PHILADELPHIA -- The Astros woke up Wednesday with 30 games remaining in the regular season and with a seventh American League West title in the past eight seasons in their crosshairs. After losing six of their past eight games, Houston (70-62) has a tenuous 3 1/2-game lead in the division over second-place Seattle (67-66).
If the Astros reach 90 wins, that will put them in great shape to win the division. They would need to go 20-10 in the final 30 games to get 90 wins -- a feat that will be easier to achieve if they can get All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker back from a right shin injury that's kept him out since June 3.
Here's a breakdown of the Astros' final nine series (29 games) of the regular season:
Thursday-Sunday vs. Royals: Kansas City has played Houston extremely well in recent years, and that includes a three-game sweep of Houston at Kaufman Stadium in April during which the Astros were outscored by 20 runs (28-8). The Royals, led by MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr., have one of baseball's biggest surprise teams this year and are in contention for the AL Central or a Wild Card berth.
Prediction: 2-2
Sept. 2, 4-5 at Reds: Cincinnati has steadily fallen out of contention in the National League Central, but this series will be anything but a layup. The Astros are 2-10 against the Reds in Interleague Play, getting swept by them in Houston last year and getting swept in Cincinnati in 2019 -- the only team to sweep the Astros that season.
Prediction: 2-1 |
Sept. 6-8 vs. D-backs: The reigning NL champions were no one-hit wonders. The D-backs are pushing the Dodgers in the NL West race behind the resurgence of Eugenio Suárez and Corbin Carroll and a rotation anchored by Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt. They lead the Majors in runs scored and can create chaos on the bases.
Prediction: 2-1
Sept. 10-12 vs. A's: Oakland's final visit to Minute Maid Park should be a great chance for Houston to win a series. The Astros are 7-3 against the A's this year, outscoring them 44-25.
Prediction: 2-1
Sept. 13-15 at Angels: Another winnable series for the Astros against the Halos, who have one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. Los Angeles has split the previous six meetings between the two clubs, but the Angels are 7-17 in August (entering Wednesday).
Prediction: 2-1 Sept. 16-18 at Padres: This is shaping up as a massive series. The Padres are one of the hottest teams in baseball, having gone 25-8 after splitting their first 100 games. They can pitch, they can hit and they can defend as they contend with the Dodgers and D-backs in the NL West. Prediction: 1-2 Sept. 19-22 vs. Angels: See above.
Prediction: 3-1 |
Sept. 23-25 vs. Mariners: Houston's final home series of the season could have huge ramifications in the AL West. The Astros are 4-6 against the Mariners this year, so they would need to sweep the series to get the tiebreaker. Houston won the AL West last year because it had the tiebreaker over Texas.
Prediction: 2-1
Sept. 27-29 at Guardians: If the Astros enter the final weekend of the series needing some wins, Progressive Field won't be an easy place to play -- especially if the Guardians (who are 40-24 at home) are pushing for playoff seeding for a division title.
Prediction: 1-2 |
|
|
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
Closer Josh Hader, who signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Astros in the offseason, blew his first save opportunity with his new team on April 2. Hader has been perfect in save chances since, reeling off a franchise-record 28 consecutive saves without blowing one. That's the longest streak in club history, surpassing Brad Lidge (24 in 2005).
"I just don't really pay attention to it too much," Hader said. "I try and go out there, whether it's save or not, and try and put zeros up and attack the zone and get guys out. I think it's a really cool feat to be able to do that so much. Obviously, when I'm able to get these opportunities, it means we're winning. And at the end of the day, as long as we keep stacking wins, that's all I really care about." |
|
|
Astros star Jose Altuve's generosity was on display Friday in Baltimore when he gave a young fan in the stands at Oriole Park at Camden Yards one of his bats after hitting a home run. Chris DiSalvo Jr., an 11-year-old fan from Plainview, N.Y., asked Altuve he could have his bat if the homered, and Altuve obliged.
Prior to Monday's game against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, Altuve -- and several other Astros -- met with a 12-year-old Little League player, Ariel Sepulveda, who suffered major dental injuries when he ran into the left-field fence during a game. Altuve gave Sepulveda an autographed bat and signed a ball and cap for him.
"He's my favorite player," said Sepulveda, flashing a rare post-injury smile. "I never thought I would ever meet him." |
Sepulveda, of Hazle Township Little League in Pennsylvania, suffered from severe lacerations to his mouth and lost several teeth due to the impact. He underwent an extensive surgery on his mouth and continues to see specialists as he recovers.
"It wasn't just a little cut on his face," coach Thomas Ward said. "I had to take my shirt off to stop the bleeding. His mom was there and my wife came out to help us and we took him to the hospital. Then they transferred him to another hospital, which was a children's hospital, where he underwent surgery for four hours to fix the dental stuff that he shattered. We treat all the kids, as coaches, like they're your kids, and I just wanted to try to make him smile again, which obviously you can see it's happening again. We're happy to get this experience from the Astros and we thank them." |
|
|
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
|
|
To subscribe to Astros Beat, visit this page and mark "Astros Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Astros or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
© 2024 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
Please review our Privacy Policy.
You (gahleexholly.hdhask@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB.
Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.
Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment