World Series Rematch?

And today they’re once again touting and tooting the Cubs horn because all of a sudden Darvish has a few decent games in a row.

Yeah - we saw that movie, too. He came to LA and put together a fairly decent run of wins in August and September. Then, I think we all remember his appearances in the World Series.

Especially that finalé in LA against the Astros.

And while they did mention the Cubs putrid record on the road, they felt that would improve thru the rest of this season and even if it didn’t, they were still to be “feared”.

Please . . .

GO DODGERS!!!

Astros' Brad Peacock: Likely to work in relief once activated

Rotowire 2D ago

The Astros are leaning toward deploying Peacock (shoulder) in relief once he's reinstated from the 10-day injured list, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. "The goal is for him to come back as soon as possible, which would make the reliever option a little bit more feasible," manager AJ Hinch said of Peacock. "We don't really have a spot in our rotation open. We think he can be a valuable reliever."

Hinch's comments came after the newly acquired Aaron Sanchez turned in six no-hit innings in his team debut Saturday, which may have been enough to convince the skipper to keep the right-hander in the rotation moving forward. Heading into that outing, Sanchez was believed to be merely keeping the seat warm for Peacock, but the latter didn't help his cause by getting roughed up in his rehab outing at Triple-A Round Rock the same day. He notched only four outs in the start while giving up five earned runs on three hits and two walks. He tossed 33 pitches in the appearance, and Houston seems content to keep him around that total in his subsequent rehab outings to make for a relatively seamless transition to a multi-inning relief role. Peacock is likely tracking toward a mid-August return from the IL.

Astros' Jose Altuve: Goes yard again

Rotowire 2D ago

Altuve went 2-for-5 with a double, a solo home run and two additional runs scored in Saturday's 9-0 win over the Mariners.

The second baseman has been on a tear since the All-Star break, hitting .404 (36-for-89) with eight homers, 20 RBI and 21 runs in his last 21 games. The hot streak has boosted Altuve's OPS on the year to .907, and with 18 homers he's on pace to top his career high of 24 despite having missed over a month of the season with a hamstring strain.

Astros' Aaron Sanchez: Makes history in Houston debut

Rotowire 3D ago

Sanchez (4-14) picked up the win Saturday, tossing six scoreless innings while striking out six and walking two to lead a combined no-hitter in a 9-0 victory over the Mariners.

Making his Houston debut, Sanchez ditched his mediocre four-seam fastball and leaned more heavily on his high-spin curveball, and the results were magic. The right-hander hadn't won a game since April 27 while staggering to a 6.07 ERA with the Blue Jays, so while the quality of Saturday's opposition has to be taken into account, it looks like Astros pitching coach Brent Strom might have another successful reclamation project to add to his scrapbook. Sanchez has certainly earned himself at least one more turn through the rotation with this performance.

Zack Greinke wasn't in vintage form during Astros debut, and he found part of the outing 'boring'

The Astros put up 11 runs in Greinke's debut

by Dayn Perry @daynperry

12 hrs ago • 1 min read

Right-hander and trade deadline prize Zack Greinke made his Astros debut against the Rockies on Tuesday night, and he wasn't quite in vintage form:

That's the first time since Sept. 16 of last year that Greinke has walked as many as he struck out in a start. That outing above bumped his 2019 ERA up from 2.90 to 3.08. Hey, subpar starts happen, even to frontliners like Greinke. At age 35 and after parts of 16 seasons in the majors with six different teams, Greinke surely isn't the type to get jitters in a new environment, so, yeah, it's probably one of those things.

What may not have helped, however, is waiting on the Houston offense to make three outs in the home half of each frame. In all, the Astros put 11 runs on the board in this one, and while Greinke was in the game put runs on the board in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings. Greinke, as it turns out, didn't care for all the down time. Via Matt Kelly of MLB.com, here's what Greinke said about waiting for the Astros' hitters to take their hacks so he can get back on the mound:

"Yeah, it's kind of boring. And just trying to stay loose, staying focused [when] not having anything to do."

Greinke has a longstanding willingness to indulge in candor -- sometimes jarring candor -- and this fits that particular mold. To be fair, Greinke, who's pitching in the American League for the first time since a 2012 stint with the Angels, later praised what his new teammates are capable of on offense:

"I was telling [catcher Martin Maldonado] that it kind of reminds me when I was back in Milwaukee and it seemed like we scored, like, 10 runs a game. It's a good offense, and it's fun to pitch with that going on."

It is indeed a good offense, as the Astros right now rank fourth in the AL in runs scored, second in OPS, third in home runs, and first in walks. Long waits may be a part of Greinke's future, and he'll probably find ways to cope with that boredom.

Astros' Gerrit Cole: Wins 10th straight

Rotowire 1H ago

Cole (14-5) picked up the win in Wednesday's 14-3 rout of the Rockies, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings while striking out 10.

Both runs scored on solo shot from Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story, but with the Houston offense once again piling up double-digit runs, Cole had little to worry about. The right-hander has now won 10 straight decisions, and he'll take a 2.87 ERA and 226:39 K:BB through 156.2 innings into his next start Tuesday, on the road against the White Sox.

IDK I would love to return the favor to Houston BUT it would be more than that to clock the Yankees.