Barger's walk-off single in 11th lifts Blue Jays over Angels for 7th straight win
George Springer added a two-run home run, his fifth in five games, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits for the Blue Jays, who won their second straight in extra innings. Toronto won 4-3 in 10 innings Friday.
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Barger lined the winning hit to right field off Angels right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn (5-3).
Toronto's Braydon Fisher (3-0) pitched two shutout innings for the win.
Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer allowed two runs and five hits in four innings, the shortest of his three starts since coming off the injured list last month.
Scherzer threw 72 pitches, 46 strikes.
Angels outfielder Jo Adell opened the scoring with a bases-loaded walk in the first, but the inning ended when right fielder Barger caught Jorge Soler's fly ball and threw Mike Trout out at home plate. The outfield assist was Barger's sixth.
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Barger's RBI single off Jack Kochanowicz tied the score in the bottom of the first but Adell restored the lead with a sacrifice fly in the third.
Nathan Lukes walked to begin the third and Springer followed with a 413-foot homer to straightaway center, his 16th.
The Angels tied it in the seventh on Nolan Schanuel's two-out single off rookie Lazaro Estrada.
Key moment
Barger broke his bat over his thigh in frustration after striking out against Kenley Jansen to send the game to extra innings, but was celebrating after his winning hit in the 11th.
Key stat
After throwing a ball to Logan O'Hoppe on his first pitch of the second inning, Scherzer struck out the side on nine straight pitches.
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RHP Kevin Gausman (6-6, 4.18 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday's series finale against Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-5, 4.12).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
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Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Lyndon ‘LB' Byers, Former Boston Bruins Player and Radio Host, Dies at 61
NEED TO KNOW Lyndon 'LB' Byers, the former Boston Bruins player who later became a radio personality, died on July 4 at age 61 Byers played for the team from 1983 to 1992 and went to the Stanley Cup finals twice before becoming a radio personality "Lyndon became a true Bostonian and we will miss him dearly. He is forever a part of our Bruins family,' the Bruins wrote Lyndon 'LB' Byers, the former Boston Bruins player who later became a radio personality, died on July 4. He was 61. On July 5, the Bruins announced that Byers — originally from Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada — had died on the previous day. The team did not share a cause of death. Advertisement "The Boston Bruins are deeply saddened by the passing of Lyndon Byers," the team began a statement on X. "Lyndon was a fan favorite across his nine seasons in the black & gold, thanks to his rugged, rough-and-tumble style and a key cog on the B's teams that made trips to the Stanley Cup final in 1988 and 1990." "Following his playing career, Lyndon spent some 25 years as a local radio personality, entertaining scores of New Englanders every day with his quick wit and boisterous voice." the team added. Byers' wife, Annie, also shared news of her husband's death in a post on Facebook, writing: "It is with deep regret that I have to announce that LB passed away yesterday morning." Advertisement "We recognize how many people loved and cared for him and considered him a friend. Keep LB in your memory, remember his smile, and know how much he cared about all of you," she wrote, adding that a memorial service would be taking place soon. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Byers spent much of his professional hockey career playing for the Bruins from 1983 to 1992, according to USA Today and CBS News Boston. His best season for the Boston team came in 1987-88, when he had 10 goals, 24 points and 236 penalty minutes (as well as 62 more penalty minutes in the playoffs). Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Lyndon Byers at the Boston Garden in the 1980s Lyndon Byers at the Boston Garden in the 1980s In the 1992-93 seasons, he played for the San Jose Sharks, and later finished his professional hockey career with two seasons in the now-defunct International Hockey League. Over the course of his NHL career, he had 28 total goals, 71 points and 1,081 penalty minutes. Advertisement The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! After his retirement from pro hockey, Byers appeared on Boston's WAAF radio station and took on several acting roles, in films and TV shows such as Rescue Me, Shallow Hal, Stuck on You and more. "Lyndon became a true Bostonian and we will miss him dearly. He is forever a part of our Bruins family," the team added in its statement. "Our thoughts are with his wife, Annie, and son, Will, during his very difficult time." Read the original article on People
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
What we've learned in the first half of the MLB season: 10 midsummer takeaways
Wait. The All-Star break is coming up next week? How'd that happen? Didn't Shohei Ohtani make that home run trot in Tokyo like 20 minutes ago? Well, if we're halfway through another stupendous baseball season, it's again time to let you know exactly What We've Learned in the First Half, with perspective from four MLB executives, who were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly. You know this season is roaring right along if the 2025 deadline is now only 24 days away. But the only thing that seems clear about this deadline is that it's not going to be one of those tradefests in which the floodgates open early. (What about that Rafael Devers blockbuster, you ask? That one was 'personal,' said one exec. So it's in its own separate category, as we'll get to shortly.) Advertisement Over at Baseball Reference, they're still listing (gulp) 26 teams as being within striking distance of some kind of playoff spot. That's everybody but the Rockies, Nationals, Athletics and White Sox. Even if the more realistic number is 23 or 24, that's still a seller-buyer ratio that's officially not helpful. 'I think it's going to be a scramble,' said a National League exec, 'because so many teams are still in it that I don't know if you're going to see a lot of activity until the last couple of days.' So who are the pivotal buy/sell tightrope walkers to watch? There are so many teams in that Maybe Zone, we could name a dozen options. But our panel pointed toward these four teams: Diamondbacks — They're built to win and still trying to win. But if the next three weeks don't go well, they could shake up this deadline — by dangling the likes of impending free agents Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suárez, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly (among others). 'Josh Naylor,' one American League exec said, 'could be the best bat traded this month.' Twins — The Twins went 9-17 in June. That doesn't feel real contender-like. But they're still only five games out of a wild-card spot. So who knows? If they sell, or even go into simultaneous buy/sell mode, they could do brisk business. 'Minnesota has a glut of corner-outfield players who could, in theory, all be in play: (Trevor) Larnach, (Matt) Wallner, Willi Castro, maybe even Royce Lewis,' another AL exec said. 'They also have an unbelievably top-heavy, good bullpen (where Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax would be very buzzy commodities who each have two-plus years of team control remaining).' Guardians — See previous two paragraphs! The Guardians have gone 9-22 since the start of June — yet still haven't quite tumbled out of that wild-card race (seven games back). But even if the next few weeks are just as rough, the league is dubious that a full sell-off is coming from one of the youngest teams in the sport. Advertisement 'I think Cleveland always just plays the Tampa Bay-type long game,' an NL exec said. 'So they could flip some pieces. Steven Kwan would be a potential piece, even though there's a couple years of control there. But I don't see a big sell coming.' Red Sox — They've already unloaded Devers, but they're one more team still in a race that's seemingly impossible to fall out of. So 'they're going to be fascinating,' an NL exec said. Who could they sell? Aroldis Chapman is the most logical name. But when other clubs look at the Red Sox, they see a team that just needs to reconfigure the roster more than it needs to dump money or big names. 'I think they're going to continue to do things that solve their long-term issues,' an AL exec said. 'So I think (Jarren) Duran is probably in play for a lot of teams. … I think he's the most likely of those players in their outfield to change teams.' We're going to tackle this stunning blockbuster in two parts. First, let's talk about the Giants. The Devers press conference might turn out to be their highlight of the year! The weekend before Devers showed up, they were tied with the Dodgers for first place. In the three weeks since they made arguably their gutsiest trade of the 21st century, they've lost 11 of 19, skidded to seven games out of first … and scored the fewest runs in the National League. Because … baseball! But here's our Giants takeaway, and we're sticking to it: Ignore that record (for now) — because the most important thing we've learned is that Buster Posey is just as fearless, as a president of baseball operations, as he was when he was winning MVP trophies and World Series rings. 'When you make moves like that, you always get lauded for doing them in the moment,' an AL exec said. 'I know they haven't played well since that trade. But when you make those decisions, it can never be about how it's going to make you feel in the moment. And when it's eight and a half years of contract that you're taking on, it can't be about what it does for you in the next two months. Advertisement 'They clearly have had trouble attracting marquee, middle-of-the-order, name-brand bats. And they were able to acquire a 28-year-old guy whose track record is as long and as good as anybody's. So I hope it works for them. I didn't have any problem with anything they did. And I don't think they'll really miss anything they gave up if Rafael Devers is a good player for them.' Boy, is it hard to find anyone in baseball who likes the Boston side of this trade … from any angle. The first big Red Sox issue: When you trade a star, the conventional wisdom is that you at least have to get somebody back with a chance to be a star … and that didn't happen here, just as the Red Sox didn't make it happen in the Mookie Betts deal. 'Who's (their) headliner?' one AL exec said of this package. 'That's my big thought. Even if you just accept the decision to trade him in the first place and say we're not going to debate that, I still think they could have and should have done better than they did.' But beyond the Who Won the Trade conversation, the Red Sox should know how shocked the industry is by the painful organizational dysfunction that led to this trade. 'What stands out the most is just how brutal the communication (with Devers) was on their side,' an NL exec said. 'It's made me think about how we treat players (in his team's organization) — how players are treated and respected, and the value of good communication, and how that affects and creates culture. 'You know, it's easy to throw stones at other teams. I get that. I just know that in our organization, we function on communication and culture and support, on positivity and curiosity. And these things are just what's built into our organization, from top to bottom. So I can't even fathom that happening.' Advertisement I asked that question of all four execs surveyed. The consensus answer? 'The healthy Dodgers.' Good answer — except for one thing. In real life, that team doesn't exist. Did you know that this not-so-healthy version of the Dodgers has already used 34 pitchers, 16 starters and five openers? Or that Kiké Hernández has pitched more times (five) than Blake Snell (two)? Or that they have 13 pitchers on the injured list? Or that they're spending more payroll dollars on players who aren't playing for them ($132 million) than the Brewers or Rays are paying their active players to make up teams that would be in the playoffs if the postseason started today? But that's just another year in the life of the ridiculously deep — and deep-pocketed — Dodgers. They barely have enough healthy elbow ligaments to scrape together a pitching staff — and they're still seven games ahead of the rest of their respectable division. But does that make them 'great' as currently constituted? Nobody I surveyed would go there. 'When I look at teams and try to break down 'a great team' in the simplest form,' an NL exec said, 'I say: Who has a great offensive club, with great starting pitching and a great bullpen? I don't think there's any team in baseball that says, right now: We're great at all three of those things — or even: We're really good at all three of those things. 'I obviously have a lot of respect for the healthy Dodgers. I just think it's probably more irresponsible than responsible to assume that they're going to be healthy.' Whatever they are, FanGraphs 'only' projects the Dodgers at 23 percent odds to win the World Series — but no other team in either league is even above 12 percent. So is that further proof that this is a season with no great teams — unless the Dodgers spring back to health by October? 'I don't know,' another NL exec said. 'I just know that when you look at that (Dodgers) roster, the ceiling of those players, I think, is completely unmatched in baseball right now.' Advertisement I'm just going to say it: The Orioles are the most disappointing team I can remember since I've been following baseball. I'm not alone. When this season began, FanGraphs gave this Orioles team 45 percent odds of making the playoffs. That was higher than the Rays, Brewers or Padres — and basically in the same neighborhood as the Tigers (46 percent), Cubs (48 percent) and Astros (52 percent). And why not? We're talking about a team that was coming off two straight trips to the postseason. It seemed to be leading the league in young superstars, future superstars and top-100 prospects. And even with the loss of Corbin Burnes in free agency, this group had the vibe of a team following the Astros' 2015-23 playbook — built both to be good and stay good. Oops. Instead, injuries, regression and shaky pitching have, shockingly, led the Orioles to nearly a worse run differential (minus-82) than the White Sox (minus-84) — and the fifth-worst in the sport, ahead of only the Rockies, Nationals, A's and those White Sox. So the playoff odds in Baltimore are down to just 3.9 percent. And it's hard to say that's a fluke, given this team's bottom-10 offense and bottom-five pitching staff in the first half. Still, I know what you're thinking: What about the Braves, Rangers and Diamondbacks, three other teams that have played way below expectations this year? Or what about all the other teams from the last 10 … 20 … 30 … 40 years that underperformed, got managers fired and belong in this argument for biggest disappointment? Here's the difference: Those teams weren't built like this team was built. 'I think the difference with them,' an NL exec said of the Orioles, 'is that most of the teams that we would qualify as disappointing were teams that added big-time free agents and spent a bunch of money and then it just didn't work. Where this one probably is even more disappointing is, I think we all just felt like it's a lot of young positional players that are just going to continue to get better.' Advertisement So talk about teams that could fire up this trade deadline. Suppose the Orioles were bold enough to dangle a young, centerpiece bat for a young, controllable top-of-the-rotation arm? That doesn't seem likely. But check those trade rumors this month! In October 2024, we were asking: How'd this team make the playoffs? But nine months later, in July 2025, we're asking a whole different question about the Tigers: How many teams in this sport are better than they are? Did you see this magical Tigers season coming? Not many people did. Before the season, FanGraphs gave them only a 27 percent shot of winning their division — worse than the Twins and Mariners, and barely higher than the Royals. So the Tigers have been baseball's most pleasant surprise. But are we over the surprise yet? Their 11 1/2-game lead entering July wasn't just the biggest in MLB. It was the largest in the 125-season history of their franchise. They're in a tight race with the Yankees for the most runs scored in their league. They're the best base-running team in their league. They're tied for second in the sport in starting pitching ERA. And they're a top-10 defensive team in the sport. So … what about this feels like just another midseason illusion? That would be nothing, said a rival AL executive. 'Best pitcher in baseball (in Tarik Skubal),' the exec said. 'Impact manager (in A.J. Hinch). Lots of guys exceeding expectations, like Gleyber (Torres) and (Casey) Mize.' So are the Tigers — yes, the Tigers — good enough to win the World Series? 'If you are good enough to get to the playoffs and skip the wild-card round,' the same exec said, 'you are good enough to win anything.' They're baseball's pluckiest homeless team — booted out of their home sweet dome by a hurricane, spending their summer playing in somebody else's stadium. So for those always-underestimated Tampa Bay Rays, this looked like a year for survival, not reprisal. Nope. It's turning into another year of the Rays doing Rays things, just when (and where) you least expected it. Advertisement Halfway through this amazing season, they've won the same number of games as the Yankees. They could wind up hosting all three games of the wild-card round (just don't ask where). And they have the second-best record in baseball (24-17) against teams that are .500 or better. 'I don't know if I'd call this a magic trick,' said a rival AL exec. 'They have a really good team. Their pitching is really good. I just think that the unique part of this one is that they have all these (typical) Rays things happening, and they're doing it while playing in somebody else's spring training park. And they seemingly don't miss a beat.' Based on Retrosheet data, no team has ever made the postseason while playing more than three 'home' games someplace other than its normal home ballpark. Now the Rays could demolish that record — if they can just weather playing 47 of their last 75 games on the road. That walk-year slog toward the free-agent auction stand can be an adventure. But that sound you hear, off in the distance, is the cash register ringing for three guys who are definitely going to be able to afford that new coffee table after they sign their next free-agent deals this winter. Alex Bregman — He's already making $40 million a year in the first year of his free-agent deal with the Red Sox … so nobody has to worry about Bregman's earning power. But he can (and almost certainly will) opt out. And when you combine his 158 OPS+, his in-it-to-win-it intensity and the ripple effects of the Devers trade, he's in prime position to cash in. 'I've been laughing about this for two weeks,' one AL exec said, 'just thinking about (his agent) Scott Boras' reaction to the Devers trade with Bregman, because you know he's sitting there thinking: 'Just give me a blank check, because whatever I want, you guys are going to have to pay me.'' Gleyber Torres — Sometimes, the smartest thing a player can do is market himself outside of the New York glare. For living proof, check out Torres. Advertisement Took a one-year, $15-million deal with Detroit after his trip through free agency last winter failed to lead him to Ca-Ching Land. Now he's starting in the All-Star Game for baseball's most pleasant surprise, the Tigers. He's rocking a 130 OPS+. And free agency 2.0 looks like it might be his kind of place. 'Gleyber has made himself the most money, right?' said another AL exec. 'Gleyber bet on himself with the one-year deal. And if he does this again in the second half, he's going to get paid.' Ranger Suárez — There were obviously other names I could have dropped into the third spot in this lineup: Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Framber Valdez. But the seasons they're having are in line with their track records. With Suárez, the often-brilliant but often-injured 29-year-old left-hander for the Phillies, the rest of the sport looked at his incredible first half in 2024 and said: Let's see him do that again. OK then. He's sitting on a 1.99 ERA with one start left before the All-Star break. So they've seen it! The question is how attractive is a 30-year-old left-hander with a history of streaks of brilliance but iffy volume. 'It's perfect,' said one rival exec, with a laugh. 'He'll sign with the Dodgers.' I'm a big fan of bagels. Just not when we're hanging nine of them on the scoreboard every night. Well, it's the Year of the Shutout. So we'd better get used to it. As recently as 2019, there were 268 team (not individual) shutouts thrown across baseball over a full season. And it wasn't just some random season, either. It was a season that featured the highest strikeout total in history. But this year, this sport is on pace for about 100 more shutouts than we saw in that season. At this pace, we'll see 366 of those shutouts, the most in a full season in the history of baseball. Advertisement The current record of 359 was set in the dead-ball era, in 1915, when there were only 16 teams. But in the live-ball era (1920-present), the full-season record is 357, in 1972. And even if we adjust for expansion by looking at the rate of shutouts per game, the only two seasons in the live-ball era with a higher shutout percentage were 1972 and 1968, two of the most famous Year of the Pitcher seasons in modern history. The question is why zero is turning into baseball's magic number. The strikeout rate has actually declined two seasons in a row. And the league-wide batting average, walk rate and OPS are all up compared to last year. But shutouts are still heading for historic territory. And they've actually become a daily staple, with at least one shutout on each of the last 14 days in a row, 24 of the last 26, 32 of the last 35, 44 of the last 48 and 56 of the last 61. What a fascinating trend. 'I know we talk about this all the time, but I can't say this enough: It's just really hard to hit now,' said one of our AL execs. 'Pitchers can just do things now with a baseball that people couldn't do 20 years ago. 'So while we're not missing as many bats, the stuff coming out of people's hands is better than it's ever been. It's not like the stuff got worse, and that's why strikeouts are going down. The stuff is outrageous right now across the board, and it's harder to be on the barrel than it's ever been.' It's never safe to ask, 'Who's going to win the Cy Young Award?' in July. But when has that ever stopped anyone? So who's going to win the National League Cy Young? It's possible the correct answer is Zack Wheeler – or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Logan Webb or (fill in the name of your favorite ace here). But it's also extremely possible the answer is … Paul Skenes. Advertisement Not that there's anything shocking about that — except that, thanks to the Pirates' dead-ball offense, he's rolling into mid-July with a won-lost record of … 4-7. OK, think about that. Should we care that it's possible we're about to live in a world where a starting pitcher could win a Cy Young with a record in the neighborhood of 8-13? Before you answer, you should know that even in these newfangled times, we've never lived in that world. For the first 40 full seasons that the Cy Young existed, the starting pitchers who collected that trophy had an average won-lost record of 21-8. And no starter won the award, in a full season, without winning at least 18 games until 1997, when Pedro Martinez took home his first Cy Young by going 17-8 with the Expos. But we didn't really know that the universe had changed until 2010, when Félix Hernández (deservedly) won the AL award in a season in which he went 13-12. Still, imagine a Cy Young with a losing record — and fewer than 10 wins — in a full season. We've never seen that, until … well, it might not be long. So let's ask again: Should anyone still care — if Skenes hangs onto his lead in more relevant 2025-ish metrics such as WAR, ERA+ and opponent OPS? You should know I got some measured, deep-thought responses to that question from our panel. But I also got this one from a longtime Kill The Win exec: 'Come on, it's such a dumb, antiquated statistic,' he said of The Win. 'Look, I think Paul Skenes cares immensely about wins, and I'm glad he does. He should. But he's not voting for the Cy Young. … I want Paul Skenes to care because it makes him a better pitcher. But if you're filling out a ballot and you care, you are an idiot.' So what have we learned about baseball in 2025? The deadline might be a bust. The Tigers are for real. The cash register is ringing for Alex Bregman. And us lowly sportswriters? We still have to prove we're not idiots. (Top photo of Tarik Skubal: Grace Hoppel / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
The five key statistics that have kept the Houston Astros' offense afloat in 2025
HOUSTON — On Opening Day, Astros manager Joe Espada wrote a lineup with leadoff hitter Jose Altuve and cleanup man Christian Walker. Yordan Alvarez hit second and Yainer Diaz slotted fifth. It was the sort of setup that should've portended prolific offense. Alvarez has appeared in 29 of the Astros' first 90 games. Walker and Diaz entered Sunday's series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers sporting a sub-90 OPS+. In late April, Altuve asked out of the leadoff spot in favor of flourishing shortstop Jeremy Peña. Advertisement Houston has weathered that injury and ineffectiveness to still possess baseball's eighth-highest OPS. Slugging remains an issue — again, Alvarez hasn't played in a game since May 2 — but the Astros have otherwise put together a top-flight offense. No other team in the sport has a higher batting average and only six boast a higher on-base percentage. Alvarez's eventual return can cure some of what ails the Astros. So can adding balance during the upcoming trade deadline. But, after 90 games, here are the five numbers that have kept Houston's offense afloat. The Astros awoke on Sunday sporting the platoon advantage in 28.4 percent of their plate appearances. Every other lineup in the sport had it at least 37.5 percent of the time. The major-league average is 54.2 percent, a number the Astros won't reach even if they acquire a left-handed bat at the trade deadline and welcome Alvarez back to their lineup. Including the Astros, only five offenses have taken fewer than 50 percent of their plate appearances with a platoon advantage. Three of them — the Giants, Royals and Angels — all awoke on Sunday with an OPS+ at least four points below league average. Houston entered its series finale against the Dodgers with a 106 OPS+, neutralizing what is supposed to be a drastic disadvantage. Thirty-two right-handed batters entered Sunday with at least a .770 OPS against right-handed pitching. The Astros employ four of them. No other team has more than three. Altuve and Isaac Paredes' success against right-handed pitching is part of their career-long trends. Meyers, meanwhile, had a .621 OPS and a 24.5 percent strikeout rate against righties across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Peña posted a .659 OPS against right-handers during that same timeframe. Advertisement Just seven right-handed hitters entered Sunday with a higher OPS against right-handed pitching than Peña's .854 mark. Meyers' .782 OPS against righties is another marked improvement amid his breakout season, one that is helping Houston's unbalanced lineup to thrive. The number itself inspires little confidence, but consider that Houston finished last season with a minus-10 baserunning run value. Only the Angels, Blue Jays and Yankees were worse. Last year, the Yankees and Astros took an extra base on hits less than any team in the sport. The Yankees are authoring a repeat performance this season. Houston, however, entered Sunday advancing an extra base 43 percent of the time: a seven percent increase from last year. Peña and Meyers' breakthroughs can't be overstated — they're the two fastest players on the team — but the Astros have made a concerted effort to run the bases with more aggression. Espada preached it in spring training, perhaps cognizant of the power he lost after the team traded Kyle Tucker and allowed Alex Bregman to sign with the Red Sox. Espada added third-base coach Tony Perezchica to his staff, in part, to improve the team's baserunning. Last season, Perezchica oversaw an Arizona Diamondbacks team that finished with a 17 baserunning run value. Houston does not have the personnel to replicate that performance, but progress with Perezchica is palpable. That the Astros have only made 19 outs on the bases — the third fewest in the sport — demonstrates their aggression isn't always reckless, either. Lineups that are either shorthanded or short on talent can still succeed by following one of baseball's most accurate axioms: good things can happen when you put the ball in play. The Astros adopted it as a hallmark after the 2016 season and continue to prioritize contact even as their rosters evolve. Advertisement No team in baseball has a higher contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone than Houston's. The Astros swing at 68 percent of the pitches they see in the strike zone — the fifth highest in the sport — accentuating how sound their decision-making can be. A 29.6 percent chase rate can contradict that statement. Only three teams have a higher one. View both numbers and it becomes clear how crucial it is for Houston to stay inside the strike zone. The problem? The Astros are seeing the third-fewest in-zone pitches in baseball, an ode from opponents that are aware of Houston's ability to put them in play. Houston's lineup hammers fastballs, a fact opponents are beginning to respect. No offense in baseball has a higher batting average against all fastballs — four-seamers, two-seamers and cutters — than the Astros' .291 mark. As a result, Houston's lineup is seeing just 53.6 percent fastballs. Only five teams are seeing fewer. Fewer fastballs means a higher percentage of secondary pitches and spin, patterns that can become easy to predict, but still difficult to hit. The Astros entered Sunday seeing breaking balls 34.1 percent of the time. Just three teams see spin more often — the Angels, Phillies and Diamondbacks — but none of them have been as successful handling the secondary stuff. The Angels, for example, are hitting .191 against the major-league high 34.4 percent of breaking balls they see. The Astros' .232 batting average against breaking balls is the eighth highest in baseball, but only one team ahead of them — the Dodgers — is seeing spin at higher than a 31.9 percent clip. Remember, Houston is seeing it 34.1 percent of the time. Unsurprisingly, teams are attacking the Astros' free-swingers and fledgling players with spin. Meyers, Yainer Diaz and Cam Smith all entered Sunday seeing at least 35 percent breaking balls. Meyers, who hit .163 against spin last season, has increased his average to .223. Smith has the same batting average, which is more than adequate for a rookie. Diaz's has dropped from .293 last season to .207 through the first 89 games of this one, but his backup is helping to pick up the slack. Victor Caratini crushed a sweeper for a grand slam during Friday's 18-1 destruction of the Dodgers, continuing a renaissance Houston needed. Victor Caratini hit .234 against breaking balls last season. His recent grand slam upped his average to .302 in this season. Solving all spin is crucial for any lineup, but for one as right-handed as Houston's, holding its own against sliders is crucial. Sliders are a right-handed pitcher's preferred putaway pitch against a right-handed hitter. Advertisement Houston leads the major leagues in right-handed plate appearances, so it is no surprise that its lineup is seeing the second-most sliders of any offense in baseball. Only the Los Angeles Angels are seeing more — and are slashing a meager .192/.243/.369 against them. The Astros, meanwhile, entered Sunday with baseball's fourth-highest slugging percentage against sliders. No team has more hits off of sliders — then again, few get as many opportunities — but Houston's performance against the pitch can't be overstated. Peña's improvement at recognizing sliders has been chronicled. He's one of six Astros who entered Sunday hitting at least .247 while seeing at least 700 sliders — success that must be maintained for however long the lineup remains so right-handed. (Photo of Christian Walker and Yanier Diaz celebrating: Harry How / Getty Images)
