All series talk goes in here. Non series talk goes somewhere else. No PBP, that can be found from other sources if you need it. All games are broadcast on AT&T Sports SW unless otherwise noted. 8-21 James Paxton (L) vs. Cristian Javier (R) 7:10 8-22 Tanner Houck vs. Justin Verlander (R) 7:10 TBS (out-of-market only) 8-23 Chris Sale (L) vs. Jose Urquidy 7:10 MLBN (out-of-market only) 8-24 Brayan Bello (R) vs. J.P. France (R) 1:10 MLBN
Anything less than 3-1 is trouble. At least 2 of the starters are LH so those games the Astros should be able to score. It would be really nice if Diaz gets to catch JV and France. Chirinos caught JV way more than anyone else in 2019, even in the playoffs. Diaz has caught France many times. This season is not lost, but it's at a crucial point. And if they manage to make the post season, Diaz simply must catch.
This Astros team doesn't want it. They are bored. They just need to get in... then I suspect they will do what they always do.
Kinda my thought too. Just make the playoffs and I think they will turn it on then. Right now? I don't think they're that interested.
A sweep would be nice, but I'm going to predict WWLW. I think we play motivated after this past weekend's wake up call. However, it is very hard to sweep, and I just feel like we're going to drop one winnable game, and Wednesday just feels like the one.
Javier needs rest. Continuing to pitch him like it's "all good" doesn't help matters. The manager has wasted too many games, so now we're desperate.
This is the week that we make the playoffs or not . . . everyone's talking about how great it is to have competition and to enjoy the ride . . . if we go 1/4 here we might be done. The Mariners could easily win the next 9 in a row. Rangers probably win 9/10 out of the next 12. I hate to be negative, but objectively, we could be out of contention by Labor Day if we don't clobber Boston twice. I don't think Boston will realistically last the rest of the season, looking at their schedule; however, Seattle could challenge the division lead pretty quick here and we could be the odd team looking in behind Texas, Tampa, and Toronto. Here's hoping for 3/4 this series. We need it. We need it like oxygen.
