Houston Astros: Positives from Loss to Rangers on Monday Night

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The Bottom of the Astros Lineup Came Through When Called Upon

Aug 3, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Houston Astros catcher

Jason Castro

(15) runs the bases after hitting a grand slam home run during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

It’s really a luxury for Astros fans to have a lineup that you can be confident in all the way through. The lineup, 1 through 9, contributed to scoring nine runs last night. Usually, when you score nine runs, you win the game. But, this is baseball, and nothing is ever promised.

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Last night, the Astros 7 through 9 hitters, Colby Rasmus, Luis Valbuena, and Jason Castro, contributed 5 out of the 13 total hits for the Astros. The big hit came from Castro when he crushed a GRAND SLAM and cut the Ranger lead in half from 11-3 to 11-7. Castro has been hitting the ball very hard lately and making some great contributions to this offense.

In his last five games, Castro is 8 for 19 (.421 batting average) with a walk-off home run, grand slam, and three doubles. I’d say that’s pretty good. Him and fellow catcher Hank Conger have both been crushing some baseballs, as Conger also hit a grand slam in Saturday night’s win vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. If these two have to compete for a starting job, A.J. Hinch should keep that competition going through the end of the season. Castro has All-Star potential, and it’s really good to see that he’s getting his swing back.

Valbuena and Rasmus had their own great contributions, with Valbuena going 2-3 and Rasmus 1-4 with a monster double in left-center field. Valbuena had a towering home run to right field, and brought his batting average OVER THE MENDOZA LINE!!! It’s at .206 right now, and hopefully there’s no turning back. He’s a guy that has to compete for a starting job as well now with the return of Jed Lowrie. Rasmus had the worst night of the three but his double really turned some momentum in the game and kept the Astros in it until the end.

All in all, a loss is never good. But the Astros can’t win them all and last night had some good signs. Now, let’s watch Dan Straily come up from AAA Fresno and dominate the Rangers to even this series.

Next: Remember When Our Catchers were a Problem?

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