The Houston Astros swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Anaheim, then lose the series at the San Diego Padres. Their string of California games (no relation to the old video game) ends this weekend when the Angels visit Houston for a four-game set. They'll be hoping to get enough wins to ensure they win the AL West. If the Astros fail, then the next series against Seattle will be critical for Houston's postseason hopes and their postseason positioning. Houston still has to hope Seattle stumbles just enough to help make their AL West clinching a bit easier. It's time to see whether the Astros win, lose, or split their series against the eliminated Angels...
* LAA Angels at HOU Astros (4 games)
[GAME 1] Los Angeles Angels are spoilers for this series, and they already made Yusei Kikuchi's life tough with a solo jack to left. Angels up 1-0 early. The Astros have been 8-0 in games Yusei Kikuchi starts. And right now, that record is in jeopardy. The Astros finally tied things up 1-1 in the Bottom of the 4th on an RBI single. A bases-loaded single by Jon Singleton was the go-ahead for Houston up 3-1 in the Bottom of the 8th. The Houston Astros won today, but so did Seattle. The Magic Number to clinch the AL West is now 5.
[GAME 2] With Justin Verlander starting, there is concern among Astros' faithful for Game 2 of this series. The first score I saw for this game was 8-6, Astros heading into the Bottom of the 5th. So a lot of offense in this one so far. Kyle Tucker took Roansy Contreras deep to right-center for a solo jack. The Astros lead 9-6 thanks to King Tuck. First pitch of the Top of the 7th sent to left. Angels cut the lead to 9-7. That's all the Angels could do this Friday night. The Astros win a slugfest 9-7. As the Seattle Mariners hammered the Texas Rangers 8-2, the defending Champions have been eliminated from postseason contention.
[GAME 3] Happy birthday (September 21), Yainer Diaz! The first score in this game came from the Astros on an RBI double in the Bottom of the 1st by Kyle Tucker. Astros up 1-0 early in this one. The Astros mis-played a deep shot to left, letting an Angel cross home plate in the Top of the 2nd. We're tied at 1-1 now. A series of hits with nobody out led to the Astros taking a 2-1 lead in the Bottom of the 2nd. It was later a 3-1 lead that inning on a groundout double play. Victor Caratini bombed one to left, bringing home three Astros and going up 6-1 in the Bottom of the 3rd. The Astros later scored on a ball that skipped away from the Angels as José Altuve ran home from 1st base. Astros ahead 7-1 now still in the Bottom of the 3rd. The Angels got a solo jack to center in the Top of the 4th. This homer cut the Astros lead down to 7-2. With the bases loaded in the Bottom of the 4th, the Astros bang in a run to make it 8-2. Yordan Alvarez launched a solo bomb to center to put Houston up 9-2 in the Bottom of the 7th. Kyle Tucker hit his own bomb to deep right the same inning to extend the Astros' lead to 10-2. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the Top of the 9th, the Angels banged in an RBI to cut the Astros' lead to 10-3. A groundout RBI brought the deficit down to 10-4. That was the final: 10-4. Houston pounded out 20 hits in this one.
[GAME 4] Happy birthday (September 22), Jeremy Peña! The only real action I saw was when Houston was up 4-0 in the Bottom of the 6th. Since then, the Angels tied and eventually led. Astros failed today, falling 9-8. It would have been a great day today, considering Texas beat Seattle on this same day. But... I guess you can't have everything...
--- REVIEW ---
GM1: (3-1; Houston)
GM2: (9-7; Houston)
GM3: (10-4; Houston)
GM4: (9-8; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
RESULT: HOU wins series 3-1
--- UPCOMING ---
NEXT: vs. SEA Mariners (3 games, starting Monday)
The 2024 Houston Astros are now 85-71 on the season, still leading the AL West by 5 games over Seattle at the time of this post.
It's obvious the Astros got to handle business when the Seattle Mariners come to Minute Maid Park for the final home series of the 2024 MLB season. That's what is going to happen for the Astros' next series. The Astros must sweep this series in case of a tie-breaker. Currently, Seattle leads the season series 6-4. At least one win in this series assures the Astros the AL West crown.
Do we have any updates on the postseason? Let's find out:
--- "IN!" Teams (as of the time of this post) ---
...AL East Champions...
Cleveland (AL Central Champions)
...AL West Champions...
...AL Wild Card 1...
...AL Wild Card 2...
...AL Wild Card 3...
New York Yankees, Baltimore (clinched Playoff berth)
...NL East Champions...
Milwaukee (NL Central Champions)
...NL West Champions...
...NL Wild Card 1...
...NL Wild Card 2...
...NL Wild Card 3...
Philadelphia, Los Angeles Dodgers (clinched Playoff berth)
ELIMINATED: TOR, CHW, TEX, OAK, LAA, WAS, MIA, CHC, STL, CIN, PIT, SF, COL
I accidentally deleted my "IN!" list and had to make a new one. That's an advantage to pre-typing posts in a text editor.
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.