HOUSTON -- With seven games remaining in the regular season, and now in second place in the American League West for the first time since late July, the Astros are faced with the stark reality that they no longer control their own fate. Which means they have to start stacking wins, beginning with Sunday’s regular-season home finale at Daikin Park.
The Braves beat the Astros for the second straight night Saturday, using a two-out grand slam from right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. off reliever Bryan Abreu in the seventh inning to hand Houston a 6-3 loss. The defeat dropped the Astros out of first place and back under the .500 mark at 77-78.
Houston is looking up in the standings at the Rangers (78-77), who beat the Blue Jays on Saturday for their sixth win in seven games.
“That was a tough one,” manager Joe Espada said. “We were right there and one out away from really turning things around. We have to really flush this one quick. This is a tough one. We’ve just got to get ready for tomorrow.”
The Astros will send ace Hunter Brown to the mound in Sunday’s regular-season home finale. It’s not a must win, but it’s about as close it gets considering the standings and the calendar. Houston has lost nine of 13 games to drop out of first place for the first time since July 30.
“It’s not about feeling sorry for yourself or being pissed off,” said first baseman Christian Walker, who had two singles to break an 0-for-23 slump. “It’s about winning every game from here on out. That’s the only thing that matters. Anything that doesn’t contribute to winning tomorrow, we don’t have time for it. It’s go time.”
Stacking wins is something the Astros haven’t done since winning three games in a row Sept. 2-4. They’ll close the season with six games on the road against AL West foes -- the Mariners and the A’s. Houston is 2-9 against Seattle this year and 4-5 against the A’s.
“We’ve got to keep playing good baseball,” Astros pitcher Hayden Wesneski said. “I think we’ll be fine. We’ve got some guys in here who are going to pull their weight and we’ll be OK.”
Last year, the Astros entered the final week of the season tied with the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot and lost two of three games against the A’s before being eliminated in a Game 160 loss to the Angels.
The Astros wound up missing the postseason by one game, having lost the tiebreaker to the Tigers. Houston owns the tiebreaker over the Rangers, who have four home games remaining against the Blue Jays (Sunday) and Mets (Tuesday-Thursday) before finishing the season at the Twins.
“Every win matters. Every loss, it’s a difficult one,” Espada said. “But we have to start winning a couple of games in a row, starting with tomorrow. We’ve got the right guy on the mound and we have to really bounce back and get this one tomorrow.”
The Astros were 57-4 when leading after six innings entering Saturday’s game. Isaac Paredes drove in Houston’s first two runs with a first-inning homer and third-inning single for his 90th RBI, and Wesneski gave up one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Reliever AJ Blubaugh escaped a mess in the sixth, but allowed two singles and a walk after two outs in the seventh. He was replaced by Abreu, who gave up the Acuña grand slam to left field on a 97 mph fastball. The Braves led, 5-2. The Astros got the tying run to the plate in the eighth, but again couldn’t find a clutch hit.
Houston’s bullpen, which has been a strength for much of the season, is showing wear and tear. The loss of reliable lefty Steven Okert to a hamstring injury for the rest of the regular season has been a blow. Blubaugh, who has pitched more innings (92 1/3) than any reliever in the big leagues, has given up nine earned runs (three homers) in six innings in his last seven outings while trying to cover some high-leverage situations.
“Those guys, they continue to be reliable,” Espada said of his bullpen. “They still continue to be really good. Today was one of those days that didn’t go our way. Those are our guys and I trust them and I’m going to continue to give them the ball.”