Christian Walker didn’t try to sugarcoat what happened at home.
After the Houston Astros finished off their series with the Athletics on Sunday with a 7-6 loss, they had dropped six of nine games during the homestand. Houston took two of three from Oakland, but the bigger picture was hard to ignore: another rough stretch at home, another night where the Astros came up short in a game they needed.
Walker, the Astros’ first baseman, put the frustration into blunt terms.
“This homestand doesn’t feel like ‘Oh man, we’re not good enough to win these games.’ It’s like, f***, we let some games slip away from us.
We’re a better team than this. We should expect more out of ourselves,” Walker said, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
The loss sent Houston to 65-66, and the margin for error keeps shrinking. The Astros still sit in first place in the AL West, but the Texas Rangers are right there with the same record, so every game carries weight down the stretch.
What made the homestand sting even more was how close the last two losses to the Athletics were. Both came by one run, leaving Houston with the kind of losses that can linger.
Walker has been part of the effort to keep the Astros moving, even if the numbers have been uneven. He is hitting .233 with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs this season.
Houston now turns the page quickly, opening its next series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
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Joe Espadas Mound Visit Led To A Brutal Astros Surprise
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What should have been a simple visit instead sent the Astros into an awkward ruling once the umpires got involved, and Brown had to come out to a standing ovation after another strong outing. It left Houston with a strange midgame surprise and a reminder that even the most ordinary-looking trip to the mound can carry bigger consequences than anyone intended. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Finally Have A New Reason To Watch Alex Santos
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Santos earned the move after a strong run at Double-A Corpus Christi, where he put together a 3.38 ERA across 39 games. For an Astros farm system that always seems to have a few pitching names worth tracking, this is the sort of step that can change how quickly a player gets onto the major league radar. [Read more 🡒]
Cristian Javier Is Becoming An Astros Problem At The Worst Time
Cristian Javier gave the Astros a reminder of both sides of his value in a start that began with four solid innings before the game slipped away in the fifth. Houston got the version it needed early, the one that can shorten at-bats and keep a lineup off balance, but the outing also underscored how fragile things have become every time he takes the ball as the club tries to stay on track in a crowded playoff race.
Since coming back from injury in July, Javier has not looked like a pitcher who can carry a workload the way Houston needs right now. The command has wavered, opposing hitters have had more success than usual, and the Astros have been forced to lean harder on a bullpen that is already under pressure when games get tight late in the season. [Read more 🡒]