How a wild division finish sets up for Astros over final pivotal stretch
STONE COLD 'STROS
18 September 2023
While the weekend didn't go as planned for the Astros (dropping a 3-game series to the Royals), they find themselves leading the division by a game and a half over the Rangers with 12 games left to play.
Of course, the big topic of discussion is the Astros' inability to take care of business against lesser opponents. Is it a lack of focus that's causing the problem, or is this version of the Astros less consistent, and just not quite as good as last year's team?
We know one thing for sure, the players know there is an issue. Otherwise, 3 team meetings wouldn't have been called in the last several weeks. Fatigue plays into this as well, nobody has played more baseball in recent years than the Astros. And as much as Dusty Baker says everyone on his team plays, maybe some guys are playing a little too much.
Older players like Jose Abreu and Martin Maldonado could benefit from some extra rest, allowing them to be as fresh as possible when they are needed most. The pitch clock might also be a factor that's causing the starting pitching to regress this season.
Whatever the issue is, whether it's playing at home, or the batter's eye being an issue against left-handed pitching at Minute Maid, the margin for error is incredibly slim.
Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion!
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Cal Raleigh hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off the right field foul pole and the Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-3 on Friday night.
Raleigh's 17th homer followed Julio Rodríguez's tying RBI double in the seventh inning. Leody Taveras homered among his three hits, and Miles Mastrobuoni also hit a solo home run.
Emerson Hancock (2-2) gave up three runs and nine hits in six innings, striking out three and walking none. Hancock won for the first time in six starts, and Andrés Muñoz got the last three outs for 17th save while maintaining his 0.00 ERA.
Isaac Paredes hit his 11th homer of the season and seventh in the past 10 games for Houston.
Jose Altuve had three hits after hitting two homers Thursday. The former second-baseman easily threw out Raleigh when the Mariners' catcher tried to score from second on Taveras' line-drive single to left in the sixth.
Cam Smith also had three hits for the Astros.
Altuve played his 1,870th career game, tying Jośe Cruz for third-most in Astros history behind Craig Biggio (2,850) and Jeff Bagwell (2,150).
Bryan Abreau (1-2) allowed two runs and three hits in 1 1/3 innings, giving up runs for just the second time in 21 appearances. He surrendered three to the Mariners on April 9 for his other loss.
Key moment
Rodríguez, back in the lineup after missing Thursday's game with back tightness, hit Abreu's first pitch for a down the right-field line to score Crawford from first. On the next pitch, Raleigh hit his homer to right.
Key stat
Mastrobuoni’s homer was his first with Seattle, and first in his four-year major league career since 2023 with the Chicago Cubs.
Up next
Seattle's Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.65) pitches against Houston's Framber Valdez (3-4, 3.57) on Saturday.
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