Four games remain. The Astros may need to win them all. Tonight is truly “must win,” for sure.
The Astros are currently one-half game ahead of the Mariners for the third berth in the Wild Card playoff round. The two teams are tied in the loss column.
Both teams face rough opposition to end the season. The Mariners face the Rangers. The Astros face the Diamondbacks who are also in a race for Wild Card positioning.
Since the Mariners hold the tiebreaker over the Astros, a loss tonight would be more devastating to the Astros playoff chances than a loss by the Mariners. But whoever wins has the upper hand going forward.
Don’t forget the Blue Jays. They are currently 1.5 games ahead of the AStros in Wild Card positioning but look to lose tonight’s game with the Yankees as it stands as of this writing.
The Astros need good Framber tonight, tight defense, smart baserunning, and clutch hitting. They have seen little of any of this during this 4-10 September swoon.
Here are the lineups.
Altuve ……………………2b
Bregman………………..3B
Alvarez…………………..DH
Tucker…………………….RF
Abreu……………………..1B
Brantley…………………..LF
Dubon……………………..CF
Pena………………………..SS
Maldonado……………….C