HOUSTON \u2014 Before witnessing his team\u2019s biggest statement, Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown logged onto a Zoom call. Thirty hours remained before Monday\u2019s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline, but Brown\u2019s contract mandates that he sit for an interview on the Astros\u2019 pregame radio show every Sunday. Whenever possible, Brown appears in person.<\/p>\n
This Sunday, however, Brown joined by video call from the team\u2019s war room. Surrounding Brown, he said, were his assistant general managers, some folks with director in their titles and \u201cof course we have (Jeff) Bagwell,\u201d the Hall of Fame first baseman who has been a baseball operations sounding board for owner Jim Crane.<\/p>\n
Brown took a break between front-office meetings, stared into a laptop and responded to questions. His club\u2019s ascension from average to American League contender has been a work in progress for more than two months, but it crystallized over the last 12 games. Winning 11 of them has increased Houston\u2019s chances of making the playoffs by 35.8 percent, according to FanGraphs.<\/p>\n
It is the sort of run that squashes any scenario of standing pat or selling assets at the deadline, while prompting questions about a potential splurge. Crane is prone to producing them. He pops in and out of Houston\u2019s war room \u201cevery now and then,\u201d Brown said Sunday.<\/p>\n
Should we crown the Dodgers following the Skubal trade?<\/p>\n
Derek VanRiper and Eno Sarris<\/p>\n
Crane will influence how the Astros proceed. According to one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, Crane has instructed Houston\u2019s front office not to trade from its major-league roster. For an owner who has long prioritized pennants over prospects, this should be little surprise.<\/p>\n
Both Brown and Crane spent Sunday afternoon in their respective Daikin Park suites watching a sweep-securing Astros win that will only increase attention around their actions before the deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that we are the best team in the West and that we are one of the best teams in the American League,\u201d manager Joe Espada said after the 7-3 victory over the Texas Rangers. \u201cThat\u2019s all that matters to me and to our club. Let\u2019s go out and take care of business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houston never trailed in 27 innings against their in-state division rivals. Yordan Alvarez reached base in 11 of his 15 plate appearances. Jeremy Pe\u00f1a finished 7-for-15. The Astros\u2019 bullpen threw 13 innings of one-run ball to extend a prolific stretch that has helped stabilize the club\u2019s pitching staff.<\/p>\n
Contributions from other players, be it Taylor Trammell\u2019s shift-beating, two-run single on Saturday, LaMonte Wade Jr.\u2019s seeing-eye single that chased home another run on Sunday, or Yainer Diaz\u2019s four-hit game on Friday, made a statement in the weekend\u2019s sweep of the Rangers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we had to put a little intensity behind it,\u201d Alvarez said through an interpreter. \u201cI think that\u2019s what we saw out there: We put a little more intensity into the game, and we treated it like it was a playoff game for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez continued his absurd season Sunday with four more hits. The final one snuck down the right-field foul line and chased home two crucial insurance runs. A crowd of 33,955 responded with \u201cM-V-P\u201d chants that should grow more prominent over the Astros\u2019 24 remaining regular-season home games.<\/p>\n
Since May 22, Houston is 38-24. No American League team entered Sunday with a better winning percentage in that timeframe. This weekend\u2019s sweep gave the Astros a 2 1\/2-game lead over the Rangers in an American League West division that appears more winnable than ever.<\/p>\n
The Astros\u2019 two chief competitors are either contemplating selling before the deadline or, in the Seattle Mariners\u2019 case<\/a>, have started to do so.<\/p>\n Seattle traded starter Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday and, according to multiple reports, the Mariners remain open to offers on pitchers George Kirby and Emerson Hancock. Outfielder Randy Arozarena is also being dangled in some discussions.<\/p>\n