Astros Crawfish Boil: October 18, 2023

Welcome to the Wednesday Boil!

Did you miss Astros baseball yesterday? Fear not! The ROAD WARRIOR version of the team is in Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers. It was a tough opening to the series at Minute Maid Park on Sunday and Monday, but hopefully they can give us a good bounce here and get back into it.

Houston Astros News

Can a slumping Tucker flip script in time to boost Astros?

Astros-Rangers ALCS Game 3 FAQ (8 ET, FS1)

Game 3 can turn ALCS in drastically different directions. Let’s dive in

Rangers-Astros ALCS Game 3 preview: Pitching matchups, odds, x-factor, analysis (The Athletic)

Down 2-0, Houston Astros in New Territory for Their ALCS History (Houston Press)

Why Astros Have 100% Confidence In Christian Javier In Game 3 Vs Rangers, Per Martín Maldonado (ClutchPoints)

AL West News

Rangers looking to make crucial Evan Carter move amid attempt to push Astros to the edge (ClutchPoints)

Rangers fans stocking up on new gear ahead of Game 3 against Astros (NBC Dallas-Forth Worth)

Baseball: Shohei Ohtani voted among Player of Year finalists by MLB peers (Kyodo News)

If the Price is right, would the Mariners pull the trigger on a trade for Juan Soto? (Sodo Mojo)

Now Retired Reliever Says He Wanted to Play For Seattle Mariners in 2023 (BVM Sports)

Ranking the three most memorable Jared Walsh moments with the Angels (Halo Hangout)

Oakland A’s owner John Fisher donates to anti-abortion election denier (SF Gate)

Trevor May’s John Fisher rant likely said what other A’s wish they could (San Francisco Chronicle)

Jazz Chisholm or Lars Nootbaar: Which One Should the Mariners Trade For? + GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! (KIII)

Scherzer ready for hard-fought Rangers postseason debut

MLB News

MLB Pipeline’s 2023 All-Rookie Team

Schwarber moves up postseason HR leaderboard

D-backs aim to regroup, focus after Game 2 loss

Bohm’s defensive bounceback on display for Phils in Game 2

Schwarber’s 2 homers latest in Phils’ historic run of solo drives

Houston Astros Birthdays

RHP Terry Clark (63) appeared in 91 games between seven different major league organizations between 1988 and 1997. For the Astros, he started once in 1990, allowing six runs in four innings. In 1996, he appeared for the team five times in relief, allowing another 10 runs in 6 ¹⁄₃ innings. Aside from his short time with the Astros, during which he was -0.7 bWAR, he was somewhat above replacement level, racking up a 0.9 non-Astros bWAR. Before we just confine this to history, I want to illustrate just how impossible it should be to be nearly a win below replacement in only 10 ¹⁄₃ innings. It should be impossible, but there it is.

OF Axell De Paula (19) just completed his second season with the DSL Bluestros, slashing .276/.371/.398 with three jacks, 22 RBI, and six stolen bases.

RHP Antony Aparicio (21) just completed his first professional baseball season with the DSL Orangstros, going 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 13 games, including seven starts. Aparicio struck out 40 in 31 ²⁄₃ innings with a 1.168 WHIP.