Well, Astros fans. Welcome to October baseball. At least, that’s the mentality that this laboring Astros team should have after allowing themselves to fall into second place in the AL West for the first time since June. They are in a multi team run off for not only the division crown, but also possibly the second and third wild card spots.
For the Wild Card, the leads go: Yankees +2.5 games, Boston +1.0 game, and the Astros sit in the last spot with a 2.0 game lead on the Rangers and 2.5 on the Guardians.
Tonight, they have a chance to get back into the win column and expand their playoff lead against Jack Leiter(9-8, 3.76 ERA, 131 SO) and the Rangers in the first game of a critical three game series at Daikin Park.
Jason Alexander(4-1, 4.04 ERA, 60 SO) steps on the mound for the home team, as the former 2017 undrafted free agent seems to have finally found a home in H-Town. In his last seven starts, his line is: 39.2 IP, 33 H, 11 R, 9 BB, 34 SO, 1.06 WHIP, 2.50 ERA, and a 2-0 record.
This may not even be a hot take anymore, but Jason Alexander is arguably your second best starting pitcher behind Hunter Brown at this moment. With that said, it’s the final countdown for the boys in orange. Let’s see if our guys have one more gasp in them to fend off their AL West counterparts. Let’s go!
First Pitch: 7:10 CDT
Bottom of the 1st Inning:
The Astros get on the board first!(again) After a Jeremy Peña walk and Yordan Alvarez walk, Carlos Correa scored both after a ground ball infield single to Jack Leiter was sailed a ball over Jake Burger’s head. 2-0 Astros.
However, it came at a potentially grave cost, as Yordan Alvarez tweaked his left ankle as he crossed home plate. He then was helped off the field with a more than noticeable limp. (It was later reported that it was in fact a left ankle sprain.)
Top of the 5th Inning:
Josh Jung tied the game for the Rangers after a 2-run homer to the Crawfish Boxes. 2-2 ballgame.
The Rangers then took the lead on an RBI single to right field by Josh Smith. 3-2 Texas.
After a Wyatt Langford walk, Jason Alexander was replaced by Steven Okert.
Jason’s final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 5 K’s, 1 HR, 3 R(1 ER)
Bottom of the 5th Inning:
Zach Cole BAY BAY! A 103 mph swing crushed a ball 390 feet over the right field wall to give the Astros the lead 4-2. (Yainer was scored after the throwing error at first base)
Top of the 7th Inning:
Texas threatened to take the lead in the top of the 7th when Jonah Heim and Rowdy Tellez both singled to reach base. For a split second, a Wyatt Langford single looked to have flipped the game with an RBI.
But! Jesús Sánchez came to the rescue with a clutch throw from left field to Yainer Diaz at home plate to nab Jonah Heim on the slide. Astros still keep the lead!
Bottom of the 7th Inning:
Jesús Sánchez snapped an 0-22 slump with a double that reached left field wall. Peña then followed that up with an XBH of his own, scoring Sanchez on a double to center field to grow the lead to 5-3.
Zach Cole then scored Jeremy on an RBI-single to right field to make it 6-3 home team.
Since being called up, the former Corpus Christi Hook has responded by going: 6 H, 7 TB, 2 HR, 2 BB, 7 RBI’s. .462 AVG, and 1.456 OPS(!!!). Dana Brown, much respect.
Top of the 9th Inning:
Bryan Abreu closed the game for the ‘Stros when he got Cody Freeman to ground into a fielder’s choice out at second base. Astros take game 1 vs. Texas, 6-3.
Note: Since July 29th, the Astros are 9-0 in games started by Jason Alexander. In that span, he has given up no more than 3 runs.
With the win, the Astros improve their record to 82-69 and now own a 3.0 game lead for the final Wild Card spot over the Rangers. Seattle didn’t play today, so they also gain a 1/2 game on them for the Al West lead.
Looking ahead:
For game 2 tomorrow, the Rangers send righty Merrill Kelly(12-7, 3.21 ERA, 162 SO) to the mound to face a pitcher yet to be determined by Houston. This is a chance to not only win a vital series, but to solidify their potential playoff identity as a whole.
As of late, they’ve been stealing bases, hitting with runners in scoring position, throwing out runners left and right, and playing with more of the urgency that has seemed to elude them for the majority of the season.
It would be best to not get too high after a win like this. But, it’s perfectly fine for these guys to highlight wins like this as teaching tape of the kind of pedigree that this franchise has been known for since 2015.
