First place, and almost nothing to show for it
Three runs or fewer in 18 of their last 31 games. That is what the American League West leader has been doing since the August 3 trade deadline, and Houston still opens a six-game road swing Tuesday in Philadelphia sitting at 73-71, two clear of Texas.
September has been uglier still. The team is batting .211 with a .287 on-base percentage and a .340 slugging mark, all three among the seven worst figures in the majors this month. Five of the last six games have ended with Houston stuck on three runs or fewer.
Arizona came to town over the weekend and left with the series. Eight Houston runs in 28 innings. A win, then two losses.
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Pena’s bat has vanished at the top of the order
Joe Espada is not budging. “I like our fight, and we’re in a very good spot,” the manager said, pointing to the run of quality arms his lineup has run into over the past fortnight.
Jeremy Pena makes that pitch a hard sell. The shortstop is hitting .083 in September out of the leadoff spot: two hits in 24 plate appearances, zero RBIs, seven strikeouts, one walk. August was not much better at .204, though at least the power was there, five homers and 12 RBIs across 25 games. Now even that is gone.
“It’s about swinging at better pitches and taking the ones I can handle,” he said. A leadoff man rebuilding his approach in the second week of September is not what a division lead is supposed to look like.
Wesneski and Painter both arrive off seven scoreless
Hayden Wesneski (4-1, 3.18 ERA) takes the mound for Houston. The 28-year-old right-hander shut out the White Sox over seven innings Wednesday, giving up a single hit, his sharpest work of the year. His history against Philadelphia reads less well: 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA across four appearances.
Andrew Painter (3-8, 5.55) goes the other way. The 23-year-old rookie has never seen Houston. He also spun seven scoreless last week against Arizona, and walked nobody doing it.
Philadelphia (81-63) is rolling. Jesus Luzardo went the distance Monday on two hits and 12 strikeouts to beat Atlanta 1-0, working 109 pitches with 78 of them for strikes. Kyle Schwarber provided the run, a two-out shot in the eighth, his 43rd of the season and the most in baseball. He has gone deep in three consecutive games.
The Phillies remain four back of the Braves in the East and hold the top wild card by half a game over the Cubs. Houston, meanwhile, has to find some offense in a ballpark where the home side has been scoring at will.
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