Major League Baseball: 2018 Season

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New York Mets fans are going to need PLENTY of therapy after their fail on Tuesday night. That fail was a 25-4 evisceration. Here is a little idea of Washington's offense from their box score:

NYM- 1 in the 7th, 3 in the 9th.
WAS- 7 in 1st, 3 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, 3 in the 4th, 3 in the 5th, and 6 in the 8th.

NYM- 4 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors
WAS- 25 runs, 26 hits, 1 error

Wow. I remember a game where the Texas Rangers scored about 30 runs in a game. BRUTAL night for the Mets.
 
Well then, Mets still gonna Mets.

This is also fantastic, the Rays have no one in the starting rotation:

 
The Houston Astros will be seeing a lot of the Seattle Mariners between now and the end of the season. One of those meetings was this past series in beautiful Seattle. Here's how it went:

GM1 HOU at SEA: (2-0; Seattle)
GM2 HOU at SEA: (5-2; Houston)
GM3 HOU at SEA: (8-3; Houston)

Houston snapped its five-game losing streak on Tuesday thanks to a three-run jack by the Astros in the Top of the 9th. Houston never trailed in the Rubber Game of this series and pulled away to an 8-3 victory. We are now 69-41 on the season, and we hold a 5-game lead in the AL West over the 2nd Place Seattle Mariners.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... WORLD SERIES REMATCH! After taking Thursday off, we are in Rancho Cucamonga, California to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game Interleague Play series this weekend. It is the second of three cities in this road trip for the Astros.


Congratulations to all recent series winners as well as those who won on Wednesday.
 
Let's see how the Houston Astros did in their 2017 World Series rematch series...

GM1 HOU at LAD: (2-1; Houston)
GM2 HOU at LAD: (14-0; Houston)
GM3 HOU at LAD: (3-2; Los Anegles Dodgers)

So we took two out of three in Rancho Cucamongas in this Interleague series. The Houston Astros are now currently 71-42 on the season. Seattle has recently dropped from 2nd Place in the AL West, overtaken by the Oakland Athletics. The Astros still lead the AL West by four games over Oakland.

Up next for the Houston Astros... we played one of California's National League teams. Now, we're heading to the Bay Area... only at the San Francisco Giants rather than the suddenly hot Oakland Athletics. Astros open a two-game series at my personal favorite MLB ballpark- AT&T Park. More Interleague!


Before I close this post, let me offer a quick standing update. With August being here, it's time to start thinking Playoffs as the season winds down. So find your favorite team(s) from this update:

--- AMERICAN LEAGUE ---
AL EAST: Boston (79-34), NYY (68-42), TB (56-56), TOR (51-60), BAL (34-78)
AL CENTRAL: Cleveland (61-49), MIN (52-58), DET (47-65), CHW (41-70), KC (34-77)
AL WEST: Houston (71-42), OAK (67-46), SEA (64-48), LAA (55-58), TEX (49-64)
CURRENT AL WILD CARD: New York Yankees and Oakland

--- NATIONAL LEAGUE ---
NL EAST: Philadelphia (63-48), ATL (60-48), WAS (57-54), NYM (45-64), MIA 46-67)
NL CENTRAL: Chicago Cubs (64-47), MIL (65-50), STL (58-54), PIT (57-55), CIN (49-63)
NL WEST: Arizona and Los Angeles Dodgers (62-51 each), COL (59-52), SF (57-56), SD (44-70)
CURRENT NL WILD CARD: Milwaukee and Atlanta

Still a lot of season left, so keep on scrapping if you're down! Keep up your great form if you're ahead!


Congratulations to all recent series winners as well as all winners from Sunday.
 
One thing I miss about the Houston Astros in the National League- seeing my Astros at parks like lovely AT&T Park. A quick two-game series unfolded between Houston and the San Francisco Giants, and this is how it ended up:

GM1 HOU at SF: (3-1; Houston)
GM2 HOU at SF: (2-1; Houston)

The difference in both games has beenSan Francisco scoring first while the Astros vault ahead for good on late homers. A late jack in the Top of the 9th gave the Astros the go-ahead score on Monday night. A two-run jack in the 8th inning on Tuesday afternoon was the go-ahead score by the Astros. Both times, never looking back and having no unanswered runs. Even with the injury issues with the Astros, we still have plenty of guys who stepped up and made sure the Astros left San Francisco with wins. The Monday game saw the controversial Roberto Osuna win as the winning pitcher late in that game. It is now a 73-42 record for the Houston Astros. We are currently 5 games ahead in the AL West over 67-46 Oakland.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... it will be a rare Wednesday off followed by hosting the Seattle Mariners for a four-game weekend series. It is part of a six-game home stand at Minute Maid Park.


Congratulations all winners from Tuesday including any other series that might have wrapped up.
 
Back home to take on the Seattle Mariners. We'll match up quite a few times as the season concludes. This is what happened...

GM1 SEA at HOU: (8-6; Seattle)
GM2 SEA at HOU: (5-2; Seattle)
GM3 SEA at HOU: (3-2; Seattle)
GM4 SEA at HOU: (4-3, 10 innings; Seattle)

Four. Game. Sweep. We actually led some of these games or tried to mount rallies. Even today, the Astros should have won 3-2, but they saw Seattle jack the ball out of the park to tie the game at 3-3 in the Top of the 9th. Astros did NOT need this. So we're stuck on 73 wins and currently have a winless home stand. The Astros are 73-46, 2.5 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics in the AL West. Further and consistent failing could mean the Astros could be in a Wild Card battle. Could their next series give them some hope?

What is next for the Houston Astros? After soul searching tomorrow (day off), we're ending this home set with two games against the Colorado Rockies. It was Rockies at Astros when Craig Biggio hit his 3000th hit. After this two-game stand starting on Tuesday, we're on a three-city road trip against the AL West... including Seattle.


Congratulations to all recent series winners as well as winners from Sunday's games.
 
Time for a two-game series with the Colorado Rockies. Let's see how things shaped up in Houston...

GM1 COL at HOU: (5-1; Colorado)
GM2 COL at HOU: (12-1; Houston)

Even with injury troubles for the Astros, our five-game losing streak was snapped with authority on Wednesday night. We hung three on Colorado in the first inning alone. I think we had up to seven unanswered runs until a the Rockies prevented getting shut out. The series ended in a split. The Houston Astros' 2018 record right now is 74-47. It is now a 2 game lead for the Astros in the AL West over Oakland.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club- Thursday off. After that, LATE GAMES! This is going to be critical for the Astros- a three-city road trip against all AL West teams. We begin with three games at the Oakland Athletics. Then, it's a three-game set at Seattle. Finally, it's a three-game set at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Astros will need to keep mistakes and losing to a minimum if they want to hold onto their AL West lead with these three upcoming series. Even with injuries to Houston's lineup, they still need to make due with what they have.


Congratulations to all winners of recent series as well as those who won on Wednesday. Series summary and mini assessment concluded.
 
Last time I mentioned the New York Mets, they were getting pounded. Recently, they were the ones pounding! The poor Phillies got wrecked in their own house 24-4. Dang! Corey Oswalt (any relation to former Houston Astros' pitcher Roy Oswalt?) was the winning pitcher for NYM, and Ranger Suarez was PHI's loser. 24 runs is the all-time most runs scored in Mets' history, and they been around since my Astros (1962, HOU as the Colt .45s in 1962). Winning by 20 or more runs is also the most in franchise history. From an MLB FastCast video I saw on Yahoo! Sports, the Mets scored 40+ runs over a two game stretch- something that hasn't been done since the 1953 Boston Red Sox.

My thoughts: congrats, Mets!


Elsewhere...

* I read Miami Marlins pitcher José Ureña got suspended six games for intentionally pitching at Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves.

* Yasiel Puig was the catalyst to a bench-clearing brawl between rivals Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants back on Tuesday. He got suspended two games.


Congratulations to all other winners from Thursday. Enjoy the weekend series!
 
RE: Mets
Radio was saying this morning that it was the first time since 1894 that a team allowed 24 or more runs and scored 24 or more runs in the same season. The last team to do it was the Boston Beaneaters who are now the Atlanta Braves.
 
How bad must you feel to let the Mets hang 24 runs on you? Phillies gonna Mets.

Also, it's still funny that the Tigers are in 3rd place in the AL Central despite fielding a team that's probably AAA quality at best. That whole division is a dumpster fire. What's even worse is that the Indians are going to make the playoffs while some other team (probably the A's or the Mariners) end up sitting out the post-season despite a better record.
 
Time to get serious. This is the start of a stretch of games against AL West opponents for the Houston Astros. Our first stop in this three-city Away tour started in the least glamourous of the Bay Area ballparks- the Oakland Athletics. Astros at A's ended up like this:

GM1 HOU at OAK: (4-3, 10 innings; Oakland)
GM2 HOU at OAK: (7-1; Oakland)
GM3 HOU at OAK: (9-4; Houston)

The game on Friday was a game where we got hosed on a challenge that ended up letting Oakland tie followed by winning with a walk-off homer in extra innings. Saturday was just a disaster. The series finale was basically 1st Place in the AL West on the line. It ended up with the Astros finally waking the heck up and taking care of business to avoid getting swept. The Astros aer 75-49 on the season and just one game ahead of the Oakland Athletics.

Up next for the Houston Astros... you're going to get the best shot from every team, and so that means even the Seattle Mariners will want to take us down as the Astros continue their little tour of awesomeness. Three-game set starting tonight in beautiful Seattle.


I thought about the comments posted about the AL Central this season. Well, here's a look at the AL Central heading into tonight's games:

--- AL CENTRAL So Far... ---
Cleveland: (71-52)
Minnesota: (59-64)
Detroit: (51-74)
Chicago White Sox: (46-77)
Kansas City: (38-86)

Uh... yeah. Wow. My Astros have about the third best record in baseball behind the New York Yankees (78-46) and the Boston Red Sox (88-37). And in case you're wondering who currently has the best record in the National League, it's the (71-52) Chicago Cubs. Dolph Drago's Cincinnati Reds are currently (55-69). Let's do a little swapping. With Cincinnati's current record, they'd overtake Detroit if they were in the AL Central; and Detroit would currently be dead last if in the NL Central. So this has been a pretty brutal season for the AL Central. Believe it or not, Kansas City has the second worst record of all teams in Major League Baseball this season. Worst currently? It's the (37-87) Baltimore Orioles.


Congratulations to all recent series winners as well as those who won yesterday. Enjoy the new series on this final full week of Major League Baseball for August 2018. Good luck to all of your favorite teams.


[OMISSIONS] Justin Verlander picked up his 200th win as a pitcher when he won yesterday. Back on Saturday, Bartolo Colon passed Juan Marichal for most pitching wins all-time by a Dominican Republic-born pitcher. So my congratulations go out to both Verlander and Colon on their recent successes.
 
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The Royals are a really odd case to me because they went from being a World Series winning team to a pure dumpster fire within a 2-3 year span. But it's also funny to think that 10 years ago the AL Central could have been arguably the toughest and most competitive divison, and now the whole damn thing is a dumpster fire.
 
Well, times change, and anything can happen. Baseball is tough and unpredictable. It is pretty sad seeing how Kansas City has fallen from grace. My Astros could relate to that. We were in the World Series in 2005 in improbable fashion. They never made too much progress since, even including three straight 100+ loss seasons. Some make it to the top and never come back. Some make it to the top and keep battling to stay on top.

Not to bring up another sport, but this reminds me when the NFC South of the NFL had every team with losing records a few years ago. Any team in a stinky division still doesn't stink enough to where they should be banned from the postseason in pro sports. Cleveland's a pretty powerful team regardless in the AL Central. They surely will compete in the postseason against the likes of teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, and even my Astros. The only way I see the Indians NOT being contenders is if they feel they won enough games, get bored, and let other teams pass them. And I sincerely doubt the Minnesota Twins will win the AL Central at this point. I have more faith in Detroit finishing 2nd in the AL Central than I do Minnesota winning the AL Central or even going for a Wild Card berth.

There's still a lot of baseball to be played. So anything can happen. I edited my previous post to reflect on the recent successes of Justin Verlander and "Big Sexy" Bartolo Colon.
 
Next stop on this Houston Astros road trip- Seattle. Our latest series ended like this:

GM1 HOU at SEA: (7-4; Seattle)
GM2 HOU at SEA: (3-2; Houston)
GM3 HOU at SEA: (10-7; Houston)

We started getting some of our players back after some Minor League assignments and some rehab. The Houston Astros set a franchise record on Tuesday by grounding into six Double Plays- the most Double Plays grounded into in a single game. All sins forgiven, though, as we won on Tuesday. The Astros saw their lead balloon to 9 runs until the Mariners came roaring back. The damage was thankfully limited since as the Astros ended up taking Game 3 and this series. We even got a boost from the Texas Rangers as they defeated Oakland 4-2 in Oakland. So our record is now 77-50 and in sole possession of 1st in the AL West, one game over the now 76-51 Oakland Athletics.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... we take Thursday off but then return to California. This time, to entertain the other AL California team- the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Three game set in Anaheim coming up against the Halos.


Congratulations to all winners from Wednesday including recent series winners.
 
It's the final away game series west of Houston for this season, and it ends in Anaheim. Here's how the series ended...

GM1 HOU at LAA: (9-3; Houston)
GM2 HOU at LAA: (8-3; Houston)
GM3 HOU at LAA: (3-1; Houston)

It was a sweep of the Angels in Anaheim for the Houston Astros. There was a stat I read that Houston racked up over 30 runs the past few games with José Altuve back in the lineup. Wow. So I guess it's, "Have Altuve, Will Travel." The 2018 Houston Astros are now 80-50 on the season. Currently 1.5 ahead of the Oakland Athletics in the AL West.

Up next for the Houston Astros... we have a big series coming up. It's a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics. This time, here in Houston. The Astros will need to win this series to keep their AL West lead. Actually, the next two series in this seven-game home stand will be against both of California's AL teams. The next series after hosting Oakland, we host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a four-game weekend series.


Congratulations to all winners of recent series including those who won on Sunday. By the way, did you notice the nicknames and special uniforms this weekend? The Astros had nicknames on their jerseys such as "Tuve," "I am Groot," "Red Dawg," and more. What interesting nicknames did you see on your favorite team(s) and player(s) this past weekend?
 
First place in the AL West was on the line as the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros went at it in H-Town. Athletics and Astros ended up like this:

GM1 OAK at HOU: (11-4; Houston)
GM2 OAK at HOU: (4-3; Oakland)
GM3 OAK at HOU: (5-4; Houston)

Regardless of how the series ended up, the Astros would hold onto the AL West lead by virtue of winning on Monday. Still, we'll take the series win. The win on Wednesday afternoon was a walk-off solo jack by Tyler White. Houston mostly dominated last year in the AL West. They know that for 2018, the entire AL West was going to be retooled and re-focused to make life tough for the Astros on trying to repeat as AL West Champions. So I certainly respect the talent across the entire division.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... we entertained the Oakland Athletics for the final time this season. Now, we entertain the other California AL team for a four-game series. It's the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ready to set it off against my Houston Astros here in H-Town.


Congratulations to all recent series winners as well as winners from Wednesday's games. Hopefully your team(s) is/are doing well so far.
 
Time to start another series. This time, it's the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at my Houston Astros. Here's how this series went:

GM1 LAA at HOU: (5-2; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
GM2 LAA at HOU: (3-0; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
GM3 LAA at HOU: (7-3; Houston)
GM4 LAA at HOU: (4-2; Houston)

So we managed a split. "Can't win 'em all" is the common-but-true reaction to something like this. A sweep or a series win would have been better, but we'll take the split. The Astros are 84-53 after this series. So back-to-back winning seasons. The 82-56 Oakland Athletics have a series with the New York Yankees in Oakland. This can be huge as far as the AL Wild Card is concerned. The Astros still need to handle their business, but NYY at OAK is going to be huge.

Speaking of the Houston Astros controlling what they can control, up next... this penultimate home stand of the 2018 regular season concludes with a three-game set hosting the Minnesota Twins starting this coming Monday afternoon. Thank goodness we play in a retractable roof ballpark, because bad weather is anticipated here in Houston tomorrow.


Congratulations to all winners of recent series and of Sunday winners.
 
It's September. The Boys of Summer have played through an intense Spring and Summer. Now, it all comes down to who will be playing for a chance to become World Series champions. Doing so means it is time for a Standings Update. And here it is as of today...


--- AMERICAN LEAGUE ---
AL EAST: Boston (95-44), NYY (86-52), TB (74-63), TOR (62-75), BAL (40-98)
AL CENTRAL: Cleveland (77-60), MIN (63-74), CHW (56-82), DET (55-83), KC (46-91)
AL WEST: Houston (85-53), OAK (83-56), SEA (77-61), LAA (67-71), TEX (60-78)
CURRENT AL WILD CARD: New York Yankees (86-52) and Oakland (83-56)

--- NATIONAL LEAGUE ---
NL EAST: Atlanta (76-61), PHI (72-65), WAS (69-69), NYM (62-75), MIA (55-83)
NL CENTRAL: Chicago Cubs (81-56), MIL (78-61), STL (76-62), PIT (67-71), CIN (59-79)
NL WEST: Colorado (75-62), LAD (75-63), ARI (74-64), SF (68-71), SD (55-85)
CURRENT NL WILD CARD: Milwaukee (78-61) and St. Louis (76-62)

Keep playing hard if your team(s) still has playoff hopes. Hope your leading team(s) maintains its solid form. Or hope your team(s) can make that last push to make the postseason. Either way, we're going to see who'll have a chance to play for a Championship.


Good luck to all of your favorite teams as this regular season draws towards a close.
 
I'm cheering for team chaos in the NL. I want to see a 4 or 5 way tie for the wildcards.

Not much to follow in the AL though. Really only to work out which of Houston and Oakland take the division/wildcard. I expect Houston to pull away. Tampa and Seattle probably have dreams of a wildcard, but it would take a meltdown from one or more of NYY, HOU or OAK and a really hot stretch from TB or SEA for it to happen. Tampa have won something like 12 of their last 14 though.
 
"...and TWIIIIIINS!" So the Minnesota Twins came on down to H-Town to play a three-game series with my Houston Astros. Let's see how the boys from Minneapolis did here in Houston...

GM1 MIN at HOU: (4-1; Houston)
GM2 MIN at HOU: (5-2; Houston)
GM3 MIN at HOU: (9-1: Houston)

Astros swept the Twins. While he may not win it, people are really buying Alex Bregman to be league MVP. Bregman is ballin' right now. I like when I see the Astros all dialed in and executing. It is that feeling where only you can beat you. The Astros are even enjoying doing their "Staredown Challenge" in the dugout after home runs or scores. We are now 87-53 on the season. We have a 3.5 game lead over Oakland in the AL West.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... we're taking another tour of awesomeness by hitting New England and the Midwest. We already had our day off on Thursday. We have the third best record in Major League Baseball, and we're going to play at the team that has the best record- a three-game set at the Boston Red Sox. Actually, I found out we are currently tied with the New York Yankees for the second-best record in all of baseball. If Boston sweeps my Astros this weekend, the Red Sox will have 100 wins on the season. People are sayign the Red Sox are the most complete team of all the teams in Major League Baseball this season. This should be an intense series. Possibly even an ALDS or ALCS preview. After three games at Boston, it will be three games at one of my personal favorite ballparks, Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. But first things first- at Boston for three.


Elsewhere...

...in the Big Finish of ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," I heard something about Detroit Tigers broadcasters getting into an altercation. What was that all about?


Enjoy the weekend series! Good luck to all of your favorite teams.
 
Not a shock that Rod and Mario got into an altercation. They were not really friends to begin with. Rumors are saying that they got into an argument and Rod Allen put Mario Impemba in a chokehold, but neither one is saying what actually happened in the incident yet.
 
Anyone catch that disaster of a game in Oakland on Wednesday night? What a joke.

Yankees will slip to the 2nd wildcard by the end of the month. Then they will have to go to Oakland or Houston and will lose the wildcard game.
 
JohnBM01
in the Big Finish of ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," I heard something about Detroit Tigers broadcasters getting into an altercation. What was that all about?
Click to expand...

AnthonyD1993
Not a shock that Rod and Mario got into an altercation. They were not really friends to begin with. Rumors are saying that they got into an argument and Rod Allen put Mario Impemba in a chokehold, but neither one is saying what actually happened in the incident yet.
Click to expand...

Apparently, it was over a chair.

Shame they probably won't be broadcasting anymore. I'll miss all the stupid things Allen said during the game. His catchphrases are part of Detroit.
 

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