Astros have a tough schedule starting with Rays

Intro will the Rays come to town in the Astros next series at home and you say Kikuchi I say Bring It On he is starting Friday night let's go right now J Diaz this is L on Astros hello and welcome to lock on Astros your daily Astros podcast here are your host Eric the man Heisman and Brett htown [Music] Show Open CH we are locked on Houston Astros we hope that you join us for daily lockon Astros podcast my name is Eric heisi find me on X Eric talkr find the show at lockon Astros your team every day thank you for making us part of your daily routine whether it's on YouTube go ah ahead and hit that little red button down there that says subscribe make us your first listen on Apple odssey Spotify wherever you listen your podcast go and check out the lock on Astros podcast make us your first listen wherever you listen to your podcast today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more as the playoffs wind down um the sports uh the Sports Stop uh the sports stops sporting like we want them to but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that's right there's something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com to get started today so Brett where can I find you at by B house on X Instagram and Tik Tok they can find me at stros 411 on X and on Facebook they can also find me at back to the bullpen on X on Instagram on YouTube and on iHeart radio um with myself and Mike Stanton will be coming out with a couple new episodes soon look I'm always positive always stros um and off days is kind of nice today because the Texans were on the Texans are actually still playing as we record this podcast and look I'm excited about football this year Eric because this team is something else and even the second string guys look good so that was fun to see you know there wasn't a whole lot of on the news front we do have a couple injury updates for you know our guy um King Tuck and you know a stellar athlete in the a that will not be returning this year it's crazy um what's going on there but yeah um look Kikuchi gets to get the start on on the day off and he gets to be introduced to the home crowd I'm pretty sure he'll he will be welcomed with a lot of cheers and a lot of people excited to see what he's going to bring to this team yeah definitely Montero and I think that this is a a fresh start for him I think this is a fresh start for the Astros so to speak they have two new pitchers um they had to uh sacrifice so to speak uh Montero this is something that I know a lot lot of Astros fans have been saying on our podcast all season long why don't you just DFA Montero and I'm like well the Astros wouldn't do that because that they've already eaten up so much money with Jose Bru they would not do it again but this is Dana Brown putting a stamp on this team saying this is my team I'm the captain now uh whatever happened before I got here I'm trying to get rid of all the dirty laundry and that's what he did with Montero so can Montero uh if he clears waivers can he go down to Sugarland work on his pitches and become another a another possible option down the road sure but that's up to him and up to the pitching coaches down in Triple A but I think what the Astros are doing now is putting all their best options uh at the big league level because they have a tough stret uh stretch coming up we'll talk about how tough that is come uh coming up but right now let's go ahead and focus about the Astros versus race because uh this is something that I know that we've been kind of circling because we play the Rays like not back to back but almost back to back and so you're going to have a lot of rays and the rays are not the same team they've traded a lot of their uh players away es prades is no longer there they've traded a lot of players and I've joked on the um the little thumbnail there um it's Jose Altuve talking to uh Siri and he's like uh are you still here I thought they traded you and so it's just kind of a situation where most of the team is gone but what the what the rays are doing is they're trading not they're getting prospects because they have the number one farm system out there but also they're getting some assets that they can use at the big league level so we're going to see moral probably at uh second base and so I think yeah yeah he hit his you know he hit a home run his first atep bat with him we talked about that last night you know the Rays aren't a team to scoff at I mean I know they did have somewhat of a fire cell but they actually didn't get worse they they kind of improveed proved it was with all the moves they made they they did strategically the like there there's got to be some evil like mad scientist baseball guy over there in Tampa or in St Petersburg wherever they're located um because Eric this team continues to make moves bring up guys that you know are expected to do great do great pitching wise they just they just have this certain kind of magic and you know what's weird is even though they're two games over 500 they're still not anywhere close to their division they're fourth place in their division they're nine games out of of the standings they are four and a half they're behind Seattle now in the wild card out of the third wild card spot but you can never take the ray lightly because they always bring a fight which is what you want in your competitor um you know in your competitor um so the other guy we have on the M opposing us is Shane B Shane yeah yeah he's three and three this year uh actually he's he's sorry he's Owen won this year in four games started only 19 strikeouts so he's given up eight earned runs in 19.2 Innings pitched he's 25 he's not that old so you know here's a guy that if you can exploit what he throws you can get on the board early give Kikuchi a nice little cushion and let's help this guy get his first win and turn his season around because the quicker he gets turned around now that he's on our team the better it'll be for us and guys Kikuchi is a veteran this is Kikuchi a guy that you can possibly go ahead and give him some um give him some tips before the start he's not a rookie this is not his first start in Big League so I'm sure the Astros have probably sat down with him and say hey I this is what we think you should try to do in this start so why don't you try to do this and uh so maybe will see him make some minor changes I don't think he's going to change a lot between his last start and this start but I'm sure the Astros are already starting to show him some analytics here uh this is what we've seen from you you in your time with the Blue Jays this is what you think you could do better and so from there so ryell Blanco will go in game two versus uh latel um I believe his first name is Zack as he latel is 4- seven with a 4.18 ER and we kind of know what ryel Blanco's been doing he's 9-5 with the 2.95 ER uh his he's been kind of having mixed results recently I think that has a a lot to do with fatigue um he hasn't been doing terrible but I think that the Astros want to go to eventually go to a six-man rotation so that way they can give this guy some rest because he's already surpassed his his career high in innings in a regular in in any type of season so they definitely need to find some arms to do that and that was part of the reason why the Astros went out and got Kikuchi yeah definitely and um you know Spencer arti rounds out that that third game they don't have a pitcher listed for the Rays as of yet officially but I think this is a series you can go in and win I think you win at least two out of three that's what you get um you know you you've got guys here that I think can do the job you got the day of rest that you needed to help the bullpen guys that are overworked and you mentioned um you mentioned Blanco I I just think you know Blanco is he's got a lot of tread off the tires and when JV comes back you know the progression of JV the pro the the progression of Luis Garcia is Oho important at this point and I think Justin Verlander is probably GNA come off of that iil or whatever he's on first and then you see Garcia come off second but once once JB comes back once Garcia comes back that'll be a good thing for the Astros but what the Astros have to do Eric we can talk about this more um in the in the second segment is a situational hitting in manufacturing runs they've just still been too inconsistent with that they when they do it it's great when they don't do it so I would hate for Kikuchi to go out there shove six Innings get five strikeouts only give up a like one run and then the Astros lose 4 three you know what I'm saying like yeah go out there support your pitcher and hit the damn ball I know a lot of people think the Astros offense is terrible but if you look at them they're actually number one in batting average I know batting average is not everything but in the American League with the 261 batting average and if you scroll all the way down you see the Rays with a where I can't even find them they're all the way down there they're down there at 23 with a 234 batting average so they're in a year they're a team in transition so they know how to win and ways so we'll go and continue this conversation in a second guys thank you for making locked on Astros podcast your first listen every day and make sure you subscribe to FanDuel us this episode is brought to you by FanDuel go to fanduel.com America's number one sports book and the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball I love sports I love them so much and never want them to stop right well the playoffs have wound down in several leagues we get fewer games in Sports aren't sporting like I want them to like you want them to but FanDuel keeps the sports going whenever I want all I have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime I'm in the mood you can do the same thing and this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that's right there's something for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com and start making the most of your summer FanDuel the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball we're also brought to you by Supply housee go to supplyhouse.com for your plumbing hbac and electrical needs that's right skilled Tradesmen this is your easyto use website that's packed full with helpful resources and latest products info to help you get the job done right shop a complete inventory of over 200,000 parts from over 400 top brands and get your order delivered right to your door with fast shipping from coast to coast need help with an order get expert support and industry-leading service from the friendliest folks in the business and talk to a real person every single time the pros and skilled trades get a Competitive Edge by joining the supply.com free trademaster program every trademaster gets access to a dedicated phone line free 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the playoff series uh the times not necessar times but all the dates were announced today uh so the wild C card Series begin October 1st through the 3 and then the ALDS will begin October 5th through the 12th then the ALCS will begin the 14th through the 22nd but for the first time ever let's say the ALCS and the ALDS sorry ALCS and the NLCS they both End early they can move up the actual world World Series up a few days so there's not this Big G Gap in between a time so pictures don't get stale and everything so that's something that's brand new to the playoffs this year yeah I retweeted that and I said the I said Major League Baseball just posted the Astros playoff schedule okay so um and this is what I'm wondering I was looking at the different logos for each of the series there's no way they put the logos of the brands in the logo on the uniforms right I mean hopefully well I mean hopefully that's just for like the logo like separate but I was I had this Vision like if they put a logo on the side of the hat like you're gonna see like loone Depot or something like oh no please don't do that World Series by cap sponsored by Capital One that's right hey you know what look man at least it's not like these ridiculous bowl games like you know the Duke the Duke's like mayonnaise bowl or cheese its bowl or something like that right I mean yeah at least they're at least they're good companies I at least they're and hey some of them are sponsor so that's pretty cool um but I'm just wondering if they're gonna incorporate that in the logo or not yes so um while we're talking about that let's go and talk about the strength Strength of Schedule schedule the Astros are actually in the middle of the pack for the strength of schedule for the rest of the year they have um teams that they're playing against have a 502 winning percentage they have 54 games left in season the teams that have a winning percentage are uh the in the Guardians the Phillies uh the Orioles the Royals the Padres the Red Sox for six they played Orioles four times by the way the teams with losing records um or not very good records I guess because the Rangers are in this mix you got the white socks the A's the Angels the Rangers and then you also have the Reds so that's the Astro strength of schedule now if you look a couple spots down the Mariners have even um easier strength to schedule they have a 499 so and then if you go down to 22 the Rangers have an even easier strength to schedule at 493 so um right but but there so so our our issue is we've got a tough schedule so we have to perform they have an easier schedule but they still have to perform offensively you know what I'm saying and so the Mariners are are their are they're their they are Their Own Worst Enemy I can't talk tonight um so uh Willard was asking me and you do do you think Houston can beat Baltimore or the Yankees in the playoffs and beat either the Dodgers of the Phillies or the Braves in the World Series well my counter to you sir would be did you think in n in 2019 that the Washington Nationals were going to win a single playoff series and did you think the Braves were going to win a single playoff series look when you get to the playoffs history tells me even if you're a wildc card team you have a chance now when you look at everything we're dealing with and all the injuries and if everybody's not back healthy and if we don't have Kyle Tucker in the playoffs then is it extremely hard and more difficult 100% it's not easy I'm not saying it's a for sure thing but this club more than anybody and thank you for this one Arizona Astros fan the ALCS is the Houston Astros Invitational right I mean look anything's possible if you get in the playoffs that's that's all I'm saying and this team has more experience than anybody else that is going into these playoffs so I would put this team who seems to be Against All Odds over anybody else's chance if we were if someone else was in our shoes I would say no but because it's us 100% there's a chance I know Brion mcer today said on Kyle Tucker Sports Talk 790 that Tucker is not close to a minor league rehab assignment um I would say the fact that the Astros did not go all out and acquire a bat at the trade deadline they believe that he will be back this year and he'll be ready for the playoffs because the Astros cannot win in playoffs without Tucker they need a full lineup and that means Kyle Tucker has to be there what if janner Diaz becomes Kyle Tucker in the playoffs well you need you need all the bats everybody on board so if Diaz is hitting and then alare is hitting yeah you need everybody hitting I know you do but I'm I'm just saying trust me I want Tucker in there and I agree with you but if there's any team that's going to do it it's it's going to be it can be this team um but you know Eric I'll be real hon with you I don't think he's coming back I don't think he's coming back unless he comes back for the postseason I mean look I I just this this bone bruise because I was actually reading up on it it three months to a year Sometimes some people feel the effects of a bone bruise like this up to 12 months and the way that he is still hobbling people reporting that he's not even walking normally he's walking with a limp you're going to need at least two weeks or three weeks on a rehab assignment playing several games getting your feet under you I mean I I've gone from mid August to late September to I'm at the point where I'm I just resigned the fact that Kyle Tucker may not be back and that's just how I feel so are we getting are we getting a Mike Trout letter oh well hey let me tell you um I'm I'm glad you mentioned that because I I retweeted you know about Mike Trout um May third he he had he had knee surgery um he had he he had surgery on his meniscus well apparently it's torn now and he has to have surgery again and he's out again and he's crushed and he says I know the fans are disappointed he's disappointed and man I I got a lot of love from Angels fans they are hurting right now because he is pretty much their bright spot now they've got some young talent coming up oh hop and guys like that that you know aren't bad Major Leaguers but he's Mike Trout and he's a multi-time MVP winner he's that guy that's only played in one playoff series in his career and the angels just can't get off the tarmac they cannot get off the tarmac of being irrelevant to relevant baseballwise and without him I think they're nothing I think he is their foundation so I hope he gets better I know he's crushed he's one of the good guys in the game and you hate to see that yeah I I still think that the Astros hope that Tucker's back and this is not yeah so see but we'll continue this conversation in a second this episode is brought to you by Sponsor liquid IV use the promo code MLB and get 20% off your first order now America's pastime we know is in the dog days of summer and when you forget to hydrate it could be 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podcast go and check us out go and check out um Sully on the locked on MLB podcast he does a great job he'll go ahead and cover you through the Astro season whether you're Rays fan through the playoffs um is encyclopedia of baseball knowledge just go and check out lock on and we'll be for your second listen so um Brett we're talking about Tucker I don't think anybody really knows what's going on with Kyle Tucker and my whole point was I think that if the Astros thought he was done for the year like uh Mike Trout is done for year they would have they would have got it bat but now the question is who steps up and I know you you said Diaz but we need somebody be Beyond Diaz Diaz has been doing it we need somebody else to step up Chaz McCormick has not been doing it Jake Meyers has has been playing okay but he's kind of taking a little bit dip recently we need somebody to come out of woodwork uh like a little uh maybe Pedro Leon Le come out of nowhere and just light the world on fire and that's what Pedro Leon can do possibly he's gonna strike out a lot but he has to play in order for that to happen yeah exactly I mean of I mean of course it's G to take more than Diaz I'm just saying he has been the he's been their best offensive player lately Jeremy Peña has been an absolute ghost of himself and and started chasing sliders again that would help if he started getting on the schnide it would help if if bregman was more consistent at the plate um Myers it would help it would help if Mauricio dubon could get more at bats I just don't know how you make that happen um at the end of the day this whole offense top to bottom has got to work you remember how we were boasting some of the best averages for hitters 6 through nine in the lineup and you you saw guys I mean I mean middle of the lineup you know contributing when the Astros got hot and so that's where I really think it's GNA come down to um Chaz Chaz has got to figure it out I mean I heard Chaz talk on the broadcast you know he's like I've got to quit pressing basically he said he knew he was swinging out of the zone and all that stuff well dude you got to snap out of it because we don't have a whole lot of other options and you need to be thankful that you're here and not gone but I'm wondering though Eric to your point if they did shop a bat but they didn't have anything to show for it because you know they created that sellers Market when they gave three prospects up for one rental pitcher they created a seller conundrum and that screwed everything else up and if they were on the on the heels of a team with the bat the chances are they didn't have something to make it happen so of course they'll never tell us what they were doing behind closed doors but they may have I'm pretty sure they asked and inquired they just didn't have much to give for it and so with that being said Tucker coming back would be massive would be a huge boost to this club mentally physically and I think if Tucker comes back you've got to lock them in to go back to the ALCS for sure without him again it becomes tougher because he's been one of your best offensive players when healthy um I Yandy Diaz heard that that the Astros interest in yandi Diaz was a little overstated I think that um maybe the Yankees and other teams were um or the maybe the Rays were trying to use the Astros to motivate other teams something like that makes sense so I don't know how interested the Astros were because that would have taken a lot of prospects and I don't know if the Astros could have done that but it would have been an interesting bat to have but the Astros are where they are right now and I think they were definitely interested in ESO bredes and the the trade to the Cubs was interesting but the Cubs gave up a major league piece a big Major League piece he was having a down season but uh a major league piece so uh the Astros from this point they've got to continue win series they gota um you can go for sweeps but at this point you got to win the AL West right now they are uh 4.5 games behind the Orioles and the Yankees so you you I don't know if you can um whoever wins the AL West I don't know if they're going to be on top of the guys in the central or in the East so I think you're you're GNA have to win AL West I don't know if you're gonna be able to sneak into the wild card you may I mean we can't say anything because remember we were out 10 games uh in the AL West and all of a sudden we came back that was a miracle though no exactly because right now you've got so there's there's essentially three teams um fighting for a wild card spot and it's just wild to see four Wild Card spots in there Tampa the Mariners and the Red Sox right um those those three teams in the Red Sox are playing well above what anybody anticipated them to do this year if if the Red Sox find their way in there I mean look you get this you could have you could have three and Ethan brought this up the other night you could have three a Central and three NL Central teams in the playoffs right now before the season if you would have told me that six of the playoff teams were from both Central divisions I'd have been like man you are in some Bizarro alternate universe I mean the the AL Central is playing ball the Cleveland Guardians I think this really G to be one of the first times we face him in the playoffs that I'm going to be like man I don't know this team like Jose Ramirez Steven Quan that pitching staff like they've got it going on over there um in um Cleveland but you know Eric I really hope Pedro Leon gets a chance to play this weekend um I hope he starts off successfully because him coming up here and contributing right because we love Joey lero we we are lero dudes okay but he was striking out at time he he wasn't contributing on a consistent basis he contributed some a few RB here or there couple home runs but if Pedro come up and really get the fire started and be that spark I mean I mean that would be really really key it does speak to how the Astros feel about Leon they they've taken it's taken them about three and a half years to bring him up from Triple A he's been he's had the most triaa bats from any like he was supposed to be a fast Riser so the fact that the first two games he has not started Ed so if he doesn't start game three then they just see him as a defensive replacement somebody off the bench so the um his time is not going to be very long on this team so we'll have to see what happens but I think that maybe there's matchup issues that we don't know but about but he needs to be given a chance otherwise you're just wasting uh his time well he's got the best rated arm in the system he's got one of the best defensive ratings in the system he now not only seting for power but he's hitting for average he's getting on base he's striking out a lot though he he's well I know he's striking out yes but he has improved to where he's got a higher Ops he's got a higher on base percentage he's not just hitting for home runs I mean that's that's why they moved him up he is a hot bat and so um it will be good to see him up here I can't wait to see him in I hope he takes one deep his first game hey Brett what was your favorite Eric low moment with you estros the time they announced him as a part of the team and I said who's Eric low yeah I guess that's so uh he was starting with the Space Cowboys but he was released today so he'll have a chance to join on with another team so that shows that the Astros didn't feel like he was part of the U plans for um the starting rotation at the big league level so um I guess any other things to CL out the close out the podcast yeah so um Bryce Matthews and Chase jarski were named players were named the um the minor league players of the month Chase rowski short stop for fville um woodpeckers and then Bryce Matthews for the hooks and then pitcher of the month in the upper level was Ryan Gusto who I'm excited to hear more about and learn more about in Anderson Brito lower level pitcher of the week so there you go got some Astros prospects moving up in the system look man check out like Astros future check out those guys and they've got all that all those features weekly daily just uh fun stuff to cover guys thank you for making locked on Astros podcast your first listen every day uh we appreciate everybody I appreciate everybody reaching out to me I am walking around a little bit so uh thank you to everybody that's been wishing me a well wishes uh so thank you for making us your first listen every day uh go ahead and check out Michael Connor on the lock on Astros postcast says as well we'll be back um Sunday if there's any great games this weekend we might pop in and do a a surprise show we'll see but uh thank you for making locked on Astros podcast your first listen and we will see you later ghost Ros ghost Ros oh by the way duban has two arms okay