A Much Closer Game, But Astros Prevail 6-4 Over Dodgers

Remember when I had the Astros winning 89 games in our Starting Nine 2025 season predictions? I certainly do and I feel kind of foolish now. Well, I’d like to revise prediction that now as they’re currently on a 98-win pace. Is there still time to do that?

Honestly, I’m not sure the Astros will actually win 98 games. There’s still a lot of baseball left and it’s quite possible all of these injuries eventually take the wind out of their sails. But I’ve also learned to enjoy the good times when it’s happening, so I’m going to ride this high a little while longer. I mean, they’ve taken two out of three, at worst, against the best team in baseball on the road. In a place where you know the opposing fan base has, at the very least, a strong dislike of you. Not to mention that they’re a combined 7-1 against three of the top five NL teams in recent weeks. Yeah, small sample stuff applies here, but I don’t care at the moment. The Astros have simply looked fantastic since the middle of May. Shades of 2022 with that run prevention. A lineup functioning without Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Peña. As a fan of good baseball, I hope this trend continues through October. With better health I hope, yes, but I can’t argue with the results right now.

There were moments in this game when it looked like the Astros could forget how to play good baseball, though. Framber Valdez wasn’t at his best, although I wouldn’t necessarily hold that home run from Miguel Rojas against him too much. Rojas simply went down and got a hold of a curveball breaking below the zone.

Limiting this Los Angeles’ lineup without your absolute best stuff is a tall ask, but Valdez did well enough. Sinker location wasn’t the best, though. Not his best start as the Dodgers did some damage, but he did enough to keep the score close.

For the lineup, it wasn’t a great start at first as Shohei Ohtani looked incredibly sharp in his two scoreless innings. Thankfully, he was limited to just those two frames and the Astros had way more success against the Dodgers bullpen, namely against Justin Wrobleski. A four-run third inning was the difference, with Zack Short(!) capitalizing with a two-run double, opening up the game for Houston. Cam Smith and Christian Walker would each hit RBI singles to give the Astros a 4-2 lead. Yainer Díaz would up the lead to 5-2 with a solo home run in the top of the fourth before the Dodgers would drive in a pair (Rojas’s two run shot) to close the gap to 5-4.

The score would hold steady there for the next few frames, with Los Angeles threatening to score a time or two. Somehow, Freddie Freeman stole a base in the fifth inning and it makes me wonder how the Astros will address the catcher position in the offseason, but that’s a problem for later. Houston would add an insurance run with Victor Caratini driving in Jose Altuve with a sacrifice fly following the latter’s triple (credit to the misplay by Enrique Hernández) to open the top half of the frame.

With a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth, Joe Espada would turn to Bryan Abreu, who also didn’t have his best stuff. A walk and a hit-by-pitch would put two runners on base with only one out. While Abreu would strike out Hyeseong Kim for the second out, the Astros turned to Josh Hader to pick up the four-out save. He faced Esteury Ruiz and let’s just say that Hader didn’t hold back in that strikeout. Nothing is ever easy in baseball, but that looked almost too much so for Hader.

With the Astros failing to add on in the ninth, Hader would face the best hitters that the Dodgers have to offer. Ohtani would answer, of course, by hitting a single to lead off, with the tying run coming up at the plate in Mookie Betts, who also hit a solo home run off of Valdez earlier in the game. Thankfully, Betts would fly out followed by a strikeout against Will Smith. Freddie Freeman would pop out for the final out and the Astros suddenly find themselves in a position to possibly sweep the Dodgers with a win on Sunday. File this development under unexpected.

Will the Astros actually sweep the Dodgers? It’s baseball, so anything can happen. Your guess is as good as mine with Ryan Gusto getting the starting nod opposite of Emmet Sheehan. But, again, taking two of three at worst against the defending champions on the road is still a quality outcome.

BOX SCORE HERE