It’s not too late to lose this thing.
Miracles happen. But so do curses. A few games ago Fangraphs had the Astros playoff odds at something like 97%. That was after sweeping the Royals but before getting swept by the Reds.
In the first two games of the series, the Astros starting pitching had uncharacteristic meltdowns. In the third game, starter Hunter Brown continued his recent magnificence. Too bad the hitting hatched a goose egg.
Brown pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, and a walk, with six strikeouts. Unfortunately, his immediate relief, Bryan Abreu, continued his recent slump, allowing the game's only run on his first pitch on a home run by Ty France in the seventh inning.