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<\/p>\nThe last scheduled road trip of the season, the Astros open with three games against the A\u2019s. Let\u2019s see how this goes.<\/p>\n
A\u2019s Standings:\u00a0<\/p>\n
73-83 (4th in the AL West) 14.0 Games Back; Eliminated from Playoff Contention<\/p>\n
(So-called) Home Record: 33-42 (Astros Road Record: 38-37)<\/p>\n
Record vs. AL West:\u00a0 21-28\u00a0 (Astros vs AL West: 22-24)<\/p>\n
Last 10:\u00a0 7-3 [WWWWWLWWLL] (HOU: 5-5 [LWWLWWWLLL])<\/p>\n
Record since last match-up: 27-21 (HOU record: 24-26)<\/p>\n
2025 Record vs. Houston:\u00a0 6-4 (Lost 0-2 @ HOU (5\/27-5\/28); Split 2-2 (6\/16-6\/19); Won 4-0 @ HOU (7\/24-7\/27))<\/p>\n
All-Time Record vs. Houston:\u00a0104-119<\/p>\n
Playoff Record:\u00a01-3 (2020 ALDS)<\/p>\n
A\u2019s Since the Last Meeting:\u00a0 The last meeting between these two happened the weekend before the trade deadline. It wasn\u2019t a complete fire-sale, but the A\u2019s off-loaded some talent. The biggest name that left was closer Mason Miller, who packed his bags for San Diego. A bit stunning that the A\u2019s shipped him, but the Padres made the franchise an offer they couldn\u2019t refuse. In return, the A\u2019s received the #3 prospect in all of baseball at SS (Leo De Vries), along with future pitching reinforcements (Braden Nett, Henry Baez, Eduarniel Nu\u00f1ez. In theory, this could add to a promising young core already playing in the majors. This season was already a wash, but there are some promising youngsters out there. The high-priced vets (looking at you Severino) seem like they were brought in to look like the team was spending money (and make sure they paid out enough salary to qualify for revenue sharing without penalties). At least the A\u2019s are projected not to finish dead last in the AL West, as they lead the Angels by 3 games in the standings. They\u2019ve shown some life for a team playing out the string but will end the year with yet another losing record, still waiting for a forever home.<\/p>\n
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A\u2019s Leaders\u00a0<\/p>\n
Offense:\u00a0[NOTE: Stat leaders based eligibility for batting title and who is currently on the roster, unless otherwise noted]<\/p>\n
HR:\u00a01B Nick Kurtz (33) [Not eligible for batting title. For players that are, C Shea Langeliers leads with 30]<\/p>\n
RBI:\u00a0LF Tyler Soderstrom (90)<\/p>\n
BA:\u00a0 SS Jacob Wilson (.315)<\/p>\n
OPS:\u00a01B Nick Kurtz (.998) [Not eligible for batting title. For players that are, Shea Langeliers leads with .828]<\/p>\n
Pitching: [NOTE: Stat leaders based on eligibility for ERA title and who is currently on the roster, unless otherwise noted]<\/p>\n
ERA: Jeffery Springs (4.17) [For pitchers not eligible for ERA title, relief pitcher Justin Sterner has a 3.30 ERA over 57 appearances]<\/p>\n
Wins:\u00a0Jeffery Springs (10)<\/p>\n
Saves: Hogan Harris (4) [The traded Mason Miller still holds the team lead with 20]<\/p>\n
WHIP: Jeffery Springs (1.22) [For pitchers not eligible for the ERA title, relief pitcher Justin Sterner has a 1.05 WHIP over 57 appearances]<\/p>\n
Projected Pitching Matchups (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) <\/p>\n
Tuesday, September 23 @ 9:05 p.m. CDT: Cristian Javier (2-3, 4.45 ERA) vs. Jeffery Springs (10-11, 4.17 ERA)<\/p>\n
Wednesday, September 24 @ 9:05 p.m. CDT: Hunter Brown (12-8, 2.30 ERA) vs. J.T. Ginn (4-6, 4.57 ERA)<\/p>\n
Thursday, September 25 @\u00a02:35 p.m. CDT: Framber Valdez (12-11, 3.75 ERA) vs Luis Severino (7-11, 4.72\u00a0ERA)<\/p>\n
Field Position Starters (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) (BA\/OBP\/SLG)<\/p>\n
C Shea Langerliers (.259\/.311\/.516)<\/p>\n
1B: Nick Kurtz (.291\/.384\/.613)<\/p>\n
2B: Max Schuemann (.207\/.302\/.287)<\/p>\n
3B: Darell Hernaiz (.227\/.295\/.312)<\/p>\n
SS: Jacob Wilson (.315\/.357\/.449)<\/p>\n
LF: Tyler Soderstrom (.277\/.347\/.470)<\/p>\n
CF: Lawrence Butler (.236\/.309\/.412)<\/p>\n
RF: Colby Thomas (.234\/.274\/.439)<\/p>\n
DH: Brent Rooker (.265\/.336\/.488)\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n
A\u2019s Offense: \u00a0As the A\u2019s look towards the future, there is some offensive promise in this lineup. With Kurtz, Soderstrom and Wilson, there are some bats that the squad can build around. The A\u2019s check in 12th in runs scored, 6th in BA, 13th in OBP and a whopping 4th in SLG. They\u2019ve hit the 6th most dingers in MLB (214), which is not shocking considering some of the aforementioned talent on the squad. However, their offensive numbers are generally better on the road vs. home, and that is not just because they\u2019ve played more on the road. Perhaps effectively playing all of their games in a road situation wears on a squad and they feel more comfortable on the actual road vs. playing a home game with a defacto\u00a0road game.\u00a0They don\u2019t do a whole lot of running on the bases (25th in steals), but their overall offensive production makes up for that.<\/p>\n
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A\u2019s Pitching\/Defense:\u00a0 \u00a0For all the promise shown by the bats and offense, the pitching staff does not offer near that much. They still rate in the bottom tier of most key pitching stats (27th in ERA, 26th in WHIP, 25th in BAA). The A\u2019s traded their best arm (closer Mason Miller) at the trade deadline, and while they got a dynamite haul, they are that much weaker in the pitching\/defense department. Severino comes across more as a high-priced bust, but he is a far superior pitcher on the road vs. home. One might argue the same for the other arms. As for the squad, it has been closer-by-committee since Miller left, with Harris getting the most save opportunities.\u00a0\u00a0Defense is not the A\u2019s strong suit, as they rank 19th in errors and 25th in defensive runs saved.<\/p>\n
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Most Dangerous Player: 1B Nick Kurtz. \u201cThe horror\u2026the horror.\u201d Clearly, Astros pitching felt those final words from the central personality in Conrad\u2019s A Heart of Darkness. Only this Kurtz is not dying but emerging to be a major threat to Astros\u2019 pitching for the next few seasons (or until the A\u2019s off-load him from the division in another cost-saving move). His signature game from an all-but-certain AL Rookie of the Year campaign was his 4-HR\/8 RBI massacre of the Astros the last time these two teams squared off. Houston really can\u2019t afford to make any pitching mistakes against this emerging monster.<\/p>\n
Injuries:\u00a0No team can match Houston, who set records for number of players on IL. Not that any team wants to challenge the Astros, but those that are on the IL for the A\u2019s:<\/p>\n
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2B Zack Gelof (shoulder): Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Sean Newcomb (elbow): Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Jacob Lopez (flexor strain): 15-Day IL; Projected Return: Late September<\/p>\n
P Joey Estes (back): 15-Day IL: Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
CF Denzel Clarke (adductor strain): 15-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Luis Medina (elbow); 60-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Jack Perkins (shoulder); 15-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Grant Holman (finger); 60-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
C Austin Wynns (abdomen); 60-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Ben Bowden (shoulder); 15-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Jose Leclerc (lat strain); 60-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
P Gunnar Hoglund (hip); 60-Day IL; Projected Return: 2026<\/p>\n
Intangibles: Is there hope for 2026? Maybe, but until the squad gets a settled, MLB-caliber home, expect the team to live in this purgatory of not a total suck squad, but one that has no realistic ambition for a championship. Perhaps most telling that the As are better on the road (40-41) vs. at \u201chome\u201d (33-42) They are finishing strong, winning series against the playoff contending Red Sox and Reds before the recent series loss against the Pirates. Maybe a somewhat strong finish can act as a springboard to a surprise next season. Just a shame that no matter what the on-field product is, the overall organization will be handicapped by the one force the A\u2019s can\u2019t change, the owner John Fisher.<\/p>\n
Series Outlook: \u00a0 How do the Astros respond after an absolute lemon of a final homestand against Seattle? Houston went from tied for the AL West lead to three games back and not in control of its own playoff destiny. Those losses by sweeps against Cleveland, Detroit and Boston really, really hurt now. Then again, after the way they played against Seattle, is Houston really a playoff worthy team? The A\u2019s season effectively ended long ago, but they would have no problems burying the Astros\u2019 playoff chances. Houston might be near mostly dead for the playoffs, but they are not all dead. However, winning this road trip is an absolute must just to stay in the playoff hunt. As much as Houston will try to focus on the field of play, there will be a lot of scoreboard watching over these next 6 games. Whether you want to call Houston\u2019s, the New York Mets\u2019 or the Detroit Tigers\u2019 late season collapse the worst, that is in the eyes of the beholder. Still, there are guaranteed six more baseball games, and is that really a bad thing? Not like you would get that much more joy watching any other pro sports in Houston (We do not speak of the offensiveness of the Texans, since they have no offense, and the injury curse of the Rockets\u2026yeah, the Dynamo have won some games, but they are on the outside looking in on the playoffs, so, yeah, uh\u2026well, let\u2019s just see what happens over these six games, shall we?)\u00a0 <\/p>\n
NATIONAL COVERAGE:<\/p>\n
HOUSTON:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watch:\u00a0Space City Home Network<\/p>\n
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A\u2019S (SACRAMENTO MARKET):<\/p>\n
Listen on:\u00a0Talk 650 KSTE, A\u2019s Cast, KSAC 104.7 FM\/890 AM, KWNR 95.5 The Bull<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last scheduled road trip of the season, the Astros open with three games against the A\u2019s. Let\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[105268,31301,105277,105278,8731,9887,852,98957,92891,98960,30939,2120,372,87208,105275,105274,105271,7095,64064,105281,105273,10008,105279,105270,34396,37886,105272,363,1189,30929,28624,7155,105276,1839,105269,45865,99,45868,105280],"class_list":["post-176762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-al-west","tag-astros","tag-austin-wynns","tag-ben-bowden","tag-boston","tag-brent-rooker","tag-cleveland","tag-colby-thomas","tag-cristian-javier","tag-darell-hernaiz","tag-denzel-clarke","tag-detroit","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-framber-valdez","tag-grant-holman","tag-gunnar-hoglund","tag-hogan-harris","tag-houston","tag-hunter-brown","tag-j-t-ginn","tag-jacob-lopez","tag-jacob-wilson","tag-joey-estes","tag-justin-sterner","tag-lawrence-butler","tag-mason-miller","tag-max-schuemann","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-nick-kurtz","tag-red-sox","tag-san-diego","tag-sean-newcomb","tag-seattle","tag-severino","tag-shea-langeliers","tag-sports","tag-tyler-soderstrom","tag-zack-gelof"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}