Astros home series versus Rangers in holding pattern with Harvey

Will the remnants of Harvey affect the Astros home series versus the Rangers?

When Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast, the city of Rockport got the brunt of the category four winds. Now the hurricane has downgraded to a category two hurricane but continues to bring water up from the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike many hurricanes, this one is not going away quickly. Meanwhile, the Astros were in California to play the Angels.

The storm could continue to swirl while it heads towards the Houston area. While it may downgrade to a tropical storm by the time it reaches Houston, flooding will be a big issue in Houston. The rain will continue into Wednesday or beyond.

I’m not a weather expert, but can the Astros and Rangers play a three game series at Minute Maid Park? As of now, they plan to play in Houston, but that could change because of Harvey. Will the streets be clear enough for fans to get to the ballpark?

Not a repeat of 2008.

With the future up in the air with Harvey continuing to dump rain in the Houston area, would the MLB move the Ranger’s series? Hopefully not, that was a big deal back in 2008. Hurricane Ike was coming to town, but so were the Cubs.

“Right now, we’re in a holding pattern. We’ll know more once it makes landfall.” – Josh Shelton via Jeff Wilson.

The commissioner, Bud Selig, made a decision that changed the course of the 2008 season. It was clear that they could not play in Houston, but where would they play. Selig had the brilliant idea for the Astros and Cubs play in Milwaukee instead.

Before Ike, the Astros had won 14 of 15 games to get back into the playoff chase. They were three games behind the Brewers in the wild card with 15 games remaining and an 80-67 record. Roy Oswalt heard there was a hurricane coming, so he threw a complete game shutout on 91 pitches. He wanted to get out of town.

The Friday and Saturday games were postponed, but the decision was made to play a double header Sunday in Milwaukee. The Astros were supposed to be the home team, but the crowd cheered for the Cubs. Carlos Zambrano went on to throw a no-hitter versus the distracted Astros offense.

The aftermath.

The Astros players left their families in Houston during Ike. They wound up being swept by the Cubs and went on to lose five games in a row. They missed the playoffs that year with 86-75 record, which was the last winning record and the unofficial beginning of the process.

Even though Harvey wasn’t heading directly to Houston like Ike, Brian McTaggart skipped the road trip to California. He wanted to stay behind this time and spend time with the family. Prayers to all those affected by Harvey. For those of us in the Houston area, we will wait out the rain.

The Astros are not in the same position as the 2008 team. With a 78-50 record and a 12.5 game lead in the AL West, they have more of cushion this time around.

Next: Astros Francisco Liriano settling in as a reliever

Unless there is extreme flooding or Harvey strengthens back on the way to Houston, life could get back to normal Monday. Now, we just wait and get to watch the Astros play in Anaheim. Where will the Astros be August 29th, hopefully not in Milwaukee? Stay safe.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***