Well, Astros fans. Here we are.
As of the time of this writing, the Guardians have already won via a walk-off HBP against the Texas Rangers to clinch a playoff berth and officially knock the Astros out of October contention. It took until game 161, but this outcome felt all too inevitable given the torrent of misfortune that struck the team over the course of the year.
They have had to contend with historic levels of catastrophic injuries, Framber Valdez spiraling downward, and even what appears to be the
beginning of the end of Jose Altuve. This team has faced the gauntlet in every aspect of baseball operation and still tried to answer the bell every single night. This time, it was just too much to overcome.
So, now what? What is a baseball blogger to do now that the team that he covers have officially received their postseason pink slips?
Write. Write a lot. And that is what I intend to do for you the audience, The Crawfish Boxes as the excellent unit that it is, and for the integrity of the game! No days off, folks. We still have some ball to talk about.
In tonight’s penultimate game of the regular season, the Astros faced Angels right hander Caden Dana (0-3, 6.75 ERA, 33 SO) while sending out AJ Blubaugh (3-1, 1.69 ERA, 35 SO) in response.
After losing a heartbreaker last night 4-3 at the hands of Mike Trout (2 HR’s) and a blown lead by the bullpen, the Astros came in with urgency due to thinking they still had one more chance to squeak into the postseason.
It was the last stand for the guys in orange. Let’s recap!
Top of the 2nd Inning:
Zach Cole continued his sterling ‘25 debut with a 398 ft home run over the center field wall with an exit velo of 105.9 off the bat. It was then 2-0 Astros.
Genuinely, what a move by Dana to elevate the kid. In a catastrophic season such as this, finding a diamond like Cole really helps provide a silver lining on the year.
Top of the 4th Inning:
My oh my, is this a multi homer game? It is! Christian Walker (1 R) and Jesús Sánchez (2 R) teamed up to score three runs on two homers in the top of the 4th inning to extend the lead to 5-0.
AJ Blubaugh pulled in the bottom of the 5th:
AJ Blubaugh’s night was done in favor of Enyel De Los Santos.
He completed a stellar season that certainly has him in line for major starting pitching consideration going into ‘26. Again, good work by Dana and the team for giving him the chance to shine for a team that desperately needed any arm it could find.
His final line for the night was: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, 2 K’s, 0 ER.
AJ’s total limited season line:
11 G, 3 GS, 32.0 IP, 17 H, 6 ER, 11 BB, 35 SO, 0.88 WHIP, 1.69 ERA, and a 3-1 record.
Bottom of the 6th Inning:
A Mike Trout single and Jo Adell double put the Angels on the board 5-1.
Top of the 9th Inning:
Christian Walker made it a two homer night for himself in the top of the 9th, belting his 27th of the year and making it 6-1 Astros.
Walker’s season has been a tough one to make heads or tails of. On one hand, he was an improvement defensively at first base and did provide a power bat at the position. However, he went through a number of elongated slumps throughout the season that gave us “Jose Abreu” flashbacks.
Now, that’s not to proclaim that he was that bad. However, Christian will be 35 by the start of 2026 and questions will linger about his long term future with the franchise considering his in season struggles and the thought of his name coming up in trade talks at this year’s deadline.
Nothing is on the horizon right now for sure, just something to ponder in the interim. (The Astros will have all October to think about it seeing as though… yeah, the whole missing the playoffs thing.)
Bottom of the 9th Inning:
Craig Kimbrel finished Oswald Peraza and the Angels on a strikeout to close the 9th and improve the Astros to 86-75 on the season. JP France got the win.
Looking ahead:
The Astros finish their season against Angels starter Sam Aldegheri (0-1, 8.00 ERA, 7 SO). They have yet to announce their starter for the game.
While this one may hurt for the night, neither the Astros nor the fan base should not feel like this season was all for nought. They found a number of potential key contributors for next season in AJ Blubaugh, Zach Cole, Brice Matthews, and Cam Smith. They also got back pitchers Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti for what it’s worth.
However, there are also some possible tough conversations that may need to happen internally regarding players like Christian Walker, Jesús Sánchez, and sadly even Jose Altuve.
Nearly everyone should be under the microscope this offseason. The medical staff/health and wellness dept. more so than anyone else should be looked over with a fine toothed comb. This type of medical failure cannot repeat itself in any capacity moving forward if the team cares about its credibility and protection of its players.
With that said, here’s tonight’s game by the numbers: (below)
