The American League West

Astros (31-15) So, I guess it was just the Cleveland Indians, after all.    With The Tribe out of town and the Detroit Tigers coming into Minute Maid, the Astros resumed the roll they've been on all season. Starter Lance McCullers Jr. extended his scoreless innings streak to 22. The Astros look to win the four-game series with Charlie Morton on the mound tonight. Astros 6, Tigers 2 Rangers (24-22) Andrew Cashner gave up five earned runs in five innings as the Rangers, who had won 11 of 12, lost their first game of a six-game road trip to the Boston Red Sox. On the plus side , Joey Gallo hit his 14th homer. Red Sox 11, Rangers 6  Angels (25-23) The Angels kept rolling, taking the second game of a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays and winning their third in a row. Matt Shoemaker pitched well until loading the bases in the 7th, when Yusmeiro Petit came in and  - in the game's most exciting moments - got out of the jam by striking out Steven...

Athletics (20-24) Nice week for the always unpredictable Oakland A's. After losing a series to the Mariners and falling into last place, they climbed their way out by winning three out of four against the Boston Red Sox.  That extended their home record to 14-9, just a half game worse than the Astros' record at Minute Maid. Unfortunately, that's only really worth mentioning to juxtapose against the dismal A's road record of 6-15. You know what else is weird about the A's? They are four games under .500, but they are 8-5 against clubs outside of the American League West, including being .500 on the road. I know, small data sets produce strange results, but things could get better for the A's playing outside the division. Which is exactly what they are doing until June 19. Athletics Schedule and Links The A's start the week tonight at the Coliseum with a two-game set against the Miami Marlins . They then take their dismal road record to the Big...

Mariners (20-25) Ah, man, I know it's a Mariners post when I read it over and it contains the words tough, rough, brutal, ludicrous, nosedive and decimated and I didn't even mean to do that.  But here goes... The last-place Mariners are now underway at Nationals Park, where they face the first-place Washington Nationals in a three-game series. They have a 7-16 road record, They have Christian Bergman on the mound, making just his third start of the season - all of which have happened because of a decimated Mariners rotation. The Mariners are coming off a series against the Chicago White Sox where they looked the worst they have all season - yes, even worse than that four-game sweep in Toronto that was the beginning of this latest nosedive down the standings. So,,,yeah. They have all that going for them. But stranger things have happened than turning around a rough first quarter of a season on a road trip. And all the things written here just the other day still a...

Houston Astros (30-15) With Dallas Keuchel out, the Astros ran long reliever Brad Peacock out on the mound against the Detroit Tigers.  And it worked, with the Astros picking up their Major League-leading 30th win. Peacock threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings and the bullpen finished it out. In all, the Tigers got just one hit. Jose Altuve drove in the winning run. Astros 1, Tigers 0  The Astros have called up reliever Jordan Jankowski , who has spent more than two seasons in the minors and got dogpiled by his Triple-A teammates when the call-up news came through. Texas Rangers (24-21) Monday was a travel day for the Ranger. Tonight they begin a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. Adrian Beltre is on his way back, which means the Rangers have to decide what to do with Joey Gallo , who leads the team in home runs. Globe Life Park was named the most vegan friendly  ballpark by PETA. I know that's random, but you didn't expect that from...

Angels (23-23) After seven weeks of preseason hopes despite a top-heavy payroll , a hot first week featuring an epic seven-run comeback, a completely ridiculous amount of pitching injuries, a trip to the DL for Mike Trout, a flurry of moves by Billy Eppler and the Office of the GM, Albert Pujols stealing third base,  fans playing catch with Trout, the ups and downs of young Alex Meyer and many appearances by the mascot Dodgers fan envy , the Angels are right back where they started. 23 dash 23. Circling back to the beginning. Deja vu, all over again. But actually better off  than they were at 0-0. Every team was even at the beginning of the season. Now the Angels are one of 10 teams at or above .500. Given the loss of Garret Richards, Cam Bedrosian , Yunel Escobar , Tyler Skaggs , Andrew Bailey and Huston Street, that's fairly remarkable. These Angels abide . Angels fans should take some comfort in that. Angels Schedule and Links So, what now? For the next ...

Houston Astros (29-15) So, the Astros finally met their match. Yes, the Cleveland Indians had taken a series from the Astros earlier this season in Ohio. And yes, it's still just May. But as noted here Saturday , and by many who type the word "Astros" every day for fun or profit, this was a kind of big deal series. And it ended with the Astros getting swept at home. Not to mention it happened on the same weekend the Astros lost both Dallas Keuchel and Brian McCann to the DL. That's not good in any month of the season. For those just enjoying the horse race and not living and dying on the result of every Astros' game, things just got a little bit more interesting in the American League West and a lot more interesting in the wider context of the American League pennant race. . Of course if you're an Astros fan, ha ha , that's not so great. Every Astros fan getting through their the usual grey Monday drudgery workday is thinking in the back ...