houston (85-69)

7. Seattle (84-69)

*AL West Odds, FanGraphs:

Houston: 40.1%

Haltom City: 36.4%

Seattle: 23.5%

*AL Postseason Odds, FanGraphs:

Toronto: 88.7%

Houston: 81.3%

Haltom City: 78.1%

Seattle: 51.9%

*The DAMF Astros have lost 11 of their last 15 home games against Boston, New York, San Diego, Oakland, Baltimore, and Kansas City. Only Baltimore is over .500 for the season.

*These morons have given up 25 runs on this homestand (1-3).

*The Trashstros were 2x13 with runners in scoring position against the Royals last night.

*Framber was a disaster, then he wasn't, then he was again. Framber: 5.1IP, 4H/7R (6ER), 10K:3BB. It was the 10th 10+ K start of his career. 

His 6ER allowed match the total number of earned runs he'd allowed in his last five starts combined. Framber also hit two batters - the first time since July 30, 2022 he'd done that. The Astros are 3-5 when Framber hits 2+ batters in a game.

*Bullpen: 4.2IP, 1H/0ER, 4K:1BB.

*Astros pitchers held Kansas City to five hits. Five. The Astros are now 25-10 when allowing five or fewer hits. They've scored 3 or fewer runs in 12 of those 35 games. 

*3-5 in the lineup (Yordan, Bregman, Tucker): 2x12, 2K:3BB. 0x4 w/RISP.

*Yordan, who tweaked something in his elbow last week and hasn't played in the field since:

No, I don't think anybody's feeling pressure. We understand that this is going to go down to the last game of the season. And talking to some of the guys, tomorrow we're going to have to flip that switch and activate playoff mode.

Not a fan of waiting until Game 154, when you just lost the division lead because you can't beat the worst teams in baseball, to "activate playoff mode."

*Martin Maldonado: 0x3, 2K:0BB, passed ball. It was his league-leading 12th passed ball of the season, his 21 passed balls since the beginning of the 2022 season lead the league, as well! 

Martin Maldonado offensive ranks, MLB, min. 350 PAs (232 players):

BA: .189 (231st) - he's tied with Giancarlo Stanton, which kind of blew my mind.

OBP: .258 (230th)

SLG: .343 (221st)

wRC+: 65 (227th)

K%: 34.3% (229th)

fWAR: -1.3 (230th)

So he's one of the worst hitters in the league, but also has the most passed balls in the last two seasons. Tell me exactly why he's playing five days a week?

*The Astros are 14-15 against the AL Central this year, which is almost impossible to fathom, as only one other AL East/AL West team is under .500 against the garbage-ass AL Central (Oakland). Houston vs...

Minnesota: 2-4

Kansas City: 1-3

Chicago: 4-3

Detroit: 3-3

Cleveland: 4-2

*Houston is 2-5 against the only 100-loss teams in MLB in September. They have no one to blame but themselves. And here's the most inane thing about these seven games:

Scoring 5 or fewer runs vs Oakland/Kansas City: 0-4

Scoring 6 or more runs vs Oakland/Kansas City: 2-1

Framber:

Obviously, it's frustrating losing to teams that you say, 'Come on, we're the Astros, we shouldn't be losing to them. But that's baseball. It's part of the game. It happens....Just because...they've won a couple games against us, doesn't mean that we're going to stop being the Houston Astros. We're still the Houston Astros, we're still the champs, and we're going to continue battling.

*Kyle Tucker hit a triple. Tucker, September: .209/.299/.463.

Kyle Tucker's first 537 Major-League games: 11 triples.

Kyle Tucker's last ten games: four triples.

*Michael Brantley was out with shoulder soreness for the 4th straight game. 

*Ryne Stanek is back, and Joel "The Human White Flag" Kuhnel is back in Sugar Land.

*Going to the Arizona Fall League are Zach Dezenzo, Kenedy Corona, Miguel Palma, AJ Blubaugh (lol), Ray Gaither, Tyler Guilfoil, Jaime Melendez, Miguel Ullola 

*Dallas Keuchel is going to the playoffs for the seventh time in his career. 

*Philadelphia's Orion Kerkering has played in Low-A, High-A, Double-A, Triple-A, and now the Majors...all in 2023.

*NL Playoff Picture:

1. Atlanta (99-55)

2. Los Angeles (94-59)

3. Milwaukee (88-66)

4. Philadelphia (85-69)

5. Arizona (81-63)

6. Chicago (80-74)

7. Miami (79-75): -1.0

8. Cincinnati (79-76): -1.5

9. San Francisco (77-77): -3.0

10. San Diego (76-78): -4.0

*Willie's 151st album takes on bluegrass.

*What To Watch, September 23:

Florida State @ Clemson: 11am Central

Awbren @ Texas A and Them: 11am

Celta Vigo @ Barcelona: 11:30am

UCLA @ Utah: 2:30pm

Colorado @ Oregon: 2:30pm

Ole Miss @ Alabama: 2:30pm

Blue Jays at Rays, 3:10pm

Mariners @ Rangers, 6:05pm

Royals @ Astros, 6:10pm

Texas @ Baylor: 6:30pm

Ohio State @ Notre Dame: 6:30pm

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

The Astros pulled off a literal miracle by winning a game at Minute Maid Park. Houston is 39-39 at home, 85-68 overall. There are nine games remaining, and only three at home. If the Astros don't win the series against the Royals, they'll finish below .500 at home for the first time since 2014. 

*AL West:

1. Houston (85-68): -

2. Seattle (84-68): +0.5

3. Caddo Mills (84-68): +0.5

According to the Wonderful Sarah Langs, this is the first time since divisional play began (1969) that three teams have been within half a game of each other with less than ten games to play.

*AL Playoff Picture: Postseason Odds via FanGraphs:

1. Baltimore (95-57): 100.0%

2. Houston (85-68): 91.0%

3. Minnesota (81-72): 100.0%

4. Tampa (93-60): 100.0%

5. Toronto (85-67): 83.9%

6. Caddo Mills (84-68): 64.7%

7. Seattle (84-68): 60.3%

*AL West Division Odds:

FanGraphs:

Houston: 53.1%

Seattle: 29.5%

Caddo Mills: 17.4%

*Dana Brown, pre-game:

Fear not. The bats are here. The pitching's good enough. We're going to win the division.

*Buster Olney: The Astros will be tough to beat in October...if they get there.

*Houston has won one of their last one games. They are 4-8 at MMP in September. They went 16-17 against the AL East in 2023. 

*Houston has now won the last game of the series in five straight series. They lost the first two games in three straight, and four of their last five series. Dusty:

That's a big win. Obviously, you're going to see that team in the postseason. So that's a big win for us. But we've got another big series coming up against Kansas City and we need to take advantage of the opportunity and put up some more wins at home. 

More Dusty:

We needed this win. From now on, the mindset is 'Win every game.' We started today like this, so let's finish together here.

*It's the 46th time the Astros have been held to two or fewer runs this season. They're 4-42 in those games, now. The 2022 Astros were held to two or fewer runs in just 45 of their games last season. Miniscule. 

*Baltimore's Kyle Bradish vs Houston, career: 22.2IP, 6H/0ER, 25K:4BB. 0.00 ERA / 0.44 WHIP. I want no part of Kyle Bradish, or his pitching partner Rich Sturnip lol. 

*The Astros were 2x10 with runners in scoring position in yesterday's game - 8x35 over the three-game series. Although Mauricio Big Nuts Dubon came through with the walk-off, the first of his career (I think? B-Ref is being a little weird this morning).

*Watch Kyle Tucker lollygag this grounder. 

*Dusty sat Yordan for the game. There were reasons, I guess.

*The only other thing worth talking about is Cristian Javier: 5IP: 3H/1ER, 11K:2BB. It's the 6th 10+ strikeout game of his career, the most strikeouts since he made 11 Angels walk back to the dugout on May 10. It's the first time that he didn't give up a homer in an outing since July 22. Has Javier figured it out?

*Ryan Pressly deservedly got the win, throwing nine pitches - eight for strikes - and not allowing a hit or a walk. Chandler Rome wrote about how he had become too slider-happy, and he was going to be less so.

*Michael Brantley was unavailable - not even to pinch-hit - for a third straight game. 

*Oakland vs. the A's: The Inside Story of How It All Went South.

*After giving up nine goals in their first six games across all competitions, Leeds United have now taken three clean sheets in a row, yesterday a 0-0 draw at Hull City. 

*Wired: Life as a 21st century trucker.

*Texas Monthly: Dreaming of a move to Colorado? Four expats tell the good, the bad, and the ugly.

*Gregg Doyel: How a 100-year old bat connected a family.

*What to Watch, September 21:

Liverpool @ LASK Linz: 11:45am Central

Marseille @ Ajax: 2pm 

Blue Jays @ Yankees: 6:05pm

Georgia State @ Coastal Carolina: 6:30pm

Giants @ 49ers: 7:15pm

*A Musical Selection:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Okay, Astros...you have ten games to figure it out. Houston lost. At home. Again. Theyre 84-68, a ridiculously stupid 38-39 at home. The Rangers and Mariners both won. Idiots. Houston has lost 10 of their last 13 games at home.

*AL Playoff Picture:

1. Baltimore (95-56)

2. Houston (84-68)

3. Minnesota (80-72)

4. Tampa (93-59)

5. Toronto (84-67)

6. Coppell (83-68)

7. Seattle (83-68)

*AL West Odds

FanGraphs:

Houston: 51.8%

Seattle: 30.2%

Coppell: 18.0%

*Postseason Odds. Three of the following will make the playoffs:

Houston: 89.6%

Toronto: 82.7%

Coppell: 64.9%

Seattle: 62.7%

The Game

*What a nightmare. The Astros never had the lead, losing 2-0, tied 2-2, losing 5-2, 5-3, 7-3, 7-5, 9-5. Houston was 2x12 with runners in scoring position. 

*Houston has lost six of their last eight games, and 14 of their last 19 home games. This is guaranteed to be the Astros' worst home record since 2014. Dusty:

I've got concern, but concern is not going to solve the issue. We've got four more games here, and we're going to have to figure it out. I don't know exactly what it is. We've tried to put our finger on it. 

Well I mean it's only been 77 games at home so far this season. That's a lot of fingering. 

*It's the Astros 83rd game in 2023 in which they've scored 5+ runs. They're 69-14 in those games. 

*It's the second time in 2023 that Houston hit 3+ home runs and lost. 

*Kyle Tucker hit his 28th home run of the season and now has an AL-leading (and career high) 108 RBI. With 28 steals, he needs two more homers and two steals to join the 30/30 Club.

*Alex Bregman hit his 24th home run of the season - his highest HR total since hitting 41 in 2019. Bregman, on the 2023 Astros:

It's a good league. You better show up and do it or you're not going to get the results you want and you're going to be sitting on your ass in October instead of playing. It comes down to doing it, that's it.

*Jose Altuve was 2x4 to collect his 100th hit of the season. It's his 4th straight multi-hit game, he's slashing .474/.500/.842. The Astros are 1-3 in these games.

*Yordan Alvarez had back-to-back hitless game for the first time since May 31-June 1. 

*Baltimore put up 10 hits, a night after racking up 16 hits. It's the first time the pitching staff has allowed back-to-back double-digit hit games since doing it in four straight between August 19-22. 

*Mid-Town Hunter Brown: 5.1IP, 6H/7ER, 5K:2BB (although Phil Maton allowed two inherited runners to score).

Brown, since the All-Star Break: 12 games, 57.2IP, 59H/39ER, 63K:20BB, 13HR. 6.09 ERA / 1.37 WHIP. 

It's his 3rd start with a Game Score under 40 in his last five starts. Brown:

I thought they spoiled some really good pitches. And then they made me pay for the mistakes that I made tonight. I think that was probably the biggest difference, you know?

Yes. I do know.

*Shoutout to Bennett Sousa, appearing in his second game as an Astro: 1.2IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:0BB.

*Phil Cuzzi was throwing people out last night.

*Michael Brantley didn't play for a second straight day due to being "a little sore."

*Cool story from Chandler re: Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Astros Manager-in-Waiting Joe Espada.

*FanGraphs: J.P. France embraces his inner updog underdog.

*ESPN says that "staying afloat" is the Astros' biggest success in 2023, while Jose Abreu was the biggest failure.

*Will Wagner - Billy's son (how am I just now finding this out?) got promoted to Sugar Land and went 2x4 with a double last night in his Triple-A debut.

*Cavan Biggio is stepping up for Toronto.

*The New Yorker: The Rock Stars Singing About Shohei Ohtani

*What To Watch, September 20:

FC Union Berlin @ Real Madrid: 11:45am Central

Red Sox @ Rangers: 1:05pm 

Orioles @ Astros: 1:10pm

Leeds United @ Hull: 1:45pm

PSV Eindhoven @ Arsenal: 2pm

Manchester United @ Bayern Munich: 2pm

Mariners @ A's: 2:37pm

Blue Jays @ Yankees: 6:05pm

Vancouver @ Houston Dynamo: 7:30pm

*A Musical Selection:

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 Astros' top of the lineup showed up while the bottom of the lineup took the night off (a reverse from Friday night), and the Astros beat the Angels 11-3. Houston is 68-50. Obviously the Rangers won, so Houston remains 2.5 back.

*Houston is 8-3 at Minute Maid Park since the All-Star Break.

*The Astros got 13 hits last night, giving them 10+ hits in five straight games - the longest streak this season, and the longest since a five-game streak from June 6-11, 2021. As a franchise, the Astros have only enjoyed 10+ hits in at least six straight games 16 times, the last being April 19-24, 2019. The longest streak of 10+ hits in franchise history is eight games, most recently set June 10-18, 2018. 

*Houston is 6-5 in games after scoring 10+ runs. 

*The Astros were 7x10 with runners in scoring position last night. That's, like, a lot, and stuff. 

*Jose Altuve was 3x4 with a walk and an RBI. He's at 1993 hits, which [counts fingers] leaves him seven short of 2,000. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Altuve has a .293 batting average (383 hits in 1309 ABs). At that clip, he would get 1007 hits in his 3445th AB, around seven seasons from now, when Altuve would be in his Age 40 season. It's doable, but it'll require being healthy.

*Kyle Tucker was 3x4 with a walk, homer, and 4RBI. It's his first 3-hit game since July 21 and his 10th of the season. The walk was his 58th of 2023, one shy of his career high of 59, set in 2022. 

Tucker:

We put a lot of good at-bats and we were able to capitalize on a lot of our opportunities and put up some runs the last couple of days. Even in Baltimore, when we were down, we were able to come back and put together good at-bats and just kind of grind through it. So I think that's just the kind of team that we have and offense that we have, we just kind of grind through and always have an opportunity to win.

Altuve, on Tucker:

I know Shohei is having a crazy season, an MVP type of season. But Tucker is having a great, great year. He should be in there with the MVP list. So, I think that says it all. He's that kind of player.

*Alex Bregman was 2x4 with 2BB. He has multiple hits in three of his past five games.

*J.P. France: 7IP, 4H/2ER, 5K:1BB. He has gotten 21 outs in each of his last four starts.

*Baseball-Reference not updating by 9:45am has made this needlessly difficult.

*Michael Brantley...might?...be coming back...at some point?

*Jose Abreu is on the IL with inflammation in his lower back. Abreu:

I felt it at the beginning of the season, but it was something I just thought was normal. It went away. Right before the All-Star Break, felt it again, but the same thing - it went away. But the last time I felt it, it just kept getting worse and worse.

Phil Maton joined him on the IL. Parker Mushinski and David Hensley joined the Big League club.

*Max Scherzer remains A Bitch as he (and apparently some other) Mets did not care for Justin Verlander's "diva" attitude.

*Sugar Land's Pedro Leon hit three homers last night.

*Bill Brown and Bill Doran were inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame last night.

*Absolute disaster of a week coming up for Leeds United, as more rats jump off a sinking ship.

The Starting XI and their current status in Leeds' final game of the 2022-23 season, a must-win game that saw them down 1-0 within 2':

Robles: Gone

Ayling: Still here

Forshaw: Gone

Koch: Gone

Cooper: Still here

Harrison: About to move to Everton

Rodrigo: Gone

Struijk: Still here

Kristensen: Gone

McKinnie: Gone

Wober: Gone

Twats. All of them.

*A Musical Selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

 Things were going pretty great for Hunter Brown until suddenly they weren't! Seattle beat the Astros 10-1. Houston is 49-40, now three games back of Upper Keene. The Mariners are now in third in the AL West, four back of Houston, and seven back of the division lead. 

*The Astros lost back-to-back games for the first time since June 23-24, and back-to-back home games for the first time since June 18-19. 

*Houston's offensive offense has been held to 1 run in consecutive games for the first time since all the way back on June 15-16. It's the sixth time since Yordan's oblique injury that the offense has been held to 0-1 runs. 

*The Astros have two extra-base hits in the first two games of this Mariners series. They've drawn one walk in 18 innings. Last night was the first time since June 7 that the Astros did not walk once. 

*Kirby/Castillo, this series vs Houston: 13.2IP, 11H/2R (1ER), 6K:1BB. 

*The Mariners have struck out 24 times in the first two games of the series. Last night was the 3rd time this season that Astros pitchers have struck out 13+ batters and still lost the game. 

*Hunter Brown's 28 Game Score was the sixth game this season in which an Astros starter has posted a Game Score below 30. Four of them have come since June 21. 

*Brown's first six outs were all strikeouts, and his eight Ks were the most in a start since May 31. After recording at least 17 outs in four straight starts, Brown has managed to get just 21 of the last 41 batters he has faced out. 

Brown's last two starts: 7IP, 18H/8ER, 14K:3BB. 

Dusty:

He really didn't have command of his breaking stuff or his fastball really. His fastball was high; his breaking ball was low...That was a tough inning. I don't think I've seen a nine-run inning in a long time.

*The Mariners' 9-run 4th Inning is the most runs the Astros have allowed in an inning since a 9-run 2nd Inning against San Diego on August 22, 2020. The Mariners in the 4th: Single, Walk, Single, Single, Single, Strikeout, Walk, Fielder's Choice, HBP, Walk, Double, Double.

*Maldonado, on Brown:

This guy's going to be really good in the future. I think he's starting to understand how to get hitters out. It's always a big test the more information is out there for the hitters. And I feel like he's thrown the ball really, really good for us. He has been valuable when he needed to be valuable. And a couple of bad outings, everybody's going to have those. 

Chandler Rome: Brown is highlighting the thin-ness? thinnity? of the Astros' rotation options.

*The Mariners had 13 hits and eight walks, for a total of [takes off socks] 21 base runners. It's the 5th time this season the pitching staff has put that many runners on. Such a thing only happened once in 2022. 

*Phil Maton: 1IP, 2H/4ER, 1K:2BB. He had given up 4ER in his last 14 games dating back to June 6. The last time Maton gave up multiple extra-base hits in an outing was August 19, 2022. 

*In three games vs Luis Castillo, the Astros are hitting .171/.247/.257, the lowest OPS for any team Luis Castillo has pitched against. 

*Bligh Madris, career home runs as a hitter: 1

Bligh Madris, career home runs allowed as a pitcher: 1

*Alex Bregman drove in the Astros' lone run with an infield single. 

Bregman, 2016-2019: 517 games, 2238 Plate Appearances, .286/.384/.527, 45.6% of his hits went for extra-bases. 

Bregman, 2020-2023: 376 games, 1628 Plate Appearances, .256/.356/.431, 37.8% of his hits for extra-bases. 

*Chas McCormick apologized to Ty France after Thursday's game in which he did The Shenanigans.

*The Astros hope this break gives Cristian Javier a "second wind."

Meat Wagon Update

*Yordan Alvarez hit on the field prior to Friday's game. 

*Jose Urquidy threw a 22-pitch bullpen before the game, and will have four rehab starts before being activated (provided he doesn't end up on Weiland Island) in early August. 

*Michael Brantley still has not returned to baseball activities.

*Catcher-of-the-Future? Korey Lee is also out with a strained oblique. The Astros organization needs a new Oblique Guy.

*29 people died in one of the worst mountaineering accidents in history. What happened?

*Cyclist Mark Cavendish abandoned the Tour de France this morning after a crash. If he does, in fact, retire at the end of the season, he will end his career tied with Eddy Merckx with 34 stage wins. Even more sad, he finished 2nd in yesterday's stage (that would have eclipsed the record) at the line.

*Something I like to do when Things are Overwhelming (which happens often!) is watch Slow TV. Like this 10-hour train ride through the Norwegian Arctic Circle.

*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:

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat the Nationals at Minute Maid Park for the first time since August 23, 2017 (/weeps) 6-1 to improve to 38-29. Crowley lost to Anaheim. Houston is 3.5 back in the division. 

*Houston hit four home runs on their way to the win, all solo homers. The Astros are 5-0 when they hit 3+ home runs in a game.

*The Astros have hit 76 home runs in 2023. 42 (55.3%) have been solo shots. In 2022, 120 of their 214 home runs (56.1%) came with the bases empty. 

*Jose Altuve scored his 1,000th career run last night. There are only ten active MLB players with 1,000 runs scored:

Miguel Cabrera (1,535), Andrew McCutchen (1,149), Joey Votto (1,145), Freddy Freeman (1,144), Mike Trout (1,093), Paul Goldschmidt (1,089), Nelson Cruz (1,088), Elvis Andrus (1,031), Evan Longoria (1,009), and Altuve (1,000). 

Altuve needs nine runs scored to pass Lance Berkman for 3rd on the franchise all-time runs scored list. 

*Jose Abreu did not have one of those home runs, but he was 2x3 with an RBI - his 4th multi-hit game in his last five. Abreu is hitting .289/.313/.467 in eleven June games. His 2nd Inning double was his 1500th career hit. Abreu:

Just know I've been working with Cintron every single day. I'm still not where I want to be, but we're just going to continue working.

*Kyle Tucker hit his 4th home run since April 22. 

*Alex Bregman was 2x4. Since May 24 Bregs is hitting .319/.388/.486. 17 of his 23 hits in that span have been singles. 

*Hunter Brown was lights-out: 7IP, 4H/0ER, 4K:3BB, throwing a first-pitch strike to 19 of the 25 batters he faced. It's the third time this season he has recorded 21 outs with no earned runs. Brown has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his 13 starts in 2023. McTaggart: Brown is on a Rookie of the Year trajectory.

*Yesterday was the 9th time this season an Astros starting pitcher recorded a Game Score of 70+. Brown has four of them. Framber has three, and Luis Garcia (RIP) has two.

*Yordan Alvarez is "a ways off," according to Dusty. 

*Jose Urquidy is close to a bullpen session.

*Michael Brantley is on video throwing a baseball on the field.

*There will be an update today on Lance McCullers Jr, who is suffering from a right forearm strain. A timeline of how the Astros have described what LMJ is injured with:

February 18: "Soreness in his throwing arm"

February 22: "Small muscle strain"

March 15: "Forearm strain"

April 4: "Elbow strain"

June 13: "Forearm strain"

*The 2024 Field of Dreams game will reportedly be played at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

*MLB wants to curb how much teams spend on technology.

*The 1,000-year-old citadel that rises out of the Atlantic Ocean. 

*The Montreal Mafia Murders: Blood, Gore, Cannolis, and Hockey Bags.

*Uruguay - coached by the legendary Marcelo Bielsa - will play a friendly against Nicaragua at 6:30pm Central in Montevideo. It will be on Fox Soccer 1. 

*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:

Friday Morning Hot Links

I got to try Velvet Taco's Chicken Tikka Taco yesterday afternoon and the Astros beat the Angels 5-2. It was a good day. The Astros are 33-23, 2.5 back of the idle West Van Rangers. 

The Astros are 15-5 in their last 20 games. Since getting shut out in back-to-back games at Milwaukee, Houston has scored 5+ runs in six of seven. Houston is seven games through their 17-games-in-17-days stretch. 

*Making his first career MLB start, Ronel Blanco threw 5.1IP, 7H/2ER, 5K:3BB. Alex Bregman:

We needed that one. Blanco was huge today, just giving us length, honestly. Not only length, but quality innings. He was attacking and competing. It's huge.

Blanco:

That's one of the reasons I went back down (to Sugar Land), for me to able to come back and pitch in these situations. The transition, I think, for me was a lot more mental than physical. Obviously, it was a great challenge for me but I took it in strike and I think I'm doing well.

Danielle Lerner: On Ronel Blanco's transformation from reliever to starter. 

*That was Dusty Baker's 2,126th managerial win, moving him ahead of Joe McCarthy for 8th all-time. He's 263-177 with the Astros, which also puts him 8th all-time in franchise history. Dusty needs 13 wins to tie Bob Lillis for 7th in franchise history, and 14 wins to tie Phil Garner. He's 32 wins away from 7th place on the all-time leaderboard, held by Bucky Harris, who managed between 1924 and 1956.

*In 140 career games vs the Astros, Mike Trout - who went 0x3 with two walks - is hitting .252/.383/.511, the second-lowest OPS against teams he has played at least 15 times. 

*Shohei Ohtani was 1x5 with two strikeouts. In 71 career games against the Astros, Ohtani is hitting .220/.314/.404 - the lowest OPS he's recorded against teams he has played at least 10 times. 

*Kyle Tucker was 3x4 with two doubles - his first three-hit game since May 5, and the first time he's had a multi-XBH game since May 19. Tucker had posted one extra-base hit, a double, in his previous 10 games. He has struck out once in his last 29 plate appearances. 

*Alex Bregman was 1x3 with 2RBI and a walk. On May 7, Bregman was hitting .195/.322/.320. Since then he's hitting .322/.368/.483. In his current eight-game hitting streak, Bregman is hitting .406/.424/.563.

Chandler Rome: Alex Bregman is trying to "do less" to get more. 

*Jose Abreu was 1x3 with 2RBI, a double, and a sac fly. He has 5RBI in his last six games. 

*Dusty Baker said Michael Brantley hit off a tee yesterday. So we can confirm that Michael Brantley exists. Not so much Lance McCullers Jr. 

*Carlos Correa was removed from Minnesota's game after reaggravating the plantar fasciitis that saw him miss time last week. We do not Boo this man. 

*National Treasure Sarah Langs reflects on her ALS diagnosis on Lou Gehrig Day.

*Leeds United majority owner Andrea Radrizzani is a piece of crap and needs to get out of Leeds United completely.

*Texas Monthly: 15 illegal votes have thrown Laredo in a state of turmoil.

*Was King Arthur actually a real person?

*A Musical Selection:

Sunday Morning Hot Links

Between graduation and end-of-year school stuff and then the complete mental collapse as a result of another school year done and dusted, I needed a few days off - from everything. But we back now. The Astros beat the A's 6-3 and are 30-21, still three back of the West Terrell Rangers, who apparently never lose.

1916 A's Watch:

2023 A's: 10-44

1916 A's: 16-37-1

In Day Games, Oakland is 1-22 and are collectively hitting .183/.266/.289.

*The Astros are 10-2 in their last twelve games, 13-3 in their last 16 games. 

*In their last 30 games:

West Terrell: 19-11

Houston: 19-11

*Houston is 13-7 in their last 20 road games. Jeremy Pena:

We've known we had a great team from the jump. It's just the flows of the season. We know that. Now it's just a matter of showing up and doing that every day.

*The Astros are 17-2 when they score six or more runs.

*1-4 in the lineup yesterday vs the A's (Altuve-Pena-Yordan-Bregman): 7x16, 6 Runs Scored, 5RBI, 2K:1BB.

*5-9 in the lineup (Tucker-Abreu-Chas-Julks-Maldonado): 1x17, 1RBI, 6K:2BB.

*Alex Bregman went 3x4 with a double and 3RBI. It was his 3rd 3-hit game of the season, and his second since May 17. On May 7 Bregman was "hitting" .195/.322/.320. Since May 7 he's hitting .313/.365/.478. 

*Jose Altuve has played in six games this season and has at least one hit in each of his last five. Danielle Lerner: Jose Altuve is resuming his role as the offensive catalyst.

*Jeremy Pena went 2x4 with a double and a homer - it was his first home run since April 29, and his first 2XBH game since April 7. Pena has seven extra-base hits and 8RBI in May. 

*Framber Valdez threw another (yawn) quality start: 6IP, 4H/1ER, 5K:3BB. That's nine Quality Starts out of eleven starts for Framber this season. Since allowing 4ER in 4IP against Chicago: 13IP, 8H/1ER, 12K:3BB.

*Bryan Abreu got tagged for two earned runs - his first earned run since May 5. Abreu had allowed three earned runs in 23 appearances (23.2IP) to start the season. 

*Michael Brantley has resumed his role as unofficial coach.

*Sonja Chen: Jose Altuve is doing Jose Altuve things.

*McTaggart: Dickie Thon's son is carving his own path with the Astros.

*On deck this week:

Houston: three home vs Minnesota, four home vs Anaheim. The Astros' next day off is June 12.

West Terrell: three at Detroit, three home vs Seattle.

*Take a look at the renderings of Oakland's new proposed Las Vegas ballpark.

*Texas Monthly: The Texas Legislature finally comes for Ken Paxton. Texas Tribune: What to know about Ken Paxton's long-running scandals and legal battles. 

*New York Magazine: The Case of the Fake Sherlock Holmes.

*Outside: The agony and adventure of hiking the John Muir Trail in a week.

*Leeds United have to beat Tottenham and Everton has to lose to Bournemouth in order for Leeds, who are at 96% to get relegated, to stay in the Premier League. All games - the last of the season - will kick off at 10:30am Central. 

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Welp! The Astros scored six runs in the 8th/9th to beat the Cubs on a walk-off Kyle Tucker single 7-6 to complete a rather unlikely (for 2023, anyway) comeback. Houston is 24-19 overall and 11-11 at home. The Rangers lost so that's a 2-game deficit for the Astros in the standings. That's seven wins in the Astros' last eight games. 

*The Cubs' Win Expectancy was 98.5% when David Hensley struck out to end the 7th Inning. 287 batters in MLB have at least 80 PAs this season. David Hensley's .130/.221/.182 slash line ranks 287th. 

*It's the Astros' first walk-off win of the season. The Astros are now 1-11 when allowing 6+ runs in a game. Michael Schwab noted that the Astros were 0-17 when trailing at the beginning of the 9th Inning. Dusty:

That was the win of the year.

Dusty also gave a shoutout to all the fans who stayed.

*Alex Bregman have yourself a day! Bregman was a [wink] triple shy of the cycle, going 3x4 with a walk and an RBI. It's the 9th time in his career he's recorded a double, homer, and walk in the same game - the first since June 9, 2021. It's his first 3-hit game since August 23, 2022. Bregman now has seven hits in his last five games. 

*Kyle Tucker also got hisself three hits, one of them a double, one of them the walk-off two-run single. He now has hits in six of his last seven games. 

*Jeremy Pena was 2x5 with his third career triple, and first of 2023. It was the Astros' third triple of 2023. 

*The Astros are 3-0 when Jake Meyers homers. Last night's 9th inning shot was his first home run since April 30.

*Yordan Alvarez's On-Base Streak to Start The Season (OBStSTS, for short) ended last night as he went 0x5. It was the 9th time in his career that Yordan has recorded at least five plate appearances and not gotten a hit. The Astros record when Yordan doesn't get on base in a game with at least 5PA? Uhhhhh 6-3. 

[please note that I'm getting a little hamstrung by Baseball-Reference's site update, which is apparently happening RIGHT THIS MINUTE]

*Houston's bullpen: 5.1IP, 4H/0ER, 7K:5BB.

  Chicago's bullpen: 2.1IP, 9H/6ER, 4K:2BB.

*Hector Neris, since April 3: 15IP, 4H/1ER, 18K:7BB. 

*Bryan Abreu recorded his second Win of the season. He has allowed 0 Earned Runs in 18 of the 21 appearances he has made in 2023.

*Neris and Abreu were behind 1-0 in the count to eight of the ten batters they faced. 

*Chandler Rome: How this "Jose Altuve" fella could help the Astros, if they call him up straight from Corpus. Altuve could possibly be activated in time for tomorrow's game against Oakland.

*Michael Brantley says he's pain-free, though no one - not even God - knows when he might start resuming baseball activities. 

*David Coleman, formerly of The Crawfish Boxes, remembered some guys from 2004.

*ESPN: The Complex Task of Rebuilding Hinchcliffe.

*NY Times: Did 500-year old Viking city Jomsborg actually exist?

*Winning the Champions League would put 2022-23 Manchester City in Legend status.

*Brentford's Ivan Toney has been suspended from the Premier League for eight months for sports betting.

*A Musical Selection:

Monday Morning Hot Links

The Houston Astros beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 yesterday afternoon to improve to 21-19, four games back of the Rangers for the division lead. The Astros have won four of their last five games after winning three of their previous ten games. Mercurial sons of bitches. At 2 hours and 33 minutes, it was the shortest of the three-game set and the 12th-quickest game of the season.

*The Astros went 5-4 on a nine-game road trip with stops in Seattle, Anaheim, and Chicago. Now they return home to face the Cubs and A's. Thirteen of their next 19 games are at home, where they [squints] enjoy an 8-11 record.

*Houston is 17-6 when allowing three or fewer runs, and 19-5 when scoring four or more runs. 

*FanGraphs has the Astros at 41.9% to win the AL West, just ahead of the Rangers, who are at 39.3%.

One thing to note about the Rangers is their Strength of Schedule. Baseball-Reference has them tied with the Mets as having the easiest schedule in the Majors to this point, while the Astros have had the 7th-toughest schedule in the Majors. 13 of the Rangers' 40 games have come against the Royals and A's. 

*Hunter Brown tied a career-high with eight strikeouts, and yesterday he pitched into the 6th Inning for the first time since April 26. After recording 21 outs in three of his first five starts, Brown has yet to record 18 outs in his last three outings. But! After walking five of the 20 batters he faced against the Giants on May 2, Brown has walked two of the last 47 batters that briefly stepped in. 

*The Astros statistically have the third-best rotation in the Majors in 2023, which is insane to think about.

*Bullpen, yesterday: 3.1IP, 0H/0ER, 5K:1BB.

*Yesterday was Ryan Pressly's 18th appearance of the season. He hasn't allowed a hit in 12 of them, and hasn't walked a batter since April 21. Since taking the L on April 11 against the Pirates, he has thrown 12IP, 8H/2ER, 10K:1BB - a 1.50 ERA / 0.75 WHIP.

*After getting at least one hit in six of his first eight games of the season, David Hensley since April 11 (51 PAs - 16 appearances, 13 starts): .067/.177/.156, 18K:6BB, 2XBH.

*Alex Bregman went 4x8 on May 8-9 at Anaheim, and since then has gone 2x16. In May, Bregman has "hit" .170/.235/.277, which is not exactly what you're looking for in the 2-hole. 

*Yordan Alvarez has an 11-game hit streak, breaking his previous record of 10 games which he set from September 9-19, 2022. 

*In 1270 games with the White Sox, Jose Abreu hit .292/.354/.507. A hit yesterday brought Abreu's line up to .214/.262/.253. Game of Abreu's first homer of the season:

2014: 8

2015: 1

2016: 4

2017: 21

2018: 1

2019: 2

2020: 5

2021: 2

2022: 8

2023: ?

*Congratulations to Yainer Diaz, who hit his first career home run yesterday, and then got the silent treatment. Danielle Lerner wrote about the Yainer Diaz Predicament. 

*Jose Altuve got his first hit of 2023 for Sugar Land yesterday.

*Michael Brantley says his shoulder is "very frustrating" and doesn't know how long this latest shut-down will last. 

*AT&T SportsNet will broadcast 15 Astros games in Spanish, the first one coming next Sunday.

*After a three-game stretch in which Forrest Whitley threw 13IP, 13H/13ER, 11K:7BB, Whitley went 4IP, 2H/1ER, 4K:1BB on Saturday against El Paso.

*Sugar Land's J.J. Matisyahu Matijevic, 2023: .299/.354/.573. Grae Kessinger: .317/.436/.472. 

*In 19 games for Corpus, Joey Loperfido (2021 - 7th Round) is hitting .308/.452/.554. Corpus' Rhett Kouba (2021 - 12th Round) has a 35:4 K:BB ratio in 29.2IP. 

*2022 12th Round pick Zach Dezenzo is hitting .388/.455/.600 in 24 games for Asheville.

*Former Astros Great Zack Greinke became just the 5th pitcher to strike out 1,000 different batters.

*The Athletic: The Brent Venables way, and his vision for the future of Oklahoma football.

*BBC: The surprising power of horror stories.

*My beloved Leeds United are currently at 67% to get relegated to the Championship (2nd division) of English football, with Southampton already clinching relegation. Leicester City are the only team with worse odds (70%) than Leeds. Leeds absolutely have to win at West Ham this weekend, and then hope that Spurs simply want to hurry up and get to Ibiza, in order to stay up. 

*ESPN: Doyle Brunson passed away at the age of 89.

*Are Hot Links back? I'm not sure. Are they back this morning? Yeah buddy.

*A musical selection:

Saturday Morning Hot Links

I truly hope that every single person who reads this is doing okay. This week has proven to us that the Biblical imagery of Hell being hot may not be entirely accurate. My family and I are lucky - we live around the corner from a National Guard...outpost or whatever, and they're not going to shut off power to, like, The Army:

 

Anyway, this has been a hell of a week. I know that my wife and kid and I are extremely blessed/fortunate (depending on your view of Christianity/Deism/Atheism), and there are millions of people around Texas who are not doing okay. Here is a link to a Google Doc organizing direct relief, if you're in a position to help. If you/your family have a specific need, email me at astroscounty at gmail and I'll will do my absolute best to help you/your family. 

*Here is a list of food and water distribution sites in Houston, Austin, North Texas, San Antonio, Corpus.

*I guess the Astros did some stretching. But, more importantly right now, they're banding together to help out the Houston area:

-Alex and Reagan Bregman are distributing bottled water from 9am-2pm Saturday at the Astros Youth Academy (2801 S. Victory Drive).

-The Bregmans, the Brantleys, the Presslys, the Smith/LaForces, the Astros Foundation, Brothers Produce, Mayor Turner's office, and the City of Houston are handing out 5-gallon jugs of water at Butler Stadium (13755 S. Main Street) until they run out.

-Lance and Kara McCullers have pledged $150,000 and 400,000 water bottles for the Houston Food Bank, who will distribute the water. The Lance McCullers Jr. Foundation will also partner with several local organizations to help with water and veterinary services. Click here to donate to the LMJ Foundation, as they want to donate a literal million bottles of water to the Houston area.

-Carlos and Daniella Correa will donate 1,000 meals to law enforcement and public employees, as well as support in recovery and reconstruction efforts. To donate the Correa Family Foundation, click here.

*Brian McTaggart has notes! Zack Greinke won't report until the deadline, as is his custom, and is also not a big deal at all, Bryan Abreu came to camp slimmed down and looking good, Josh James likely won't get a 60-Day IL spot since he's projected to come back from hip labrum surgery before then, and Joe Smith knows he's old (and there's a certain amount of coolness that comes with that). 

*Chandler Rome: The signing of Former/Current Astros Great Jason Castro is all about helping Martin Maldonado get through the season. Machete, on talking with Jiminy Clicket about the Castro signing:

We had a really good conversation about it. I think Castro is going to give us another form of leadership behind the plate - a guy that's been here, been in the big leagues for so long. We are going to work together, get the best out of our pitching staff and be a unit.

There's mutual respect between the two catchers, and that can't be a bad thing. 

*MLB.com: Here is your projected 2021 Astros lineup/rotation.

*Jake Kaplan: Myles Straw and Bryan Abreu are among the Astros with the most to gain this Spring Training.

*Dusty Baker: Bryan Abreu looks "really good" so far. 

*Virtual Astros FanFest will be Saturday, February 27.

*Chandler Rome: Steve Cishek is trying to sidearm his way, along with Joe Smith, into the bullpen.

*Our Dude Brian wrote up a post about the Astros being 2021 AL West favorites.

*Former Astros Great Brandon Bailey will have Tommy John Surgery and miss the 2021 season.

*Wolves 1 Leeds United 0 in a bullcrap game that "technology" ruined.

*I tried to figure out a simple way to understand just what the hell happened to Texas this week.

*Uncle Nearest is the Most Important Story in American Whiskey History.

*How a Shadow Army of Ghost Kitchens Took Over America's Restaurants.

*Barcelona and the Crippling Cost of Success.

*A Musical Selection: