Can Astros rely on run prevention to counterbalance glaring offensive struggles?

Can Astros rely on run prevention to counterbalance glaring offensive struggles?

Welcome to Stone Cold Stros. I’m Brandon Strange with Charlie Polo. Go follow him on X at Polo. And between our episodes here, you can read his blogs covering the Astros, Texans, andor Rockets over on sportsmap.com. On today’s episode, the Astros are holding on to that division lead for life. While the offense is having more trouble scoring than Beas and Butt had, but after six straight solid performances by the starters, the Astros have, dare I say, the the G-word, a glut at starting pitching. I banned Josh from saying that that word this season, but uh he’s out today, so we’ll give him a test drive and see how that word works for us. Uh before all that, hit like on the video right now. Mash the subscribe button if you want to see more of us in your timeline. Click that bell for notifications so you know when new content drops. And we’re on all your favorite podcast apps. Just search Stone Cold Stros and go check us out on our latest episode of Texans on Tap over on the Sports Map Texans YouTube channel. Welcome Charlie. Uh like I said, Josh with the day off, but he’ll join us later this week. Um, coming out of that Red Sox series, we looked at uh this 17g game part of the schedule that we just are now leaving out of where they faced Houston was facing Baltimore seven combin combined seven times. Uh, three versus the Rockies, four versus the Angels with three with Detroit sandwiched in there. We dared dream about the kind of damage they could do during that period. uh what kind of padding they could give themselves in the division. You fast forward to Monday and Houston had lost nine of those 17 games going into the finale with the Angels. Now Houston salvaged the split, but given the performances that Job Spot out of his starters and Javier, Iraetti, Brown, and Garcia combined with Yordon getting on base at a clip above every other uh AB since his return to the lineup. um those conditions almost seemed hard if not impossible to lose and yet this team found a way. So, I understand why some of the more emotionally fragile parts of the fan base are down on this team. And yes, we’re going to get into the offense, but I think the big picture is telling an equally, if not more important story, which is Houston feels more capable of covering innings now. uh with the outings we just saw from their returning starters. So Charlie, I I put it to you. Am I being more polyiana than I am pragmatic here? Oh, there’s nothing wrong with being optimistic because the cookie could crumble very favorably for the Astros over these final weeks of the regular season schedule. Uh Detroit and Toronto not exactly tearing it up. So the Astros for their scuffles, I mean they stunk basically for a month and a half, 14 and 23. Well, since then 7-4, a 4 and3 home stand against the joke Rockies and the not good Angels isn’t a good home stand, but it wasn’t calamitous. While the Mariners were losing two out of three in Cleveland over the weekend, for instance. So, the Astros, I think they’re going to be hardressed to catch Detroit, but with a series at Toronto next week and the Astros within three games going into the Yankee series of Toronto for the second best record in the American League, uh, I think as a fan or a detached observer, it’s very reasonable to look out what could be on the horizon as opposed to, uh, checking the rearview mirror. uh the baseball legend Satchel Page with the quote, “Don’t worry about what’s behind you because it could be gaining on you.” Um the door has cracked for instance for the Texas Rangers, right? The Mariners are the clearer and present more present danger to the Astros, but the Rangers who’ve beaten the Astros four of the first seven meetings if you get to tiebreaker type stuff. Hey, the Rangers and Astros have two head-to-head series to come. So the Rangers go to town, they can climb right into this. So, yes, things could go haywire for the Astros and they could tumble out of it, but they’re at least as likely right now to still be able to move up a notch, avoid that two out of three. And to that pitching, I’m not going to call it a glut, but at least there are strings that you can pull that you don’t have to cover your eyes and if you’re given to prayer, utter a few as you’re doing it. First off, salute to Luis Garcia. Just the perseverance, the comeback story. 824 days, 2 years and 4 months. I said earlier this year, treat him like a found $100 bill. If he gets back and can pitch, great. But to count on it would be foolish. And then he goes and sets down the first nine. All right. He threw a couple of batting practice sweepers that got slaughtered for home runs. But anyone who said, “Yeah, I’ll take the uh the even or over on Luis Garcia, giving you six innings his first time out meets the loose definition of quality starts. Six innings, three earned runs. I think he earns another start, which would come in Arlington this weekend. And I think Brandon, this gets into decisions that Job Spot and the pitching staff guys will have to make. Do you want to stick with the six-man rotation, right? The Astros don’t have an off day until Monday. So the three games with the Yankees, they’re opening with Frober. Then you get Jason Alexander in there. Christian Javier off six hitless innings. He goes Thursday. Okay. So you get to the weekend against the Rangers. Are you coming back with Hunter Brown on four days rest for a second consecutive start? I would not. Aragetti, I think, has earned another spot to try to solidify maybe the number three man in the rotation. I mean, it’s quite a derby, right? Javier, Aragetti, uh, Alexander against all logic still in the mix. Look, Garcia just a great story and each game matters. So, that was tremendous on Sunday, but it was one outing against a bad offense. The Cotton’s going to get taller with what Luis Garcia is going to have to face. So, I just think this is tremendously fun. The multifront battle. The Astros still could get to that buy position, which of course requires them winning the division, holding off Seattle and secondarily Texas. But they’re basically in a dead heat with the Red Sox and Yankees as the Astros and Yankees get into that three-game series, right? The tiebreaker, the Astros having won two out of three in New York. So, if they win this series, that should just about nail down at least a playoff spot. And then you can really aim higher with a chance to put away the Rangers going to Arlington this weekend and then maybe the same to Seattle when the Mariners get to Houston later this month. Just real quick on the topic of increasing difficulty because I I you hit on something that I think is is important here. Um because over that long weekend all eyes were on, you know, what would we see out of Javier after his previous two early exits? What was Arroghetti going to look like? Hunter Brown has had his ups and downs over these past few starts. You touched on Luis Garcia like had been out for two years. What would Luis Garcia look back look like in his first uh appearance back? And all of them it was overwhelmingly positive. I mean, my goodness, Javier went hitless um or threw a no hit game uh through six. How do you weigh though the performances versus the level level of difficulty and competition there? Yeah, look, one start is one start. It’s important because it counts in the standings, but it’s like when Lance McCullers would drop in a really good start. Oh, Lance has turned a corner. Lance McCullers is back. No, not when he goes and gets his doors blown off or walks everybody in sight. Then the the next time out, right? It’s about the body of work in judging a pitcher. Same with a hitter, right? A 300 hitter, a really good hitter, isn’t going to bat between 280 and 320 every week of the season, right? It’ll play out over 162 games. Well, now we’re in this compressed window where it’s going to play out over the final 20 games and change. The Astros with multiple off days. They don’t get to one until Monday, but then heading into the last week of the season, they have an off Thursday and an off Monday. No way is there a need for six starting pitchers. You actually won’t need five in that stretch. So, who do you identify as your four or really the two after Hunter Brown and Fron Valdez? And then who do they think is better suited to come out of the bullpen, right? McCuller’s got a first taste of it uh over the weekend if a starter goes short and you need someone to come in the fourth, fifth inning, ideally give you a little bit of length for that game and also to bridge to the later innings when you get to King Oakert Abrao territory. So, you know, they start the Yankees overall in a in a very good place. The offense can be just overwhelmingly exasperating, right? They blew through last season’s total of games with three or fewer runs. Um, but seven and four in the last 11 games, still pacing to win 89. If they can get to 89, they’re going to be in the postseason. And that is task number one. Well, you touched on it, so we might as well get to we have to address runners in scoring position because God knows they won’t. Um, it’s been a bugaboo all season. Uh, currently ranked 23 of 30 among all MLB teams, but part of their saving grace is Seattle’s 21, Texas 24. So, miserable offense loves company. Uh game one of of the Angel series was I feel like may and maybe it’s an overstatement but it’s just felt like the 2025 offseason or off or offense in a nutshell this season which was some hits, lots of traffic left on bases. Uh and then sing the words if you know them. Bases loaded, no runs scored. Uh Yiner collects three outs and two uh bases loaded appearances if you’re wondering how it’s going for him. Uh it’s such a glaring problem that even the TV broadcast was comparing they were doing the splits of the team’s chase rates uh with and without guys in scoring position just to show how much the players are pressing right now. Um now I looked back at last season just for comparative sake and it wasn’t great. They were middle of the pack. Um this season it’s been far worse. And you look at this lineup, especially as it’s currently constructed, and you feel like this team should be better, and yet it’s worse. Um, now in fairness, they just added Korea at the deadline and Yordon just came back. Um, but yet somehow, even after all those things and and Yordon getting on base and being the threat and lengthening the lineup, the results still haven’t really reflected a team that is improving in situational hitting. So, when should we become concerned that this isn’t a slump or a blip or an anomaly? It’s just part of this team’s DNA. Well, I think that that’s the case. It’s just not a really good lineup. It’s as simple as that. Now, there, as with most stories, multiple layers to it, last year’s lineup was better, right? Kyle Tucker missed a big chunk of the season, but Kyle Tucker was really good. Uh, Alex Bregman was okay, but certainly better than the Mauricio Dubons and the guys who filled in with hundreds of plate appearances when you add up all these Zack Schwarz and Cooper Hummels and Taylor Trel’s and Jacob Melton’s. So, the lineup isn’t as good. Now, we get to what I know is such a sore spot for some. Jose Altuve isn’t as good. He’s a 294 career hitter with runners in scoring position. This season he’s 244. Christian Walker been better July, August. Well, for the season, 235 batting average, 234 with runners in scoring position. Well, guess which two Astros batters have the most plate appearances this season with runners in scoring position? Jose Altuve and Christian Walker. And they haven’t been good. Now, two huge variables that can cut favorably for the Astros. You can be below average, which this team is. They’re 12th in runs scored per game in the American League out of 15 teams. It’s not a good lineup. But the Yordon element, 348 with runners in scoring position this season. The issue is he’s only had 23 at bats with runners in scoring position because of all the time you missed. Yordon for his career a 314 hitter with runners in scoring position. So to not coin a phrase, you expect Yordon to Yordon if he’s in the lineup, really finds his timing and stride, and that is a massive jolt for the upside potential. But a bad team can have a real good run. 2022, Jeremy Pena was not a good offensive player. And then the postseason came and he played like an absolute legend. The short run, good can be really bad, bad can be really good. Uh, but I mentioned Altuve. Real good game Sunday. Well, he was overdue, right? As the Astros offense has been largely in the tank over the last three weeks. Prime culprits, Altuve and Carlos Koreah, who has not Koreah been a good player this season. His first nine games, whether adrenaline boost, really excited to be back with the Astros, he hit 405, OPS of 1,098. Well, mediocre hitters can go gang busters for a week or 10 days. 19 games since Kareah stinks. He batting in the 230s, his on base percentage, his slugging percentage. Neither is even 300. Two extra base hits in his last 19 games. He has no business being in a cleanup spot. But that’s where a spot is keeping him. Nostalgia trip or hey, I remember his first nine games. Well, for nine games he was really good. For 19 games he sucked. So if you’re going to judge which should carry more weight. So Walker should be up higher in the lineup. If Yordon is going to get on base for traffic, I mean, Kare is a lightweight. Two extra base hits in 19 games. Yeah, Walker strikes out a ton, but if you get some traffic, you have the better shot for the big inning for the three-run homer. Uh, so Koreah needs to pick it up. Altuve needs to pick it up. Jeremy Pñena for 20 games had a sub 700 OPS, right? If those are going to be three of the top four guys in your lineup, you know, the bottom portion of the lineup is weak. So if the guys counted on to be your heavy lifters, the guys who their track record and just who they are even at this point in their career, they’re better than your other guys, they need to produce. If Pena is going to tail off, Altuve is not going to be good. Kareah is not going to be good. How in the hell are the Astros supposed to have a good sustained offense? So they pick it up, Brandon, or they don’t. Yeah. And I’m glad you mentioned the Yordon thing because Yordo missed a 100 games and yet somehow still holds the team lead in sack flies. That’s insane. That’s an insane stat. And look in individually, you know, when you look at it, when you look at what you’ve gotten from Pñena versus last year, better, Meyers better, although, you know, Iel, uh, Pedes when he was healthy, more, you know, on the aggregate better production than what you got out of Bregman during that same time period last year, Jose Abrau, you didn’t have to deal with that. I mean, you’ve had Walker, but not as bad, but very Abrauesque, I guess, at times. And then to your point, Diaz is worse. Uh El Tuve is worse. Uh and and you’ve had this I’ll tuck around Cam Smith in. I mean huge drop off. First two months Cam Smith okay. Last two months Cam Smith guys belonged to the minor leagues. Yiner Diaz second consecutive year either holding steady or regression. So you add it all up and you add in those runners and scoring position numbers. By the way, Isach Parades for as good as he was, he was not good with runners and scoring position. He was at 232. So, it’s not like Mr. Clutch has been out of the Astros lineup. Jake Myers 203 with runners and scoring positions. So, it’s not like, oh, if you had those two guys, they just be coming up with two out hits constantly. It’s just been the collective. It just has not been a very good offense this season. But that doesn’t mean it can’t become one for the remaining weeks of the regular season and as long as you’re around uh in the postseason. But just to follow, Kareah should be dropped down in the lineup against right-handed pitching. Uh Jesus Sanchez should be uh ahead of Koreah. Uh we’ll see if Aspatada chooses to make make some changes there. Jake Myers one for nine three games in Sugarland. I don’t really care about the results. I still think he gives you better defense and more potential offensively than playing Dubon in center field. Right. They activated Taylor Tral with the two additional roster spots, one plus pitcher and brought Trel back. Why would you start him? Get Jake Myers back during his Yankee series. Yeah, and I guess that’s kind of my point when in asking the question though is because if we’re saying that’s just who this team is, I I wonder really if it makes sense or or how much stock I should put into being enthusiastic about Myers coming back. Now, I’m excited to have him back just because number one, I think he’s earned his spot in the outfield. Uh he he’s not Taylor. He’s not Jacob Melton. Right. Right. Exactly. um and you know can can put solid at bats together which is not a sentence I would have dreamed uttering prior to this season but he’s been good. I’m I’m looking forward to having him back but then I do wonder how measured I should be in that excitement of as to whether it’s going to make a difference or not. So, and if it’s not if if you know I don’t know that positioning moving people up and down it’s like I can’t I can’t get super excited about thinking about oh well if Walker is up that there’s a higher chance. I mean I just seen Walker strike out so many damn times this season that I’m I’m just so numb and when he does something I just go great it’s it’s found money but in fairness he has done better lately and so I think that’s that’s a fair point. Uh and and I do think uh when you are looking at where this team is at and how close they are and like how uh fragile this all seems to be, I guess every uh advantage you can get certainly helps. But I think that carries us into the next thing I want to talk about, which is one of the more divisive topics online uh that’s uh not named Jeffrey Epstein. and that is that when you start talking about hitting for the Astros, um the the top the topic naturally comes up of hitting coaches. And when it comes up, a lot of the traditional media guys will get defensive, carry water for the Centrons and Snickers because they either have uh professional relationships with them, they respect them and their knowledge um and and because probably too there’s a bit of that they interact as media members too much with hyperbolic fans. So they instinctively go the other direction when the fans start throwing around blame. But I saw I think I say this because I saw as a radio host chastising some fan uh for complaining about Centron and saying, “Well, you weren’t complaining when the Astros had one of the best offenses in baseball in 2019 and 2020 or or whatever.” And my reaction is, “Yeah, right. Because if if that was a while ago, if if the quality of my output dips at work, I don’t get to tell my boss, “Yeah, but you know, you weren’t complaining three years ago when I was killing it.” Um, look, and I know we’ve talked about this topic a lot, but I want to circle back considering the recent struggles to scratch across runs. And I I know um you know I know nothing’s going to happen this year in the middle of the season, nor would I want them to have anything, you know, do anything dramatic right now. But assuming there isn’t some sort of late season surge or deep postseason push, which certainly, you know, the odds allow for, but assuming those things don’t happen, how does a team address their offensive philosophies or need uh to change their approach without addressing the hitting coaches as well? Well, without any inside skinny on this, I’m going to guess a change, if not changes will be made with the hitting coaches, and that’s making Troy Snitker and Alex Intron fall guys well can be part of what you sign up for when you get a job in the in the big time. I do think the topic can be overblown. It’s easy and understandable for fans or others to want to play the blame game when things aren’t going so well. to illustrate. Well, have they done great work with Jeremy Pñena this season with his walk rate up more than 50% and Pñena making a dramatic leap forward to star level player while the same hitting coaches? Have they been stupid as Cam Smith has fallen into a a two-month coma? Uh Yiner Diaz continues to swing at everything in sight. It’s like week 23 of the season. Yiner has the embarrassing total of 19 walks. Is it on the hitting coaches that they haven’t shaken Yiner Diaz and gotten it through to him? Stop swinging at everything. You’re not that good batting 264 with no walks. Um that Altuve is 50 points below his career average as we runners hitting with runners in scoring position. Is that on Snitker Centron? No. Altuve is just not as good as he used to be. They’d probably both look smarter if Yordon had been healthy for more than 35 of the Astros 135 games or whatever the the count is at this point. Uh but sometimes you just need something to be changed for the sake of change even if it won’t you know A leads to B. Uh but we have heard from when Joe Espatada got the job about we want more discipline at the plate and here the Astros are fewer pitches per at bat than any team in Major League Baseball. Okay. Losing Paradus, their most disciplined guy in the batters box, hurt that cause, but it’s not like they went from good in the category to rock bottom. So again, the offense has not been a good offense this season. That’s not all about Yordon having missed 100 games. Uh I I’m going to again guessing that some change on the staff is in the offing. Yeah. And I I don’t think it’s about necessarily the individual grades. I think that counts, but I think it’s about the aggregate. Like what’s happening on the aggregate? And I and take this for example, which is your pitcher has a 25 pitch inning and then the next batter up is swinging and pops up on the very first pitch. Now, maybe he maybe his eyes saw a fast ball or thought that he could attack early because the scouting report says that that’s your best opportunity with this guy. However, in that situation, does it make sense for your team for you to gamble on a pitch that’s, you know, that you think you can attack or is it in the best interest of the team for you to be have a more patient, measured approach at the plate considering that you need to give your pitcher a blow? And just it seems like too many times guys are going up there with approaches that don’t really match the situation. Yeah, I get uh your frustration with that and there are time where I get agitated just because I want to see good smart baseball. Uh the batting average on first pitches put in play is about as high as any count as they’re in the game. You know, if you go up hunting a fast ball, a specific area of the strike zone you want to attack, right? If a pitcher seems on the ropes, he’s just walked a couple of guys, what are you doing him a favor swinging at the first pitch and then you fly out or pop out or something like that? Well, you cannot counter that saying, “I knew he was just looking to get one over because he’s been taxed and he’s been falling behind.” So, you know, here comes the uh the room service first pitch fastball. Uh so, in the end, it’s it’s about the results and the Astros offensive results just haven’t been good in the aggregate this season. Uh, I want to throw in while we’re at it on this topic, Brandon, you know, sometimes if you need to squeeze the the lemon to produce some lemonade, different areas, the Astros are slow. The Astros team speed is not good. Pñena, excellent. Cam Smith runs very well for a big guy, but you can’t steal first base, the saying goes. Uh, Altuve can’t run the way he used to. Nine stolen bases, six caught stealing. The Astros as a team have fewer than 70 stolen bases. Their success rate is about 70%. The Astros have given up 135 stolen bases. They throw out nobody. Other teams are safe 90% of the time and running nearly twice as much uh against the Astros. Another one team speed and it’s a different game now. But the Astros team, right, we’re post Labor Day. The Astros team in 2025 has the exact same number of triples. Evan Gatis finished the 2015 season with 11. Now, in fairness and trying to tilt the prism, see all views, the Seattle Mariners have seven triples as a team. A lot of hitters don’t bust it out of the box. You know, I’m happy with my double. Uh, but that the Astros team has as many triples as Evan Gatis had and that one one of the greatest statistically anomalous seasons of all time. 11 triples for Gatis in 2015. A decade later, the Astros team has the same number. Yeah, and that is odd from the standpoint of they have the outfield that you would seem to be able to produce triples with given the the size of the gaps you’d be able to hit it to. Um, now speaking of speaking of the outfield, I just want to hit on this real quick before we we go to our last topic here, but uh Taylor Ward taking that, you know, the the phaser to the the out of town scoreboard that looked pretty brutal. Um, I saw some of the Angels media saying that it’s, you know, irresponsible of Houston to have a metal scoreboard in in the field of play. Um, does that sound as ridiculous to you as it does to me? I mean, to because to me, I look at it and I go, all obstacles or walls or whether they’re chain link fences or whatever, all of them pose some sort of risk when you’re running full boore into them. But do they have a point about it being an unpadded metal surface in the field of play? Uh, I think there’ll probably be a change made, but that the Astros are negligent. Uh, the Angels have had a quarter century to raise these complaints. you just can’t bubble wrap all the players and and I mean that was horrific uh to see but unfortunately you know other than a bad gash it seems like Ward will will will be all right. Um you know there are times early in the season where the ivy isn’t all over the walls at Wrigley Field where man you can you can thump into the wall. It’s a wall. It’s not like there was a bolt jutting out that, you know, poked the guy’s eye out, right? Um, you can’t be immune from injury, crazy injuries. But, yeah, patting the corner probably something that that should be done, but to change out the the whole scoreboard, uh, that would surprise me. Yeah. I I mean, look, it’s you see, was it was it last year when Judge hurt his uh toe or whatever on on the the wall in the out or the the fence in the outfield? There there’s all sorts of Jake Meyers dislocated his shoulder just trying to go up and get the the fly ball in in Chicago and that wall was padded. So, it’s just, you know, when when guys are go going all out at the speed that they are, at the effort level, trying to make plays, uh, injuries are just going to happen. Like, as you said, fortunately, it it’s looks like it’s just uh just the gash. Look, I thought it looked good aesthetically and I appreciated the uh the shout out to the history of the game, but there was a real coherent argument that Tal Hill never belonged there. that was adding a risk that there was no real reason to have there other than you thought it was cool and like they had in the 40s and 50s put the flag pole in the field of play. Didn’t often come into play, but if it ever plausibly could come into play, fortunately, no one ever ripped up a knee going after it or really smacked hard into the flag pole and got injured. uh you know other teams beefing about that I would have given more credence to than the Angels after the fact unless there’s been a lot of hue and cry behind the scenes through the years. Hey, do something about that out there. Do something about out there. Um that after a guy gets hit to say you should have done something about that out there. Yeah, Talis Hill. I think the only injuries were just bruised egos of guys trying to navigate that stupid thing. Now, you know, finishing off here, Houston has three seemingly tough series against Yankees, Rangers, who, you know, along with the Tigers always seem to play Houston tougher than most, and then the Blue Jays. Now, the reality of how tough those will be, you know, we’ll see. But that’s why I asked the questions. Do you think on the other side of that stretch, it’s more likely that Houston regrets not taking advantage of this past uh stretch of 17 games or do you think we’re more likely to just be saying on the other side of this did matter because this team is so bipolar that they’re capable of beating anyone? Oh, I think both are true. I don’t know if you look back with regret other than gez, it would have been nice to have done better. I mean, I don’t think it’s like they took the Angels unseriously and that’s why they split the series and they settled for two out of three over the Rockies as opposed to sweeping because they thought they could just throw the gloves and bats on the field. And of course, we’ll we’ll sweep the Rockies. Uh it’s the whole eb and flow thing, right? The Astros were 26 and 25, then they went 29 and 10, and right after 29 and 10, they went 14 and 23. And now it’s 7-4 heading into the Yankee series. Uh more numbing with numbers, right? The Astros are 18-9 against left-handed starting pitchers. Well, the Yankees are throwing Max Freed and Carlos Rudon in this series. So, can the Astros hold up that they’ve excelled against lefty starters? Well, these are two really good lefty starters. The Rangers starting pitching has just been sensational all season. And with their garbage lineup, it’s the only reason the Rangers are actually on the fringe of both the division and wild card races now. And you know what? The Rangers have had this latest hot run. Marcus Semian, I’m not gonna say addition by subtraction, but overrated as a loss. He was a bad player this year. But Corey Seager is spectacular and was going to be second tier MVP type. Appendicitis, he’s out. And then the Rangers go win five games in a row. Strange stuff happens. The fewer games that are involved, the stranger brew can brew. Yeah. Yeah. And and to your point, I mean, they they lost Nathan Evaldi and they just keep keep going on. Um um final thoughts before we’re out the door. The whole on paper thing, the schedule absolutely favors the Mariners from this point forward. Now, the Astros can blunt that if they take the series and with it the tiebreaker from Seattle at Dyken Park September 19th, 2021st. But the Astros, the three with the Yankees, the three with the Blue Jays, the three with the Mariners, nine games against playoff teams, the Rangers, an impressive mirage, but a mirage. Hey, the Astros still have six more games with those Rangers. The Mariners, meanwhile, just three with the Rangers, three with the Astros. The last weekend of the season, the Mariners, three against the Dodgers. But will the Dodgers have anything to play for in those games? That can really be a wild card when you get down to the very last games of the season. If the Astros get to that last week with things in their control, again, on paper, three at the A’s, three at the Angels, but beware of things that seem to be favorably in your direction. Yeah. Amen to that. And my final thought, I think, is uh it’s file it under the uh the bookmark of uh things seen while looking at uh the baseball reference page. But uh I just I thought some of these uh these numbers were interesting for Houston. Longest winning streak of the season, five. Longest losing streak of the season, five. Most runs allowed, 16. Most runs scored, 18. Uh, times shut out by opponent, nine, times opponent shutout, 11. Uh, largest comeback six. Largest blown lead, seven. Walk-off wins, seven. Walk-off losses, seven. Uh, where the biggest differences seem to be is they’ve had 10 more comeback wins than blown leads. Um, and then I the other thing is most games over 500, 20 versus most under, which is two. So, you know, it’s it’s hard to explain. Uh Houston is is can be frustrating to watch. Um and I think I think still offensively on paper they should be better. Um but I think a very important thing is on paper pitching wise I think they should be much worse. So, the fact that they’re getting the production that they’re getting out of from the guys that they’re asking to answer the bell, uh, including these guys that are coming back from the IIEL, in including what we saw over the weekend, um, from Javier and Arrietti, and even more so Luis Garcia, considering that was his very first time back. So, um, it just goes to show you that, uh, baseball is a a strange thing that, uh, is hard to really explain by the numbers. Um, but it does seem to tell a story that Houston is living and dying on a razor’s edge this season. Um, our next scheduled episode will drop a day later this week following the conclusion of the Yankee series. Also on YouTube, Charlie, Josh, and I will be previewing Texans Rams season opener for Texans on Tap. That episode drops on Thursday, so make sure you subscribe to the Sports Map Texans YouTube channel to catch that. One last reminder, if you’re watching this on YouTube, be sure to click like on the video. And if you listen on podcast apps like Apple or Spotify, give us a fivestar rating while you’re here. For Charlie, I’m Brandon saying so long. Thanks for listening. And as always, ghosts. [Music] [Music]

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