Photo by Will Newton/ Getty Images
Astros Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa
We may look back at this ALCS and wonder how things would have shaped up if a few key plays go the other way in favor of the Astros. It certainly looks like they would be in a much better spot if they had, yet Houston sits down 3-0 and needs to win on Wednesday to avoid elimination and play another day. Here is the quick rundown of Game 4:
Game Facts
When: Wednesday, October 14th, 7:40 PM Central.
Where: Petco Park - San Diego, California.
TV: TBS.
Streaming: Watch TBS App.
Pitching Matchup: Tyler Glasnow vs. Zack Greinke.
Series: TB leads 3-0.
Series Schedule
| Date & Time (Central) | Pitching Matchup | Home Team | |
| Game 1 | Final: Rays 2, Astros 1 | Framber Valdez (L) vs. Blake Snell (W) | Rays |
| Game 2 | Final: Rays 4, Astros 2 | Lance McCullers Jr. (L) vs. Charlie Morton (W) | Rays |
| Game 3 | Final: Rays 5, Astros 2 | Ryan Yarbrough (W) vs. Jose Urquidy (L) | Astros |
| Game 4 | Wed 10/14, 7:40 PM | Tyler Glasnow vs. Zack Greinke | Astros |
| Game 5* | Thu 10/15, 4:07 PM | TBD vs. TBD | Astros |
| Game 6* | Fri 10/16, 5:07 PM | TBD vs. TBD | Rays |
| Game 7* | Sat 10/17, 7:37 PM | TBD vs. TBD | Rays |
All games played at Petco Park.
* If necessary
Game Storylines
Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow
In case you weren't aware, and get ready because you'll hear it a lot from various outlets, including the TV broadcast itself, there has only been one MLB team to ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, which the Astros currently face, the 2004 Boston Red Sox. Houston shouldn't even put that into their mindset yet and widen their scope to the next four days; they need to hone in on one game, and take it inning by inning, batter by batter.
Before we can even start comparing them to that Red Sox team, they have to win Game 4 to avoid a sweep. Win today to live another day, and if you can do that four times in a row, you move on. The good news there is that's enough of a momentum shift to propel you into a successful World Series, like Boston, who would go on to win it all in 2004.
Leave yesterday in the past
In the same way, the Astros, specifically Jose Altuve, have to try their best to treat this game as if it's in a vacuum. Call it the yips, bad luck, or whatever you want, but one sure way to keep the streak of errors and miscues going is to overcompensate because you've got them on your mind.
Unless he's got something else going on physically, Jose Altuve did not suddenly become a terrible defender during his trip down the coast from Los Angeles to San Diego. Neither did this lineup who won the ALDS via a barrage of hits and homers suddenly become terrible batters. No, you don't have time to let it settle itself out naturally as you would in a long regular season, but neither can you afford to let the mental stress of it impact your game today, either. Houston's best chance today, and in any potential future games this year, is if they can just be themselves, which is more who they were against Oakland than they've been against Tampa Bay.
Be sure to check SportsMap after the final out for an in-depth recap of the game, and follow me on Twitter for updates and reactions throughout each playoff game: @ChrisCampise
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Critical levers Astros can pull as health concerns, deadline pressures grow
Jul 10, 2025, 3:46 pm
Jake Meyers is the latest Astro to be rushed back from injury too soon. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.
Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.
Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.
Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.
After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.
Asked if this calf injury feels worse than the one he sustained on Sunday, Jake Meyers looked toward a team spokesman and asked "do I have to answer that?" He did not and then politely ended the interview.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 10, 2025
Lack of imaging strikes again!
The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.
The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.
The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?