How a perfect storm of circumstances could lead Astros to a JV reunion

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How a perfect storm of circumstances could lead Astros to a JV reunion

The Houston Astros had the best one-two punch in their starting rotation for a good part of the season until Cristian Javier ran into some struggles in June.

While his last two starts have been a little more encouraging, Framber Valdez is also dealing with a bit of a slump himself. While it's nothing compared to what Javier has been through, Framber has given up at least four earned runs in three of his last five starts.

We certainly expect Framber to return to his former self, and be one of the best pitchers in baseball. But will that be enough to help the Astros chase down another championship? Even if Javier returns to his early season form, he hasn't been as dominant this year as he was in 2022.

He and Hunter Brown are pitching more innings this year than ever before. And it doesn't look like their workload will be any different moving forward.

So with that in mind, should the Astros trade for Justin Verlander to help with the playoff push and perhaps take some innings off Javier and Brown by implementing a 6-man rotation from time to time?

And take a look at JV's Twitter account, his location now includes Houston.

Photo via: Twitter/Screenshot

Don't miss the video above as we address the likelihood of the Astros trading for Verlander, and much more!

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The Angels beat the Astros, 4-1. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.

Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.

The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.

Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.

Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.

Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.

Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.

Key moment

Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.

Key Stat

Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.

Up next

Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.

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