It is time…

Perhaps, as has been suggested in our little blog, no one will win the AL West. The title will fall as a default to the team that stinketh the least.

But if the title can be won by better play by the Astros, the time is now.

The Astros play a nine-game homestand against the Mariners, Angels and Athletics, and it sets up as a chance for the team to stretch that lead out a bit.

Depending on how Thursday’s game goes between the Rangers and the Mariners, the Astros will start their homestand on Friday with a one-game or two-game lead over the team from South Oklahoma.

A quick look at their opponents in this homestand….

Seattle Mariners

  • 56-65 – third place in the AL West
  • Since they held a half-game lead in the division at 51-50 on July 20, the M’s have been in a bit of a free fall – going 5-15 in their last 20 games and are currently 5-1/2 games back in the West.
  • While there is plenty of blame to go around – the Mariners’ offense scored two runs or less in 11 of those games – all losses.
  • On the season….
    • The Mariners offense – 468 runs (15th and last in the AL) / .228 BA (15th) / .308 OBP (14th) / .683 (14th)
    • Starting pitching – 3.79 ERA (5th in AL) / 1.14 WHIP / 693 IP (1st)
    • Relief Pitching – 3.94 ERA (7th in AL)/ 1.33 WHIP (9th)/ 26 Saves (13th)

Los Angeles Angels (of wherever)

  • Despite winning two of the first three games of their series with the Rangers, the Angels are 47-74 – tied with the Athletics for last in the AL West and also tied for the worst record in all of baseball.
  • On the season….
    • Angels offense – 493 runs (12th in AL) / .235 BA (12th)/ .310 OBP (13th) / .686 OPS (12th)
    • Starting pitching – 4.59 ERA (13th in AL)/ 1.36 WHIP (12th) / 604 IP (10th)
    • Relief pitching – 4.35 ERA (12th in AL) / 1.39 WHIP (12th) / 18 Saves (15th)

The A’s of Neverland

  • It is almost hard to believe that the A’s were leading the AL West for most of the first couple of months of the season. Since May 26, when they were 27-28 and 0.5 games up, they have been 20-46 and plummeted to the bottom with the Angels.
  • On the season …..
    • A’s offense – 524 runs (9th in the AL) / .243 BA (7th) / .316 OBP (9th) / .715 OPS (8th)
    • Starting Pitching –  5.31 ERA (15th in the AL) / 1.49 WHIP (15th)/ 588 IP (13th)
    • Relief Pitching – 5.80 ERA (15th in the AL) / 1.53 WHIP (14th) / 29 Saves (11th)

Just as a reminder

Houston Astros

  • The Astros are 62-60 and in first place up 1.5 games in the AL West.
  • Since July 19 when they were 47-54 in third place and four games back in the division, the Astros have gone 15-6 to get where they are.
  • On the season….
    • Astros offense – 559 runs (3rd in the AL) / .243 BA (4th)/ .319 OBP (5th)/ .730 OPS  (2nd)
    • Starting Pitching – 5.11 ERA (14th in the AL) / 1.43 WHIP (14th)/ 594 IP (12th)
    • Relief Pitching – 3.90 ERA (6th) / 1.26 WHIP (4th) / 38 Saves (3rd)

This will come down to how the Astros’ shaky starting pitchers do and whether their up-and-down offense can take advantage, especially of the Angels and the A’s.

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27 responses to “It is time…”

  1. This is easy. Based on the 15-6 run, they’ll finish the season with 91 wins (29-11 in the last 40 games). They’ll finish with the two seed behind Tampa who has 92 wins.

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    • I’ll take impossible finishes for 300 Alex.

      A .725 percentage is basically unheard of but I’ll take 22-18 which should get us in the Playoffs. Would love to see us go 6-3 on the upcoming home stand but with this team you never know.

      But I like the way you think mark.

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  2. My pessimistic mind immediately assumed you were saying it is time for a fire sale. Since we missed the trade deadline they may as go out and win, but we can’t have another one of those endings where we almost made the playoffs and just end up with middle of the round picks and nothing to show for it.

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  3. Mark – I like how you are thinking (I know with a little tongue in cheek) – let’s take their hottest stretch and extrapolate it to a Red Sox like run! (Let’s don’t extrapolate the earlier 47-54 record and end up under .500)

    Z – I love the Jeopardy reference and yes if they can just be solidly above .500 down the stretch they will make the playoffs

    Devin – Hey it’s easy to be pessimistic but at least we had Paris…. Uh at least we went to the ALCS and beyond between 2017 and 2023.

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  4. I just know it feels like every time it comes down to the Angels and Athletics for a series in August/September, it hardly ever goes as planned. The only thing we are missing a series against the hapless Royals so we can get swept and lose a playoff spot.

    Won’t matter, no one wants this division. They are passing around 1st place like a hot potato. Once you think it’s going south and you lose 2 out of 3, the Mariners one up you by getting swept or the Rangers match. It’s going to be hard to catch them.

    If you can’t tell, yes, I’m getting a little salty pessimism. I love the winning, but the way we win games, I don’t love. The pitching holds up, the offense goes to sleep. The offense wakes up, the pitching goes to sleep. Lets get them both rolling then base run ourselves out of a game, or let a lazy fly ball land between 3 people. This team I am watching have 5 pitch innings from our hitters is frustrating. Most nights I wish I had a fast forward button so I could just get to the 7th and watch just the last 3 innings. It’s not a fun brand of baseball even if it has been winning baseball. And don’t get it twisted, since the moment they were 11 games under and looked dead in the water they have been playing winning baseball. But the American League is just so full of bad baseball, poor defenses, that it keeps us in it.

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  5. Ha ha. Wait, I’m the cynic here.

    The Rangers are in trouble. Eovaldi has elbow inflammation, on the 15 day, but he’ll be out for at least three weeks, and plausibly for the season. deGrom got pulled after two innings last night. He’s got right triceps fatigue and will likely get MRI results today at some point. They lost 3 of 4 to the Angels. Meanwhile the M’s have won just 6 out of their last 21. They lost 3 of 4 to the Yankees. Then we’ve got the A’s and the other A’s battling it out for last place in the West.

    So conservatively, we should win 6 of our next 9 games. We’re home. We’ve got our three most reliable starters lined up to start against the Mariners. Tomorrow night is Yordan Bobblehead night. And Sunday, on National TV, a free Imai T-Shirt for the first ten thousand clamoring fans through the gates. Then we’ve got 6 games against those two teams worse than the Gigantes that just handed us a couple of wins. Heck, even a 5-4 home stand should be pleasant enough.

    Problem is, we might even go 7 and 2 or 3 and 6. Pena should unslump. Yordan should be getting ready to hit a batch of dingers. Maybe Cam will get the OPS over .700 once and for all. But I have zero clue as to what our Astros might gift us with. Looking forward to sharing the next nine with everyone!

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  6. What a surprise at the ballpark tonight. I had mentally written the Astros off and the bats came alive in the 10th to pull the win out.

    Beware of the score tomorrow. We all know what happens when the Astros score 10+ runs and play the next day.

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  7. Got to give our Astros a bag of credit. They did not mail it in when Munoz stepped on the mound to finish it. And when he got a first out from Yordan, and I moaned, it got even sweeter. Seemed a lost cause. Then some tough, tough at bats. And then 108.2 from Walker that took off like it was 138.2.

    It’s really incredible. The Astros tried so hard to gift the game back to the M’s, but the M’s just could not accept our generosity. And then the Rangers obliged by joining in with their own hospitality.

    I’m going to ignore the mishandled liner Cam is expected to catch at this point in his development. And the pick off at second of our fat guy who has no business straying. But I really want to see Bryon Abreu stop throwing so many damn sliders and bring that 99.1 gas he was showing in San Francisco Maybe Yainer is the responsible party.

    What ghoulish things will happen tonight?

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  8. Thoughts

    This was a game that was in the bag, then totally lost and then in almost a miracle won again.

    Nice to see Yordan get off the snide with a homer early after not hitting one in 11 or so games. Good they did not need him in the 10th

    I was going crazy with Abreu last night – I wanted him to be pulled after he gave up the run and then issued another walk. Lucky we did not lose it right there

    Great 10th inning at bats – Paredes working it and working it – and finally lining it to the right of center. Altuve watches a strike – swings at a slider he can’t reach – then pooches a way out of the strike zone slider into right field. Varsho looks totally overwhelmed on two sliders at his ankles and then gets one higher and over the plate and grounds it the other way. Two pitches later Walker unties it and walks it off with an absolute no doubter.

    must have been a very nice ride home for Varsho and Walker former Arizona teammates – Varsho is staying with Walker right now.

    Paredes such a key last night – a two out two run single early and the big hit in the 10th

    As the title says – It is the time – you got the Rangers and Ms on the run – keep that foot on the accelerator

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  9. Thoughts

    • This was a game that was in the bag, then totally lost and then in almost a miracle won again.
    • Nice to see Yordan get off the snide with a homer early after not hitting one in 11 or so games. Good they did not need him in the 10th
    • I was going crazy with Abreu last night – I wanted him to be pulled after he gave up the run and then issued another walk. Lucky we did not lose it right there
    • Great 10th inning at bats – Paredes working it and working it – and finally lining it to the right of center. Altuve watches a strike – swings at a slider he can’t reach – then pooches a way out of the strike zone slider into right field. Varsho looks totally overwhelmed on two sliders at his ankles and then gets one higher and over the plate and grounds it the other way. Two pitches later Walker unties it and walks it off with an absolute no doubter.
    • must have been a very nice ride home for Varsho and Walker former Arizona teammates – Varsho is staying with Walker right now.
    • Paredes such a key last night – a two out two run single early and the big hit in the 10th

    As the title says – It is the time – you got the Rangers and Ms on the run – keep that foot on the accelerator

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  10. Went to the game tonight. Wow picked a real stinker to see. What a waste of $200. Such poor baseball from our guys. Bad pitching, bad hitting, bad defence, bad attitude. Ugh.

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    • The recap didn’t say. Why did Vasquez get pulled for a pinch hitter? Was he hurt or was Espada trying to cool him off after homering?

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      • Yes that was a head scratcher. Not like he was replaced by a .300 hitter 😉

        I have said before, Joe Espada is out of his depth and has no feel.

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  11. Good morning. Simon has already provided the recap. Sorry about the 200 mate. Whose turn is it to get picked off second tonight? We’ve given a very suspect Seattle offense 17 runs over two nights at our own friendly confines. As our good friend 1oldpro might say, we’ve played like horse dookie except for that one artificial inning on Friday night.

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    • Thanks. Yes 200 but not all wasted. Had two large beers (Pacifico) at 21 each … 90 ish for the ticket (section 105, but did t even get any foul balls our way) and 35 each way for an uber.

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  12. Not much to add here – Simon used the exact descriptor “stinker” that was going through my head. I’m sorry about the $$ man – that is the thing – you pay a bunch whether the product is good or bad.

    The Rangers came back and won last night. The Astros need to win this series or they are letting the M’s back in too. On national TV – NBC tonight – Hunter Brown needs to throw like an ace and shut this team down.

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  14. The only unpredictable thing about tonight’s game was Joe.

    I’ll overlook Altuve at DH hitting clean up. But if you really need to get Velazquez into the game then put him at DH rather than using him as a PH for a guy that had just hit a homer his last time up. That also forced Altuve over to second, compromising the defense. But the unpardonable decision to have Cam run for Yordan left us two batters away from Yordan when the game ended. You just can’t take the best hitter in the game out of the game. A one run game? You can’t.

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  15. Well, the series was what the series was. The Mariners have just about sunk their season but that is still a team with some pieces. Those pieces showed up and played baseball.

    At some point the Mariners should start considering some of the Rockies same gimmicks, only opposite. You watch these guys hit and you think, they aren’t that bad, then you see box scores from home games and its constantly losing games 3-1. You have to wonder how much of that .222 at home as a team affects their offensive mindset on the road.

    But hey, this ain’t no stinking fishboys fan blog. We talk real baseball here, like fat guys getting picked off 2nd for no good reason at all. I think someone should remind Vazquez he isn’t 22 and this isn’t his world. It’s 2026 guy, you are lucky to still be in there league, now you are a station to station guy, if that means you are 1 foot off the bag, so be it. He is out there taking leads like he is Rickey Henderson. The Mariners wanted to get him earlier, but the pitcher balked and messed it up, the Astros aren’t the only team just playing flat out sloppy baseball.

    Got to feel for Lambert. While the rest of your pitching staff can’t reliably put you in a spot to win, he does. And he gets exactly no wins. I was thinking, for once, he got this one the bag. He is leaving with a 5-2 lead. Surely this bullpen can get 12 outs without giving up 3 runs. And I was wrong. They have now won his last 5 starts without him getting a decision. But hey, if you want to win the game, throw more (and better strikes) and leave the bullpen to get 9 outs or less.

    It was a ho hum series. Could have went worse. Could have went better. This next 6, can’t be doing no 3-3 with the Halos and the Homeless. 4-2 is the worst I want to see. This isn’t even about the IL’ers in Dallas or the Seattle Fishlovers. This about Astros baseball. Play good, fundamental, sound baseball. Win series you are supposed to win. Start setting a tone because the Texas Walker Woundeds and the Seattle Salty Smells are doing their part to give you the runway.

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  16. Thoughts

    • Not very happy with a 1-2 start to the homestand, but for some reason the Mariners have the Astros number this season – currently 9-2 against us.
    • But…..extremely lucky today to not have been swept. Friday’s game – the Astros chance of winning the game was down to 11.2% after Taylor Trammell’s strikeout for the 2nd out in the bottom of the 10th.
    • We can say – well we will beat on the Angels and the A’s – but have to remember those two teams won 5 of 7 from the Rangers this last week.
    • Disappointed in Hunter Brown’s outing – all those frigging walks and long counts kept him from going past 5 innings and led to Sousa giving up the eventual winning run in a game where he might not have been needed.
    • I thought Varsho had taken back the game with his bases loaded shot down the right field line in the 8th. Just a millisecond too quick.
    • Why the heck was Cam Smith – one of your few hot hitters sitting this one out? 23 year olds can rest when they are 30.
    • Walker back to 0 for 4 with 3 Ks. Whatever.
    • Steven – glad you brought up Lambert’s lack of luck. He has pitched solidly without reward for the last month.
    • Odd Monday off today. The Astros head into the Angels series with the following starters – TBD, TBD and Lambert
    • Glad to see Alan Ashby and Phil Garner added to the Astros HOF. Liked Ashby as both a catcher and announcer and Garner as both a player and a manager. Garner led the team to their first playoff win in 2004 and in 2005 led them back from the tombstone headline to the playoffs and to their first World Series appearance.

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    • Espada has always kind of done the L/R thing. But the last month, it’s been pants on fire. I wouldn’t be sitting Cam right now either, but he got all these mediocre lefty bats for Christmas and he wants to play with those toys.

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    • And I wouldn’t be too disappointed in Brown’s pitch counts, thats a career problem, even in his “stellar” 2025. He made 31 starts in 2025, he pitched 7 innings 5 times and 8 innings once. This is just who he is. The stuff is just so damned good that he fools guys out of the zone and gets it past a lot of guys in the zone. He has never really been the “command” guy, though, yea, its worse this year than last.

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      • Before this year Hunter’s walk rate was between 2.8 and 3.2 walks per 9 IP. This year it is running at 5.2 walks per 9 IP – this is a real problem. This year he has 2 wild pitches in 68 innings – last year none in 185 innings. Last year 7 HBP in 185 innings – this year 4 already in 68 innings.

        I don’t know if he is throwing “different” to try and not irritate his shoulder or if he is just trying to find himself after that long IL stint. His velocity is there – he just is not controlling it like he was.

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      • Yea those numbers are oof.

        We wouldn’t be in the know, but I do like your theory of his delivery getting punched by the “trying to not get hurt again” thug. It’s happened before.

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  17. A little off the subject but still baseball…

    I saw an updated ranking of MLB minor league systems. Number one is…

    The Los Angeles Dodgers!!!

    I had to do a double take at this, and the article also noted that the Dodgers’ farm clubs had been rated number five or higher for the past three years! We baseball fans, of the Astros and MLB, moan about the fact that the Astros have picked near the back of the draft almost every year since 2018. This is because of the success that the Astros have had. However, the Dodgers have had the very same success. They also have picked near the back of the draft as have the Astros. Why have their farm system done so well while the Astros have done so badly?? I actually discount the fact that the Astros lost their first-round choices for two years because the draft is factually a crapshoot.

    Perhaps Crane should look at the Dodgers’ front office for the next general manager and head scout.

    Ranking every MLB farm system, 1-30

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