Category: Baseball

The Nats got a much needed win to stop the bleeding last night. Now, they will look to get back to their series winning ways this afternoon. The boys have a rubber match with the Orioles. Both teams could really use this win, so this should be a hard fought contest.

Blake Butera is making a few changes to his lineup. Curtis Mead, Keibert Ruiz and Jacob Young are back in the lineup. With Mead at third, the red hot Jorbit Vivas slides over to second to give Nasim Nunez the day off. Young will be in center, with Daylen Lile and Dylan Crews manning the corners. James Wood will be in the DH spot. Zack Littell will get the ball and look to tame this O’s offense like Foster Griffin did.

The O’s are getting two players back in their lineup from the injured list. Adley Rutschman is back, and will be catching. Dylan Beavers also returns for the O’s, and he will be in right. Samuel Basallo will be at first, giving Pete Alonso DH duties. We will also see Colton Cowser for the first time in this series. Kyle Bradish has been very good lately, and gets the call for the Birds.

Game Info:

Stadium: Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Time: 1:35 PM EST

TV: MASN and Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

As mentioned, this is an important game for both teams. Hopefully the weather can hold up so we can get this in. The vibes are not fully back for the Nats yet, but things would be back on track with a win to get over .500. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

While Jose Cabrera did everything possible to continue earning opportunities to start for the Diamondbacks, once again, the Arizona offense was flat, unable to break through against Tampa Bay’s elite starter (*checks notes*) Bullpen Game. Bullpen allowed only two runs on seven hits and struck out eight while not walking anyone. As a result of yesterday’s game, the Snakes have now dropped back down to .500. The Rays have already won the weekend series. Meanwhile, Arizona will turn from Cabrera and hand the ball off to Merrill Kelly to try and stave off the serries sweep.

In Kelly’s last five outings, he has alternated between quality start and flaming dumpster fire of a start. As his last outing on the 22nd was one from the quality start column, hopefully Kelly can break the pattern today and double up, going back-to-back with quality starts. Given the injury crisis that has plagued the Arizona pitching staff, the Diamondbacks could certainly use some quality length from their starters for the next few weeks.

Things don’t get any easier for Arizona’s struggling offense. After having come up short against the Rays throwing a bullpen game, they now get to face off against right-handed co-ace of the Tampa Bay staff, Drew Rasmussen. Rasmussen enters today’s game with a sterling 2.62 ERA with 89 strikeouts against 15 walks in 86 innings of work. That’s good for an ERA+ of 165.

Adley Rutschman and Dylan Beavers will both return to the field this afternoon as the Orioles look to win the series against Washington. Baltimore activated Rutschman and Beavers earlier today. They optioned Jeremiah Jackson to Triple-A Norfolk and designated Sam Huff for assignment.

Rutschman missed over a week after taking a ball to the head, and Beavers had been on the shelf since suffering a strained oblique on May 11. Their presence should provide some additional credibility to the middle of the order. Rutschman will bat third, while Beavers will bat sixth and play right field.

Jackson appeared in 66 games this season. Originally labeled as a utility player, the 26-year-old made almost all of his starts at second base. The righty provided crucial depth to the Orioles after they lost Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday at the beginning of the year. He holds a .251/.267/.397 slash line with seven homers and 32 RBIs. It’s easy to picture Jackson returning and contributing again at some point this year.

The Orioles decided to keep Chadwick Tromp on the active roster over Huff. It remains to be seen how long the club will be willing to carry three catchers. Samuel Basallo will slide to first base this afternoon.

Taylor Ward will leadoff and play left field. He’ll be joined in the outfield by Beavers and Colton Cowser. Pete Alonso will serve as the designated hitter. Coby Mayo will play third, Gunnar Henderson will take short, and Holliday will handle second base.

Kyle Bradish will start the rubber match for Baltimore. The righty kept LA off the board for eight innings his last time out.

Washington will start RHP Zack Littell. Littell is 6-6 but holds a 5.40 ERA through 16 appearances (11 starts).

Orioles lineup

1. Taylor Ward LF
2. Gunnar Henderson SS
3. Adley Rutschman C
4. Pete Alonso DH
5. Samuel Basallo 1B
6. Dylan Beavers RF
7. Coby Mayo 3B
8. Colton Cowser CF
9. Jackson Holliday 2B

Starter: RHP Kyle Bradish

In June, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have been road warriors and living out of suitcases. The Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees played just six games at the friendly confines of PNC Field in northeastern Pennsylvania during the month while logging week-long trips to Syracuse, Columbus and Indianapolis.

The good news is that when they return to begin a six-game series against the Norfolk Tides on Tuesday, 39 of their final 69 games are at home. Even better news: When the team was home during the first half of the season, fans were coming out to see it.

According to a recent article published by Baseball America, the RailRiders ranked fifth among the fastest-growing attendance markets in all of minor league baseball.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is behind the Chattanooga Lookouts, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Asheville Tourists and Tampa Tarpons in attendance increases this season. Chattanooga’s numbers are largely due to the fact it is playing in a new ballpark. Jacksonville is coming off winning the International League championship last season — coincidentally beating the RailRiders in the final. Asheville has made upgrades and renovations to its historic HomeTrust Park. Tampa, the Yankees’ Single-A affiliate in the Florida State League, is back playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field after the Tampa Bay Rays used the stadium as its home in 2025 while repairs were made to Tropicana Field following damage caused by Hurricane Milton in October 2024.

Overall, the Baseball America reports the average attendance in Minor League Baseball is 3,551. That’s an increase of 12 fans from this point last season (3,539). Through 3,329 dates this season, MiLB teams have drawn 11,820,181 fans. That’s an increase of 119,742 from this time last season (11,700,439 in 3,306 dates).

Through 33 home dates, the RailRiders have drawn 132,903 fans or an average of 4,027. That is a year-over-year growth of nearly 20 percent and has produced the best turnstiles numbers since 2019. That doesn’t include the two sold-out nights of Banana Ball at PNC Field in May.

Their largest crowd of the first half was 8,451 on April 28 against the Buffalo Bisons. The second largest was 7,814 on May 16thagainst the Syracuse Mets. That’s the night Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole made his final rehab start.

RailRiders president and general manager Shawn Reilly attributes the attendance increase to several things: the upgrade to the video scoreboard, changes in the promotional schedule and an increased emphasis on the ballpark experience.

“Fans are seeing improvements nightly, and that is drawing everyone back,” Reilly said in a press release. “We have barely even scratched the surface on key promo nights, fireworks and appearances. There is still so much more to come in 2026!”

About a decade ago, when they had the likes of Aaron Judge, Gary Sánchez, and Gleyber Torres playing for them, the RailRiders adopted the nickname Baby Bombers for certain games. It made sense. The Baby Bombers would grow up at Triple-A and go on to become Bronx Bombers in the big leagues with the Yankees.

Now, with top prospects George Lombard Jr., Elmer Rodríguez, Carlos Lagrange on the roster — plus Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez when they are here — the RailRiders recently announced they are bringing back the Baby Bombers alternative identity.

For each of the remaining Sunday home games this season, they will play as the Baby Bombers and wear a special uniform. It is a baby-blue vest jersey with Baby Bombers in navy script and the iconic emblem — a man-baby with a five-o’clock shadow and a pacifier in its mouth, holding a bat and wearing a pinstriped diaper and a Yankees red-white-and-blue top hat.

They wore the uniforms and played as the Baby Bombers for the first time June 14 and defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 6-5.

A pair of RailRiders reached milestones during their victory over the Indianapolis Indians on June 25th.

Tyler Hardman hit two home runs in the game — a solo shot in the second inning and a three-run blast in the third inning. The second homer was the 100th of his minor-league career.

Carlos Lagrange, who is being converted from a starting pitcher to a reliever, recorded the final four outs for his first career save. He came out of the bullpen with two outs in the eighth and the bases loaded. Although he threw a wild pitch to allow a run to score, he got Ronny Simon to fly out and end the inning. Then in the bottom of the ninth, the first two Indians reached on a single and a hit-batsman. But Lagrange retired the next three batters, two on strikeouts, to end the game.

Time to rally to avoid the sweep. Not that I have great confidence after the last three days. I’d settle for Shane Bieber giving an indication that he might be watchable the rest of the way.

We had a minor transaction last night. Hayden Juenger, who was DFA’d to clear a 40-man roster spot for Bieber earlier this week, has been traded to the A’s for A ball catcher Owen Carapellotti. Juenger, a sixth round pick in 2021, looked promising in the low minors as a multi-inning reliever but has stalled out at AAA for the past three seasons. He did get a cup of coffee in Toronto earlier this year, allowing three runs over 2.0 innings pitched. He gets his share of Ks, but walks and too many hard hit balls have prevented him from establishing himself. Carapellotti was an undrafted free agent out of Georgetown last year. He’s hit for loads of power in 90 PA so far as a pro, but again, 23 year old UDFA in A ball. Most likely he’s organizational depth. Welcome Owen, and happy trails Hayden.

Here are the lineups:

Rangers:

• Joc Pederson, DH
• Josh Jung, 3B
• Corey Seager, SS
• Brandon Nimmo, RF
• Jake Burger, 1B
• Ezequiel Duran, 2B
• Evan Carter, CF
• Elias Diaz, C
• Alejandro Osuna, LF
• Kumar Rocker, RHP

Blue Jays:

• George Springer, DH
• Nathan Lukes, RF
• Vladimir Guerrero jr., 1B
• Kazuma Okamoto, 3B
• Daulton Varsho, CF
• Ernie Clement, 2B
• Alejandro Kirk, C
• Yohendrick Pinango, LF
• Andres Gimenez, SS
• Shane Bieber, RHP

Go Jays Go!

Mets lineup

1. Carson Benge – RF
2. Juan Soto – LF
3. Bo Bichette – SS
4. Eric Wagaman – 1B
5. Francisco Alvarez – DH
6. Mark Vientos – 3B
7. Tyrone Taylor – CF
8. Brett Baty – 2B
9. Luis Torrens – C

Kodai Senga – RHP

Phillies lineup

1. Trea Turner – SS
2. Kyle Schwarber – DH
3. Bryce Harper – 1B
4. Alec Bohm – 3B
5. Brandon Marsh – LF
6. J.T. Realmuto – C
7. Bryson Stott – 2B
8. Derek Hill – RF
9. Justin Crawford – CF

Jesus Luzardo – LHP

Broadcast Info

First pitch: 1:40pm EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App 92.3 HD2

Texas Rangers @ Toronto Blue Jays

Sunday, June 28, 2026, 12:37 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

Rogers Centre

RHP Kumar Rocker vs. RHP Shane Bieber

Go Rangers!

It’s time for the rubber match between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs on a beautiful, sunny afternoon at American Family Field. The Brewers are looking for the series win and a chance to secure a 7.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs as we reach the mathematical halfway point of the season. This is the Brewers 81st game out of 162.

On the mound, the Brewers will have their veteran leader Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff made a strong return to the rotation on the last road trip after dealing with dead arm and a six week IL stint. Woodruff will be looking to repeat that success against the Cubs, a team that knows him very well and vice versa.

The Cubs, meanwhile, will have a former first round pick in Ryan Rolison on the bump. Rolison was drafted by the Rockies, struggled there upon making his MLB debut last year and bounced around and was a member of the Braves and White Sox on paper over the offseason before landing with the Cubs. He’s having a solid season, with a 1.82 ERA in 25 appearances, though this is just his second start. It’ll largely be a bullpen game for the Cubs this afternoon as they try to piece together their rotation after dealing with a number of injuries.

The Brewers will have nearly all of their regulars in the starting lineup despite it being a Sunday afternoon. Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and Brice Turang make up the top of the order as they generally do. William Contreras gets the day off however with a day game after a night game. Gary Sanchez will be behind the dish and batting sixth. Garrett Mitchell is also out of the lineup after exiting last night with a cramp, but it doesn’t appear to be anything serious. Chourio slides over to center and Jake Bauers is in left field, allowing both Bauers and Vaughn to fit into the lineup.

The Cubs will be rolling out a similar lineup as they have all series. Pete Crow-Armstrong leads off, followed by Alex Bregman, Michael Busch, and Seiya Suzuki.

After the bullpen struggled last night, the Brewers will be looking for a vintage Brandon Woodruff start to shut the Cubs down and do it efficiently. The Cubs bullpen has had some struggles so if the Brewers can get to Rolison and the rest of that group early, things can line up very well for the Crew.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, June 28, 2026, 1:35 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are facing off against the Cincinnati Reds in the finale of a three-game weekend set at PNC Park

The Pirates are handing the ball off to Mitch Keller to close out the series. Keller pitched six innings in his last start against the Seattle Mariners earlier in the homestand. He performed well, pitching six innings and giving up just three runs, but the offense did not give him enough run support. Keller took a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, but a home run from second baseman Cole Young changed the entire tone of the start and game as a whole.

Keller picked up a loss in a game he could have won, especially if Don Kelly swapped him out after the sixth inning. However, the fact that he was trusted to go into the seventh is a good sign for what Keller can do against the Reds.

Cincinnati is trotting out Brady Singer, who is 3-6 with a 4.81 ERA in his second season with the Reds. In his last start, Singer pitched seven innings against the Milwaukee Brewers without giving up a run, but the Reds still lost 2-1 in 10 innings. Now, Singer hopes to continue his momentum against the Pirates.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Brady Singer (3-6, 4.81 ERA) vs. Mitch Keller (5-5, 4.89 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

The three most recent outings turned in by Cincinnati Reds starter Brady Singer have been much, much more in-line with the expectations placed upon him prior to the season. In those, he’s tossed 18.0 IP, cleared 7.0 IP once, and allowed just 3 ER in that time. He’s struck out 17 against just 6 walks, finding ways to once again put the ball over the plate without it being summarily served into the seats beyond outfield walls.

Prior to those three starts, he’d surrendered homers at the worst rate among all MLB starters. Now? He’s once again a guy you want to take the ball every fifth day.

Singer gets the start in Pittsburgh on Sunday as the Cincinnati Reds go for the series sweep of the Pirates. Mitch Keller, who seemingly has started 794 career games against the Reds, will toe the rubber for the Buccos to begin things.

First pitch is set for 1:35 PM ET.

Lineups for both clubs are listed below!

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The Boston Red Sox will look to complete a four-game sweep over the New York Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball.

While the Red Sox are favored to do so, my Yankees vs. Red Sox props and MLB picks are headlined by Ben Rice and a couple of New York bats.

Be sure to also read our full Yankees vs. Red Sox predictions.

Yankees vs Red Sox props for June 28

Pick	Odds
Ben Rice Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI	-130
Wilyer Abreu Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI	-120
Cody Bellinger Over 0.5 singles	-120

Yankees vs Red Sox player prop picks

Ben Rice Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-130)

Ben Rice is relied upon to do a lot of heavy lifting with the New York Yankees missing several key bats, and he’s certainly capable of doing so in this matchup.

Sonny Gray ranks in the 55th percentile in xwOBA vs. left-handed bats. Excluding righties in the 60th percentile or higher, Rice has gone Over 1.5 H+R+R in 76.9% of his games — averaging 3.7 along the way.

It hasn’t mattered who is in the lineup — Rice has cleared his line in four of five such matchups without Aaron Judge. 

I’d back Rice to -150.

Wilyer Abreu Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-120)

Wilyer Abreu feasts on left-handed pitching. He has hit safely in 18 of 19 games in which he faced a southpaw starter and cleared this line in 13 of them, good for a 68.4% success rate.

Abreu has gotten the job done against almost every non-elite starter he has faced. If the opposing starter ranked in the 80th percentile or worse in xwOBA vs. right-handed hitters, he has gone Over in nine of 10 games.

Drop the ceiling to the 60th percentile — Carlos Rodon sits in the 39th — and Abreu is 5-for-5 in clearing this line.

Play to -140.

Cody Bellinger Over 0.5 singles (-120)

Cody Bellinger is a consistent singles hitter. He recorded at least one in 53% of his games last season and, before a recent five-game dry spell, was sitting above 50% again this year.

Gray has allowed a batting average 20 points higher vs. left-handed hitters than righties, which works in Bellinger’s favor.

Bellinger has also seen his power evaporate of late, posting a 5% barrel rate against Gray’s pitch mix the past 20 games.

Bellinger is -250 for a hit in this game. Given the lack of power we’ve seen, I prefer the single route.

Play to -130.

How to watch Yankees vs Red Sox and game info

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Hickory starter Aidan Deakins allowed three runs in four innings, striking out five, walking three and giving up a homer. Guery Rodriguez allowed a solo homer in two innings, striking out two. Michael Trausch struck out four and walked one in 1.2 scoreless. Louis Marinaro struck out two in 1.1 shutout innings.

Paulino Santana doubled. Marco Argudin was 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and a walk. Yolfran Castillo was 2 for 6 with a double. Marcos Torres was 2 for 5 with a pair of stolen bases. Daniel Flames was 3 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. Angel Arredondo had a hit and a walk. Curley Martha had a pair of hits.

Hickory box score

A.J. Russell, newly promoted to Hub City (though he made one start there previously this season when Hickory had games canceled due to a clubhouse fire), walked three and struck out three while allowing one run in two innings. Ismael Agreda allowed a grand slam and issued seven walks while striking out five in three innings, giving up six runs. Case Matter allowed four runs in an inning, striking out one and walking one.

Maxton Martin doubled.

Hub City box score

Rehabbing Jordan Montgomery needed just 20 pitches to get through two perfect innings for Frisco, striking out three. Joey Danielson allowed a run in one inning of work, striking out one.

Dylan Dreiling had a hit.

Frisco box score

For Round Rock, Thomas Ireland allowed one run in two innings on a solo homer, striking out one. Michel Otanez struck out three and walked one in two shutout innings.

Cam Cauley was pulled after two plate appearances.

Round Rock box score

ACL Rangers box score

DSL Rangers Red box score

DSL Rangers Blue box score

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The Boston Red Sox are short favorites against the New York Yankees on Sunday night, but I’m taking the plus-money side in my Yankees vs Red Sox predictions.

The matchup is good for the Yankees, and I believe they can lean into the motivation angle of not being swept by a rival.

Here are my MLB picks for June 28. Be sure to also read our Sunday Night Baseball prop picks.

Who will win Yankees vs Red Sox today: Yankees (+101)

Sonny Gray's impressive season seems unsustainable. He's still a solid pitcher, but he's outperformed his expectations in a variety of ways this season.

At some point, there will be regression. His actual ERA is over a full run lower than his expected ERA of 3.8. The New York Yankees can provide some of that regression, targeting a barrel rate that's just average at 7.3%.

Carlos Rodon is not perfect, but his 3.83 xERA, .224 xBA allowed, and 5.8% barrel rate are good enough to deliver here.

I'd play the Yankees to -110.

COVERS INTEL: Sonny Gray is allowing a 36.5% launch-angle sweet-spot rate, well above the MLB average of 33.3%

Yankees vs Red Sox Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (-125)

I’m playing the Over because Gray’s current profile does not support treating him like a shutdown arm. His .300 xBA allowed and 11.0% barrel rate create a real path for the Yankees to bounce back offensively, even without a fully healthy lineup.

Rodon has the better contact profile, but his 12.7% walk rate keeps the Boston Red Sox alive for base traffic.

At 7.5, this number does not require a blowup. It needs one starter to crack and the other offense to contribute. Play to 8.

Yankees vs Red Sox weather

Winds will be blowing inward at first pitch, but will shift as the game goes on. The 3 mph winds shouldn't factor too much as the temps dip into the high 60s.

Yankees vs Red Sox odds

• Moneyline: Yankees +100 | Red Sox -118
• Run line: Yankees +1.5 | Red Sox -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 | Under 7.5

Yankees vs Red Sox trend

The New York Yankees have hit the moneyline in 12 of their last 18 away games (+4.80 Units / 21% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Red Sox.

How to watch Yankees vs Red Sox and game info

Yankees vs Red Sox latest injuries

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After reeling off a four-game win streak against baseball’s two top teams, the San Diego Padres were dealt their worst loss of the season at the hands of the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. L.A. scored 15 runs in total, nine of which came in the sixth inning after Randy Vásquez struggled to locate his pitches, and Will Wagner made a crucial error at second base.

It was a tough game to watch. But, at the end of the day, it’s just one loss. Hopefully, the Friars can pick up where they left off in Game 1, and take the rubber match Sunday afternoon.

Taking the mound

Emmet Sheehan (LAD) v. Michael King (SD)

Sheehan’s had a rough go of it lately in the Dodgers’ rotation. After looking like a serviceable back end starter for most of the season, he’s pitched incredibly poor in the month of June. He owns a 7.31 ERA in this month alone. It’s ballooned his ERA from 4.50 at the beginning of the month to 5.32 entering today’s matchup.

That said, the Friars’ lineup owns a combined .250 batting average (24 at-bats) against the right-hander. Admittedly, it’s a small sample size, but the club will need to perform much better in the series finale today in order to finish the week on a high note.

Speaking of high notes, King’s last start against the Atlanta Braves was the best game he’s pitched since he last faced the Dodgers. After pitching seven shutout innings against them in May, King was ridiculously inconsistent until facing Atlanta. He had given up three-plus runs in all five of his starts since facing L.A. for a total of 19 earned runs over 26 2/3 innings.

There was a lot to like about his outings, but King couldn’t seem to limit damage in the big innings. He struggled to command his pitches well, and things went off the rails quickly. He’ll hope to continue his resurgence against the division rivals in the series finale today.

Batter up!

If the Friars are going to take the series finale, Sheehan’s the best Dodgers starter to do so against. He’s struggled lately and doesn’t have the best track record against Padres batters. That said, with not much experience versus the righty, San Diego will need to push down on the gas.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., 2B
2. Samad Taylor, RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Gavin Sheets, LF
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7. Ty France, 1B
8. Miguel Andujar, DH
9. Rodolfo Durán, C

Tatis has started in right field throughout this series. It’s likely that changes after Wagner’s costly error last night. But, Sung-Mun Song could also start at second base if called upon. The Friars haven’t used him much since calling him up, but it could be worth giving him a shot against Sheehan.

Relief corps

Vásquez looked great through three innings of work. After Kyle Hart opened for him, surrendering one run through two innings of work, Vásquez made it through the fifth inning scoreless before the dreaded sixth. The Padres were tied one apiece before he proceeded to give up seven runs to Los Angeles.

Not helping was Ron Marinaccio, who relieved Vásquez. He surrendered two more runs in the inning and three more in the eighth. David Morgan came in and gave up a run before finishing it off. Catcher Rodolfo Durán pitched the ninth with the game well out of hand. Not even he left unscathed, surrendering a run to the Dodgers.

All that to say, it was an uncharacteristic outing for the Friars’ pitching staff. Unfortunately, it’s a continuing problem for Vásquez, but that’s a separate topic entirely. The one hopeful note is that it saved the high-leverage relievers for today’s finale. Jason Adam, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Wandy Peralta are readily available out of the ‘pen. None has an ERA above 2.60 (Adam) across the last 30 games.

Astros fans have heard the old saying a thousand times: it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

As frustrating as it was to hear early in the season, that saying may be coming to fruition right before our eyes with the 2026 Houston Astros.

Think back to where this team was just a couple of months ago. The sky was falling. Losing streaks piled up. Injuries mounted almost daily. Key players underperformed, and it seemed like every night brought another reason to question whether this team had what it took to contend.

The panic was understandable.

But it was also premature.

Now, as the Astros approach the halfway point of the season, they’re exactly where they need to be.

Despite everything they’ve endured, Houston is just one game out of a Wild Card spot, only three games under .500, and sits just two games behind Seattle in the American League West. Considering how disastrous the first two months felt, that’s an incredible position to be in.

More importantly, this team is getting healthier.

The Astros are finally beginning to resemble the club everyone expected to see when the season began. Their ace and Cy Young candidate is back in the rotation, Christian Javier is expected to return in the near future, and the pitching staff should only continue to improve as everyone gets back to full strength.

The bullpen has also stabilized thanks to Josh Hader. Since returning from injury, Hader has been dominant, giving manager Joe Espada much more flexibility late in games and allowing the rest of the bullpen to settle into more natural roles.

When you combine improved health with better baseball, it’s easy to see why optimism is beginning to replace the panic that surrounded this club earlier in the year.

That’s why all the calls for a complete teardown now seem so misguided.

Remember when some fans and media members were advocating for trading Yordan Alvarez? Others wanted Dana Brown to hold a fire sale, reset the roster, and start rebuilding.

That always felt like an overreaction.

This roster was simply too talented to throw in the towel after a rough start. Injuries were always going to heal. Proven players were eventually going to perform closer to the back of their baseball cards. The Astros simply needed time.

Now they’re proving exactly that.

And here’s the scary part for the rest of the American League.

If Dana Brown can do his job at the trade deadline and add another quality starting pitcher, a reliable bat, or another bullpen arm, this suddenly becomes one of the more dangerous teams in baseball.

No one wants to face a healthy Astros team in October.

Just look at the opponent they’re facing this weekend.

The Detroit Tigers are a perfect example of what real uncertainty looks like. After spending significant money to improve their roster, they’re still trying to figure out whether they’ll re-sign their Cy Young Award winner. They don’t have an MVP-caliber player to anchor their lineup, and they’re facing legitimate questions about the direction of their franchise.

That’s desperation.

The Astros, on the other hand, have a legitimate American League MVP candidate leading their offense. Their pitching is getting healthier by the week, their bullpen is rounding into form, and they remain within striking distance of both a playoff berth and another division title.

That’s not desperation.

That’s opportunity.

Houston has weathered the storm. They survived another one of those rough stretches they’ve experienced in past years, yet they’re still very much in the hunt.

Sometimes surviving the first half is all that matters.

The second half is where championships are built, and if the Astros continue getting healthy while Dana Brown adds a few pieces before the trade deadline, there’s every reason to believe this team won’t just make the playoffs, it could make another deep postseason run.

The marathon is far from over.

But after everything this team has endured, the Astros are exactly where they need to be, and there’s a very good chance their best baseball is still ahead of them.