The Houston Astros went into Yankee Stadium and took two of three from one of the best teams in the American League. They finished the series back at .500 and alone in first place in the AL West, one game ahead of the Texas Rangers.
Now comes the hard part: The Astros have to play the 60-74 New York Mets.
That sounds backward, but Houston has spent much of this season doing baseball backward. The Astros have consistently played their best against winning teams while struggling against the teams they should beat. After handling the Yankees, they now get three games against the last-place team in the NL East—and another chance to prove they can make the easy part of the schedule look easy.
Astros Have Been Better Against Better Teams
Houston is 24-14 against teams at or above .500, a remarkable record for a club that only just climbed back to .500 itself. Against everyone else, the Astros are 43-53.
That disparity has become one of the defining oddities of their season. Houston can win series against contenders, then give those games right back against losing teams. The Astros just did the considerably harder work of taking a series at Yankee Stadium. Beating the Mets would seem like the simpler assignment.
History suggests otherwise.
The Mets have lost two straight and dropped two of three to the Milwaukee Brewers before Houston arrived. They sit 19 games below .500 and in last place in their division. This is precisely the sort of opponent the Astros need to beat if they intend to stay atop the AL West rather than continuing to rely on everyone else being nearly as flawed as they are.
The Pitching Matchups Get Murky After Friday
At least the Mets know who will be pitching this weekend. Houston will send Hunter Brown to the mound Friday against right-hander Christian Scott. Brown is 3-3 with a 3.51 ERA and 76 strikeouts, while Scott enters at 4-3 with a 3.73 ERA and 111 strikeouts.
After that, things get interesting. The Mets have Nolan McLean scheduled for Saturday. McLean is 9-8 with a 3.21 ERA and 168 strikeouts. On Sunday, Houston will see left-hander Zac Thornton, who is 3-4 with a 2.88 ERA.
The Astros? TBD and TBD.
That is not particularly comforting for a team that has already used a franchise-record-tying 17 starting pitchers this season and has spent August asking far too much of its bullpen. Before Hayden Wesneski’s five-inning start Thursday, Houston had gone 13 consecutive games without a starter completing six innings.
So: Imai, anyone?
Tatsuya Imai has made only three appearances since his last start July 27, all three-inning relief outings, and the Astros have essentially kept the former starter in mothballs. Manager Joe Espada has said Imai should remain ready and could get an opportunity during the Mets series, although he has declined to say whether that opportunity might be another start.
Imai warmed in the ninth inning Thursday alongside Josh Hader, but Houston’s 5-1 lead remained 5-1, so Hader got the ball instead. That leaves Imai rested—and leaves two conspicuous openings in the weekend rotation.
And into this situation walks Brent Strom.
The Astros’ former pitching coach rejoins the team Friday as a pitching consultant for the remainder of the season. He’ll work alongside pitching coach Josh Miller and assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz and will be in uniform and in the dugout. Houston is asking him to help stabilize a staff that has a 4.68 ERA and has been stretched particularly thin by the rotation’s inability to work deep into games.
Welcome back, Brent. Here’s Tatsuya Imai.
The Rangers Get the Good Team
While Houston deals with the apparently perilous task of facing a losing team, the Rangers begin a three-game series Friday in Milwaukee.
Texas is 66-68 and one game behind the Astros. The Brewers are 83-51 and return home after taking two of three from the Mets. Milwaukee has been one of baseball’s best teams all season, and the Rangers open the series with Cody Bradford facing Logan Henderson.
That gives Houston an obvious opportunity. Beat a team 14 games under .500 while Texas has to deal with Milwaukee, and the Astros could finally create a little breathing room in a division that has refused to provide much of it.
There’s just one problem: The Rangers get the good team.
The Astros get the bad one.
The Astros and Mets open the three-game series Friday at Citi Field, with Brown facing Scott at 6:10 p.m. CT on Space City Home Network. Saturday’s game begins at 3:10 p.m. CT, with McLean scheduled for New York and Houston’s starter still TBD. Thornton is scheduled to start Sunday’s 2:10 p.m. CT finale against another as-yet-unannounced Astros starter; that game will air nationally on NBC and Peacock.
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