Major League Baseball: 2021 Season

[Blitz24]

So, some trades happened over the past 48 hours.

Max Scherzer and Trea Turner both traded to the Dodgers.
Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo traded to the Yankees.
Kyle Schwarber to the Red Sox.
Daniel Hudson to the Padres.
Brad Hand to the Blue Jays.
Ryan Tepera and Cesar Hernandez to the White Sox.

 

[Blitz24]

I hate to double post but those trades? Yeah there are more:
Kris Bryant to the San Francisco Giants.
Javier Baez and Trevor Williams to the New York Mets.
Jose Berrios to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Adam Duvall, Richard Rodriguez, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler to the Atlanta Braves.
Freddy Galvis, Kyle Gibson, and Ian Kennedy to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Craig Kimbrel to the Chicago White Sox.
Danny Duffy to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

 

[Dolph Drago]

So two former Reds are heading back home...to two different former teams. Duvall previously played for the Braves and Galvis with the Phillies.

Great to see the Cubbies getting dismantled too.


Edit: This just in! Votto has gone deep for the 7th straight game in the opener against @Blitz24's Mets. The record is 8 held by 3 players.

 

[Blitz24]

So two former Reds are heading back home...to two different former teams. Duvall previously played for the Braves and Galvis with the Phillies.

Great to see the Cubbies getting dismantled too.


Edit: This just in! Votto has gone deep for the 7th straight game in the opener against @Blitz24's Mets. The record is 8 held by 3 players.

Votto missed the 8th by mere feet tonight. Reds had a 4-1 lead in the 6th and appeared to have taken advantage of a huge Mets miscue when Jonathan Villar got picked off of 2nd base. Javier Baez hits a 2 run HR two batters later and Reds are up 4-3. Votto's near miss of a HR occurred in the 8th inning and the Reds had runners on the corners to lead off the inning. They then proceeded to strike out, strike out, and Votto accidentally got picked off of first leading to Kyle Farmer (the runner at 3rd) getting caught in a run down and tagged out. Mets tied it in the 9th on a single then won it in the 10th on a walk-off lead-off single. Rubber game for the series is tomorrow.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Votto missed the 8th by mere feet tonight. Reds had a 4-1 lead in the 6th and appeared to have taken advantage of a huge Mets miscue when Jonathan Villar got picked off of 2nd base. Javier Baez hits a 2 run HR two batters later and Reds are up 4-3. Votto's near miss of a HR occurred in the 8th inning and the Reds had runners on the corners to lead off the inning. They then proceeded to strike out, strike out, and Votto accidentally got picked off of first leading to Kyle Farmer (the runner at 3rd) getting caught in a run down and tagged out. Mets tied it in the 9th on a single then won it in the 10th on a walk-off lead-off single. Rubber game for the series is tomorrow.

A frustrating game in so many ways as a Reds fans. All Votto needed was a foot. And as I noted earlier, if they don't have at least a 2 run lead in the 9th, the Reds are screwed. As for the case tonight, there were 2 outs and the batter had 2 strikes on him when he tied it up. I would have to go and look it up, but I think they've given up at least 1 run in the 9th in 5 or 6 straight games. It makes you want to pull your hair out.

 

[Blitz24]

A frustrating game in so many ways as a Reds fans. All Votto needed was a foot. And as I noted earlier, if they don't have at least a 2 run lead in the 9th, the Reds are screwed. As for the case tonight, there were 2 outs and the batter had 2 strikes on him when he tied it up. I would have to go and look it up, but I think they've given up at least 1 run in the 9th in 5 or 6 straight games. It makes you want to pull your hair out.

7 straight. Last Saturday they gave up 2 in the 8th but 0 in the 9th against the Cardinals.

 

[Dolph Drago]

7 straight. Last Saturday they gave up 2 in the 8th but 0 in the 9th against the Cardinals.

It's even worse than I realized!

 

[JohnBM01]

Do I miss Houston in the National League? Absolutely! One of the reasons why- playing at lovely ballparks like Oracle Park. So here is how the Houston Astros' trip to SAn Francisco went. Oh, by the way... San Francisco has the best record in the league. So... yeah. AL West leaders meet the NL West leaders...

HOU at SF (3-game series)
GM1: (9-6; Houston)
GM2: (8-6; San Francisco)
GM3: (5-3; San Francisco)

[GAME 1] Loading the bases with nobody out, the Astros brought Jose Altuve home to go up 1-0 in the Top of the 1st. A bases-loaded walk with one out brought home another Astro to make it 2-0. No further damage after that. Giants get on the board on an RBI to make it 2-1 in favor of Houston. Then a shot to deep left brought home another run to tie the game at 2 in around the 3rd or 4th inning. Excuse me while I touch the sky- Jose Altuve bombs a solo jack to left to go up 3-2 in the Top of the 5th. Didn't the ball on the screws, but just enough to leave the yard. Jose Altuve bombed a Grand Slam to deep left to go ahead 7-2 in the Top of the 6th. Altuve hits his 25th jack of the year with that Grand Slam. The Giants hit a ball they thought was gone to right center, but it ends up being a ground-ruled double. So no damage to the Astros' lead yet. They did score an RBI double to make it 7-3, Astros in the Bottom of the 6th, though. A bases-loaded sacrifice fly by the Giants made things 7-4 in the Bottom of the 7th. An RBI single now made it 7-5, Astros. An RBI double by Carlos Correa brought home Yuli Gurriel to make it 8-5 in the Top of the 8th. Aledmys Diaz launched a solo homer into the San Francisco night air to make it 9-5. An RBI single by the Giants made things 9-6, Astros in the Bottom of the 9th. A homer could have tied the game at 9 for the Giants, but Astros' defense and pitching preserved a 9-6 win.

[GAME 2] Houston came into today 64-40, and San Francisco came into this game 64-39. San Francisco took the lead on a solo jack by Donovan Solano in the Bottom of the 2nd. It was 1-0 early for the Giants as they had the early momentum. Aledmys Diaz returned the favor in the Top of the 3rd by banging a two-run jack to deep left. So the Astros took the lead with a 2-1 lead. An error by the Giants brought home another Astro to make it 3-1. San Francisco hits a two-run homer of their own to make it a 3-3 tie. Giants re-took the lead with a deep two-run homer that went into McCovey Cove. 5-3, Giants now, Top of the 4th. Aledmys Diaz bombed another homer in the Top of the 5th to make it 5-4. In the Bottom of the 5th, the Giants re-took the lead 6-5. Martin Maldonaldo had liftoff by bombing a homer left field to tie the game at 6. An RBI by the Giants made it a 7-6 lead for the Giants now. A solo homer came off the bat of Yastrzemski(?) to make it 8-6. Giants have the best record in baseball for a reason, folks. Rubber Game tomorrow between the best records in each league. A real back-and-forth game that ended up going San Francisco's way.

[GAME 3] Game 3 started off with Yuli Gurriel getting liftoff by banging a two-run jack to put the Astros up 2-0 in the Top of the 1st. Kris Bryant was traded from the Cubs to the Giants. So what does he do? Hit a solo jack in the Bottom of the 3rd. Now it's 2-1, Astros after the Bryant bomb. An RBI single later that inning by the Giants tied the game at 2-2. Another RBI gave the Giants the lead at 4-2. The Giants padded their lead with a two-run homer to make it 5-2 in the Bottom of the 5th. Despite a double play by the Giants, the Astros still brought home a run on an RBI to make it 5-3, Giants. The Astros could do no further damage, as they lose at the San Francisco Giants again and lose the series 5-3.


The 2021 Houston Astros now are 64-42 after this series, still AL West leaders.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... the road trip continues! Now things are going to get potentially dangerous. After Thursday off, we are on a three-game set at the San Francisco Giants, who hold the best record in baseball. Then things could get worse when they are at the Los Angeles Dodgers for two games. Also... we face Max Scherzer on Wednesday. Yay...



Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners! Hopefully your favorite team(s) won.

 

[JohnBM01]

My Houston Astros are off today, so I figured I would take a peek at the current standings in Major League Baseball. Find your favorite team(s):

--- AMERICAN LEAGUE (as of August 2, 2021) ---
AL EAST: Tampa Bay (64-42), BOS (63-44), NYY (56-48), TOR (54-48), BAL (37-67)
AL CENTRAL: Chicago White Sox (62-44), CLE (51-51), DET (51-57), KC (45-59), MIN (44-62)
AL WEST: Houston (64-42), OAK (60-47), SEA (56-50), LAA (52-53), TEX (38-67
CURRENT AL WILD CARD: New York Yankees (56-48) and Toronto (54-48)

--- NATIONAL LEAGUE (as of August 2, 2021) ---
NL EAST: New York Mets (55-49), PHI (52-53), ATL (52-54), WAS (49-56), MIA (44-61)
NL CENTRAL: Milwaukee (63-43), CIN (56-50), STL (53-52), CHC (51-56), PIT (40-65)
NL WEST: San Francisco (66-39), LAD (64-43), SD (61-47), COL (46-60), ARI (33-73)
CURRENT NL WILD CARD: Cincinnati (56-50) and St. Louis (53-52)

Since it is now August, it is time to start getting serious about Playoffs discussion. Performance this month and next will go a long way in determining who all can play for a Championship in October. Nobody has clinched anything as of get towards the postseason. So keep playing hard to have some kind of chance to make it to the postseason. That's even if you're playing for a Wild Card berth.


Having said that, enjoy the rest of the season!

 

[Blitz24]

It's even worse than I realized!

Streak ended at 7. 1 day after Votto's streak ended, a Schrocking performance by backup infielder Max Schrock following a 5 hit (and a HR) performance sparks the Reds to a 7 to 1 win in the rubber match.

 

[Dolph Drago]

I haven't done a Cincinnati series recap in quite a while. Just some venting here and there and some praise for the hitting. The Reds concluded a two game set today against the Minnesota Twins. Frustrations abound resulted in a split.

Game 1 saw the team from the Queen City hold a 5-4 lead going into the 9th. Remember what I said about the Reds with a slim lead in the final inning? Yup, bullpen blows it again. Enter Heath Hembree. Walk. Walk. Strikeout. 3 run bomb courtesy of Jorge Polanco. Cincy put two runners on base with no outs in the bottom of the inning, but it was for naught and the scored remained 7-5 in favor of the Twins.

Minnesota struck first in the 1st of game 2 after a solo homer by...Jorge Polanco. But the Redlegs rallied for 6 unanswered runs through the 7th inning. The relievers then attempted to blow it an inning earlier than usual. Walk. Walk. Double. Double. Groundout. Single. 4 runs in all before Michael Lorenzen came in to put an end to the bleeding by recording the final 2 outs of the 8th and completing the 9th inning for good measure. I'm so happy to see him back. Final score: 6-5 Cincinnati.

The Reds could possibly have upwards of double digit more wins than they currently do if not for the inept bullpen pitching in the 9th inning alone. Yes, Lorenzen had been out most of the season until now, and Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims are still on the IL. Still, you've got to get the job done. Stop walking people. If you get hit, you get hit. I would MUCH rather see a pitcher getting lit up making the hitter work for it rather than give them a free pass. For the love of God, throw strikes!
/rant

Anyway, Cincy remains 2nd in the NL Central, 7.5 games behind the Brewers. Milwaukee is 65-44. Cincinnati 57-51. They continue to trail the Padres by 4 games for the second wild card spot. Fun fact: they would lead the NL East by 1 game if they were in that division.

 

[JohnBM01]

Houston Astros at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here we go again. Former National League foes compete in the greater Los Angeles area. In 2017, this is where the Astros won their first-ever championship before the cheating scandal. Now it's a two-game series in enemy territory to wrap up an eight-game road trip. Summary time:

HOU at LA (2-game series)
GM1: (3-0; Houston)
GM2: (7-5; Los Angeles Dodgers)

[GAME 1] The Los Angeles Dodgers reminded how much they loathe the Houston Astros, and they let it show with a rabid crowd and even throwing some debris on the field. The Astros struck first with an RBI double to make it 1-0 in the Top of the 3rd. Most of the game onward was a defensive struggle, until Yordan Alverez launched a two-run bomb to make it 3-0, Astros in the Top of the 8th. "Air Yordan" scored against his former team. The final score read 3-0 in favor of the Houston Astros.

[GAME 2] Jake Odorizzi on the bump for the Jake Odorizzi. The Astros struck first thanks to a bomb to deep right thanks to "Uncle Mike" (Michael Brantley) in the Top of the 1st. 1-0 early for the Houston Astros Baseball Club. Dodgers bang one out the park to tie the game at 1-1. Mookie Betts bangs one to deep center. The Dodgers were not done scoring- they banged a three-run jack to go ahead 4-1. Odorizzi is like bad luck sometimes for the Astros. Odorizzi gives up ANOTHER homer in the Bottom of the 2nd. Same guy- Mookie Betts. In my mind, I'm thinking "get him (Odorizzi) out...". But it's 5-1 as the Dodgers feel they are getting closure from 2017. Two more bombs were jacked by the Dodgers in the Bottom of the 3rd to make it 7-1, Dodgers. Series split seeming likely at this point. Yordan Alvarez was brought home on an RBI double to make it a 7-2 Dodgers lead in the Astros' attempt at damage control. The score was later 7-3, Dodgers. A two-run bomb was hit by Kyle Tucker in the Top of the 9th to make it 7-5. Remember the Astros' improbable walk-off win against the Yankees where they scored six runs? That's what the Astros were thinking here. But all they could manage was a 7-5 defeat.


The 2021 Houston Astros now are 65-43 after this series, still AL West leaders and still with the best record among AL teams. For those of you opposed to the Dodgers, we did what we could. Odorizzi 🤬 up big time in Game 2.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... the road trip is over! We're back home to host the Minnesota Twins in a 4-game series starting tomorrow night. And Twiiiiins!


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners! Hopefully your favorite team(s) won.

 

[JohnBM01]

And Twiiiins! The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins set it off in H-Town for the weekend. Here's how things went:

MIN at HOU (4-game series)
GM1: (5-3; Minnesota)
GM2: (5-4, 11 innings; Minnesota)
GM3: (4-0; Houston)
GM4: (7-5; Minnesota)

[GAME 1] The night began on a somber note, as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, J.R. Richard, passed away at the age of 71. He was a tremendous pitcher for the Astros whose career and life were cut horribly short. The Minnesota Twins struck first on a series of hits in the Top of the 2nd. RBI after RBI after RBI put the Twins up 4-0. Framber Valdez getting lit up like a Christmas tree by Minnesota. The Astros didn't score until the 6th inning. Jason Castro jacked a homer into deep right to make it 4-1, Twins. Another Twin crossed home plate on an RBI in the Top of the 8th. So now it's 5-1, Twins. Astros basically conceding, after getting whacked in Los Angeles at the Dodgers last night. The Astros put two runs on the board thanks to a Yordan Alvarez two-run bomb in the Bottom of the 9th. 5-3, Twins now. Astros tried to come back, but they could only manage three runs.

[GAME 2] When I first was watching this game for real, the game was tied at 3-3 in the Top of the 6th. Earlier, I saw the Astros were up 2-0 in the 3rd inning or so. This game was unsolved after nine innings, so bring on extra innings. One run was exchanged by both teams in the 10th inning. 4-4 into the 11th inning. Jose Altuve attempted a bunt with two outs and runners on 1st and 3rd, but it failed. What the 🤬 were you thinking, Altuve? Geez- 5-4 defeat for the Astros as the Twins take the first two games of this four-game series in an 11-inning game.

[GAME 3] The Astros struck first on an RBI. 1-0, Astros in the Bottom of the 2nd. "Air Yordan" launched a bomb to center right to make it 2-0 in the Bottom of the 4th. An RBI late in the Bottom of the 8th plated two runs home for the Astros. So it's now 4-0 for H-Town. Sweet revenge.

[GAME 4] The Houston Astros hit a somewhat high shot that missed the glove of Minnesota's Sano, followed by a throwing error and possible interference led to the Astros striking first 1-0 in the Bottom of the 1st. The Twins tied with an RBI single to make it a 1-1 tie in the Top of the 2nd. Sano blasted a two-run bomb to put the Twins up 3-1 in the Top of the 4th. The Astros drew closer with an RBI on a couple of hits to make it a 3-2 lead for the Twins. Jorge Polanco hit a homer to make it 4-2, Twins on the second pitch of the Top of the 5th. The Astros made it a 1-run deficit again thanks to an RBI single by Yordan Alvarez in the Bottom of the 5th. 4-3, Twins now. A three-run homer by the Twins made it 7-3 in the Top of the 6th. Heading into the Bottom of the 8th, the Twins led 7-4. Make that 7-5 after a solo jack by Carlos Correa to the Crawford Boxes. Twins take the series 3 out of 4.


The 2021 Houston Astros now are 66-46 after this series, still AL West leaders. However, we no longer have the best AL record. That honor goes to the now 68-44 Tampa Bay rays.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... the Colorado Rockies come on down to H-Town for a two-game set. We get Monday off, though, before this series.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners! Also congratulations to the San Francisco Giants on being the first team to 70 wins this season.

 

[Dolph Drago]

A good day to be a Reds fan as they absolutely dominated the Buccos in a 4 game sweep at home. The only game that was close was the finale.

Game 1: India continued his red hot hitting by blasting another leadoff homer to start the game. The team continued their barrage as a total of 11 batters came to the plate in the 2nd inning. Suarez and Votto each hit 3-run bombs to make the score 7-0. That would be all they needed, though Gray did get knocked around for 4 runs in the 5th inning. The bullpen, much to my surprise, performed well the final 4 innings, giving up only 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. The result was a 7-4 win for the men in Red.

Game 2: Much like game 1, Cincy struck early...and hard! How about 10 batters coming to the plate in the 1st producing 7 runs? In Moustakas's first at-bat back with the team, he hit a 2-run double. Farmer singled in two. And Barnhart brought in three more with a very long ball. Not wanting to miss out on the fun (he did produce 2 of the 3 outs in the 1st), India hit a solo dinger in the 6th. The Reds needn't worry about Pittsburgh coming back. In fact, the final score was a 10-0 shutout. Miley pitched 7 stellar innings, and the relief didn't mess things up. Oh, and Moose picked up an additional two doubles. Not a bad welcome back.

Game 3: It was a slugfest in game 3 for the Redlegs. There is too much scoring to go through, but Castellanos, Winker and Votto all went deep. Gutierrez game up only 1 run in 6 innings of work. The bullpen finally gave up a couple of runs in the 8th, but Cincinnati answered with 5 of their own to put the game away. The final result was an 11-3 victory.

Game 4: I didn't get to see any of this one, as it was a day game played as I was at work. According to the box score, the Pirates struck first in the 4th inning with an Anthony Alford single. As was the case for most of the series, the boys from the Queen City immediately struck back with 3 runs in the bottom of the frame. A leadoff home run by Ke'Bryan Hayes two innings later cut the lead to 1. But the pitching held strong to preserve the 3-2 win. Mahle pitched a strong 7 innings of 2 run ball with no walks and 10 K's. Lorenzen and (fairly) new Red Givens finished the game without a hitch.


As much as I've talked about Castellanos, Winker and Votto, I want to give a shoutout to some of the other players. Farmer is batting .405 since the All-Star break and has had a ton of 3-hit games. Since moving to the leadoff spot, India is leading not just rookies, but ALL MLB players in OBP at a .429 clip. Overall, his average sits at .283. He is a legitimate ROY contender. And to think it was uncertain if he would even be on the 40 man roster at the start of the season. Fellow rookie Stephenson isn't having too shabby a season either. Splitting time with Barnhart at catcher, he's currently batting only 1 point off India at .282. They sit #1 and #2 among all qualified Major League rookies in OBP and trail only White Sox 2nd baseman Nick Madrigal in average.

As for the team as a whole? Cincinnati's record stands 10 games over .500 at 61-51. They are slowing reeling in the NL Central leading Brewers, now only 5 back. Importantly, they've cut the deficit to the second wild card down to 2.5 games. They have a couple of much more formidable teams than the Pirates in their next seriessss, though. A makeup game against the Tribe is upcoming tomorrow, followed by 3 game sets against Atlanta and Philly.

 

[JohnBM01]

Do you think the Cincinnati Reds can possibly win the NL Central in 2021, @Dolph Drago ?

 

[Dolph Drago]

Do you think the Cincinnati Reds can possibly win the NL Central in 2021, @Dolph Drago ?

I don't think Cincinnati will quite keep up the pace they're at, but they can make a run if Milwaukee cools off a bit. I don't foresee 7 or more runs a game being sustainable. But they've got the offense. They have the starting pitching. And the bullpen is slowly, but surely getting shored up with the additions made before the trade deadline and the return of Lorenzen. With Sims coming back soon, as well as Antone not far behind, it should be that much more improved. So yes it would be difficult, but it is possible.

 

[JohnBM01]

The last Interleague match for the Astros was a split of the Los Angeles Dodgers. How will we do against another NL West team? Two game set in H-Town. Can we bring the Mile High boys down to earth? My summary fills you in:

COL at HOU (2-game series)
GM1: (5-0; Houston)
GM2: (5-1; Houston)

[GAME 1] Most of this game was a defensive struggle. That was until Chas McCormick (the "Chasmanian Devil") knocked in an two-out RBI single to put the Astros up 1-0 in the Bottom of the 4th. Then, Taylor Jones brought home a few more Astros home on a two-run RBI triple. 3-0, Astros now in the same inning. A deep hit was not deep enough to clear the fence, but it was enough to bring home Jose Altuve to make it 4-0 in the Bottom of the 5th. One more Astro scored in the Bottom of the 6th to make it a 5-0 Astros lead. That was the final score as the Houston Astros blanked the Colorado Rockies in Game 1.

[GAME 2] The Colorado Rockies lit up the scoreboard first as Framber Valdez gave up three hits in the Top of the 1st. The Astros came right back in the Bottom of the 1st with an RBI to tie it up at 1-1 after one. Some storms rolled through Houston, and I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was the Top of the 9th with the Astros leading 5-1. That was the final score.

The 2021 Houston Astros now are now 68-46 after this series. We still have the AL West lead, but Oakland is fast catching up. Tampa Bay has the best AL record at 69-44.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... After a day off Thursday, we're back on the road to take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a three-game series. Late games, baby!


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners! Share any summaries or news updates if you like.

 

[JohnBM01]

The inaugural "Field of Dreams" game is tonight. This is a one-off baseball game to be played in Dyersville, Iowa, USA; site of the baseball field used in the movie "Field of Dreams." Playing this game will be the New York Yankees vs. the Chicago White Sox. It is set to play at 7:00 PM Eastern [Daylight] Time tonight on your local FOX affiliate. If you'll be watching the game, enjoy it!

 

[JohnBM01]

The inaugural "Field of Dreams" game last night was so cool! The atmosphere was so unique. Funny that this game based on a movie had a storybook ending- the Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Yankees on a game-winning, two-run homer to win 9-8. Very entertaining game!

My Astros begin a road trip tonight, starting with three at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim followed by a four-game set at the Kansas City Royals. I'll have my series summary when the games are complete.


Enjoy some baseball!

 

[JohnBM01]

Road trippin' again. Time to visit the great state of California. Three-game set in Anaheim, and here's how it went:

HOU at LAA (3-game series)
GM1: (4-1; Houston)
GM2: (8-2; Houston)
GM3: (3-1; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)

[GAME 1] The 4th inning saw the Houston Astros go ahead as Kyle Tucker launched a Grand Slam to put Houston up 4-0. Kyle Tucker bombed his first career Grand Slam in this game. The Angels got on the board all the way in the Bottom of the 8th with an RBI double. It was 4-1, Astros at that point. That was the final score- 4-1, Astros.

[GAME 2] When I first followed the game, the Angels were up 2-0. Later when I followed, the Astros were up 3-2. When I finally watched the game, we were up 4-2 around the Top of the 5th. Up 4-2, the Astros blew it open with a Grand Slam by Jake Meyers. Meyers banged a homer earlier in the game. This second one is a Grand Slam. 8-2 Astros, Top of the 6th with nobody out. WOW! That would be the final score as Houston takes out of three in this series.

[GAME 3] The Houston Astros scored first as Uncle Mike (Michael Brantley) launched a solo jack to deep right. 1-0, Astros in the Top of the 3rd. Storms rolled through, and I no longer followed the game since. We ended up losing 3-1 to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The 2021 Houston Astros now are now 70-47 after this series. We still have the AL West lead, but Oakland is fast catching up. Tampa Bay has the best AL record at 71-47.

Up next for the Houston Astros... The road trip concludes with a four-game set at the Kansas City Royals starting Monday night.

I want to take a moment to recognize and acknowledge Tyler Gilbert of the Arizona Diamondbacks. In his very first start in Major League Baseball, Tyler Gilbert threw a no-hitter back yesterday. The Diamondbacks defeated the San Diego Padres 7-0 in Phoenix on Saturday. Even though Arizona has the league's worst record at 38-81, this is surely a bright spot for the Diamondbacks during this abysmal season for them.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners!

 

[JohnBM01]

In case you are interested in the "Field of Dreams" game this past Thursday, check out this highlight video:

 

[JohnBM01]

The Kansas City Royals won it all in 2015 for the first time since the 1985 season. Now, we're facing the Kansas City Royals to conclude our road trip. Here's how it went:

HOU at KC (4-game series)
GM1: (7-6; Kansas City)
GM2: (3-1; Kansas City)
GM3: (3-2; Kansas City)
GM4: (6-3, 10 innings; Houston)

[GAME 1] When I first followed the game, the score was 2-1, Kansas City Royals in the Bottom of the 3rd. The Astros managed another run to make it 3-2 in the Top of the 5th. In the Top of the 7th, the game was tied 4-4. When I finally started actually watching the game, the teams were tied 5-5 heading into the Bottom of the 8th. An RBI single by the Royals put Kansas City up 7-5 with two outs. Jason Castro made it a 7-6 Royals lead by bringing the Astros one run closer to tying on a solo homer to left. But that was all they could muster. Astros now lost back-to-back with a 7-6 defeat.

[GAME 2] The Houston Astros went ahead first with an RBI. It would have been a 2-0 lead, had the second Astro crossed home plate. Sadly, they had to settle for one run. Kansas City drew level with an RBI to bring home a Royal. We're tied at 1 in the Bottom of the 4th now. An RBI single brought home two Royals to make it 3-1 in favor of the Royals in the Bottom of the 6th. That score would hold.

[GAME 3] After the first three innings was a pitching duel, the stalemate was broken by the Kansas City Royals with an RBI single with one out. Royals led 1-0 after the Kansas City RBI. Jason Castro was called in to pinch hit for Martin Maldonaldo with the bases loaded, and he delivered with a two-run RBI single to put the Astros ahead 2-1 in the Top of the 7th with two outs. That lead lasted one hot half inning as the Royals bombed a two-run Dozier dinger to put the Royals back ahead 3-2. The Astros tried to tie the game in the 9th with two outs, but the would-be tying RBI fell inches short, and so Kansas City is assured a series win at this point.

[GAME 4] The scoring began with a one-out sacrifice fly that brought home a Royal 1-0. As if this depressing road trip for the Astros couldn't get any worse, Luis Garcia saw the Royals launch a two-run bomb to right in the Bottom of the 3rd to make it 3-0, Royals. The Astros' side of the scoreboard finally lit up when they brought in an RBI single to make it 3-1, Royals in the Top of the 4th. In the Top of the 6th, the Astros finally drew level with the Royals to make it 3-3. I didn't see how the Astros got those two runs in preparing this report. Nine innings wasn't enough to settle this one. So bring on extras. An RBI followed by a bases loaded walk put the Astros up 5-3. A sacrifice fly gave the Astros a 6-3 advantage. We avoided getting swept with a big win.

The 2021 Houston Astros now are now 71-50 after this series. If the Astros are going to keep failing, we may as well have Oakland and Seattle be held at bay so our playoff positioning isn't jeopardized.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... the Kansas City Royals gave us trouble. Now, we return home to host the Seattle Mariners for a three-game weekend series. No series against any AL West team is a gimme, and so the Astros better not be complacent when Seattle comes to H-Town.

I want to salute Joey Votto for knocking down 2K hits in his career earlier this week.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners!

 

[JohnBM01]

Home cooking for the Houston Astros again. After a disappointing road trip, we're hosting the Seattle Mariners in a key AL West matchup. Here's how H-Town fared:

SEA at HOU (3-game series)
GM1: (12-3; Houston)
GM2: (15-1; Houston)
GM3: (6-3, 11 innings; Seattle)

[GAME 1] When I first saw this game, the Houston Astros were ahead 11-1 in the Bottom of the 5th inning. Wow! It was later 12-1, Astros the same inning. With the Top of the 8th, it was 12-3, Astros. Mariners brought in a run on an RBI followed by a solo homer from Ty France.

[GAME 2] Carlos Correa brought home Jose Altuve to make it 1-0 early for the Houston Astros, as C. Correa was out at 1st Base. Another Astro came home to make it 2-0 in the Bottom of the 3rd. Yordan Alvarez had liftoff as he launched a three-run jack to put the Astros up 5-0 in the same inning. Taylor Jones banged a solo homer in the bottom of the 4th on the second pitch. Now 6-0 for H-Town. Make that 7-0 Astros thanks to an RBI single in the Bottom of the 5th. A based loaded RBI made it 8-0 for the Astros. Two Astros came home to make it 10-0. One more Astro came home on an RBI Double. So it's 11-0, Astros now. The scoring continued as another RBI brings another Astro home to make it 12-0. Jose Altuve also became 2nd all time for the Astros in four-hit games as the Astros hung six on the Mariners in the Bottom of the 5th. Shutout ended once the Mariners bombed a solo homer in the Top of the 6th. The Astros were up 15-1 thanks to a sacrifice fly RBI by Jake Meyers. The ball was almost a two-run blast. Didn't matter- Astros still won 15-1.

[GAME 3] When I first saw Game 3, the Houston Astros were up 2-0 in the Bottom of the 3rd. Yordan Alvarez bombed a homer in this game, and it was the first time in his career that he homered in three straight games. If Seattle's proven anything in this series, it's the ability to avoid shutouts; and they helped their cause again on a deep center RBI that made it a 2-1 Astros lead in the Top of the 8th. Then we were all tied when Ty France hit a solo jack in the Top of the 9th to level Game 3 at 2. Yep- Ty tied. Martin Maldonaldo had a chance to get a walk-off homer, but it failed. So it's extra innings we go. Stalemate in the 10th inning. An RBI by the Mariners made it 3-2, Mariners; but then Kyle Seager launched a three-run homer in the Top of the 11th for the Mariners to go ahead 6-2. The Astros brought in one run in the Bottom of the 11th to make it 6-3. That was the final score as the Astros failed to sweep the Mariners.

The 2021 Houston Astros now are now 73-51 after this series. If the Astros are going to keep failing, we may as well have Oakland and Seattle be held at bay so our playoff positioning isn't jeopardized.

Up next for the Houston Astros... the Kansas City Royals gave us trouble in Kansas City. Now, we hope to return the favor in a three-game set starting on Monday as we host the Kansas City Royals.

I want to salute Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers for knocking down 500 home runs in his career recently.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners!

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros were beaten three out of four when playing at the Kansas City Royals. So how did the Astros do in a three-game set here in Houston? Well, let's find out...

KC at HOU (3-game series)
GM1: (7-1; Kansas City)
GM2: (4-0; Houston)
GM3: (6-5, 10 innings; Houston)

[GAME 1] A deep RBI double saw the Kansas City Royals draw first blood. 1-0, Royals in the Top of the 2nd. It would later be 2-0, Royals heading into the Bottom of the 3rd. When it was the Bottom of the 5th, the score was 2-1, Royals. Heading into the Bottom of the 7th, it was a 4-1 Royals lead. Astros somehow can't figure out the Kansas City Royals. Another RBI by the Royals made it 5-1 in the Top of the 8th. The Royal RBI party continued with a deep shot to left center. Now 7-1 was the Royals lead. That was the final score to Game 1 of this series.

[GAME 2] When I first checked into this game, the Houston Astros were LEADING for a change. They led 3-0 going into the Bottom of the 2nd. The following inning saw the Astros hit a deep shot (but not a homer) to drive in an RBI to make it 4-0, Astros. The damage was just enough to sink the Royals on this day. Astros win Game 2 4-0.

[GAME 3] Game 3 was not televised. Instead, it was on YouTube. I first saw the game (on YouTube) with the Astros up 1-0 in the Top of the 3rd. The Royals hit a solo bomb in the Top of the 3rd to tie the game at 1. Then, it was time to fly Air Yordan, as the big man bombed a solo homer in the Bottom of the 3rd for the Astros to re-take the lead at 2-1. It was great seeing Alex Bregman back on the roster and playing. He hit a deep shot that brought in an Astro to make it 3-1, Astros on an RBI double. As Lance McCullers left the game with Christian Javier pitching, the Royals banged a Grand Slam on the very first pitch from Javier. It's a go-ahead score for the Royals at 5-3 in the Top of the 7th. Hope was temporarily restored as Aledmys Diaz banged in an RBI to make it a 5-4 Royals lead in the Bottom of the 7th. An RBI by the Astros by Michael Brantley leveled the game again with a 5-5 tie in the Bottom of the 8th. Nine innings solved nothing, so extra innings we go. An RBI groundout by the impressive Jake Meyers brought home the returning Alex Bregman in the Bottom of the 10th lead to a 6-5 Astros win. It's the sixth walk-off win for the Astros so far in the 2021 season, and we prevailed after getting Grand Slammed by the Kansas City Royals!

The 2021 Houston Astros now are now 75-52 after this series. We still own the AL West lead.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... After a day off on Thursday, we're off on the road again to meet the Texas Rangers for a three-game set.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners!

 

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Astros are road trippin' again. Here's the first stop in this Tour of Awesome- at the Texas Rangers. Series summary:

HOU at TEX (3-game series)
GM1: (5-4; Houston)
GM2: (5-2; Houston)
GM3: (13-2; Texas)

[GAME 1] When I first saw the game, it was 2-0, Rangers in the Top of the 6th. A deep RBI by the Rangers was scored in the Bottom of the 6th to make it a 3-0 Rangers lead. Yet ANOTHER start where Jake Odorizzi starts and the Astros fail or are failing. The same inning, Rangers go up 4-0 on another RBI. The Astros finally woke up and scored two runs in the Top of the 7th on an RBI double. Then two more runs scored to make it a 4-4 tie in the same inning. The Astros finally went ahead on an RBI single to make it 5-4 Astros. The final score after this one was 5-4 with a sweet double play. Defense saves the Astros on this Friday night.

[GAME 2] The scoring began by the Houston Astros with a solo homer to center by Yordan Alvarez. Astros lead 1-0 in the Top of the 2nd. Houston tacks on two more runs in the same inning from an RBI single to make it 3-0 for the Astros. A solo bomb by Carlos Correa made it 4-0, Astros. The game eventually ended 5-2 in favor of the Houston Astros. Seventh straight win against the Rangers.

[GAME 3] The Texas Rangers vaulted ahead to a 3-0 lead in the Bottom of the 1st. The Rangers would then go up to 4-0, and then 5-0 in the Bottom of the 4. The Astros finally lit up their side of the scoreboard with a deep right bomb by Yordan Alvarez in the Top of the 5th. Now it's 5-1 Rangers. An RBI by the Astros puts another run on the board in the board to make it 5-2, Rangers. The Bottom of the 5th saw the Rangers go up 6-2 on a solo homer. Then... the bottom fell out BIG TIME in the Bottom of the 5th. First, 7-2 on an RBI. Then another RBI made it 8-2. Same inning- GRAND SLAM. 12-2, Rangers now. Astros hoping Oakland loses to the Yankees after this crappy performance by the Astros. An RBI double made it 13-2, Rangers. Texas hung eight runs on the Astros in the Bottom of the 5th. Astros came back from Grand Slammed against the Royals, but highly unlikely they'll stage an epic comeback against the Rangers at this point. The Rangers avoided a sweep with authority. Like, 13-2 with authority.

The 2021 Houston Astros now are now 77-53 after this series. We still own the AL West lead after getting roughed up back alley style by the Rangers in Game 3.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... our next series is at the Seattle Mariners. Yay- late games, baby! Three-game set in Seattle starting tomorrow night.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners! I also want to salute Justin Upton on scoring his 1,000th RBI back on Saturday night hosting the San Diego Padres.

 

[JohnBM01]

Beautiful Seattle, Washington, USA. Here come the Houston Astros making the long trip. The Seattle Mariners still have an outside shot at making the postseason. Therefore, Houston can't take Seattle lightly. After getting embarrassed by the Texas Rangers 13-2 when they had a chance to sweep them, it's time to start another series against another AL West foe. So here's how the Astros did in Seattle for a three game set:

HOU at SEA (3-game series)
GM1: (4-3; Houston)
GM2: (4-0; Seattle)
GM3: (1-0; Seattle)

[GAME 1] The Houston Astros were up 2-1 in the Top of the 3rd when I first followed this game. No scoring happened until the Bottom of the 6th as the Seattle Mariners banged a two-run homer to go ahead 3-2. Maybe that fail on Sunday at the Texas Rangers is making the Astros play not as well late. The Astros scored on an RBI single in the Top of the 8th to tie the game at 3-3. A gutsy RBI was scored by the Astros in the Top of the 8th after Kyle Tucker stumbled a bit trying to take a single into a double. So it was 4-3, Astros at that point. I went to sleep afterwards, and the final score ended up 4-3, Astros.

[GAME 2] Game 2 was a pitcher's duel. Nobody scoring after seven innings. Former Astro Abraham Toro belted a Grand Slam in the Bottom of the 8th with one out to make it 4-0 in favor of Seattle Mariners. That basically took the wind out of the Astros' sails in such a pitching duel. Rubber Game possibly to come for tomorrow afternoon. The Astros did all they could to force Bottom of the 9th, but it didn't happen. Seattle saves their AL West chances with a 4-0 blanking of my Astros.

[GAME 3] It wasn't until the sixth inning that scoring actually happened. On a bases loaded sacrifice fly, the Seattle Mariners struck first with a 1-0 lead in the Bottom of the 6th. And guess who scored the sacrifice RBI? The same guy from last night-former Astro Abraham Toro. A late rally falls short, and so the Astros lose 1-0 and lose this series.

The 2021 Houston Astros now are now 78-55 after this series. The AL West lead is still ours, but the gap is shrinking.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... we take Thursday off and then get into a three-game Interleague set at the San Diego Padres. Right- MORE late games! The Astros could further be having a nightmare road trip if the Padres have their way with my Astros in this next series.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners! I posted in the wrong thread. Here is where I meant to post. Sorry, everyone!

 

[Dolph Drago]

we take Thursday off and then get into a three-game Interleague set at the San Diego Padres.

Go 'Stros!

I've been busy, so I haven't had time to post series recaps for the Reds. I don't even know where to begin. They've been streaky. Despite having put up eighteen 10+ run games this season (make that nineteen as of this post, as the Reds are pounding the Cards in the series finale with 11, scratch that, 12 runs as Suarez homered as I was writing this), they've also done things like put up three straight 1-run clunkers. Yep that happened over the weekend. Winker has been out multiple weeks, so that probably isn't helping when they have those types of games.

They're still 8 games over .500 but have been as high as 12 over. The currently sit tied with the Padres for the second wild card spot. Assuming they don't blow the 10 run lead they have at the moment, they'll have half a game on them.

Again, go Houston! I hope they sweep those men from San Diego. It would help Cincy immensely.

 

[JohnBM01]

While September 2021 is not the final month of MLB baseball in the 2021 season, it is the last full month of baseball for the season. Since my Houston Astros are off today, let me provide a Standings Update heading into today.

--- STANDINGS UPDATE (as of September 2, 2021) ---
AL EAST: Tampa Bay (84-49), NYY (77-56), BOS (76-59), TOR (70-62), BAL (41-91)
AL CENTRAL: Chicago White Sox (78-56), CLE (66-64), DET (63-71), KC (59-73), MIN (58-75)
AL WEST: Houston (78-55), OAK (73-60), SEA (72-62), LAA (66-68), TEX (47-86)
CURRENT AL WILD CARD: New York Yankees, Boston

--- STANDINGS UPDATE (as of September 2, 2021) ---
NL EAST: Atlanta (70-62), PHI (68-64), NYM (65-67), WAS (55-76), MIA (55-78)
NL CENTRAL: Milwaukee (82-52), CIN (72-63), STL (68-64), CHC (59-75), PIT (48-85)
NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers (85-49), SF (84-49), SD (71-63), COL (61-72), ARI (45-90)
CURRENT NL WILD CARD: San Francisco, Cincinnati

Now, as you notice, no team has yet clinched Playoff spots. Granted teams have been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, every position is still on the line. Playoff spots will be filled in as the month of September 2021 progresses. Keep playing hard if your team has a postseason pulse.


Other than this, enjoy some more MLB baseball!

 

[JohnBM01]

We end our road trip by trying to entertain the San Diego Padres. I want my Astros to get back to winning, my good mate Dolph Drago wants my Astros to sweep to help out the Cincinnati Reds. Let's see how this Interleague deal went...

HOU at SD (3-game series)
GM1: (6-3; Houston)
GM2: (10-2; San Diego)
GM3: (4-3; San Diego)

[GAME 1] Scoring first was the San Diego Padres. It was 1-0 in the Bottom of the 3rd in favor of the Padres. No. 1 (Carlos Correa) was number one belting a three-run jack to center to put the Astros ahead 3-1 in the Top of the 4th. The Padres brought home a run on an RBI double to make it 3-2, Astros. The Padres tied the game on an RBI to make it 3-3 in the Bottom of the 6th. Kyle Tucker launched a two-run homer to put the Astros up 5-3 in the Top of the 8th. A later run scored in the Top of the 9th to offer some insurance for the Astros to make it 6-3. That score would stand as the Astros took Game 1. The Astros, though, had to go through as many as about eight pitchers for this game. Speaking of pitching, José Urquidy earned his first hit (was 0 for 6 hitting previously).

[GAME 2] The scoring began with the Houston Astros scoring on an RBI to make it 1-0. They brought in another run in the Top of the 2nd to make it 2-0. Later in the game, it was 4-2, Padres in the Bottom of the 6th. San Diego hung four runs on the Astros in the 2nd inning. Manny Machado put more hurtin' on the Astros with a two-run bomb into the San Diego night air. 6-2, Padres. Same inning, make it another homer. 8-2, Padres, as my sports Saturday really gone to 🤬 now after watching my Houston Cougars getting wrecked by Texas Tech. Another two-run homer? Check. 10-2 Padres in the Bottom of the 8th now. That was the final score in San Diego for Game 2. Rubber Game tomorrow.

[GAME 3] A couple of lucky breaks for the Houston Astros allowed the Astros to lead 1-0 in the Top of the 1st with no outs. The run scored was an RBI scored. A sacrifice fly with bases loaded and one out helped the Padres tie the game at 1-1 in the Bottom of the 1st. Then in the same inning, a deep hit to left by the Padres put San Diego up 3-1. Yuli Gurriel hit a solo bomb to make the game 3-2, Padres. Make that back-to-back jacks as the Carlos Correa homered again to make it a 3-3 tie in the Top of the 7th. That would end up in a loss for the Astros thanks to a walk-off homer by San Diego. 4-3, Padres was the final.

The 2021 Houston Astros are now 79-57 after this series in San Diego. No shame losing to the San Diego Padres. This is a solid team. Well, no sweep or no series win, Reds fans. We did all we could. We still have the AL West lead, but it is now the Seattle Mariners in 2nd in the AL West now after the Oakland Athletics got swept at the Toronto Blue Jays.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... It's back home to Houston for the Astros, and coming to town will be the Seattle Mariners for a three-game series starting on Monday.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners!

 

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Astros could have beaten Texas and Seattle in their latest road trip, but we had to settle for winning the Texas series only. Speaking of Seattle, the Mariners decided to hit up H-Town. Let's see how the Astros and M's did.

SEA at HOU (3-game series)
GM1: (11-2; Houston)
GM2: (5-4, 10 innings; Houston)
GM3: (8-5; Seattle)

[GAME 1] An error by the Seattle Mariners with the bases loaded and nobody out led to Houston driving in two runs on an RBI. It was 2-0 at that point in the Bottom of the 2nd. Later in the Bottom of the 2nd, Jake Meyers had liftoff by launching a three-run jack to put the Astros up 5-0. I was watching something else later in the game, so I later learned the Astros won 11-2 in Game 1.

[GAME 2] Jose Altuve banged his first jack since July 30th to get the scoring going for the Astros. 1-0, Astros in the Bottom of the 3rd. So Altuve goes homer-less in August but finally comes through in September. An RBI double put the Astros up 2-0 in the same inning. The Mariners tied it up on some RBIs in the Top of the 5th. Tied at two now. The tie was broken by Seattle on a solo homer by Astros killer Kyle Seager. 3-2, Mariners in the Top of the 6th. No scoring would happen again until the 9th inning, as the Mariners plated home another run to make it 4-2 in the Top of the 9th. A-Breg (Aleg Bregman) bangs a two-run bomb to tie things up at 4-4 with one out. Couldn't walk it off in the 9th, so we go to Extra Innings. The Astros put up a ground-ruled double in the Bottom of the 10th to win it 5-4.

[GAME 3] YouTube aired the final game of this series. When I checked in, the Houston Astros were up 3-2 in the Bottom of the 2nd. The Astros put up three runs in the second inning to go ahead in this contest. The little giant, Jose Altuve, had liftoff on a solo homer launched to deep left. No. 27 picked up home run no. 27 on the 2021 season with that blast. The Astros led 4-2 at this point in the Bottom of the 5th. A deep shot (but not a homer) led to an RBI double that tied the game for the Seattle Mariners in the Top of the 7th. We're at 4-4 now in the Top of the 7th. The bullpen was horrid in allowing two Mariners to come home to make it 6-4, Mariners in the Top of the 9th thanks to José Marmolejos. Astros may have to settle for another series win when they could have a series sweep. And guess what? It got WORSE- a two-run blast by Seattle in the same inning put the M's up 8-4, almost entirely putting this game out of reach for the Astros. The Astros' rally attempt began with a solo jack by Alex Bregman with no outs to make it 8-5, Mariners in the Bottom of the 9th. The remaining efforts were pop-ups that ended the game, and the Astros had to settle for a series win rather than a sweep. Seattle survives 8-5.

The 2021 Houston Astros are now 81-58 after falling apart in the 9th inning of Game 3.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... After taking Thursday off, we're getting no days off until September 27. We host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starting on Friday for a three-game set to conclude this homestand. That means Shohei Ohtani likely will befuddle the Astros.


Congratulations to all of today's/tonight's winners and recent series winners!