THE PALLILOG
Charlie Pallilo: Clutch Rockets take big win, but Paul injury could be devastating
May 25, 2018, 7:35 am
If Chris Paul can't return, Thursday night's win might be for naught. Rockets.com
Two games in a row that were excruciatingly intense and exhausting. And that was just watching them. After three non-close games to start the series, the Rockets and Warriors produced two epics this week with the Rockets taking both. But the Game 5 victory that has the Rockets within one more W of the NBA Finals could turn out to be a quintessentially Pyrrhic Victory. Pyrrhus was a Greek general who won an epic battle with the Romans, but suffered massive losses in the victory that caused grave damage going forward.
Chris Paul has a history of postseason injuries. If he is knocked out now by the hamstring injury suffered in the final minute of Game 5 this is by far the most devastating. And absolutely the cruelest since it was Paul’s second half magnificence that lifted the Rockets to be in position to win.
James Harden somehow missed all 11 of his three point attempts Thursday. Over the last four games he is a feeble 8 for 44. If Paul can’t go or is significantly hobbled, Harden will have to be tremendous in either Game 6 or 7 for the Rockets to win.
The Rockets Game 4 win in Oakland was one of the greatest in franchise history. Facing going down three games to one, trailing 12-0 out of the shoot, then by 12 early in the fourth quarter against the Warrior juggernaut at Oracle Arena where Golden State had won an NBA record 16 straight home playoff games? If the Warriors ultimately win the West again, it downgrades the ultimate importance of the win, but no one should try to un-ring the bell of what an in-the-moment accomplishment it was.
If the Rockets are to ultimately win the series, here’s hoping for an ABBA game Monday night. You know (or should). The Winner Takes It All. All of the Western Conference anyway. Most would expect the Rockets-Warriors victor to dispatch the Celtics or LeBrons with relative ease, though if it’s the Rockets involved Paul’s condition would have something to say about that.
Big stretch
The play-out of the Rockets-Warriors series is the rightfully dominant topic of interest right now, but the Astros keep going about their business racking up wins. As the schedule works out, the Astros are in the midst of a stretch of four consecutive series against what very well could turn out to be the other four American League playoff teams. The Astros spend the weekend in Cleveland. The Indians have been mediocre this season but mediocrity should be enough for the Tribe to again win what is a woeful AL Central. Next the Astros visit Yankee Stadium for the first time since their three game collapse there during the American League Championship Series. Then it’s back home for four vs. the Red Sox then two vs. the Mariners.
The Yanks and Sox both look like 100+ win teams. If so, we will have the best team of the two Wild Cards per league era. Imagine going 103-59 but finishing second in your division. That’s what happened to the San Francisco Giants in 1993. There was no Wild Card yet then. The AL East runner-up will have to survive the one game season of the Wild Card game, but that’s a lot better than not making the playoffs at all.
On a historic run
Justin Verlander doesn’t have Randy Johnson’s mullet. He doesn’t have Roger Clemens’s force of personality. Verlander is as stupendously great right now as the Big Unit or Rocket ever were. Giving up one earned run in six innings vs. the Giants Wednesday increased Verlander’s ERA to 1.08. No American League ERA champ has finished below 2.00 since the awesome Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 in 2000 (with hitter friendly Fenway Park as his home field, and in the peak of the steroid era). Verlander’s career best ERA is 2.40 in 2011. That year he won both the American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards. And Kate Upton turned 19.
Cup runneth over
Imagine if the 2002 Houston Texans had reached the Super Bowl. The expansion, David Carr running for his life almost every passing play Texans. Good one, right? Monday night the National Hockey League’s expansion Vegas Golden Knights have home ice advantage as they begin the Stanley Cup Final against the Washington Capitals. It’s already an incredible story. If the Knights actually win the Cup, it’s one of the most amazing team sports stories ever. This is the Capitals’ 43rd season. They have never won the Cup.
Buzzer Beaters
1. Indy 500 pick: Tony Kanaan. He was a good guest on the radio show this week. 2. Isn’t the NFL owners’ collective favorite color green? As opposed to red, white, and blue. 3. Best ever pro wrestling announcers: Bronze-Jim Ross Silver-Gordon Solie Gold-Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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