2015 Astros Regular Season Thread

[eagle eye]

Stick a fork in the Astros. They are done. Their best pitcher had the worst outing of his career last night giving up 3 home runs among the 11 hits and 9 runs he allowed in just 4.2 innings of work. Keuchel didn't get a break at all from the Rangers hitters as they demolished every mistake, of which there were many, Keuchel made. Keuchel's era was leading the AL at 2.22 and I'm surprised it didn't balloon any higher than the 2.56 he ended up with. The bullpen wasn't left out as Michael Feliz pitched the final 3.1 innings allowing 5 more runs on 5 hits including 2 more home runs and 2 walks. It's sad but the wheels have just come off the Astros train. Every single wheel has come off and with 15 games left there is not enough time to get the team back on the tracks. The Astros can probably kiss the wild card goodbye too. They are the No 2 WC team 3-1/2 games behind WC1 NY Yankees and only 1.5 games ahead of Minnesota who is struggling too but not nearly as big a dumpster fire as the Astros are now. A week and a half ago we were hoping Keuchel could become the Astros first 20 game winner in years but now there just aren't enough starts left to reach that goal even if Houston wasn't sucking so bad on offense. It's unreal the collapse this team is suffering through. It's too bad because this has been fun to watch this season.

[eagle eye]

Like the rest of the trash Houston got swept out of The Ball Park of Arlington Thursday night. The final score doesn't matter, the box scores don't matter, nothing matters. Houston went into the biggest series of the season, a series that could have cemented their playoff berth and all but guaranteed the division championship instead they laid the biggest egg in the world. If Houston had been the team who swept the series they would have had a 4-1/2 game lead in the division over the Rangers and probably at least that over the Angels. With 15 games left Houston could play .500 ball and coast into the post season. Houston is done as I said on Wednesdy. Now, how are they in the wild card race? The Yankees are the #1 wild card 4 games up on #2 Houston. Houston is 1.5 up on Minnesota and 2.5 up on LA Angels. As we've seen the past 4 days 1-1/2 games ain't squat.

 

Houston came home to the once friendly confines of the Juice Box but in September it has become just another ball park house of horrors for the free falling Astros. Here's an interesting stat--the bullpen has a dismal 6.00 ERA for the month of September and the 'pen blew another one last night as Pat Neshak, who has personally lost 3 games in September for Houston, gave up a 2 run homer to A's 3B Danny Valencia in the top of the 8th inning to flip a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit which is how the game ended up marking Houston's 5 loss in a row and running their record in their last 10 games to 2-8. What make matters worse is the offense made yet another half-assed pitcher, this time Felix Doubront he of the 4.95 ERA, look like the #1 pitcher in baseball. I don't know about you but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of watching the Astros flail at fat pitches more often than not just missing altogether. This team is like a bunch of batting sluts--swinging at anything with nothing to show for it. The Astros managed but 5 hits in the game. Everyone said the 5 run comeback to beat the Angels last Sunday was going to be the springboard for Houston going into the Rangers series and, by proxy, the rest of the season. AAAANNNNNHHHHH, wrong again contestant! It looks like the miracle comeback in Anaheim was just one last gasp for an offense that doesn't hit for average, doesn't have a lick of patience at the plate and are suckers for 2 strike breaking balls. Carlos Gomez came in and instead of giving the offense a spark he just fell into the swing for the fence mentality of this team. He hurt himself over swinging at a pitch in the Angels series that sent him to his knees and nearly caused him to knock off his own batting helmet. The word was he was fiery player who was a good center fielder. He's fiery all right if you want to insert some other adjective like deuchebag or no-talent smack talker or all mouth and no bite instead. The main benefit we got out of the deal that brought Gomez to Houston was P Mike Fiers. Houston gave up an amazing hitting prospect to get Gomez and from where I sit Jeff Luhnow got snookered in that deal. Gomez has missed the last 5 games because of a pulled muscle in his rib cage and honestly I can't see any difference in the team since he went out. It's been nearly a month since Houston eclipsed the 70 win total of 2014 and Houston still has only 77 wins. I hate to go on and on about this but this September collapse has to rank right up there in the top tier of memorable September collapses. For a team that played so well for 5 months to suck this bad is unbelievable. If you think about where we were at the beginning of the season I hoped that Houston could equal their 19 game improvement from 2013 to 2014. 89 wins would give the Astros a real chance to make the playoffs, I said at the time. Now I'll be happy if we break 80 wins over the next 14 games but the way Houston has been playing I have my doubts. You just can't go into a September series with the season on the line against the worst team record-wise in the American League at home and lose but that's what is happening. It makes me so sad for those of us who had their hopes set up for something special only to have the team itself yank it away. This team is literally jerking defeat out of the jaws of victory and it makes me mad.

[eagle eye]

Houston won tonight but don't get your hopes up folks. In September they have been having a big run output game a week but then they go back into their shell and or their usual offensive mode, if you will. Scott Kazmir must have some kind of deal with his old team as the last two times he faced the A's he's pretty well stunk. He only lasted 3.2 innings and gave up 5 or 6 runs in the bargain. Maybe he's got some deal with former teammate Sonny Gray. In their last matchup last week Kazmir exited early while Gray shut out the Astros in a complete game performance. It was heartening that Houston beat the only decent pitcher on the A's staff. Of course it is hard to lose when you score the 10 runs Houston put up tonight. Unlike last night when Houston could have made up ground on the Rangers after Seattle beat them Houston wasn't so fortunate tonight. The Rangers stomped a 10-1 mudhole in the M's and to make matters worse the Angels swept a double header against Minnesota. Beginning Friday Minnesota was a game and a half back in the wild card but with the Angels wins today it's the Angels who are 1-1/2 back in the wild card. 13 games left in the season. The next 7 games will decide Houston's post season fate as they face the Angels for 3 games beginning Monday and next weekend the Rangers for 3. I would say Houston being at home for both series would be an advantage but not any more. There is still hope but it all begins tomorrow afternoon in the series finale with Oakland. If the Astros do, in fact, hope to make the post season they have find another gear and play better in every single phase of the game. Houston is 5-12 so far in September but they could change everything if they can find their lost mojo. I am resigned to Houston rumblin', bumblin', stumblin' to the end of the season sitting out in the cold outside the playoff zone but I am quietly hopeful that I am wrong.

[eagle eye]

The Astros are just torturing me, I know they are. They do what they are supposed to do against inferior talent and pull off a win of the series with the A's. A 5-1 win in the series finale yesterday gave the Stros a series win in a long time, maybe as far back as August. They will begin what is a make or break week as they play both the Angels and the Rangers at home beginning today. The season will be on the line as Houston is trying to at least cement a wild card but they still have hopes of closing the gap and taking over 1st place in the division. The Rangers begin the week tomorrow in Oakland against the A's and finish against the Astros in Houston over the weekend. If Houston can win both series they should be sitting pretty for the wild card and they would still have an outside chance to win the division but with only 6 games left after this week it would be tough. There is one other thing, the Angels and Rangers have played one less game than Houston so one way or another the 1/2 game difference in the standings will go away but that won't happen until next week. For now Houston has played 150 games while the other two have played 149. At some point that 1/2 game could make a lot of difference so you hope they both lose.

Tonight Houston will have Dallas Keuchel begin the quest for the playoffs. He's been money at home going 13-0 in 2015. He has failed in his last two outings, both on the road, to get to 18 wins and we are all hoping the 3rd time is the charm. Maybe the Astros fortunes are changing but I'm not holding my breath. I am thinking Keuchel will have to throw a complete game shutout to have a chance to win #18. It looks like Keuchel will get 3 more starts including tonight and if he wants 20 wins and put a lock on the AL Cy Young he needs to be better than he's been lately. What I want to see is Houston making the playoffs, Keuchel winning the Cy Young and Carlos Correa winning Rookie of the Year. That would be a nice hat trick. Right now, I'm not counting any chickens because they are all still in their shells all I can say is that I'm cautiously optimistic. Very cautiously.

[eagle eye]

Houston won last night. They beat the Angels 6-3 but it wasn't without the bullpen rearing their ugly heads. Dallas Keuchel went 7.2 innings giving up just one run allowing six hits, one walk and notching 6 K's. Pat Neshak came in and finished off the 8th inning for Keuchel which was good, Neshak didn't suck for a change. He didn't allow a hit or a walk or get a K but he got the 3rd out which is his job. In the 9th Josh Fields came in a allowed a double and a run scoring single after recording the first two outs of the inning. Fields then issued a walk which about all AJ Hinch could stand at that point. He pulled Fields and put in Oliver Perez because the next batter was a lefty and that's Perez' job to get left handed batters out. The Angels countered by pinch hitting for lefty Matt Joyce with righty Collin Cowgill. Cowgill singled to right field and George Springer attempted to get David Murphy who was trying to score from 2B. It was a close play at the plate and the ump called Murphy safe. Houston challenged the play but the call was upheld and now the score has gone from 6-1 to 6-3. Hinch has seen enough and he brought in Luke Gregerson to try to shut the door on the Angels rally. I'm sure the visions of the Astros 5 run ninth last week to these same Angels was running through Hinch's mind as he is probably really sick and tired of how ineffective both Fields and Perez have been lately. Gregerson forced Erick Aybar to ground out to Jose Altuve to end the game.

Notes:

> Keuchel finally got his 18th victory of the season and ran his home field record to 14-0 and his season record to 18-8. He is the second pitcher in the AL to notch 18 wins so far joining Seattle's Felix Hernandez. Keuchel has fewer losses than King Felix (FH - 9, DK - 8).

> Keuchel is 2nd in the AL in ERA with a 2.51 behind Toronto's David Price who has a 2.34 ERA but Price only has 17 wins.

> Keuchel leads the AL in innings pitched with 219.

> Keuchel is 2nd in the AL in WHIP with 1.02 to the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka who has a 0.99

> Keuchel is 5th in the AL in strike outs, 4th in opponents BA with .219

The point of all this is to illustrate that Keuchel has had a terrific season and truth be told in at least 5 starts of the 31 starts he's had this season so far could have no, should have been, wins if not for either the bullpen or lack of run support Keuchel should already have around 23 wins. If he had the run support Colin McHugh has had this season he could have 25 wins. If you look at his record of 18-8 that leaves 5 starts he got no decision on including pitching a complete game shutout earlier in the season he got a no-decision in. I know in my heart Keuchel won't win the Cy Young this season even though he deserves it. It's going to go to either Hernandez or Price because of the name recognition. It doesn't make it right and it is just not fair if that's the way it goes.

 

With the win last night Houston gained 1/2 game on the idle Rangers and only trail by 1 game in the AL West. Also, by beating the Angels they pick up a full game to extend their lead over them in the wild card to 3-1/2 games. Houston also gained 1/2 game on the Twins who were also idle last night meaning the Astros lead over them is now 3 games with 11 or 12 games left depending on who you're talking about.

 

Tonight Houston has Lance McCullers (5-6, 3.18 ERA) while the Angels send Hector Santiago (8-9, 3.47 ERA) in game two of this 3 game series.

 

Interesting note: Tomorrow night's starter for the Angels is RHP Nick Tropeano who was a prospect for the Astros since he was drafted in the 5th round of the 2011 draft. Last fall the Astros traded Tropeano and fellow prospect C Carlos Perez to the Angels for C Hank Conger.

[eagle eye]

What did I tell you? Teasers, that's all this team is. The only pitcher on the Astros staff with worse run support is Lance McCullers. Now Lance didn't do himself any favors by giving up a two run HR to Mike Trout and a solo shot by Albert Pujols to put himself down 3-0 after the top of the 1st but he settled down and didn't allow another run in his seven innings of work. The offense was up to their usual tricks stranding 11 base runners including two in the 8th and 2 in the 9th that caused them to fall to the Angels 4-3. The Astros were 0 for 8 with RISP. Don't forget the bullpen and their part in last night's loss. Between Chad Qualls and Joe Thatcher they combined to allow an insurance run that ended up being the difference in the game in the 8th inning. If it weren't for a wild pitch in the 8th with a man on 3B by Angels closer Houston Street Houston probably wouldn't have pushed across their 3rd run.

In the AL West race Houston lost a game to the Rangers who came back late in their game with Seattle to win 8-6 and the Rangers division lead is now 2 games. In the wild card race both the Angels and Twins won closing the gap on Houston by a game. Houston now leads for the 2nd wild card position by 2 games over Minnesota and 2.5 games over the Angels. Minnesota is in the middle of a series with Cleveland so I guess Astros fans are surrogate Twins fans for the next day or two. More important than that is the fact that Houston just needs to win. Take care of their own business and stop screwing around and losing games. The Astros hold their fate in their own hands--win and they're in, win half the time maybe they're in and lose they will be out.

Their are now only 10 games left. One more with LAA and 3 this weekend against Texas that will go a long way to determine the Astros post season fate. Tonight it's Fiers against Tropeano Houston ought to win this game but that's only been a recipe for disappointment lately so we'll see.

[eagle eye]

The Astros had a day off but it didn't do any good. After losing the series to the Angels falling back to 3 games behind the Rangers they watch the Rangers close out their series win over Seattle to fall to 3-1/2 games back. The trouble with the Astros was the same ol' same ol' in the month of September which is just everything. No phase of the Astros is holding up their end. The starting pitching has fallen off, the bullpen just sucks with the pitching staff ERA over 6 in September and the offense is just dreadful. It's sad to see the promise of the post season slipping away as each day passes. After last night's loss to the Rangers Houston falls to 4.5 games back in the AL West. The Astros can kiss the division title goodbye for 2015. Now, while still leading the wild card race Houston is letting that slip away too. If Houston had managed to win the series with the Angels they might have put enough cushion between them and the Angels to hold out for that 2nd wild card but they didn't and with the loss last night and the Angels win there is a slim 1/2 lead over them in the wild card. Minnesota lost last night to remain 1-1/2 back but this is it. Houston has to find a way to win this series with the Rangers or they will have lost their lead in the wild card, no doubt about it. Last night the Rangers rumbled, stumbled and bumbled their way to the 8th straight loss to Texas as they failed to get hits when they counted, failed to pitch well (Scott Kazmir just blew fart bubbles last night) and the defense, normally very solid committed 3 errors. Houston recorded 11 hits last night with 2 walks which means they had 13 base runners that could potentially could have scored. Houston stranded 11 of those 13 base runners going 1-11 with RISP. Scott Kazmir gave up 10 hits and 6 runs in his 3-2/3 inning of work. Kazmir has sucked in September. In his last 7 games he's gone 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA. In fact, after his first two starts Kazmir has been bad ever since. What looked like a great deal for Houston at the trading deadline hasn't worked out well at all. The Rangers had a 6-0 lead before Houston even responded with a run which they finally got in the 4th on a 2 run homer by Luis Valbuena right after Evan Gattis got his 10th triple of the season. That was it for Houston's offense. They made it look like they were going to mount a rally but poor AB after poor AB sunk any semblance of hope Houston may have had of coming back on the Rangers. To make matters worse, in the top of the 7th on shallow pop up in center field behind 2nd base by Elvis Andrus both Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa were chasing down the ball with Altuve getting to the ball first, catching it and immediately afterward getting a forearm shiver from Correa knocking Altuve down and out also causing Altuve to drop the ball. Andrus ended up on 2nd base as a result and despite a challenge by AJ Hinch who claimed Altuve caught the ball long enough for the out the Astros lost their All Star second baseman, who left the field shaking his head trying to get the cobwebs out, and a runner in scoring position. The good side of this is Altuve didn't suffer a concussion as reported by Hinch after the game and Andrus didn't score. Small victories.

Tonight Houston sends Collin McHugh (17-7, 3.93 ERA) to the hill to try to join Dallas Keuchel in the 18 win club. The Rangers will send Derek Holland (3-3, 4.75 ERA) to face a struggling Astros lineup. Despite McHugh's successes this year my money is on Holland because as Keanu Reeves said in the classic football movie, The Replacements, the Astros are in quicksand and the harder they try to turn things around the deeper they sink into the muck. And this September has certainly been mucked up from jump street.

Edited September 26, 2015 by eagle eye

[Skinny1]

It is really nice & different that we are still interested in what the Astros are doing the last few weeks of September. I think this week will have everyone on the edge of their seats to see if the Astros can hang on to a wild card berth and if the Pirates can catch the fading Cardinals. I find the NL Central race interesting because no one in either league would want to play the Cubs in a one game wild card play-off game.

[eagle eye]

It's been a heckuva week and the rollercoaster ride that this past week has been has been rather exhausting. When everything is said and done this week we ended up 3-3 but it didn't seem like we played .500 ball did it? We all thought Houston was finally waking up from their September sleep when the finally beat Oakland last Sunday and followed that up with a win in the series opening game against the Angels. It just so happens those were the last starts by Colin McHugh and Dallas Keuchel before the Rangers series this weekend. But, it all went downhill from there as Houston lost 2 heartbreaking games to LAA by one run scores as the offense combined to go 3-19 with RISP. The bullpen was responsible for late game collapses. On Tuesday it was Chad Qualls who allowed the go ahead run in the 8th and on Wednesday Pat Neshak, who has had a September from hell, gave up a 4-3 lead and turned it into a 6-4 deficit by allowing 3 runs again in the 8th. Houston tried to mount a rally as they scored one run in the ninth with two outs. A Carlos Correa single plating Jose Altuve was the last bullet Houston had in their guns on the night.

Then the Rangers came to town. Houston looked lethargic Friday losing 6-2 on a pathetic outing by Scott Kazmir who gave up 6 runs in 3.2 innings digging a 6-0 hole Houston couldn't climb out of. On Saturday Mr Lucky, Colin McHugh, made the start and got 9 runs of support from the offense who bashed out 6 home runs on the way to a 9-7 win. The bullpen tried like hell to give the game away as Houston went into the 9th leading 9-4. This time it was Luke Gregerson who damn near blew the lead as he got two quick outs to lead off the inning but the onslaught began which included 4 straight hits and a hit batsman and 3 Rangers runs before AJ Hinch yanked Gregerson and brought in Will Harris who got Mitch Mooreland to ground out to end the inning and the game. Today Dallas Keuchel was looking to set all time MLB record by going 15-0 in his home stadium. It looked kind of doubtful as Keuchel gave up a run in the top of the 1st on a fielder's choice put out of Prince Fielder allowing Shin Soo Choo to score. Keuchel settled down and didn't give up another run in the game as he went 7 complete innings allowing but 2 hits, 2 walks while notching 10 K's while throwing 122 pitches. I'll bet Keuchel lobbied to pitch the 8th inning. We will never know but sit he did after a stellar performance. The offense gave him enough run support to take a 3-1 lead into the 8th. There was that bullpen again however. Oliver Perez lead off the 8th by allowing Rougned Odor to triple and that was all Hinch had to see. He immediately yanked Perez and brought in Will Harris who struck out Josh Hamilton and he got DeLino Deshields to ground out to short. Unfortunately, Odor was able to score on the play cutting the Astros lead to 3-2. Harris got Shin Soo Choo to ground out to end the inning. Houston got the run back in the bottom of the inning as Chris Carter homered to lead off the inning. 4-2 looked pretty good as Houston attempted to close the door on the game and get the series win. Today Gregerson came on and he actually finished off the Rangers getting his 29th save of the season. Keuchel how leads the AL in wins with 19 with one more start tentatively scheduled for next Saturday against Arizona. Keuchel should win the Cy Young because his stats and standings in almost every pitching category say he should. I am scared that he'll lose out to David Price who benefits from ungodly run support in Toronto.

It's been two weeks and two days since Marwin Gonzalez became the 11 player on the Astros roster to hit 10 or more HR's. It's been that same amount of time that Jake Marisnick was stuck on 9 HR's and he hasn't hit his 10th as yet. Lowrie hit his 9th HR on September 13 but none since. In fact Lowrie commenced to go into a slump after that game. He has gone 7-38 (.184 BA) and in his last 3 games he's 0-14. Lowrie did not play today. At the time, I posted that Lowrie was more likely the guy to be the 12th 10 homer guy but who could foresee him falling off the map the way he has. Now I believe it's even money who gets that 10th homer. Actually, odds are against either one getting one in the next six games.

Six games left in the season for Houston and seven left for the Angels and Rangers. Houston has 3 in Seattle and 3 in Arizona. The Rangers have 3 against Detroit and they close their season with 4 against the Angels. The Angels begin the week at home against Oakland before travelling to Texas. The other team in this whole scenario is the Minnesota Twins who are just 1-1/2 games back of Houston in the wild card race. The Twins may have the toughest road to travel as they have 4 against Cleveland in Cleveland and end the season with 3 against Kansas City. Both the Angels and Twins won today so here is the situation;

AL West

Rangers lead the AL West

Astros 2.5 games back

Angels 3 games back

Wild Card

NY Yankees #1 WC 4.5 games up on Houston

Astros #2 WC

Angels 0.5 games behind Houston

Twins 1.5 games behind Houston

Indians 4 games behind Houston

 

It is really nice & different that we are still interested in what the Astros are doing the last few weeks of September. I think this week will have everyone on the edge of their seats to see if the Astros can hang on to a wild card berth and if the Pirates can catch the fading Cardinals. I find the NL Central race interesting because no one in either league would want to play the Cubs in a one game wild card play-off game.

 

The thing Houston has to do is win. They don't need to scoreboard watch, they don't need to hope for help from other teams, they just need to win and they will be the 2nd wild card. I'm not sure I like Houston's odds in a one game playoff with the Yankees in New York but to make the playoffs is pretty freaking good considering what expectations were way back in April and how badly they've played in September.

Edited September 28, 2015 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

Houston struggled last night but because of the suddenly hot bat of Chris Carter they managed a one run win over Seattle. Stack on top of that the Rangers were defeated by Detroit in the opener of that series. We got 1/2 of the ideal situation and in reality the most important part was the Astros victory. That's the most important thing because it doesn't matter whatever else happens. But, last night with the Rangers loss Houston inch closer to the division lead. Now, counting on winning the division is something the Astros don't have the luxury of looking at. What they have to count on is beating the Mariners again tonight. Tonight's game is the only damn thing that should be on their plate today. No scoreboard watching, no trying to count unborn chickens and no looking ahead thinking about 'what ifs'. Lance McCullers pitched well enough through his 6 innings of work to merit a win but he gave up a game tying home run in the bottom of the 6th. Houston's offense was stymied by starter Roenis Elias for six innings as he only gave up 3 hits but he also issued 5 walks. Two of the three hits were home runs, both were solo shots, that came in the first inning by Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis. McCullers allowed a run to Seattle in the bottom of the 1st and he carried that 2-1 lead into the sixth when Ketel Marte homered to lead off the inning.

As for Chris Carter, as much as I've said Houston needed to just bench him because he's been so bad up to the last 15 games. In the 15 games he's played in since August 28th and in that span he's hitting .364 with 2 doubles, 6 HRs and 10 RBIs. He has now hit a HR in 5 consecutive games joining Cliff Johnson (1975), Carlos Beltran (2004) and Morgan Ensberg (2006) as the only Astros to do this. Carter will see more playing time while Houston is in Seattle because he's hit 9 HRs which is more than in any visiting park he's been to. No matter what the reason why he struggled for 5 months but if he can maintain this hot streak for another 5 games that won't be a bad thing.

There is no use belaboring the point about Houston's struggles at the plate, it what it is. I know AJ Hinch wants to promote aggressiveness at the plate but jeez-louise do they have to swing at EVERYTHING? It's just frustrating watching opposing hitters laying of 2 strike breaking balls while Houston flails away. At some point don't they look a trends? Don't they look at tape? I've said it before and I'll say it again until something changes. The hitting coach sucks. This team has a lot of young players but vets like Jason Castro, Colby Rasmus and Evan Gattis are not patient. The biggest offender is Carlos Gomez who swings so much out of control he hurt himself two weeks ago. He's still not healthy enough to make a swing so all he's good for is pinch running.

I won't judge the season just yet but it's looking like all three moves Houston made at the trading deadline were whiffs. The best thing that this trio of Scott Kazmir, Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez was the no-no tossed by Fiers in what seems like years ago. Otherwise they haven't paid the dividends Houston expected. I believe Vince Velasquez and a rotation of minor league pitchers could have filled in as the 5th starter. It really hurt to lose Scott Feldman the second time. We weathered the storm in the first half of the season but it would have been nice if he could have remained healthy the way he was pitching when they came back.

 

So here's scene:

AL West

Texas

Houston 1-1/2 games back

Los Angels Angels 2 games back

AL Wild Card

NY Yankees wild card #1 +3.5 on Houston

Houston wild card #2

LAA 1/2 game behind Houston

Minnesota 1-1/2 games behind Houston

Cleveland 5 games behind Houston

 

Remaining games

Houston 5 - 2 w/Seattle and 3 w/Arizona

Texas 6 - 2 w/Detroit and 4 w/LA Angels

LA Angels 6 - 2 w/Oakland and 4 w/Texas

Minnesota 3 - 3 w/Cleveland and 3 w/Kansas City

[eagle eye]

The Astros had been flirting with this for a while and they finally succeeded in losing their spot in the playoffs entirely last night. For the first time since April 18th the Astros are not a playoff team according to the standings. It's the same old song and dance. Poor pitching, poor hitting and poor bullpen. All 3 conspired to derail the Astros meager 3 game winning streak and put them 1/2 BEHIND the LA Angels in the wild card. Starter Mike Fiers sucked but he was betrayed for one run by an error by Marwin Gonzalez in the first inning as Seattle answered Houston's 1st inning run to take an early lead with 2 of their own in the bottom of the frame. Houston retook a 3-2 lead in the 5th on a Marwin Gonzalez HR and an RBI double by George Springer. Houston made it 4-2 in the sixth on an RBI double plating Evan Gattis but Fiers gave it all back in the bottom of the sixth on a 2 run HR by Robinson Cano. It looked like, from my description above that Houston actually DID hit the ball. After all, they did score 4 runs. That's all true until you see the box score and realize that Houston was 1-10 with RISP. (Gattis scored from 1B on Villar's double) So the Astros blew numerous chances to score runs that could put the game away for them. Then came the bullpen. Ah yes, the bullpen. First Chad Qualls comes in to get the final out in the 6th after Fiers has allowed Cano to tie the game. Qualls allowed a base hit to the first batter he faced. It was also the last batter he faced because AJ Hinch brought in lefty Joe Thatcher and he got the last out of the 6th inning. Got to give credit where is due and for 1.1 innings Will Harris was nearly perfect walking a batter in the middle of 3 K's and getting Nelson Cruz to ground out to Jose Altuve. Then the bullpen went south again. First Oliver Perez, whose job is to get left handed hitters out go Cano to fly out to center for the 2nd out of the inning. He then fouled it up by allowing Seth Smith a single. AJ Hinch pulled Perez and brought in, gulp, Pat Neshak to face the righties coming up in the Mariners batting order. He proceeded to give up a single to Mark Trumbo, a walk to Franklin Gomez and a 2 RBI single to Shawn O'Malley. Neshak got the final out on a fly ball but the damage had been done, Houston was down 6-4 heading into the 9th inning. In the 9th Luis Valbuena led off with a single but then Colby Rasmus K's, Altuve grounds into a double play and George flied out to right field. Ballgame and maybe season.

The Rangers bounced back after losing to Detroit the night before and beat them 7-6 with Tigers 2B Ian Kinsler just missing an RBI double to right-center that was caught on the run by the Rangers CF Anthony Gose to end the game. Game of inches and what ifs. The Angels beat Oakland for their 7th win in a row and 8th win in their last 10 games. The only good thing is Minnesota got rained out or they probably would have gained a full game on Houston too. Never fear though, the Twins play a doubleheader today to make up for last night.

 

So, here's the updated situation:

 

AL West Division Race

Texas (5 games left in the season -- magic number is 4)

Los Angeles Angels 2.0 games back with 5 to play

Houston 2.5 games back with 4 to play

 

Wild Card Race

NY Yankees #1 wild card up by 3 games over the Angels

LA Angels #2 wild card up by 1/2 game over Houston

Houston 1/2 game down to the Angels

Minnesota 1.5 games down to the Angels

[puddin tane]

Why is Marwin on the bench tonite? Crap, Hinch! Valbuena and Carter in? Crapola

 

Neshak just plain sucks

[puddin tane]

No bueno with a dropped pop up leads to 2 runs. Carter leaves base with 3rd baseman still tagging him. Little league mistakes.

[puddin tane]

Maybe if I keep raggin on em, they'll keep hitting? Gattis, you suck! We' ll see if that works.

[puddin tane]

It worked...Rasmus, you suck!

[puddin tane]

Works again! Astros lead! Gomez , you suck!

[eagle eye]

Keep ragging on them puddin tane it definitely worked last night! Stros win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Nothing that happens in Arlington the next 4 days matters if Houston doesn't win. They travel to Phoenix to close the season with the Diamondbacks. The Astros will have their best chance to win the first two with Keuchel pitching Friday and McHugh goes on Saturday.

 

Saw on Bleacher Report that Toronto's David Price is considered ahead of Dallas Keuchel in the race for the AL Cy Young. This is crazy. If you look at the stats Price leads Keuchel in K's 225 to 213 and ERA 2.45 to 2.47 which are negligible leads, it's not like Price is blowing Keuchel's doors off. If you look at the rest of the picture like wins, WHIP, BAA, innings pitched and they are tied with complete games with 3 apiece. Keuchel should win the CY Award no doubt but it will all come down to Friday when both make their final starts of the regular season. Keuchel vs Arizona and Price vs Tampa Bay. Both are road games, both opponents have the exact same 77-81 records. Price has a distinct advantage because the Blue Jays are a run scoring machine. Price will get a lot more run support than Keuchel and that makes a lot of difference on whether Price, who currently has 18 wins, can equal Keuchel's 19 wins or will Keuchel buck the trend and win on the road and get to 20 wins. IMO if Keuchel gets to 20 he should be a lock for the CY.

 

Houston did win but it wasn't as if they didn't try to lose. First Scott Kazmir was just awful. 4.1 innings and 6 runs was the last straw of a dismal September for him. Kazmir and Neshak should go off and get into an ass kicking contest because they have been so awful this month both deserve to have their asses kicked. The defense had their problems too as they committed 4 errors in the game. Of the 6 runs Scott Kazmir gave up only 4 were earned. The offense showed up getting 14 hits and 2 walks last night as Seattle used their bullpen as a 5th starter. The hitters were actually a respectable 5 for 11 with RISP. Thank goodness Chris Carter finally woke up. He went 1-3 with a walk but the one hit was a doozy. A 3 run bomb to tie the game in the top of the sixth after Kazmir gave up 3 more runs on a 3 run dinger by Kyle Seager. Houston had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning but Kazmir gave the M's an early Christmas present. Carter came on and his streak in September is still going strong. This makes six home runs in his last 7 starts. During the last 16 games Carter is hitting .324 with 7 HR's and 13 RBI's. For a change the bullpen actually did their job with Josh Fields, Tony Sipp, Will Harris, Oliver Perez and Luke Gregerson closing the door on Seattle without surrendering a run in the final 5-2/3 innings. There is no overstating how big that shot by Carter was. It could very well have salvaged the season for Houston. If Houston loses last night they fall to 3.5 games back of Texas in the AL West and remain 1/2 game behind the Angels for the wild card. This changes the whole landscape of the AL playoffs where Houston is concerned.

The Astros can sit back in their hotel rooms in Phoenix tonight and just watch knowing that either way the game goes Houston benefits. The game tonight between the Angels and Rangers finally gets both teams caught up with the Astros in games played this season. That means that the 1/2 game goes away when talking about the standings. If the Angels win they and the Astros are virtually tied for second place 2 games behind Texas with 3 to play. If Texas wins they will be 3 games up on Houston for the division and Houston will have a full one game lead over LAA in the wild card. Minnesota plays their final game in the series with Cleveland. Win and they are 1 game back of Houston, lose they are 2 back and the 1/2 game where Minnesota is concerned will also disappear after tonight's game. Minnesota ends their season in Kansas City against the Royals. The good thing for Houston is KC still has something to play for, home field advantage in the AL playoffs as they are one game behind Toronto for that honor.

 

Here's the way it all shapes up:

AL West

Texas 2 games up on Houston with 4 to play against LAA. Magic number to clinch the division is 2

Houston 2.5 games back of Texas with 3 to play at Arizona

LA Angles 3 games back of Texas with 4 to play against Texas

 

Wild Card Race

NY Yankees #1 wild card 2.5 games ahead of Houston with 4 games to play, 1 with Boston and 3 with Baltimore.

Houston #2 wild card 2.5 games behind the Yankees and .5 game ahead of LAA with 3 to play in Arizona

LAA .5 games behind Houston with 4 to play against Texas

Minnesota 1.5 games behind Houston with 4 games to play, 1 against Cleveland and 3 against KC

 

How is this for some weird stuff, if NYY lose 3 of 4 and Houston and LAA sweep their games Houston wins the AL West, LAA wins the #1 wild card and the Yankees just edge Texas for wild card #2. If the Rangers and Angels split Texas wins the West and Houston is wild card #2 if they win 2 of 3 in Arizona. Don't forget Minnesota. If both Houston and LAA get swept and they win 2 of their last 4 they are the #2 wild card. Holy Crap! This is like figuring out the playoffs in the NFL! The bottom line is this is going to be an exciting weekend for Astros baseball.

Edited October 1, 2015 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

Okay, the stage is set for the weekend. Everyone has played the same amount of games so there is no gray area anymore. No more 1/2 games just a picture clear as day of what needs to happen. The Rangers beat the Angels in the first of their four games and Minnesota beat Cleveland in their series finale.

 

For the AL West the Rangers are 87-72, 3 games ahead of the 84-75 Astros. For Houston to win the West they would have to sweep Arizona and Texas would have to get swept by the Angels. I don't know what the tie-breaker would be or if the teams would have to have a one game playoff but this is Houston's only shot at the division. With the loss last night the Angels were eliminated from contention in the West. They are 4 back with 3 to play so they are mathematically eliminated.

 

For the Wild Card the Yankees hold the same lead over Houston in the wild card as the Rangers do in the AL West because they have the same record as the Rangers, 87-72. My question is this. If the Astros and the Rangers have to have a playoff game to decide the division does that mean the Astros and Yankees would have to have a playoff to see who the #1 wild card is? The #1 gets home field for the play-in game to the division series of the playoffs so deciding who gets home field gets to be pretty important. I the Yankees and Astros have to have a playoff to decide who is the #1 wild card then they would go to that ball park to have the actual wild card game. This is crazy.

 

AL West

Rangers

Astros 3 games back

LA Angels 4 games back

 

The Rangers magic number is 1. Either a Rangers win or an Astros loss and the Rangers win the West

 

Wild Card Race

#1 NY Yankees +3 on the Astros with 3 to play

#2 Astros +1 on the Angels and Twins with 3 to play.

LA Angels -1 to Houston with 3 to play

Twins -1 to Houston with 3 to play

 

Keuchel (19-8, 2.47 ERA) pitches tonight in Arizona against De La Rosa (14-8, 4.56 ERA). The scenario is simple win and they don't have to worry about anything else. It all comes down to tonight. The weird thing is Houston, LAA and the Twins could actually end up tied. It isn't that likely at all but it could happen. Damn, between the Texans-Falcons, Cowboys-Saints and the Astros-Rangers-Angels-Twins circus this will be a stressful weekend.

[eagle eye]

The stage is set but it's still a little muddy because the AL West just can't seem to settle the bets.

 

1. Texas has had a magic number of 1 since they best the Angels last Thursday. Since then they have lost 2 in a row including a demoralizing 11-10 loss yesterday when the Angels pulled an Astros and scored 5 runs in the top of the ninth to steal victory out of the jaws of defeat. Earlier this month pulled the same magic act on the Angels and yesterday trailing 10-6 going into the 9th they just exploded and they have to put some serious doubt in the Rangers minds and even though they have a guaranteed ticket to the post season dance they don't know just which dance they are going to. If Texas wins today they will play either Toronto or Kansas City in the divisional round of the playoff. The Jays and the Royal still have to settle the #1 seed thing. KC has a one game lead for the #1 but if they lose to Minnesota and the Jays beat Tampa Toronto will be #1 because they won the head-to-head matchup during the season. If the season ends like it stands now the Rangers will play Toronto. The Royals will play the winner of the wild card play-in game.

 

2. Houston has the ability to be either AL West division champs or the wild card. The possibilities don't end there. If the Yankees lose today to Baltimore and Houston wins the Astros will be the #1 wild card and host the Yankees at the Juice Box on Tuesday. There is a monkey in the wrench here because if Houston completes the sweep of Arizona today and Rangers lose to the Angels there will be a playoff on Monday between Houston and Texas for the AL West division championship. The winner will play Toronto or KC the loser will play the Yankees. If the Yankees lose they will play the winner in their home stadium. If they win the loser of the playoff will travel to NY for the right to advance to the divisional round.

 

3. If Houston loses and Texas loses to the Angels the Astros and Angels will be tied for the final wild card spot and they would have a one game playoff on Monday to decide the #2 wild card spot. The game would be in Houston because the Astros won the season series against the Angels.

 

Interesting note: For the first time in MLB history all 15 final games of the regular season will all begin at the same time. No matter the time zone the games all begin at 2:10 PM CDT. There will be some serious scoreboard watching this afternoon.

 

The NL wild card still has some doubt. The wild cards will be Chicago and Pittsburgh but there is a one game difference that could change today. Pittsburgh has a one game lead over the Cubs and they finish their season today vs the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago will play Milwaukee. If the Cubs win and the Pirates lose the Cubs would be the #1 wild card and would host the Pirates because they won the season series with Pittsburgh. If the Cubs and Pirates lose the Pirates are the #1 wild card as is the case if Pittsburgh wins no matter what Chicago does.

 

It's been said before here on this thread, nobody would have guessed that Houston would being in a position to be in the playoffs. Ironically, I said before the season began, that if Houston could duplicate the 19 game improvement they posted last year the Astros could be in the conversation for the playoffs. The irony is if Houston did improve 19 games over last season's record they would have won the AL West outright and the Rangers and Angels would be scrapping for the second wild card. Nobody saw an 11-16 September, their only sub par .500 record for a month all season. We couldn't foresee the starting pitching and the bullpen being as bad as they were all month after carrying this team the whole season. Of course there is also the offensive woes that have plagued Houston all year. At times they are good and at times not at all. It all comes down to today and fortunately this is a brand new month. September is in the rearview mirror. No matter what happens today Houston's season is not over. The only questions remaining are will they play tomorrow or Tuesday and will they actually be a playoff team? It's a beautiful October morning and life is good. Lets hope we get an Astros, Texans and Cowboys sweep today!

[eagle eye]

Whew! The regular season is over at last! The good news is Houston came from out of left field to get a wild card ticket to the post season. I said "get" because while I acknowledge they earned it but when the chips were all on the table Houston folded without winning the pot. I realize that Houston couldn't win the AL West but they had a chance to host the wild card game because the Yankees lost yet another game to the Orioles who swept the season ending 4 games in Baltimore. It doesn't matter that the Yankees lost and looked sort of bad doing it they are playing the Astros who are notoriously bad on the road. The Rangers came back and beat the Angels which made Houston's trip to the postseason possible. The loss by the Astros is extremely unfortunate because of their road woes in 2015 but after being swept in 4 games last week I figured Houston was done for playoff wise. Houston won 2 of 3 against the Angels to get back into the wild card lead, they won 2 of 3 against Seattle and they won 2 of 3 in Arizona to end the season. I know Houston earned this but doesn't it feel like they backed into the playoffs? I sure does to me. Houston did what they do when they suck and up pops the bullpen again to squirt poop on the Astros parade. Houston had just tied the game and actually failed to score any more runs and I'm especially disappointed in the lackluster AB by Jake Marisnick to end the top of the 7th inning. In comes Chad Qualls who gave up a lead off single to AJ Pollack who then stole 2nd off Qualls. Qualls then allowed Pollack to take 3rd on a wild pitch. Qualls then hung a 3-2 slider to the Dbacks best hitter Paul Goldschmidt who parked the pitch into the seats for a 2 run homer which was the final margin to the 5-3 win for the Dbacks. Houston couldn't muster another rally in the 8th or 9th and so--my feeling they backed into the playoffs.

Houston may actually be in New York right now. It certainly makes more sense for them to go on to the Big Apple. They will have a day of rest although I'm sure they'll get a workout in at Yankee Stadium tomorrow it will be a day to decompress a little bit. On Tuesday Houston will send the staff ace and the only pitcher in the AL to win 20 games this season. In fact Keuchel is one of the two pitchers in 2015 to win 20. The Cubs' Jake Arrieta had a phenomenal season winning 22 against only 6 losses. He, like Keuchel, should be a shoe-in for his league's Cy Young Award. Keuchel be pitching on only 4 days rest and he will be going against the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka who went 12-7 in 2015 with a 3.51 ERA.

Good luck, Houston! After all the disappointment of the season ending loss goes away and we realize WE'RE IN THE FREAKING PLAYOFFS we can enjoy the fact that after improving 19 games over their 2013 season in 2014 Houston backed that up with a 16 game improvement over last season. Not only that the Astros area actually in the playoffs which is a place nobody expected them to be. Nice season Houston and the future only looks bright beyond 2015 with the talent they have coming up. It's important to remember that Carlos Correa didn't play for a big chunk of the season and he is still a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. The thing now is to focus in on making a run in the playoffs which begins on Tuesday. Just to look a little bit ahead, if Houston does manage to beat the Yankees they would go on to the divisional round of the playoffs which means Houston travels to Kansas City to play the Royals. Easy right?

[KABrother88]

Haven't posted on here in a while as I've been so tied up at work I don't have a lot of free time and when I annoy here I try to keep as much updated on the Lamar side as I can. But holy friggin crap...are you kidding me?! A team that even fans of were only hoping to show cooperativeness this season made the playoffs and fell just short by one game of winning the division. The future is so bright for this organization and this is just the beginning of a fun ride for the next few season...just sit back and watch.

 

I really wish we could have pulled out the final game today. Had we done that we host the Wild Card game at Minute Maid where we owned the best home record in the AL...now we have to go on the road where we actually had the worst road record in the AL...think about that...worst road record in the AL and still made the playoffs...

[eagle eye]

Houston will play in their first playoff game in ten years. Their last time in the playoffs they went all the way to the World Series where they were swept in 4 games by the Chicago White Sox.

 

Houston plays the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium at 7:00 PM CDT today.

 

Starting Pitchers: Houston - Dallas Keuchel (20-8, 2.48 ERA) vs NY Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.58 ERA)

 

Winner of this game advances to the divisional round of the AL playoffs and will face the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City Thursday October 8, 2015 at either 7:37 PM or 8:07 PM.

 

Item of note: In the final game of the regular season 2B Jose Altuve went 3-5 at the plate and scored 2 runs. The 3 for 5 was the important stat because with that 3rd hit Altuve became the only Astro to ever get 200 or more hits in a season. He ended up with exactly 200 hits for 2015 after getting 225 hits in AL batting championship season in 2014. In 2015 Altuve ended up with a .313 BA and was 10th in all of baseball. Way to go Jose!

[eagle eye]

We actually won a game on the road! Will wonders never cease! Really, it was a really good game for Houston and the home runs by Rasmus and Gomez coupled with the RBI single by Altuve in the 7th just sort of took the hope right out of the Yankees. It really looked like their bench was resigned to a loss after about the 5th inning. Dallas Keuchel was bad to the bone with 6 innings of 3 hit shutout ball. He finished with only 87 pitches for the game so he could have pitched an extra inning or two but being on just 3 days rest AJ Hinch must've felt it was in Keuchel's best interest to limit him. I have to admit, the way the bullpen has been screwing up the past month I was nervous but Tony Sipp, Will Harris and Luke Gregerson each pitched a complete inning without getting into any real trouble. Nice team win and now they move on to Kansas City on Thursday night. Colin McHugh will likely get the start followed by either McCullers or Fiers. Personally I hope it's McCullers but either way Houston needs to win one of the first two games to have a shot at winning the series. Keuchel will likely pitch Game 3 in Houston next week after he gets a full 5 days rest.

Houston has a shot at this series. They just need to stay hot and keep pitching well. All I can say is a quote from Animal House when Flounder says, "Oh boy, is this great!". It really is something for Houston to be in this spot. Regardless of how this ends up this has been a great season surpassing any expectations we, as fans, had when this all began in April. If we win I will be ecstatic and if we lose, as long as we put up a good fight, I'll still be happy because WE'RE IN THE FREAKING PLAYOFFS!

[KABrother88]

Big time win last night and puts us in a good position to get the series. They always say if you don't have home field advantage for the series your goal is to just win one of the first set on the road. Being a 5 game series you have to like our chances. 1 more in KC tomorrow night with McCullers or Fiers then back to Houston with Keuchel who has been magnificent at home. Can't say enough about the job McHugh did last night coming back in after the long rain delay and not forcing Houston to go to the pen and use a bunch of arms early in the series

[eagle eye]

I can understand that AJ Hinch wanted to limit Dallas Keuchel's pitch count on Tuesday because he was coming off just 3 days rest but McHugh only threw 92 pitches. He could easily have gone one more inning. The only reason I mention this is because the bullpen has been gawdawful the past month and it makes me nervous every time somebody comes in late in the game. The one thing I liked about the roster going into last night's game was Chad Qualls wasn't on it. 'Nuff said there.

As for this afternoon (1st pitch @ 2:30 CDT) the Astros have Scott Kazmir (7-11, 3.10 ERA) going against Johnny Cueto (11-13, 3.44). Both of these pitchers were acquired before the trading deadline in late July and neither guy has really been all that good. I have criticized AJ Hinch for making personnel decisions based on the moves the you are supposed to make like a right handed batter facing a left handed pitcher and the like and ignoring who has the hot hand. Now, it's Hinch who is playing a hunch because Kazmir has sucked since coming to Houston except for his first two starts. It is really Lance McCullers turn in the rotation but he's slated to start Game 4 if it goes that far. Hinch wants Kazmir simply because he has had good luck against the Royals but that was prior to coming to Houston. Okay, I hope it works out and it helps that since joining the Royals Johnny Cueto has been disappointing as well. This game this afternoon has the potential to be sort of ugly or at least a lot of hits and base runners with two shaky pitchers starting the game. The longer this series goes, IMO, the worse it is for Houston. In a perfect world we eek out a win today and Keuchel can polish the Royals off on Sunday. Keuchel will have a full 5 days rest and if we're up 2-0 I like our chances to win. In a perfect world that would happen and the Rangers/Blue Jays series goes all 5 games. It's entirely possible that Keuchel would start Game 1 against the winner if that happens. Regardless of who wins the other series Houston will still be the road team.

Now, IF Houston makes it past the Royals and the winner of the Rangers/Jays series the Astros would have home field advantage in the World Series by virtue of the AL win in the All Star game. Now that would be something, wouldn't it?