Life After LA

Astros sweep Dodgers to go 5-1 on road trip, return home for six

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m frequently wrong about the things I write about here.

I thought the Astros would struggle to score in LA.

They put up 29 runs in three games, never scoring less than 5.

I thought the Dodgers would pound the Astros’ young pitching, except Framber Valdez.

They scored 6 runs total over the weekend, including two games where they scored a single run apiece.

But that’s part of the reason I started this site. To use data to temper not only my expectations, but also temper the gloom and doom that comes with social media.

Sometimes I need to do a better job of taking my own advice.

Expected Wins, Should Be Standings and Projected Standings

Speaking of tempering expectations, this number is the highest since opening day.

After gaining 8 games in June, the Astros have gained 3 more in the first 6 days of July, propelled by an 18-run outburst and runs allowed avoidance in LA.

The Astros “luck” was reduced, but still hovers at almost a full-game.

If the wins and losses and run differential continue at the current rate, we would expect the final AL West Standings to look like this:

To get there from here the Astros would go 42-30, Mariners 38-34 and Rangers 38-34.

Batter and Pitcher Season Projections

Quality At-Bats

Team average is 39.4%

Win Shares (90 Games)

Rando Stats of the Day

The Astros are 7-2 in games started by Colton Gordon.

Christian Walker slashed .429/.448/.643 with 2 HR and 8 RBI on the six-game road trip.

Jose Altuve hit .417/.483/.958 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in the same span.

The Astros slashed .338/.393/.576 with a 170 wRC+ in Colorado and L.A., while the bullpen accumulated a 1.86 ERA during that time.

As always, thanks for reading!