Mercifully, this season is almost finished. Whether it stops in September or October is another question. But, after this weekend, I am leaning toward September.
Negatives abound in this sweep. Seven runs in three games. A couple of bullpen implosions. A losing record at home. At least the starting pitchers (Peter Lambert, Hayden Wesneski, and Hunter Brown) did relatively well, but that’s about the extent of any positives from this weekend. Even Yordan Alvarez publicly expressed his frustration.
Sunday’s finale generally followed the formula from the first two games, led by a lineup that disappeared once again. While the top half collected seven of the team’s eight hits and drove in both runs (Jose Altuve and Yainer Diaz), the bottom half was a combined 1-for-15 with a walk and eight strikeouts. Cam Smith is now hitless in his last 26 plate appearances with ten strikeouts. Christian Walker had a 15 wRC+ entering Friday for the month of September and that number has only worsened.
Hunter Brown was arguably the lone bright spot in this game, throwing five scoreless innings while striking out ten. Bryan King, however, wasn’t a bright spot, allowing all four runs without generating an out. Miguel Ullola and Tatsuya Imai each pitched two scoreless innings, but those felt empty considering the context.
Ultimately, this is a flawed roster in a very mediocre division. The Astros have largely been the benefactors from sharing a division with the Mariners, Rangers, Angels, and A’s. A 77-79 record with six games left. A loss from Texas keeps the division deficit to only one game. Somehow, Houston isn’t out of the race. But with a two-game set in Seattle and a four-game series in Sacramento, it certainly feels like they can be shortly.
Feature photo from Astros on X
Many hits, few runs.