April 23: A's Within Two of Astros, Angels and Rangers Get Good Pitching (!), Mariners Flounder

Astros (12-6)

The Astros lost for just the second time since April 10. They jumped out to an early lead against 13-year-old Blake Snell - all right, he's really 24, but just look at the dude - but the Rays came back for a 6-3 win. It's been said before and will be said again: the back end of the rotation is the Astros main (heck, maybe only) big problem. Charlie Morton got knocked around last night, we shall see what Joe Musgrove brings to the mound today against the Rays' Matt Andriese,

The box,. 

A.J. Hinch explains why he likes a left-handed hitter in the 2-hole, even with a lefty on the mound.

Athletics (10-8)

The A's keep this up and we will be headed toward a Battle of the Rebuilds between the Astros and A's - something that will keep nerds up all night flaming each other with comments and posting long, detailed explanations on how the analytical approach taken by Billy Beane and David Forst is superior to that taken by Jeff Luhnow, and vice versa. Which will be awesome. In the meantime, the A's won their fifth straight and guaranteed a series win against the Mariners. Jharel Cotton pitched in and out of jams through six innings, but ended up giving up just two earned runs. Both Adam Rosales and Ryon Healy homered.

The box. 

Remember that big decision Beane made to turn down the Boston Red Sox. He has no regrets.  As a Dad myself, I've always respected Beane for this decision just on those grounds alone.

Rangers (8-10)

Since the A's secured second place this week, it's been a carousel in the 3-5 spots, with the Rangers finally moving to the top last night. They've won three in a row, all against the Royals, who came into the series on a hot streak. And last night the biggest factor was...wait for it...pitching. Nick Martinez went 7 innings, giving up just one run, and Alex Claudio and Matt Bush closed it out with two scoreless innings. They go for the sweep today with Yu Darvish on the mound (that's the name you want in that sentence, Rangers fans).

The box

Angels (8-11)

Here's video of that grand slam by Andrelton Simmons, one of the best and most underrated players in the American League West in my opinion. The Angels have a chance today to win a series they should win against the Blue Jays, who are terrible. Daniel Wright starts today because Jesse Chavez pitched in relief Friday (a game he lost).  Maybe Wright can step up and give the starting rotation a much-needed good performance to follow the good one last night from Tyler Skaggs (7 innings, two earned runs. Pitching still looks like the long-term problem, because you know the bats are going to come around.

The box.

This is what I mean by long-term pitching problems.

Mariners (7-12)

It's worth noting that the two teams sitting atop the standings in the American League West got there, at least partially, by beating up on the Mariners. The Astros are 5-2 against the Mariners and the A's are 3-0. The Mariners will try to salvage one win out of the series with the A's today. It doesn't get any easier in Week 4, as they go on the road to Detroit and Cleveland. 


As usual, the Lookout Landing blog has an entertaining take on the Mariners' woes.

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