Nothing to it. Easy win.

And the Angels are 20 games back.

I will fully admit that I want perfection from my teams every single game, while still understanding baseball has its ups and downs. However, nothing about the bottom half of that 1 inning was an overreaction.

Justin Verlander is not with the Astros in Anaheim. He is dealing with a "family issue," according to Dusty Baker. Baker said "we hope" Verlander will return for the A's series at Minute Maid Park - https://t.co/YaanJkq9dA

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 13, 2022

Deluxe said:

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My #1 trade deadline wish is a 1B or OF that kills left-handed pitching. I still have bad memories of all those Braves lefties mowing us down in the World Series last year. Was doing a little bit of analysis of our lineup to see if there are any major OPS discrepancies against righty/lefty:

Yordan: .368 higher vs righties
Altuve: .277 higher against lefties
Bregman: .281 better against righties

Tucker is basically the same either way. Brantley, Pena and Yuli have some minor discrepancies, but nothing that you'd want to make any lineup shifts of behalf of.

My observations:

1) I don't like Bregman hitting next to Yordan in the lineup. Especially if Bregman is separating two lefty hitters (like Brantley/Yordan). Too easy to make things difficult for us in the late innings against a LH specialist.

2) I'd love to see Altuve and Yordan hitting back to back, preferably with Altuve sandwiched in between Yordan and another lefty.

3) Ian Happ is still the guy I'd really really like to snag at the deadline. He checks so many boxes. He's extremely versatile defensively. He also mashes lefty pitching (.953 OPS vs lefties this year).

If we could acquire Happ, I'd love to see us restructure the lineup a little. Basically, if you want to have a lefty face Yordan, fine. They're going to have to face Altuve or Happ too.

1. Brantley, 2. Altuve, 3. Yordan, 4. Happ, 5. Tucker, 6. Bregman, 7. Pena, 8. Yuli, 9. Maldy

I know Altuve is our leader/lead-off guy, I just think there's alot of value derived from wedging him between two lefties. I also like Yordan hitting 3rd instead of 4th.

That lineup also assumes Happ in CF. As of right now, Meyers is on track to earn the job. Happ would be really nice insurance though. And we can move him around the field and play matchups.

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I would look at best OBP for the leadoff, and Brantley is a good option, but so is Bregman... he gets on base. Also Pina is hitting (right now) doubles, so he can't hit lower than 6.

I would love to see us add a 1st or CF with Pop and a near +.260 average, that would benefit hitting with protection from this lineup.

Astros improve to a whopping 27-13 vs. the AL West

8-3 vs. the Angels

speaking of the Orioles...

the Astros don't see them until the last weekend in August for 3 games

and then play a 4-game series vs. the O's in September

Didn't get to watch much of the game, but I saw Yuli popped out in the ninth with a runner on third and less than 2 outs. Has he converted a single one of those this year? As far as I can remember, it is a pop-up every single time.,

loma_vista78 said:

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Didn't get to watch much of the game, but I saw Yuli popped out in the ninth with a runner on third and less than 2 outs. Has he converted a single one of those this year? As far as I can remember, it is a pop-up every single time.,

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Love Yuli, but I think it's time to look at what first basemen are available at the trade deadline.

Meyers stats are ok, he plays good defense and he hits the ball hard but he strikes out way too much. I wouldn't mind a CF solution but I don't see one that is available at a reasonable cost. That's really the main difference between 1B and CF. A good defensive CF who can hit is highly coveted and will cost serious prospect capital. A 1B who can hit is just the norm. Not to say they have no trade value but certainly less.

That's a similar problem at RP. Our pen overall is very good. Sure an upgrade from Maton would be nice but how often is Maton going to pitch in a playoff series in a close game? It's much more likely your starting 1B has meaningful AB's that decide a game.

n_touch said:

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MaxPower said:

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Sure an upgrade from Maton would be nice but how often is Maton going to pitch in a playoff series in a close game?

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If I am remembering correctly Maton was huge during last years playoffs. So there is a high chance he pitches a lot in the post season.

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Hopefully he's not the next Andrew Miller...making a career off of one postseason and pitching like crap for 5+ years. He's gotta be better. His mistakes weren't even necessarily pitching related last night. He had the double play to get out of the inning, but he threw it away and then everything went south from there.

The trillest collab of the year is here.

Whether you rep the 713 or hold it down in 281, the @BunBTrillOG Collection is for any Astros fan.

Available at the Union Station Team Store at 2pm. pic.twitter.com/7ZoKDcOBMo

— Houston Astros (@astros) July 13, 2022

I'd be fine not seeing Matijevic in the lineup again. He's clearly overmatched.

CFTXAG10 said:

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The trillest collab of the year is here.

Whether you rep the 713 or hold it down in 281, the @BunBTrillOG Collection is for any Astros fan.

Available at the Union Station Team Store at 2pm. pic.twitter.com/7ZoKDcOBMo

— Houston Astros (@astros) July 13, 2022

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Anyone going to get some and want to make a purchase?

bigjag19 said:

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CFTXAG10 said:

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The trillest collab of the year is here.

Whether you rep the 713 or hold it down in 281, the @BunBTrillOG Collection is for any Astros fan.

Available at the Union Station Team Store at 2pm. pic.twitter.com/7ZoKDcOBMo

— Houston Astros (@astros) July 13, 2022

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Anyone going to get some and want to make a purchase?

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I would definitely snag the A fitted cap, but not sure its worth driving downtown at 2pm and waiting in line for

Jet Black said:

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I'd be fine not seeing Matijevic in the lineup again. He's clearly overmatched.

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In his defense, only 1 of the 21 left hand hitters Quijada has faced have gotten a hit this year.

JJ did have a nice hit earlier in the game, though. He's only had 33 total ABs.

Quote:

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I'd be fine not seeing Matijevic in the lineup again. He's clearly overmatched.

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Did you see his last at bat. He too, like Meyers got a ball called a strike on the first pitch. It is hard enough to get a hit against a guy who has given up only one hit in 27 times to lefties, it's dang near impossible when the blue calls a ball a strike on the first pitch.

It really messes you up. If a real faultless robo ump can' be implemented that really nails it every time, it can't happen to soon! It is going to have ahuge impact on the game, it remover the inconsistencies, the guess work, the human error and bias - (even subconsious bias) - behind the plat and makes it all even. No blown calls either way any more.

And honestly with how well he's swinging the bat right now I wouldn't mind giving Diaz some of Yulis PT at 1B once we get some roster flexibility back.

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Some of you will literally bltch at anything.

Jake Meyers has been pretty good since coming back. He's hitting well to all fields, he's getting productive outs, and he's played a good CF. He's been a breath of fresh for the CF position.

If you're complaining about Jake then you're just wanting something to be mad about.

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Truth!