Resurgent Reddick, Miley help Astros to sweep of Royals

Josh Reddick and Wade Miley bounced back to help the Astros finish off a sweep.

Of all the players on the Astros roster, Josh Reddick and Wade Miley have endured some of the worst stretches lately. But that all changed on Sunday as they led the Astros to a 12-3 win to complete the three-game sweep of the Royals.

Reddick went 5-for-5 at the plate with a home run and three RBIs, and he scored three times as well. He’s hitting .429 over his last seven games and .372 in his last 15. This comes after hitting just .213 in August and .205 in July.

Miley toed the rubber coming off a pair of starts in which he allowed a total of 12 earned runs while only recording one out combined. He bounced back today, tossing six innings of two-run ball, allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out four. The winning effort improved his season record to 14-5.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

Another big contributor on the day was Abraham Toro, who drove in three runs with his two hits. Aledmys Diaz and Yuli Gurriel each drove in a run on two hits, and Kyle Tucker launched a two-run homer and also stole his fourth base with the Astros this season.

The win moved the Astros to 98-53 on the season, moving them back into a tie with the Yankees for the AL’s best record, as the Bronx Bombers fell 6-4 to the Blue Jays. The Astros host the Rangers beginning Tuesday, while the Yankees will welcome the Mike Trout-less Angels to town.

Good Signs

Seeing Reddick and Miley have good games is huge for the Astros. Questions were beginning to arise as to whether Reddick would even make the postseason roster after two months of poor production at the plate. But he’s come on strong in September, cementing his place on the team.

Given the uncertainty around the bullpen, having an effective Miley is key. This means they won’t have to move another arm to the rotation and thus have more options to fill out the relief corps. Guys like Brad Peacock, Jose Urquidy and Framber Valdez can all be evaluated in the lens of a bullpen role.

As the regular season winds down, health and consistency are the two main things the team is looking for. If they can get the whole team on the field and not have anyone in a particularly bad funk, they’ll be good to go for October. Reddick and Miley each took a step in that direction today.