It 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 rules changing in 2019 (Houston Sportsmap)
Let’s check out some predictions for the second half of the season (Sports Illustrated)
Of course the trade deadline is a big chunk of that with the rule changes, and that’s completely up in the air (The Ringer)
But it’s looking more like a Syndergaard trade won’t be a part of that without a huge trade package (MLB Trade Rumors)
Meet the new Puig, same as the old Puig (FanGraphs)
David Ortiz has had another surgery after complications developed from his gunshot wound (ESPN)