Objects Are Closer Than They Appear - Astros Win 4 Consecutive Series Doing The Right Things Well

Ryan and Wally talk about how the Blue Jays series showed us two different versions of winning baseball. Tuesday, Houston survived a blown lead, used its entire roster, tied the game through situational hitting and won it with a dramatic swing from Joey Loperfido. Wednesday, Mike Burrows controlled the game, Loperfido created pressure with his legs, Cam Smith saved the lead with his glove, Raynel Delgado executed a bunt and Jeremy Peña supplied insurance. Then tonight, Imai dominated, Trammell broke up a perfect game, Peña manufactured another critical run and the bullpen survived without its most-used arms. The Astros are 14-11 over their last 25 with an essentially even run differential. They are not steamrolling opponents. They are simply playing better baseball when the game is close — throwing strikes, taking extra bases, making productive outs, playing defense and finding contributions from unexpected places. They are three games under .500 and a game and a half from first. A month ago, they were trying to prove the season was still alive. Now they are trying to take the division.