Astros Clobber Orioles 8-1

Sweep series in convincing nature. Are these the real Astros?

The Astros swept the recently first-place Baltimore Orioles convincingly, a team which in its previous two games before this series scored 24 runs against their arch-rival the New York Yankees.

This series was a beatdown. The struggling Dynasty humbled the arrogant upstarts by a run differential of 39-13 in the three-game series. This was the Astros’ fifth straight win. It left the Stros only two games under .500 and six games behind the Seattle Mariners with slightly more than half the season remaining.

Is this the long-awaited turnaround for the Astros?

In today’s game, Jose Altuve made a statement early. He led off the Astros’ first inning with a first-pitch home run off Orioles starter Albert Saurez. It was his 38th lead-off homer, third in Astros History, one behind George Springer but well behind Craig Biggio.

But that was just an appetizer.

Alex Bregman followed Altuve with a double and scored on a Yainer Diaz single. Jeremy Pena doubled home Diaz, and Mauricio Dubon singled in Pena to make the score 4-0 at the end of one.

This would be all the Astros would need. Just as Ronel Blanco muzzled the mighty Os bats Saturday night, Framber Valdez dominated them this afternoon, keeping the Os from scoring until the sixth inning, when he allowed a solo homer to Jordan Westburg. Valdez finished seven innings, allowing six hits, and two walks, with seven Ks.

But the Astros bats were not done. In the fourth Yainer Diaz hit his first of two run-scoring sac flies, (the other was in the eighth inning). And in the sixth inning, a Pena double scored Bregman and Diaz.

Two Astros rookies debuted in the bullpen to ice down Valdez’s win, Bryan King and Luis Contreras. Both pitched scoreless innings to open their careers for the wounded Astros.

The Astros ended the game with 15 hits, including a home run and four doubles, two each by Bregman and Pena. Bregman batted 4-4, with two runs scored. Pena was 3-5, with three RBI and a run scored, and Diaz was 3-3, with three RBI, and a run scored.

Keep in mind that during this five-game winning streak, the Astros have not had the services of 2024’s leading slugger, Kyle Tucker.

Although the Astros are down to four ostensible potential starting pitchers throughout the entire organization with the recent additions of Justin Verlander and Jake Bloss to the overcrowded Astros pitchers’ infirmary, with days off Monday and Thursday, they might see it through until at least one of the many walking wounded return.

Box score HERE.

Note: The demise of Alex Bregman’s career is greatly exaggerated. A notorious slow-starter, he usually rebounds in June and in 2024 that rebound is nearly the strongest of his career. So far this month, not including today’s 4-4, his OPS is .867, and wRC+ 150, both the highest June numbers of his career since Alex’s near-MVP season of 2019.

This was the first time the Orioles have been swept in a series in their last 117 series.