Astros Crawfish Boil: July 12th, 2019

Photo by Brandon Wade/Getty ImagesIt was a pretty awful night for the Astros and Framber Valdez as they dropped the series opener 5-0 to the Rangers (Houston Chronicle)

And it only got worse when Alex Bregman had to leave the game with a chin injury (ESPN)

Valdez’s performance has lent some urgency to the question of where the Astros can go for rotation help (The Athletic, $$$)

There is some pitching help on the way, at least, with Peacock and Smith rejoining the team in Arlington (Astros.com)

And it looks like Correa and Diaz are not too far behind them as they get set to begin their own rehab assignments (Houston Chronicle)

But either way the Astros should strike early with the trade deadline…