Major League Baseball: 2024 Season

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When the Houston Astros returned home after taking two out of three at the lowly Chicago White Sox, the Astros returned home to find a flock of birds take Minute Maid Park. These are no ordinary birds- these are the Baltimore Orioles, 2nd in the AL East at 49-25 on the season. The Astros have a tough task ahead of them with this upcoming series. It's time for the Astros to step up... or did they? Here's my summary...

* BAL Orioles at HOU Astros (3 games)

[GAME 1] When I glanced on X/Twitter, Houston led 1-0 heading into the Top of the 2nd. Fast-forwad to the Bottom of the 5th, and Baltimore led 3-2... until Jake Meyers smashed a three-run jack to put Houston up 5-3. Then things got infinitely worse for Baltimore in the Bottom of the 6th. Wild baserunning after a leadoff walk in the Bottom of the 6th led to a comedy of errors by Baltimore, then brought home Mauricio Dubon to make it a 6-3 Astros lead. José banged in an RBI double the same inning to bring the Astros up to 7-3. Another run the next at-bat helped the Astros get another lead on a deep RBI to center. Then with the bases loaded, another Astro came home on some more weird base running. Houston up 9-3 now. So from trailing 3-2 to seven unanswered runs by Houston- and all with no outs until finally Baltimore recording an out! Jon Singleton knocked in two runs on an RBI the same inning to put Houston up 11-3. Baltimore living an absolute nightmare. An RBI double extended the Astros' lead to 12-3. Another RBI double happened to make it a 14-3 lead. The Bottom of the 6th ended with the Astros scoring nine runs (and 12 unanswered) to a football score of 14-3. Once Baltimore finally got to bat again, the O's bombed one to right to cut the Astros' lead to 14-4 thanks to Gunnar Henderson in the Top of the 7th. The Top of the 8th saw a couple of two-run blast to left by Baltimore to cut the Astros' lead to 14-6, then 14-8. An RBI single cut the Astros lead to 14-9. Things went from a feel-great cushion to almost being a game again. This would be the most depressing loss by the Astros if they end up oofing a 14-3 lead. Now it's 14-11, Astros after another two-run shot by Baltimore in the same Top of the 8th.

[GAME 2] A hot Saturday afternoon saw a shaky Ronel Blanco give up a solo homer to left in the Top of the 2nd for Baltimore to go up 1-0 early. A sacrifice fly in the Bottom of the 2nd scored Yanier Diaz to tie the game at 1-1. Yordan Alvarez hit a deep shot to center that ended up being a two-run jack. "Air Yordan" puts Houston up 3-1. Chas McCormick bombed a solo jack in the Bottom of the 5th to make it a 4-1 Astros advantage. In the Bottom of the 8th, he did it again- Chas McCormick jacked another bomb to extend the Astros' advantage to 5-1. That score would hold thanks to solid relief pitching by Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader.

[GAME 3] I did not see this game at all. On "Princess Day" at Minute Maid Park today, the Houston Astros ruled like kings over the Orioles. The Astros won this game 8-1 and swept the Orioles. NOT easy to do to sweep one of the best teams in the league. Houston did it, though.

--- REVIEW ---
GM1: (14-11; Houston)
GM2: (5-1; Houston)
GM3: (8-1; Houston)

RESULT: HOU wins series 3-0

--- UPCOMING ---
NEXT: vs. COL Rockies (2 games, starting Tuesday)

The 2024 Houston Astros are now 38-40 on the season, now 2nd in the AL West currently over the idle 34-40 Texas Rangers on Thursday. There is still a ways to go to catch up to the 44-33 Seattle Mariners. A lot season still left, though.

The Houston Astros have never been at or above .500 all season long. They can pull to .500 if they sweep this upcoming two-game series against the Colorado Rockies. Then after that, the Astros will be on the road to entertain the Kings of Queens- Blitz24's New York Mets.


Congratulations to all recent series winners and today's/tonight's winners! If your team split or lost a series recently, hope the next series goes better for you. What did your team(s) do recently?
 
Fail. That's what Cincinnati did against the Red Sox.

Game 1 was interesting. The ball was flying out of GABP thanks to the heat and humidity. Of the first 5 runs scored between the teams in the game, all came via a solo shot. Candelario hit 2 of them. The guy just keeps rolling. Up by 1, the Reds increased their lead to 3 after Friedl put down a perfect bunt in the 7th. The pitcher attempted a shovel pass to the catcher to throw out a runner at home, but it went over his shoulder, allowing an additional score to run. Abbott pitched well, going 5.2 innings with 2 runs (both aforementioned 1-run homers), 1 walk, and 10 strikeouts.

The Redlegs took an early 3-0 lead in game 2 thanks to a two run dinger in the first and Elly solo blast in the 3rd. Things were looking good. Montas had a very pitch efficient outing having thrown only 72 pitches before going to the dugout after 6 innings. I'm not sure why he was pulled so early. He only gave up 2 runs in that time. Sam Moll pitched a scoreless 7th before giving way to Justin Wilson who eventually gave up 2 runs to put Cincy behind. Frustratingly, the Reds never did put another run on the board. This despite having two guys on base in 3 straight innings and one on in the inning following. They ran themselves out of any opportunity to tie it up, as two runners got thrown out trying to score at home and Elly got picked off 2nd in that time period. Tomorrow would be the rubber game.

When I turned on game 3 in the 5th, Boston was already up 4-1. Lodolo had an uncharacteristically rough outing, only going 4.2 innings and giving up those 4 runs. The lead ballooned to 7-1 in the 6th inning as Farmer and Suter got beat around. All hope looked lost. Cincinnati would match the frame with 3 of their own, but of course it meant they were still 3 down - just as when the inning began. They couldn't muster up any more runs and took the L for the game and the series.

Game 1: 5-2 Cincinnati
Game 2: 4-3 Boston
Game 3: 7-4 Boston

I'm took lazy and don't care to look it up now, but I think the Reds are 5? games under .500. I know they continue to sit last in the Central.
 
After a two-game set in Mexico City, the Houston Astros welcomed the Colorado Rockies to Minute Maid Park. It will be time to see if the Astros can continue their winning ways when this brief series concludes. It's an NL reunion for the Astros coming up when they host the Colorado Rockies for a couple of games.

* COL Rockies at HOU Astros (2 games)

[GAME 1] When I first saw this game, there was a replay of the Astros bringing in two runs. Turns out... Astros ended the 1st inning with five runs scored. Astros went up 5-0. After a long time without scoring by either team, Colorado finally registered a run in the Top of the 8th on a one-out RBI single. Now the Astros' lead is 5-1. Josh Hader gives up a solo jack in the Top of the 9th to truncate the Astros' lead to 5-2. No further damage done by the Colorado Rockies as the Astros won 5-2. It is the longest winning streak for the Astros at six games. In addition, Seattle lost at Tampa Bay earlier today, so the Astros get a little closer in the AL West race.

[GAME 2] I followed this Wednesday afternoon game in the Bottom of the 7th, and it was a 5-0 lead for the Houston Astros then. Houston apparently was leading 2-0 and then put on three runs in the Bottom of the 7th. Make that 6-0 and four runs later thanks to an RBI by Yanier Diaz the same inning. It could have been 7-0 had Yordan Alvarez not know how many outs there were; but, things remain at 6-0 for Houston after seven innings. Houston did not allow a single walk until Shaun Dubin took over in the Top of the 8th. They didn't have any 3-ball counts until Spencer Arrighetti left the game after seven innings of work. Houston's relief pitching has once again somewhat spoiling a solid pitching performance, but not too much. Colorado scored on a sacrifice fly in the Top of the 8th to bring the lead from six to five, as it's now a 6-1 Astros lead. The Astros put on another run in the Bottom of the 8th thanks to a Jeremy Peña RBI single to make it 7-1. That score stands as the Astros FINALLY get to .500 on the season.

--- REVIEW ---
GM1: (5-2; Houston)
GM2: (7-1; Houston)

RESULT: HOU wins series 2-0

--- UPCOMING ---
NEXT: at NYM Mets (3 games, starting Friday)

The 2024 Houston Astros are now 40-40 on the season, still 2nd in the AL West. They are also 5th in the AL Wild Card ranks while riding a 7-game winning streak. Seattle won on Wednesday, but the Texas Rangers ended up losing in extra innings at Milwaukee (MIL actually swept TEX). So we have a little edge pulling away from the Rangers in the AL West standings.

Okay- all due respect, the Colorado Rockies stink. Good for Houston to take advantage in this series. The Houston Astros will be on the road for a wild 10 games in 10 days trip. The Astros will first entertain the Kings of Queens- Blitz24's New York Mets. Next after that, a four-game set at the Toronto Blue Jays to start July. It will then end with a three game set at the Minnesota Twins.


Congratulations to all recent series winners and today's/tonight's winners! If your team split or lost a series recently, hope the next series goes better for you.
 
Yankees suck! The last couple of weeks anyway. Luckily the Orioles have chosen the same time to slump, so the division lead is still in tact. Turns out you can't just rely on 2 superstars if the rest of the team is rubbish. Who knew?!
 
Fezzik
Yankees suck! The last couple of weeks anyway. Luckily the Orioles have chosen the same time to slump, so the division lead is still in tact. Turns out you can't just rely on 2 superstars if the rest of the team is rubbish. Who knew?!
Click to expand...
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto had all but 1 of the RBI against the Mets in this 2 game series.
 
It took the Houston Astros 80 games to finally reach or surpass .500. Can we surpass .500? That all depends on what the New York Metropolitans does with my Astros. The Kings of Queens welcomed my Astros to Flushing, NY for a three-game weekend series. It's an inner-forum rivalry between myself and Blitz24's Mets. Let's get it!

* HOU Astros at NYM Mets (3 games)

[GAME 1] I just remembered this game was on AppleTV+. So I can only give the final score and no highlights. Final score to this one was 7-2, New York Mets. Back below .500 we go after this one...

[GAME 2] Jake Meyers bombed one to deep right to put Houston up 1-0 in the Top of the 2nd. Defensive meltdowns led to the Mets tying the game at 1-1 on an error in the Bottom of the 2nd. They'd later go ahead 2-1 on an RBI single the same inning. Mets would go up 5-1 after two innings. It's a five-spot for the Astros to try to dig out of. "Bad Framber Valdez" took form again as the Mets hit a solo jack to center to go up 6-1 in the Bottom of the 3rd. Astros responded in the Top of the 4th with a two-run RBI and then another RBI. They'd end the Top of the 4 now down 6-4. A wild pitch with the bases loaded led to an Astro crossing home plate with two outs. The Mets' lead is cut down to 6-5 in the Top of the 8th. Houston went ahead again after four walks in the Top of the 8th thanks to an Alex Bregman 2-run RBI. Houston now up 7-6. The "Honduran Hammer," Mauricio Dubon, hammered home a two-run RBI double in the Top of the 9th with two outs to extend Houston's lead to 9-6. Houston won Game 2 with eight unanswered runs. It wasn't pretty, but Houston found a way to win.

[GAME 3] When I checked into the game, it was tied at 4-4 in the Bottom of the 7th and delayed by rain. And apparently, José Altuve got thrown out of the game for some reason. The delay was getting a bit sad, so I basically did not see any of the game. Final score: 10-5, Houston in 11 innings.

--- REVIEW ---
GM1: (7-2; New York Mets)
GM2: (9-6; Houston)
GM3: (10-5, 11 innings; Houston)

RESULT: HOU wins series 2-1

--- UPCOMING ---
NEXT: at TOR Blue Jays (4 games, starting Monday)

The 2024 Houston Astros are now 42-41 on the season, still 2nd in the AL West, and FINALLY- ABOVE .500 for once! They are still 5th in the AL Wild Card ranks.

We're going international for our next series. Four games at the Toronto Blue Jays in lovely Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto is currently dead last in the AL East. Even with that rank, the Astros should try to leave Toronto with a win. This stretch of 10 games in 10 days continues for the Houston Astros Baseball Club.


Congratulations to all recent series winners and today's/tonight's winners! If your team split or lost a series recently, hope the next series goes better for you. Hopefully your team(s) finished the first half of 2024 strong...
 
Let's update the standings again. These are standings as of 5:03 PM Eastern Time on July 2, 2024:

--- American League Standings (as of: July 2, 2024) ---
AL EAST: Baltimore (53-31), NYY (54-32), BOS (44-39), TB (42-42), TOR (38-46)
AL CENTRAL: Cleveland (52-30), MIN (47-37), KC (47-39), DET (38-46), CHW (24-62)
AL WEST: Seattle (47-39), HOU (43-41), TEX (38-46), LAA (36-47), OAK (30-56)
CURRENT AL WILD CARD: New York Yankees, Minnesota

--- National League Standings (as of: July 2, 2024) ---
NL EAST: Philadelphia (55-29), ATL (46-36), NYM (41-41), WAS (39-45), MIA (30-54)
NL CENTRAL: Milwaukee (50-39), STL (43-40), PIT (40-43), CIN (39-45), CHC (39-46)
NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers (52-33), SD (46-42), ARI (41-43), SF (41-44), COL (29-55)
CURRENT NL WILD CARD: Atlanta, San Diego

I couldn't do this yesterday because games were played in the afternoon. So there are your updated standings. All-Star Game stuff will happen around July 16. Keep playing hard! Still a lot of season left, and nobody has yet been officially eliminated from playoff contention.

I will also let you know how my Houston Astros did in their four-game set at Toronto once I conclude my series summary.
 

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