Houston desperately needs to play some absolutely excellent baseball in the near future if they want to hold onto this narrow lead. It just so happens that they have a huge series getting started on Monday night against the Boston Red Sox back at home, and the biggest storyline is the return of Christian Javier who is returning from Tommy John Surgery his first time pitching in over a calendar year on a MLB mound Javier is going to receive a huge test right out of the gate in the first game of the series on Monday night against Boston.
Javier had a ERA under 3 in 2022 in 25 starts back in 2022, along with 194 strikeouts in 148.2 innings, but he had a really hard time to replicate it in 2023, but was off to a tremendous beginning in his first seven starts last season before the injury occurred.
On the other side, one of the best pitchers this season in the American league takes the mound for Boston in Garrett Crochet who has been just straight fire on the mound in his last 7 starts with a 6-0 record, one game with no decision.
Alex Bergman also returns tonight to Houston. Bergman was an integral part of Houston’s success when he played with the Astros, guiding them 2 World Series Championships in 2017 and 2023.
Final thoughts
Houston and Boston are 2 teams that are very much the cream of the crop when it comes to the American League this season. The American League race is tight, the Red Sox are chasing the Toronto Blue Jays, who had a great win against the Dodgers last night, and Houston only has a half-game lead over the surging Seattle Mariners. So this is a big series for both teams. Christian Javier is about to be thrown into the deep end tonight. I’m curious to see if he does and how long the Astros allow him to go. He struggled in his rehab starts posting an ERA over 5.
Final pick Boston Wins 4 – 2