I keep reminding myself that this team is 51-54 and suffered an uninspiring three-game sweep last weekend at the hands of the Orioles. Hunter Brown still looks rusty coming off the IL. Spencer Arrighetti has an issue with a nerve in his foot now? The bottom half of the lineup doesn’t inspire too much confidence.
But this team has now won four games in a row, within two of the AL West lead currently held by the Rangers. The Mariners are only half a game ahead of the Astros at this moment. In late July. I honestly didn’t expect that to happen. Although my doubts are still quite real about this team’s expectations, dang it, I’m a sucker for a comeback story.
Talking about comebacks…
The first five innings of this game didn’t unfold well for the Astros. As I mentioned earlier, Arrighetti only lasted one inning, thanks to the right foot nerve injury, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks in the process. And an impromptu bullpen game was born, with six different relievers combining to hold the White Sox to two earned runs in eight innings. Those two runs, by the way, were charged to Kai-Wei Teng.
All things considered, you couldn’t ask for a better performance from the bullpen. What was once an underperforming group earlier in the season has turned things around this summer. With Teng and Bennett Sousa now back from the IL, in addition to an improving Bryan Abreu, there’s actually a lot to like about this bullpen right now. Not something I expected to write about back in April or May.
While the bullpen kept Chicago at bay, the lineup put together a huge sixth inning that changed the outcome of this game.
15 batters, seven hits, three walks, a hit-by-pitch, and eight runs later. An inning that started with a 5-0 White Sox lead concluded with an 8-5 advantage for the Astros. And only two of those seven hits were for extra bases, with Christian Walker’s RBI double and Cam Smith’s two-run home run.
On a quick side note, although I’m doubtful it’ll happen, the Astros should explore what an extension for Cam Smith looks like. While the overall numbers aren’t all that exciting, there’s some stuff under the hood that is encouraging. Just something to consider.
Christian Vázquez would eventually add an RBI ground-rule double in the ninth inning to make it a 9-5 lead, but that was just icing on the cake. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, but an insurance run never hurts.
Is this a good team? Probably not. But am I enjoying this win streak for what it’s worth? Without a doubt. Whether they should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline is another story.
Feature photo from Astros on X
It’s exciting indeed.
In the Mariners-Rangers series one has to lose for sure. Let’s win two more and catch up with one or both of them.
We are in such a chump-ass division. Nobody wants to take control of this thing. For us, this year has broken down to one thing mainly, starting pitching. Can our starting pitchers give you competent 4er 5ip? That’s all we really ask for these days.
What happened to Miller’s magic formula?
I just don’t know. It’s almost like Murph held the glue together
Division: “this is all we’re asking of you.”
Astros: “still too much!”
Having a lame duck GM and being so mid is such a bummer right now. The deadline is screaming to add an unproven bats like Bleday or McCarthy who have control. But also sell some of expiring contracts to take advantage of the market. But we are really about to go all in because we are catching some fire right before the deadline.
In a perfect world you sell high on Okert and Abreu and maybe even use some of that return to add a reliever with some control. I just don’t see a world that we strip down our bullpen. But I would be more than happy seeing Ullola and King back up.
The bullpen is the strongest part of the team. But at this point, you try to see how we can make a net positive to an otherwise middling team. That’s where Ullola and Santa can fill in. Young and electric stuff can help offset said losses.
But, excitement is a bad adviser. The trading deadline is in about one week, and we have a shot at winning the division. Crane, the fans, and management (Espada & Brown) have different priorities. Let’s start with the fans. By definition the fans are irrational, we want to win everyday and keep our beloved players, period. Espada and Brown want to make the post-season to save their jobs, to live another day. Crane is the cool head. He thinks in terms of short, mid, and long term. Fortunately, in this case, it’s Crane’s decision (unfortunately, it has been Crane’s decision alone for the past 4 years). If I was in Crane’s shoes, I’d spend all the money saved for the trading deadline occasion and trade the overflow. No valuable prospects, no core players. Money and overflow. Next season, I clean the organization and stop playing GM because I suck at it.