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

STONE COLD 'STROS

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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Packers defeat the Texans, 24-22. Composite Getty Image.

Brandon McManus kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired in his debut performance with Green Bay, lifting the Packers past the Houston Texans 24-22 on Sunday.

Green Bay (5-2) overcame three turnovers to win its third straight and snap the Texans’ three-game winning streak.

* Be sure to watch the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap reacts live to the game on YouTube.

The Packers released rookie Brayden Narveson and signed the 33-year-old McManus on Wednesday. McManus had been out of a job since the summer, when two women sued him and the Jacksonville Jaguars in civil court alleging he sexually assaulted them when they were working as flight attendants on the Jaguars’ trip to London last year.

The NFL said late last month it didn’t find sufficient evidence that McManus violated the personal conduct policy. Lawyers representing McManus and the women said the civil case had been resolved.

Green Bay signed McManus because of his history of reliability from within 50 yards. And McManus delivered by making a winning kick on his first field-goal attempt with the Packers. He celebrated by doing a “Lambeau leap” into the corner of the end-zone stands.

Green Bay’s Jordan Love was 23 of 31 for 214 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Houston's Joe Mixon rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Ka’imi Fairbairn was 3 of 3 on field-goal attempts and put the Texans (5-2) ahead by making a 35-yarder with 1:44 left.

C.J. Stroud was just 10 of 21 for a career-low 86 yards and was sacked four times.

On the game's final drive, the Packers were at midfield when Love hit Romeo Doubs for a 13-yard gain. An offside penalty on Houston's Will Anderson brought the Packers 5 yards closer. After a 6-yard completion from Love to Doubs got Green Bay to Houston's 26, the Packers called a timeout with 3 seconds left to set things up for McManus.

Josh Jacobs put the Packers ahead midway through the third quarter when he got his first career touchdown catch, on the sixth-year pro’s 212th overall reception. Jacobs had the NFL record for most career catches without a touchdown reception.

On second-and-goal from the 8, Jacobs caught a screen a few yards behind the line of scrimmage and ran across the middle of the field into the end zone.

But the Packers went three-and-out on their next three possessions, allowing the Texans to come back again.

The Texans built a 19-14 halftime lead by scoring 16 points off three Packers turnovers.

Injuries

Packers LB Quay Walker left in the first half to get evaluated for a concussion after teammate Kingsley Enagbare's leg inadvertently hit him in the head at the end of a play.

UP NEXT

Texans: Host the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.

Packers: Visit the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday.

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