For Game 102, the Astros trotted out a lineup of the following hitters:
- Taylor Trammel
- Victor Caratini
- Christian Walker
- Yainer Díaz
- Brice Matthews
- Mauricio Dubón
- Cooper Hummel
- Chas McCormick
- Shay Whitcomb
No offense to any of these players, but this is a lineup typical of Spring Training. Walker and Díaz, the only two Opening Day starters in the order this afternoon, have combined for roughly replacement-level production on the season. Jose Altuve and Cam Smith were given the day off. Heck, Brandon Walter, who threw seven innings of one-run ball, wasn’t viewed as anything other than filler on the organizational depth chart entering
the season. Other than a solo home run from Ketel Marte on the first pitch of the game, Walter continues to show why he deserves to remain in the rotation until further notice.
Wednesday’s win against the Diamondbacks, and securing a three-game sweep on the road in the process, was an unexpected turn of events. While we know the Astros are a good team, they essentially rolled out their “B” squad and still did what they do best: produce and win. It didn’t look that way for over half of the game, though. Brandon Pfaadt was reasonably successful in his first five innings of work, allowing only a handful of hits with a pair of walks. But the Astros couldn’t make much traction against him, being shut out in those five frames. However, Matthews continued to have a strong series, driving in Houston’s first run in the sixth inning. A wild pitch from Andrew Saalfrank allowed the second run charged to Pfaadt to score, and the Astros were suddenly in charge with a 2-1 lead. An RBI single by Dubón an inning later would then increase the lead to 3-1.
The kid does it again
— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2025
Brice Matthews' 3rd HR in 2 games gives the @Astros the lead! pic.twitter.com/mZm9pBE9rm
Although he finished his day with only 82 pitches, Joe Espada chose to remove Walter to avoid Arizona’s lineup from seeing him a fourth time through the order. That’s wise. And Bennett Sousa, another pitching success story with the Astros, has been relatively reliable this season. Alas, every reliever will have a bad outing every once in a while, and it was Sousa’s turn this time around. Corbin Carroll’s RBI double and Josh Naylor’s RBI single in the eighth would tie the game at three runs apiece. Thankfully, Sousa would finish out the frame with no further damage.
Kind of lost in all of Matthews' stellar play in Phoenix this week was Walker’s return to his previous organization, the one where he made himself into one of the best first basemen in baseball. While his first season in Houston hasn’t produced the type of quality results hoped for, Walker did manage to secure a lasting memory with his RBI single in the top half of the ninth, giving the Astros another lead, 4-3. Josh Hader would then promptly close the door on Arizona with a bit of help from the umpires on that last strike call to Marte.
And, just like that, the Astros now have the best record in the AL (62-40) with the Tigers also losing to the Pirates. They now head home to play the A’s starting on Thursday, with Jason Alexander (no, not that one) starting opposite of Luis Severino.
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