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New York, New York: Big week ahead for Houston

This may be the most challenging week and a half of the season for the Astros. The best team in the NL (the Mets) visits from New York for two games, and the Astros head east to play the best team in the AL and in all of baseball, the Yankees, in New York for four games.

They stay in New York for two more games with the Mets, and then, for some reason, the Yanks stop by Minute Maid for a single game. By the way, the Astros have the second-best record in the AL (though 8-1/2 games back of the insane Yankees) and third in the majors, 2-1/2 games back of the Mets.

After much talk and moves and gnashing of teeth over the last few years, the NY Mets have finally (seemingly) put things together and are cruising along at 45-24, having put the whole of the NL, including the LA Dodgers, in their rear view mirror.

Considering some of the names on the injured list, especially Max Scherzer, Jacob DeGrom and Trevor May, the Mets have shown resiliency and depth to play this well this far into the season.

Their offense is one of the best in the majors, with 342 runs scored (1st in the MLB), .261 BA (Tied 1st), .334 OBP (1st) and .737 OPS (6th). They have done this while only ranking 18th in home runs with 64. They are led by Pete Alonso (.280 BA/.362 OBP/.910 OPS/19 HR/63 RBIs), Francisco Lindor (11 HR/52 RBIs), Jeff McNeil (.326 BA/.385 OBP/.844 OPS) and the familiar face of former Athletic Mark Canha (.296 BA/ .385 OBP).

On the pitching side, the above injuries have dragged the Mets’ starters down towards mediocrity (3.91 ERA – 16th in the majors). Scherzer was pitching excellently (5-1, 2.54 ERA) when he went down. Taijuan Walker (5-2, 2.88 ERA) and David Peterson (4-1, 3.18 ERA) have been two of the best starters in the early going. The Astros get to face Trevor Williams, who spent most of his career with the Pirates and who they have only encountered once before. Williams is 1-2 with a 4.50 in his 5 starts this season and has only gone 20 innings in those starts. They then face Carlos Carrasco, the Mets’ winningest pitcher at 8-2 despite a middle-of-the-road 3.96 ERA.

The Mets relievers have an ERA of 3.64, which is 12th in the majors and about a run higher than the Astros. In the back of the bullpen, closer Edwin Diaz (2.30 ERA, 14 saves), Adam Ottovino (2.73 ERA) and Drew Smith (2.03 ERA) are pretty good, so the Astros need to get into the bullpen early and often to feast off those who are not so good.

The Astros chances for these two series against the Mets are dependent on not letting the Mets’ offense take off while scoring early and often themselves.

While the matchup with the Mets looks like a fair match, no one seems to be able to slow down the Yankee machine this season. The Yankees were a very good 34-15 in April and May, and now they have hit another gear and gone 16-2 in June.

The Yanks starters are 2nd in the majors behind the Dodgers at 28-6 with a 2.77 ERA and an MLB-best 1.01 WHIP. Their starting 5 is a pick your poison as they are all pitching very good to excellent – Gerrit Cole (6-1, 3.14 ERA), Jameson Taillon (8-1, 2.70 ERA), Jordan Montgomery (3-1, 2.72 ERA), Nestor Cortes (6-2, 1.94 ERA) and Luis Severino (4-1, 3-27 ERA).

The Yanks bullpen has the second-most saves in the majors (24) and the fourth-best ERA (2.97 ERA). Big names like Aroldis Chapman and Chad Green are on the IL, but the lesser names carry this bullpen. Closer Clay Holmes (4-0, 11 saves, 0.55 ERA), Michael King (4-1, 2.41 ERA) and Wandy Peralta (2-1, 2.42 ERA) are the backbone of the back end.

The Yankees’ offense is power-dependent. Their team batting average .248 is tied for tenth in the majors, but they lead the majors with 5.13 runs/game, .443 slugging and .770 OPS. Aaron Judge is leading them all with 25 HRs and 50 RBIs, but he has a lot of help from Giancarlo Stanton (14 HRs/ 42 RBIs) and Anthony Rizzo (19 HRs/ 49 RBIs) and Gleyber Torres (13 HRs/ 32 RBIs). And that does not include other veteran hitters like Josh Donaldson, Joey Gallo (OK, Gallo the new Dave Kingman) and DJ LeMahieu.

This is a tough matchup, and the Astros cannot come out and go 3-4-5 innings without scoring, or they will likely be in a hole quickly. The Astros’ pitchers have been able to handle the Yankees in the past, but the New Yorkers are healthy and on a tear.

Where do you think the Astros will be on their schedule after the next 9 games?

Can they match up with the very best in the majors?

 

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111 responses to “New York, New York: Big week ahead for Houston”

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    • I must be showing my age. They can cancel the All Star game and all the accoutrements as well. Maybe when they went to inter-league play. Maybe they don’t have Mantle and Mays. Maybe age has got me. But for whatever, the All Star break is a time to watch Downtown Abby again with the wife.

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      • For me it was the game Phil Garner managed where they were mic’d up, joked around with the broadcast crew, and tried to get everyone in the game over employing any strategy…then ended it in a tie because they didn’t have pitchers for extra innings. It was clear no one involved cared about the outcome…so what would the benefit of watching be? But, man, if we could invent a time machine and put Mantle and Mays out in CF I wouldn’t miss a second of that game!

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  2. The Astros should be able to play with the Brash Behemoths, especially because we come in this year as long-shot underdogs with virtually nothing to lose. We have a 10 game lead in our division – and it is June. We can play loose. They -especially the Yankees – have a bone to pick with us that makes them anything but loose. They are arrogant. They are bullies. Their fans will crucify them if they don’t throw off the ‘who’s your daddy’ yoke of the past few playoff seasons. If the Mets and/or Yanks beat us like a drum, so what. We will see them up close, watch them, scout their strengths and weaknesses. And if they stumble, fumble and fall on their faces, we will just enjoy a belated Father’s Day celebration.

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    • I just hope Alverez can play this weekend and our CF is back. I’m hoping Pena’ will be able to plày, but I’ve heard nothing that suggests he will be ready for this weekend?

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  3. The Mets bought themselves one of the best rosters in the game last offseason and have a legitimate manager on the bench this year. The Yankees are pretenders in my opinion. It’s been amazing watching the ball fly off their bats in some games this year and not fly off the bats in games played by other teams. I think this will either even out over the course of the season and the Yankees will suffer an extended fall-off or it will continue through the season and every other fanbase should be asking some questions. Regardless, I think the Astros should win every series they play regardless of the opponent. If I had to pick, I’d rather beat the Yankees to help out in any tie-breaker scenarios we might face at the end of the year.

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  4. I’d be happy with something around .500, but I agree with Mr. Bill. I won’t be upset if they get swept by the Yankees. October is a long way off.
    Looking forward to the 6/30 matchup between Cole and Verlander.

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  10. KC beats Angels again. Angels now 11.0 games out.
    I don’t watch the All-Star game. The deal taking the game away from Atlanta forever sealed the deal for me.
    Astros played a good game against the Mets tonight. Sure would love to see them beat Carrasco tomorrow on national TV. Did anybody else notice Dubon racing from behind the 2B bag to cover 3B when Bregman dove for the single to LF in the ninth inning tonight. The announcers didn’t, but that was a heads up play that set up Bregman’s touching the 3B bag for the force out to end the game. If Dubon doesn’t cover third, the runner at second gets a free base, as Bregman can’t get back there.

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    • OP, at least Dubon is well versed in the fundamentals, something most of the club has either forgotten or have not been practiced in a while.

      I also agree, most heartily, with your comment about the All-Star game. I will not watch it either. MLB management suxs…

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  11. Excellent start to this intriguing stretch of baseball. We sure did get the good version of Urquidy last night. I especially liked that he got several ground ball outs.

    Martinez has now given us 17 shutout innings. I hope Hunter Brown keeps working hard in AAA. We’ve got a log jam of arms at the big league level that I don’t think any other club can match right now. Abreu got 3 outs around a couple of grounders up the middle. 40 K’s in 27 innings, just 10 walks. We’ll see how everyone reacts over the next week.

    3 and 6 would not make me happy. I’ll still take a split, which means 4-4 at this point. Getting swept by the Yankees would truly disgust me and have me turn the TV off. I know it’s early, but I do not want to see this Yankee dominance continue against the Astros. Sure there is plenty of season left, but there is no reason for us not to play high quality baseball now.

    Jose Siri might have started a conflict last night in the 8th when he spent so much time at the plate admiring his solo shot with a 7-2 lead. I know the game is changing, but that kind of crap will never go over well.

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    • – Yeah – Siri makes me crazy at times. I don’t know why they threw him a fastball to begin with. He can’t hit the breaking ball and then when he kills it – he admires it and dogs it around the bases. Maldonado had a long talk with one of their players who was undoubtedly upset about it. So probably Siri doesn’t play tonight and the Mets try to stick one in Alvarez’s ear.
      – I don’t know how Altuve’s home run got out. When he hit it – it looked like a line drive against the score board – barely had any loft at all.
      – Tucker had a huge hit after they pitched around Yordan to load the bases. If they don’t pitch to YA we have to make them pay.
      – Good start by Urquidy against the highest scoring team in the majors.
      – Alonso is like the right handed Yordan. Just able to easily crank the ball out of the park or can take the walk or single if that is what they are handing out

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      • I doubt Siri plays either but if he does, look for one in the ear. While his speed and defense is above average, his bat is way below. His “hot-dogging” is going to get us in trouble. As someone said in an earlier post he reminds me of Carlos Gomez. Have no trouble packaging him in a trade.
        Good outing for Urquidy and the bats.

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      • Regarding Siri’s Stupidity. Do any of the other players -or Dusty – police this kind of stuff in-house? This guy is poison. Bring back Jake from Meyerland, give us Chazzyfizz, or let the kid who tried to caught Matjevich’s home run on Father’s Day play center – but put Siri on a slow bus to nowhere.

        Dude, when you are a back-up slashing all of .190/.285/.580 who has a 35% strike-out likelihood and luck into a late-inning home run in a blow-out game, just put your head down, run the bases and go sit down with your teammates. Hot dogging is for backyard barbeques.

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      • I was thinking the same thing about Siri — almost a carbon copy of Carlos Gomez. And that’s not good. He just doesn’t seem to get the game.

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      • Baseball’s unwritten rules are just crazy. We worry about Siri getting one in the ear because of his antics after his homerun last night but then, someone like Tatis can do a (bunny hop) between second and third base, after he hits a homerun, and he receives no repercussions for that. Not to mention the players who did their own stuff in the past and present.

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    • MLB will be changing the schedule format in 2023, with each team having at least one series against every MLB team. We will get to see the Pirates in 2023.

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  13. A couple of comments:
    I’m hoping that Maldonado told Escobar that he would personally handle the Siri excessive rubitin after his HR last night to keep the game respectful to both teams, by both teams. After the Neris incident, the Astros don’t need more drama.
    Can they match up with the very best in the majors? Maybe. But the real question is: If they don’t quite measure up with the very best in the majors, what are they gonna do about it?

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  15. The Astros’ Yordan Alvarez is Must See TV like back in 2019. What a show and Bregman is starting to hit – this could be fun.

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  16. Just a thought. We definitely need a CF that can hit. Maybe Jake can fill the position and needs to be given every opportunity to do so but if not then unless there’s somebody in the minors we need to go get us one. And there is the catcher spot which is a big ????
    A thought about Brantley. While he’s 35 he’s already hitting .300 + again for the 5th straight year. I don’t think we should be too quick to let him walk next year. i think he’s a bargain at 16MM.
    Yuli and Aledmys are free agents next year so there are more decisions to be made.
    So far so good for today. YA is just unreal! And Bregman finally hits one out.

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  17. This is a story that I think aligns with Jose Siri. We were in El Paso years ago and decided to cross over and watch the dog races. The first race the waiter comes by and writes 3-1-6. None place. The second race the waiter comes by and write 1-5-2. Again, all were at the back. So I ignored his scribbles. In the 7th race he write 2-6-1. One of the dogs placed. The waiter comes by and demands a tip for picking the winner. He could have been Siri’s grandfather for all I know.

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  19. 35,000 plus at the ballpark on a hot Wednesday afternoon. Wonder what it cost to cool the place today? Another excellent ballgame. We got five runs early and our pitching again shutdown the highly touted Metropolitans from New York. I think that’s great!

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    • I don’t know the layout of Minute Maid Park but I suspect that they might have built a small simple cycle gas turbine to produce the electricity to run the AC along with the other electrical uses for the complex. I know several of the bigger Casinos in Vegas have their own power plants. It sure would make a lot of sense but then again I haven’t been there so there you have it.

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      • Zanuda, I’m pretty sure the guts of the system is a couple of blocks away from the actual ballpark site. I’ve walked past it. Way Engineering did the project for 32 million, providing 7600 tons of HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and security systems. Seems like a good deal!

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      • A branch of my company was main contractor for MMP and did the job for $250 MM (about $400 MM today). That seems like a good number all things considered and compared to what the newer parks are going for. No idea on how the AC was done, but had to be quite an interesting design project inside a project.

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  20. A thought or two related to Siri. Chances are he’ll be sent down before the Astros meet the Mets next week, which should defuse any animosity between the two clubs. Got to figure Jake is on his way. I’ve also come full circle on Chas. He’s not the answer either. Just not very good defensively. Maybe playing everyday would help, but his instincts don’t seem to be the best. And at the end of the day, I don’t think Jake is a long term answer either. So do we play center by committee for the balance of 2022, or, as 1OP asked yesterday, do we do something about it?

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    • CF isn’t an easy fix. If you look around the league the top guys out there are still Trout, Springer, and Nimmo. Aaron Judge has played in 32 games there so far and it looks like NYY will continue to send him out there, so add him to the list. After that, Buxton is putting up good numbers despite having poor contact skills thanks to his amazing athletic ability and Bryan Reynolds looks solid for Pittsburgh. Yastremzski has played well for SF and there are a few others, like the guy in Atlanta, who have good numbers over a really small sample. Then you have guys like:
      Cody Bellinger .203 / .270 / .381
      Kevin Kiermaier .229 / .270 / .380
      Cedric Mullins .245 / .303 / .377
      Myles Straw .205 / .299 / .259

      I’m sure this keeps Click up at night. An option if Meyers doesn’t solve the problem (reasonably) would be to get another hitter who can play RF and play Tucker in CF most of the time. This doesn’t fix the offensive or lack thereof from Catcher and First Base. I complain about Bregman, but quite frankly, his defense has been good and offensively the guys playing better than him who are making roughly the same amount of money or more.

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  21. Jake Meyers went 4 for 4 last night with 2 HRs for Sugarland.
    Catcher Scott Manea played 1B.
    Catcher Korey Lee played DH.
    Catcher Yanier Diaz played Catcher.
    Sugarland pitchers gave up 13 runs on 18 hits.

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      • Sugarland played at home last night. Click said they would assess his situation after last night’s game. Last night was his last allowed rehab game. They either have to option him or add him back to the active roster.
        Thought it was funny when Click said he went down there to check on Meyers. I mean, it’s what, a 30 minute trip? Down there to Sugarland? Did he fly in?
        Meyers is still listed on Sugarland’s roster this morning, but that doesn’t mean anything. They ALWAYS wait ’til the last minute to announce moves.
        Jake, JJ and Chaz all have 3 options remaining, whereas Siri only has one.

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    • The bats were hot and Jonathan Bermudez had a rough night. He was NOT aided in the first inning by a muff on a difficult ground ball to Manea, and then a double play ball went from 3rd baseman to right field. He was hit again and his walks continue to be up. Then Olczak came in and threw 5 gallons of gasoline on the fire. Which is expensive and damaging.

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      • To be fair and balanced, Corpus Christi took it to the Sod Poodles 4-1. Justin Dirden continues to hit this year (.309) With the recent promotions, that left the DH to Kessinger hitting (.177) Misael Tamarez pitched well.

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    • If he got more playing time he (Dubon) might be the player for the super utility guy. This play a guy one day and give him a day or two off just doesn’t get it. You’ve got to get into a rhythm kind of like golf. If your having a good round and then you have to wait and hit on every shot your game will most likely suffer. Obviously some one doesn’t adhere to that philosophy. If Jake is called up he needs to play everyday. Otherwise we’ll never know if he’s the answer or not. We know Chaz or Siri sure ain’t.

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  23. And tonight the Amarillo Sod Poodles (don’t you just love that name) have Brandon Pfaadt as the starting pitcher. Rumor has it that when he learned to spell his last name correctly, he was automatically promoted to the 3rd grade. (Could be just an Internet rumor that I started.)

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  24. Way Engineering, mentioned above, was a customer of ours in Bellaire 50 years ago. Looks like they outgrew their Bellaire location and move out on Wallisville Rd. Wasn’t Wallisville Rd where there was a huge Houston Landfill?

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  26. This Jake Meyers thing isn’t rocket science!
    Can he run as well as he ran last year? Well he’d better because he has had 7 months to get his lower body in great shape.
    Can he hit? Well, he hit last year. A guy doesn’t go 4 for 4 with 2 HRs if his shoulder is impeding his swing. Would you send him on a rehab if his shoulder wasn’t healed completely?
    Can he catch? Hell, he didn’t hurt his glove shoulder.
    Can he throw? There is the big question. You just sent him down to AAA and played him in 11 games in CF. Would you ever do that is he wasn’t ready to throw? He had 1 assist in those 11 games. Last season in 44 games in the OF in the majors he had 1 assist. It appears he can throw.
    What would be the holdup? Bring him up and put him in there. You trusted him enough as a rookie to play him in the playoffs. Put him in there against the Yankees. What have you got to lose? If he wasn’t healthy he shouldn’t have been in rehab.
    Just tell him not to drape his arm over an 8 foot high wall. OK?

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  27. Forrest Whitley started last night for Fayetteville. He gave up no runs, one single, no walks in 2 full innings. He had 2 strikeouts and they both came immediately after one of his infielders booted a grounder and the runner stole second with one out.
    29 pitches, 21 strikes. 4 groundouts and 1 flyout. No decision.
    His first, true, minor league game log since September 2, 2019.

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  28. Thoughts
    – Mr. Whitley – it is time for you to stay on the mound and show you were worth what has been invested in you
    – Both of those Yordan HRs were amazing last night – basically low launch angle 21-22 degrees line drives and they still both carried 400+ feet. The one into the right field upper deck about killed a few people. I blinked and they were gone
    – I am ready to see if Jake M can come up and hit better than the other two guys. I don’t think Chas has been given a great shot at it – but he probably is not going to get hat chance here
    – I would be fine with Dubon as a utility player. Diaz has normally been a good bat, but never can stay on the field
    – Jeremy Pena – will love to see you come back but your team is doing very well so don’t come back until you are truly ready

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  32. The Yanks tied it up in the bottom of the first but Yordan untied it with another 3 run homer and Framber settled down.

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    • A perfect example of Baker managing the game away… When Pressley got into trouble, he should have been pulled.

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      • How about that 8th inning. 2 on nobody out and we don’t get squat. Get Siri out of there. He’s worthless. Maldy should have been pulled for a pinch hitter. 2 for 10 with RISP. We should have blown these guys out. I’m not sure that Pressley should be the closer but I know I’ll get flack for that. 1-2 with 3 BS and a 4.26 ERA. That ain’t good.

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      • We paid Pressley a lot of money in the offseason and are likely stuck with him in that role. You all know how I feel about paying relievers. He was really good in 2021, but I’ve always preferred him as an 8th inning guy. He only has 15K in 21 innings pitched this year. For a one inning guy who is supposed to be using his best stuff every outing that probably doesn’t cut it on a team with championship aspirations. On paper, I see this as a situation where depending on the team we play in October it might make sense to use Neris or Montero in the ninth. Obviously, you have to be concerned about shattering the confidence of millionaires…plus I can’t see Dusty making such a decision.

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  36. Thoughts
    – Yes today would be a good day for a win – daveb – The team coming off the worst loss of the season and Verlander coming off his worst start of the season
    – Pressly has been walking the high wire most of the season. He has a 1.368 WHIP (which means he puts almost a man and a half on base every inning he pitches). His walk rate is way up from last season 1.8 up to 3.8 walks per 9 innings, his K rate is way down 11.4 down to 7.1. Is he hurting or is it something mechanical? Either way they don’t need a closer who keeps walking the first guy up so often.
    – I sure wish the offense did not do a good job early and then disappear. On the plus side, Bregman seems to have some zip in his bat again and Yordan is playing like he’s from another planet.
    – This could be a tough 4 game series bullpen wise unless we get a really good outing out of Verlander today. A Verlander / Abreu game would be just what the doctor ordered – if we win.
    – I can’t blame Dusty too much. You can’t pull your closer after two walks – you have to expect he might give up a run, but get out of the inning. I do blame him for Mr. Siri being the rally killer at the end of the lineup.

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    • Yeah, I was lamenting our inability to push a couple more runs across. We gave up too many at bats against unremarkable relief pitching. Pressly might not be 100% healthy. And if he’s not, I’d rather have seen someone else in the 9th last night.

      But, Framber regrouped and pitched another excellent game. Bregman looks like a new guy. 1-5 is doing real damage. If Jake can play everyday in AAA ball, why is he standing around in the dugout? Activate him. Use him. And Pena is due back. If he’s not going on a rehab assignment, activate him too. Our guys historically do not let a bad loss affect them. Let’s hope that’s the case tonight.

      And yes, Verlander + Abreu would be a big lift.

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    • It is interesting if you look at the BB rate for the pitchers on each team. The Astros have 5 of their major pitchers with a walk rate of over 3.0 per 9 innings. The Yankees have 1 (Castro). The Dodgers have 2 (1 is Kimbrel their closer at WHIP of 1.545)

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  38. Have to give the Yankees credit – they were 100% ready for Pressly. They know he has great stuff, but has a problem throwing that good stuff for strikes. They waited him out, and refused to let him beat them with hard sliders out of the zone the way he likes to do.

    As far as Siri goes [and I can’t believe he’s still on this team], another 0-4 night sandwiched between an 0-3 by Dubon and 0-4 by Maldenado. You’re killin’ me, Smalls!

    Let’s thank the Bronx Bigmouths for teaching us the lessons of the night:
    1. Closers must be able to throw something in or at least close to the strike zone – especially to the first two batters he faces; otherwise, games against good teams do not tend to end well.
    2. Siri is just plain ‘Sorry’ – and does not belong anywhere near a major league baseball stadium.
    3. Hitting home runs early is nice – but sleepwalking thr0ugh the latter innings, thinking you can just coast to victory, is not a particularly effective strategy.

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    • They’ve been really good at not chasing those pitches at home this year. The adjustment is to throw the pitch for a strike instead of hoping they’ll chase it.

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  39. The Yankees have not won 50 plus games for nothing. Going back to the 16 pitch Rizzo at bat, nothing came of it then, but he effectively kept Framber from going 7 innings. We might have seen Montero in the 8th and Neris in the 9th with that 3 run lead, giving Pressly and Stanek a full days rest. That would have been an ideal situation going into Friday. Alas, not to be.

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    • I never for a second thought of home grown Dillon Thomas as a long-term answer for us; but to give his roster spot away to a colossal failure like Jose Siri is the ultimate insult. Dillon did absolutely nothing to deserve that. Indeed, Dillon’s overall Milb slash line this year was .293/.395/.887, with 9 HR, 11 DBL, 40 RBI, and nowhere near the K rate that Siri had. I do not understand this F.O.

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      • Bill, it is possible that Thomas and the Astros had an understanding about this very scenario involving Meyer’s return.
        It could also be possible that Thomas requested this so that he could look for a MLB offer. That is why I want to read the rest of the article, when they finish it.
        Thomas was a waiver claim from the Angels , so he didn’t have a say in where he went in the first place.

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      • OP, I certainly hope there was indeed such aforehand discussion; and I also certainly hope Dillon gets an MLB offer out of the deal.

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    • For what it’s worth, I think Jake is a 4th outfielder long term. But I wonder, is he the starter for the remainder of the year, maybe with some Chas? Yuli continues to force discussion about his own ability to hold onto the 1st base job. We can justify having no offense at the catcher position, but can we accept a defense only first baseman?

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      • All I know is that Jake Meyers is starting in CF tonight. The rest of the year might possibly be determined by how the Astros do in the next 7 games.
        Aledmys is at SS.

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  41. Dear Dan,
    It took two years for Baker to figure out that Tucker had to follow Yordan in the lineup for protection, and to break Baker’s obsession with the lefty-righty lineup. But Castro is batting in front of Meyers because of the obsession of having a lefty-righty at the bottom of the lineup is obvious to most of us x-ray technicians. Castro is one of the worst players in baseball , but Meyers is behind him to protect Castro’s bat, I guess.
    Baker hasn’t been cured. He got a dose of caster oil and is minimally responding.
    Yours Truly,
    1oldpro

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  42. I think last year Siri earned “a chance” in the majors as he hit .318 at AAA. But if you look at his career numbers in the minors and foreign he is .266. Jake earned a chance also last year. His career in the minors is .274. So we are still looking for a solid outfielder for the balance of this year and going forward. Chas in the minors for his career .278.

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  43. Admittedly, I’m not the most observant person in the world, but how did I miss this? Kyle and Yordon are both right-handed and bat left (lots of those in the world). But Jake and Chas are both left-handed and bat right?

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  45. * When you use up a player’s last option in the middle of a season where he was on the team from the start, there is no reading the tea leaves to figure out the future.
    * Martin Maldonado has a vesting option with the Astros for 2023 and there is a huge amount of respect for him throughout the organization.
    * I thought Severino looked really good last night. He made one mistake, giving a fastball to a really good hitter, who came to the plate hunting a fastball. One pitch cost him the game.
    * Jake made a really good play in the first inning, but I thought he looked very tentative after hitting the fence.
    * Seth Martinez has pitched well, but the Astros have not shown much faith in him in a close game. They apparently would wear out others before putting him in a meaningful situation.
    * Can the Astros beat the Yankees in NY when Gerrit Cole is the starting pitcher for the Yankees?

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      • That is what the Astros need to figure out going forward. Does the combo of Pena and Meyers strengthen the lineup enough to warrant standing pat on position players before the deadline?
        Are the Astros happy with all the lefties in the first five lineup positions and none at the bottom and none on the bench? (I’m going to totally ignore Castro’s bat here, as he doesn’t show any sign of having one.)
        What if Machete gets hurt?
        The Astros have to understand that the Yankees, Dodgers and Mets won’t stand pat at the deadline. They are all way over the luxury tax line and they will spend to try and win the World Series this fall. https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/tax/#:~:text=MLB%20Team%20Luxury%20Tax%20Tracker,Luxury%20Tax%20Threshold%20is%20%24210%2C000%2C000.

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    • And Jake looked worse going after the double in the second inning. If he can’t approach the warning track and play like the former Jake, then that won’t work.

      I’m really pleased with last nights game. Hicks laid out for a ball down in the corner off Altuve. Excellent catch. But you’d think by the reaction it was the last out of the World Series. Tucker made a far more remarkable play on Thursday night. He got up and wiped his butt off, like he’d been there before. These are important games. I like the way our guys go about their business.

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  47. Yuli sits today, J.J. gets a shot. Is he any good around the bag? Jake plays two in a row. I wonder if it’s his job to lose, or if it will be a lefty righty platoon out in center.

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    • I am thinking both Jake and Chas catch with the right and throw with the left. And they both bat right. Therefore in Dusty’s mind, that has him confused so he pencils in “Chas J McMeyers” and let them figure out who is playing.

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  48. Matjevic turns around a 100 mph Cole fastball – Astros up 1-0 in the 7th
    Javier very special thru 6 innings but at 91 pitches

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  49. I was very happy with those 6 beautiful innings from Javier. When he came back out in the 7th to face the heart of the order I got dizzy and had to sit down.

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