SAN FRANCISCO – The Astros began a stretch Monday against the Giants at Oracle Park in which they will play 12 consecutive games against teams that currently have losing records, including a homestand against the Mariners, Angels and A’s that begins Friday.
The schedule gets much more difficult after that, so the next two weeks could go a long way in determining the Astros’ fate. Following Monday's 6-3 victory, the Astros are 61-59 and a half-game ahead of the Rangers in the American League West with no further meetings this year with Texas. (The Astros own the tiebreaker.)
Here’s a look ahead at the Astros’ six biggest remaining series:
Aug. 25-27 at Yankees
The Astros are six games behind the Yankees, so it’s unlikely Houston would catch them in the AL Wild Card standings if the Astros don’t win the division. Still, the Yankees are one of the best teams in the AL and have had a fierce rivalry with the Astros over the past 10 years, with Houston knocking them out of the playoffs four times. This series in the Bronx is the first of six consecutive games Houston will play in the Big Apple; they play the Mets at Citi Field on Aug. 28-30.
Season series to date: Yankees lead, 2-1
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Sept. 1-3 vs. White Sox
The White Sox are currently the No. 2 seed in the American League because they lead the AL Central, and they have a 1 1/2-game lead over the Astros, who are currently the No. 3 seed. This will be an important series to watch considering the No. 2 postseason seed could be at stake, which comes with a bye into the Division Series. The No. 3 seed would play host to the third AL Wild Card team in the Wild Card Series.
Season series to date: White Sox lead, 2-1
Sept. 8-10 at Phillies
The Astros kick off a huge six-game road trip with a rematch of the 2022 World Series. Rob Thomson, who managed the Phillies to the NL pennant in 2022, was fired after a 9-19 start and replaced by Don Mattlingly, who has guided Philadelphia’s turnaround. This series features the two sluggers who are currently tied for the Major League lead in home runs (35): Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies.
Season series to date: First meeting
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Sept. 11-13 at Rays
The Rays have the best record in the AL, so the Astros will have their hands full going back to Tropicana Field for the first time since 2024. It will also be the last head-to-head meeting of the two leading AL MVP Award candidates: Alvarez and Junior Caminero. The Astros have played very well at Tropicana Field in recent years, winning 10 of their past 12 games at the venue while outscoring the Rays, 50-22. Houston lost two of three against the Rays last year at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, where the Rays played while Tropicana Field was undergoing renovations.
Season series to date: Astros lead, 2-1
Sept. 18-20 vs. Braves
One of the best teams in baseball this year, the NL-leading Braves will play the Astros in the final three regular-season games at Daikin Park this year. It will also mark the return of Mauricio Dubón, a popular player with the Astros in four seasons and a member of their 2022 World Series championship team. He was traded to Atlanta in the offseason for Nick Allen.
Season series to date: First meeting
Sept. 22-23 at Mariners
The Mariners are slumping, but the defending AL West champs would love nothing more than to spoil the Astros’ postseason push. The Mariners have had their way with the Astros recently, winning 10 of their past 11 games against Houston, including a sweep in Seattle in April. But by the time the Astros and Mariners play at T-Mobile Park in the season’s final week of the regular season, it will have been more than four months since their previous meeting in mid-May.
Season series to date: Mariners lead, 7-1
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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What pitcher gave up Yordan Alvarez’s first career home run?
A) Matt Albers
B) Dylan Bundy
C) Clayton Richard
D) Aaron Sanchez
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HALL OF FAME WEEKEND ON TAP |
Former manager, player and coach Phil Garner and former catcher Alan Ashby will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame prior to Saturday’s game against the A’s at Daikin Park. They will become the 29th and 30th members of the Astros Hall of Fame.
Garner, who died April 11 after a long battle with cancer, managed the Astros to their first World Series berth in 2005, when they were in the National League. After making two All-Star teams with Pittsburgh in 1980 and ’81, Garner was dealt to the Astros at the Trade Deadline in ’81 and found a lifelong home in Houston. He spent the next seven seasons with the Astros, helping them win the NL West title in 1986 and later became a coach in Houston.
Ashby, a switch-hitter, was a mainstay behind the plate for a decade and had a front-row seat to many of the greatest moments in club history during the 1980s. He caught three no-hitters and hit a walk-off home run in the Astrodome off Dave Stewart to beat the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 1981 NLDS. He caught for 11 seasons in Houston and set a team record with 900 games behind the plate. Ashby was the starting catcher on Houston’s first two division-winning clubs in 1980 and ’86 and was eventually replaced at the position by a future Hall of Famer: Craig Biggio.
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B) Bundy
Alvarez cranked a two-run homer in his second career at-bat on June 9, 2019, against the Orioles in Houston en route to winning AL Rookie of the Year honors.
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