1-1 game in top of the 6th. The Yankees are a pesky bunch.
They were able to score off Dallas Keuchel with a two-out double and single, back to back, in the last inning.

Time for the Astros to get serious and win this game.
I don't want to see a golden opportunity wasted tonight.

Especially with the Rangers trailing the Athletics 5-2 in the top of the 5th.
Hopefully there's a chance to be 1.5 games back of first place in the AL West by the end of tonight.

OMG! So close but not quite enough.

Alex Bregman just missed a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the 6th.
Caught on the warning track just in front of the right field wall.

Sigh, sitll 1-1 going to the top of the 7th.
And the Rangers are down 5-4 now I see.

Talk about no luck tonight. Watch the Rangers win and we lose.

I'm trying not to feel too upset with these past two losses against the Yankees.
I didn't want to post that much on here because I would have gone crazy for no good reason.

With a win tonight the Astros can avoid the sweep and still be in a pretty good spot.
Lance McCullers is about to take the mound and he's been our best starting pitcher this year (3.33 ERA).

The Blue Jays and Red Sox both lost earlier today. So the Astros can be only 1.5 games and 1 game behind both of them for the 1st and 2nd wild-card spots in the American League with a win this evening. So they didn't lose any ground in the wild-card race despite losing two games in a row.

And also the Rangers went 1-1 the past two games. We're still 3.5 games behind them.
Not the end of the world even though it feels like that to me as a hardcore Astros fan.

The problem is the Tigers, Yankees and Mariners are creeping up in the wild-card race.

But we can beat the Yankees tonight and we play the Tigers for three games this weekend.
And then the Astros host the Blue Jays (4 games) and Rangers (3 games) next week for seven critical games.

This next week is going to be huge!!!! Hopefully we have gotten enough losing out of our system the past two nights. So the bottom line is the Astros are fine as long as they start a winning streak tonight.

Everything is still "right there" in front of the Astros in terms of the postseason race.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Jul 27 2016 05:59pm

Man, that curveball is unfair.

I wish the Astros could clone Lance McCullers. He's 22 years old with electric stuff. He can hit 97 mph on his fastball and throws that wicked curve like you mentioned. He has 10 strikeouts in three out of his last five starts. Lowered his ERA to 3.18 after tonight. If there's anything he has to work on is his pitch count. He's not pitching deeper into games as you would like to see but he'll learn that as he goes along.

We need to add another starting pitcher before the trading deadline on Monday if there's somebody good available.

But that was a good 4-1 tonight, coupled with the Rangers' 6-4 loss against the Athletics.
The Astros are only 2.5 games back of the Rangers for first place in the AL West again.

1.5 games and 1 game out of the two wild-card spots in the AL as well. It's tightening up again.

The Astros have tomorrow off and then start a three-game series at Detroit on Friday Night.
But the Rangers play the Royals tomorrow night. I hope the Royals win so we can inch a little closer at 2 games back.

Alex Bregman is 0-for-9 in his first three games (2 walks, 3 strikeouts). He's playing good defense so far.
The hits will probably come in bunches once he collects his first career hit. Hopefully on Friday Night at Detroit.

McCullers at home is unfair.

I'm a little bummed out the Rangers came back to beat the Royals, 3-2. Now we're 3 games back of the Rangers.

But it was a nice surprise when the Angels walked off with that 2-1 win over Boston on a throwing error.
Now the Astros are just a 0.5 game back of the Red Sox for the second wild-card spot in the AL.

I can't wait for the Astros game at Detroit tonight. Collin McHugh versus Matt Boyd.

Also another day closer to Monday's trading deadline. I'm tired of rumors. Jeff Luhnow has three days left.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Jul 29 2016 01:30am

The Astros lineup at Detroit tonight.

1. George Springer (R) RF
2. Marwin Gonzalez (S) 1B
3. Jose Altuve (R) 2B
4. Carlos Correa (R) SS
5. Evan Gattis (R) C
6. Colby Rasmus (L) LF
7. Alex Bregman (R) 3B
8. Tyler White (R) DH
9. Jake Marisnick (R) CF

They recalled Tyler White from the minor leagues.
Luis Valbuena was placed on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury.

Carlos Gomez is also out with a hamstring injury but he is expected to return as early as Sunday (pinch-hitting duties only).

Also Yulieski Gurriel will receive his work visa sometime during this weekend. He will report to the Astros Double-A team, Corpus Christi Hooks as soon as he gets the work visa. He will likely be there for two weeks before the Astros call him up. We need him pretty soon with all the injuries starting to pile up.

Yulieski Gurriel plays third base but I'd imagine he could play first base or DH for the Astros under the current circumstances.

They can also play Alex Bregman in left field but so far he is playing solid defense at third base during his first three games. The kid looks like a natural on defense no matter what position he plays (he was a highlight real at SS, 3B and LF in the minors), but he's already looking very comfortable playing third base in the Major Leagues. Even though he's hitless so far, but hopefully Bregman will get his first career hit tonight.

Hopefully the Houston Astros can just have fun and all the pressure is off them during the final two months of the season.
Ending the month of July with a disappointing 1-5 record. Being swept and embarrassed at Detroit (out-scored 27-8) as well

Once the Astros fell back to 6 games behind the Rangers with a tough ending to July, along with the excellent trades that the Texas Rangers made by acquiring Carlos Beltran, Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress yesterday. I sort of took a deep breath and just tried to take comfort in the fact that we kept our young talent in tact.

It was a good start to the month of August winning that long 14-inning, 2-1 thriller against the Toronto Blue Jays.
But it's a four-game series so we'll see how these other three games go before a three-game series with the Rangers.



The Astros are 5.5 games behind the new-look powerhouse Rangers in the AL West (that's over, IMO).
I'm not going to sit here and try to believe anymore. When we reached 2.5 games back it was nice while it lasted.

But 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays for that second wild-card spot in the AL. That's still within reach. We're also 1 game behind the Tigers (need to leap frog over them as well). After that beat down they gave us in Detroit this past weekend.

More importantly, the Astros need to keep building the young core we have. Alex Bregman is struggling at the plate (1-for-22 in 6 games) but he's looking like a special defensive third baseman. He made two more amazing plays in the field last night. He could literally play third base, shortstop or left field at an above average level. He's that special with the glove.

We're not going to win the 2016 World Series. Even if we make the playoffs for a second straight year via the wild card.
But 2017 and 2018 could be something special. I could see the Astros having a good team through 2025. For a long time.

For the rest of this 2016 season I'm just going to enjoy every game and hope for the best. Having fun with it. What makes me feel good is this team has a core that can compete for a long time. Our best players are young and not even in their prime yet.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 2 2016 02:02am

While I'm disappointed we didn't make a big trade to improve at the trading deadline I'll give Jeff Luhnow some credit for trusting in his young talent. I know last year he went bonkers and traded away many prospects. And it didn't really pan out all that well. Carlos Gomez has been a disappointment and Mike Fiers has been "just okay" for what he was meant to be. A back-end starter.

Although Ken Giles has been a beast for the past few months since his early-season struggles.
That trade we made with the Phillies. I wouldn't call it a bad one anymore. Giles is damn good.

We may have to consider promoting Ken Giles to closer (instead of 8th inning). Giles is filthy good right now.
His fastball is hitting 101 MPH (again last night). His slider is just freakishly elite as well. Brad Lidge in his prime like.
Ken Giles has not allowed a run over his last 14 outings. He had an ERA of 0.00 in the month of July.

Demote all-star Will Harris to the 8th inning. Will Harris has blown his last two save opportunities in a row.
Also Chris Devenski has emerged as a dependable reliever as well. Our bullpen can be really good.

But anyways, we'll see how this 7-game home stand goes. 1-0 so far. I'm still afraid we'll go 2-5 or 3-4.
3 more with the Blue Jays and then 3 with the Rangers. We're playing two of the elite teams in the AL.