Astros comeback and beat the Angels

Summary

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Payne & Pendergast – Astros Comeback and Beat the Angels

Date: July 28, 2026
Hosts: Sean Pendergast (with Brandon Scott in for Seth Payne)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the Houston Astros’ improbable comeback win against the Los Angeles Angels, featuring in-depth commentary, game breakdowns, and characteristically candid (and often humorous) banter between Sean Pendergast and Brandon Scott. The hosts examine every angle of the game, highlight individual performances—especially under bullpen duress—and reflect on the Astros' current identity as a gritty, but inconsistent, club. The show also touches on the ripple effects for the Astros' pitching staff moving forward.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Astros’ Improbable Win: A Comedy of Errors (04:00–13:31)

• Game Recap:

  • Expectations were low early: Tatsuya Imai, the Astros starter, was pulled in the first inning after walking four batters and giving up two runs, making way for AJ Blubaugh to escape a bases-loaded jam.
  • Sean: “When you pull an Imai, when you use his name as a proper name for a performance…it means you didn’t make it out of the first inning.” (04:13)
  • Astros trailed 4–1 in the late innings; Taylor Trammell’s home run in the 5th gave some hope.

• The Ninth Inning Breakdown

  • Angels led 4–2 entering the 9th.
  • The frame saw multiple blunders from LA:
    • Taylor Trammell was hit by a pitch.
    • A passed ball advanced the runner.
    • Outfielders set absurdly deep, turning a routine fly into a single.
    • Strategic overthinking and errors abounded—including a ground ball through the second baseman’s legs and multiple failed fielding attempts.
  • Sean: “What an awful, awful baseball team this is. And honestly, that ninth inning, what a battle of two teams. That one is awful and one’s just not very good.” (07:31)
  • The Astros batted ten men, logged only a single hit, but capitalized on two errors, two hit batters, a passed ball, two walks (including a bases-loaded walk to bring in the go-ahead run), and a challenge lost by the Angels.

• Brandon Summarizes Angels' Collapse:

  • “This is their ninth loss of the season when leading after eight innings... That’s as bad as it gets.” (12:51)
  • “By the time you got to the ninth inning, the Angels were like…‘Here’s the game. We’re not actually interested in winning it. Here you go.’” (13:18)

2. Astros’ Resilience and Identity (13:31–16:46)

• Credit to the Astros:
  • Sean acknowledges the Astros’ “grittiness” and ability to capitalize late, especially compared to a lethargic start to the year.
  • “They have…been much more of a threat in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings than they were in the first couple months of the season.” (13:31)
• Hero of the Night: Christian Javier
  • Five innings of dominant relief (3 hits, 0 runs, 7 strikeouts, 0 walks).
  • Sean: “The MVP of this game undoubtedly was Christian Javier…since the Tommy John surgery, his velocity has been so up and down. And not that he’s some guy that blows you away with Velo, but he does need to be in the mid-90s.” (14:25)
  • Brandon: “Shout out to him last night for actually performing when I feel like the Astros, you could argue, needed it most.” (15:31)

3. Pitching Woes: Imai, Bullpen Usage, and Future Concerns (16:14–19:34)

• Starter Drama:
  • Ongoing inconsistency with Imai and others; bullpen roles have grown as a result.
  • Brandon on Imai: “He looks like a guy they called up from Double-A that day...Half his starts, he doesn’t make it to the fifth inning, you know, and that’s his third start where he doesn’t make it out of the first.” (16:46)
• Home/Away Split Questioned:
  • The common theory that Imai pitches much better at home is debunked by the stats:
    • ERA at home: 6.68
    • ERA on the road: 4.88
  • “He ain’t good on—he’s not reliable, at least—because he can be good at times on the road or at home, but he ain’t reliable at home, on the road or anything like that.” – Brandon (18:54)
• Looking ahead to Playoffs:
  • “If you do have to play that third [wildcard] game…whoever it is, you need a backup plan and maybe even a backup plan to that backup plan.” – Brandon (19:44)
  • Sean underscores: “They got a win last night…Ten batters go to the plate [in the ninth]. One hit.” (20:21)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Angels’ Ineptitude:

  • “Amidst this sea of errors, the Astros are still popping up sacrifice bunts and getting thrown out at home plate by 10 ft in the ninth inning…It wasn’t perfect by any means.” – Sean (07:59)

• On Astros/Angels Ninth-Inning Mayhem:

  • “If you’re keeping track at home, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth inning last night had two errors, two hit by pitch, a passed ball, walked you on Alvarez to load the bases…then walked a batter with the bases loaded, lost a challenge in the process.” – Sean (12:00)

• On the Astros’ 2026 Identity:

  • “This is turning into classic Astros—just dig yourself out a hole, or in some cases get a little bit lucky in this one.” – Brandon (05:10)
  • “This is almost like a part of their identity now, which is an unsettling thing…but a part of their identity nonetheless.” – Brandon (18:05)

• Summing Up the Angels:

  • “Angels gonna Angel.” – Sean, quoting listener text (20:19)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:40 – Show intro, hosts settle in, quick mention of Texans training camp
• 03:39 – Astros early woes: Imai struggles, Blubaugh’s emergency entrance
• 05:15 – Astros dig a hole early, Trammell’s HR gives a spark
• 07:31 – Detailed breakdown of the wild 9th inning
• 12:51 – The scope of the Angels’ collapse: 9th blown lead of the year after 8 innings
• 13:31 – Astros’ ability to score late, team’s grit, Christian Javier’s heroics
• 16:46 – Deep dive: Imai’s Jekyll-and-Hyde pitching, Astros' starter uncertainty
• 18:54 – Imai’s home/away splits debunked
• 19:44 – Playoff planning with unpredictable pitching staff
• 20:19 – Listener text nails the Angels’ reputation: “Angels gonna Angel”

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Tone and Takeaways

The show offers a mix of sharp analysis, classic Houston sports fatalism, and tongue-in-cheek humor. The overall mood is one of both relief at the Astros pulling out a win and exasperation at how shaky their recipe for success currently looks. The episode illustrates the team’s reliance on grit, luck, and bullpen rescue missions—and highlights just how costly bad baseball fundamentals can be for any major league club.

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Summary Author’s Note:
If you missed the episode, expect a thorough retelling of one of the messiest Astros wins in recent memory, optimism mingled with skepticism about the team’s staying power, and plenty of laughs at the expense of the Angels’ “comedy of errors.”

Transcript

[Podcast Host (Campus Files)]

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[Sean Pendergast]

Sports Radio 610 presents Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.

[Brandon Scott]

We coming to eighth time. Let's get the work in, man. Let's go.

[Sean Pendergast]

Great day. Great day. Oh, give me some juice. Oh, yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

Let's do it. Broken back hater backs up, fields it, throws in time. Astros win it 6 to 4.

[Sean Pendergast]

Not an easy play as Hayter navigated

[Brandon Scott]

the back of the mound, kept his feet and threw out Grissom to end the game.

[Mountain Cement Advertiser]

Plumber.

[Brandon Scott]

That was not a classic. Top half of the ninth inning, but what a comeback by the Astros.

[Sean Pendergast]

Santa came early. Well put, Blummer.

[Brandon Scott]

Well put indeed.

[Sean Pendergast]

And understatement of the year. Not a classic. Top of the ninth inning for the Astros. Okay, so welcome in everybody, here on a Tuesday. I'm Sean Pendergast alongside Brandon Scott, who's in for Seth Payne today. Seth back tomorrow. This is the last day for a while that we will be in studio because Texans training camp gets started tomorrow. Can't wait for that. We had the media party last night and this plays into some of what we're about to talk about here. The Astros beat the Angels last night. If you went to bed and you're not like me, and when you wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, if you ignore your phone, that's a good thing to do. Ignore your phone. If you have to get up. You know, I'm not. I'm not quite at John Lopez level yet. Lopez wears on his sleeve that he gets up like four times during the night to go to the bathroom, which

[Brandon Scott]

is probably an issue. Probably not great.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's not good.

[Brandon Scott]

But I'll let Lopez handle his own business.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's. If he wants to get that kind of sleep. That's.

[Brandon Scott]

That's on him grown man.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right. But I get up typically either zero or one time in the, in the night. And especially if I've been out carousing and having a good time, I can almost guarantee I'm getting up to hit the restroom at like 2:30 in the morning.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So we had the Texans media party last night and it was fun. Shout out to the Texans and their, their media relations staff through it. Through a great kickoff party to the 2026 season. It was a whole lot of fun. Good seeing some familiar faces out there who will be seeing for the next several weeks out of training camp. But the party started at 6:30. On paper it was supposed to be over around 8:30. But I'm always one of those people. I'm the opposite of Seth. Seth can just stroll out of a party and nobody sees him. He's the king of the Irish goodbye.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah, I ended up doing that too eventually.

[Sean Pendergast]

You Irish goodbye. I had to snuck out.

[Brandon Scott]

Well because I would have stayed forever.

[Sean Pendergast]

And you've been in for Seth for the last three or four days. So you got to, you know, you

[Brandon Scott]

got to channel Seth in the spirit of true Seth.

[Sean Pendergast]

If it's going to be pain and Pendergast with Brandon Scott in for Seth Payne, you've got to lean into his gimmick. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

I didn't even realize it, but I was just through osmosis. Lived through Seth vicariously or vice versa.

[Sean Pendergast]

All these times you've been telling people to go die during the show. No.

[Brandon Scott]

You haven't been doing. I haven't done that.

[Sean Pendergast]

You haven't totally channeled.

[Brandon Scott]

Haven't done that just yet. My mom listens and I don't think.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

I would get angry texts if I did.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, right, right. So. So anyways, Tatsuya Imai was knocked out of this game before I left the party. I know the game started at 8:38. I was one of a few people still kind of milling around Flight Club last night. Fun place by the way. Kind of milling around there till like nine. And I look down on my phone, the Astros already down to nothing.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

And AJ Blue ball is in. And I'm like, I thought Imai was starting. And then I remembered that when you pull an email, when you use his name as a proper name for a performance. Yeah. It means you didn't make it out of the first inning.

[Brandon Scott]

Or when you E my. That's as a verb.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

Either way.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes.

[Brandon Scott]

Yes.

[Sean Pendergast]

Either pull an email or you imai everywhere.

[Brandon Scott]

Yes.

[Sean Pendergast]

Got. He might all over the place. It Was the worst.

[Brandon Scott]

Got him. I was just all over that dog on mountain.

[Sean Pendergast]

Walked four in the first inning and he was done. And credit blue ball. Like he, he kept the. He left the bases loaded. Blue ball came in there and almost got like, he almost. He got like an in game save. Almost.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah. Which is kind of, kind of the story of the Astros. Like it's been up and down with the starters, as we know. And the bullpen, as ragtag as it is, has saved it a many times. This is just another example of that. And I do want to say before you continue, speak for yourself. Jeff Blum. Speak for yourself. Sean Pendergast. It felt like a classic to me. This is like, this is turning into classic Astros of just dig yourself out a hole or in some cases get a little bit lucky in this one.

[Mountain Cement Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

Well.

[Sean Pendergast]

And it is. It was classic Angels too. Yes. That's a bad baseball team.

[Brandon Scott]

So.

[Sean Pendergast]

So it was when I went, I got home, you know, left the party, got home. It was four nothing by then. And Taylor Trammel hit a home run to make it 4 to 1. And I'm like, okay, I just can't. I got to go to bed. I got to get up early and do a show. This game doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. Yeah. Seen this movie before.

[Brandon Scott]

Back to back games with a home run for Taylor Trammel. Just by the way.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Jen Hatmaker]

With.

[Sean Pendergast]

And then look, with plenty of at bats to seize out there in the outfield. Like, you know, there's. The outfield's a problem right now. He can really nail down a spot if he keeps hitting the ball well. So I went to bed. It was 4 to 1. I wake up at 2:30 in the morning to hit the, the, you know, the restroom.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

The Tinkeltorium and the Tinkle Torium. And I, and I, I bring my phone with me because I'm an idiot, you know. Don't bring your phone with you when you get up in the. I bring my phone with me.

[Brandon Scott]

I'm the same idiot that you are.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I just. Well, especially because there was an Astros game. Like I guess I'll see, you know, how much they lost by.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

And I've got, I've got like nine push notifications from Mark Berman. Not texts, but like Twitter. You know, I've got certain people set to push notify when they tweet.

[Brandon Scott]

And Mark, probably from back in the days when he was breaking news and

[Sean Pendergast]

Mark is still a really good follower.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah. It was no reason to turn off the Notification. He's.

[Sean Pendergast]

In some ways, he's even a better follow because we don't. We don't get the breaking news anymore, but someone's always going to break the news. Like, it's just not Berman anymore.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Although he does from time to time, it feels like he dips his toe in the water there still. Yeah, but. But he's more fun now because he's opinionated.

[Brandon Scott]

Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

And he's very useful, like for Astro games. He tweets everything that happens after the game.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So I wake up to like, eight push notifications from Berman, and the very first one I see is some quote either from Ashen Felder on the post game show or from somebody saying that the Astros were handed a Christmas gift today. Or, you know, or they. Or maybe it was Ashen Felder quoting Blum or might have been Berman quoting Blum. You know, something like that.

[Brandon Scott]

Santa did come early last night.

[Sean Pendergast]

He did. He did. And so. So I'm like, holy crap. So I just looked to make sure they won, and they won. They got four in the ninth. It's. It. It appeared from the tweets. It was a classic Angels thing. I didn't open YouTube and start watching, though. I'm like, I'm gonna go get my two hours of sleep.

[Brandon Scott]

Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Get up at 4:45 and come in. Holy crap. What an awful, awful baseball team this is. And honestly, that ninth inning, what a battle of two teams. That one is awful and one's just not very good.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

I mean, you.

[Brandon Scott]

Somebody had to win the game.

[Sean Pendergast]

Somebody. Yes.

[Brandon Scott]

That's what it was. Somebody had to not. Did the Astros win, or did somebody have to not lose? And was the other team just an outright undisputed loser? Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Because amidst this sea of errors, the Astros are still popping up sacrifice bunts and getting thrown out at home plate by 10ft in the ninth inning. Like, it wasn't. It wasn't perfect by any means. But if you're an Angels fan, this is what you watched your team do in the ninth inning alone last night, leading four to two. The very first batter was Taylor Tramell. He was hit by a pitch. Yeah, the. He went to second on a passed ball. Then Christian Walker gets a single to center field because they're playing the outfield practically with their backs to the wall because they don't want to give up two runs in the inning. I mean, he hit a ball. That's probably. If they're just playing at normal depth, it's probably a pop out to center field.

[Brandon Scott]

But they played Their way. They played their own way into that situation.

[Sean Pendergast]

Strategize their way into that. Right, right, right.

[Brandon Scott]

Yes.

[Sean Pendergast]

Because of the, because of the hit by pitch in the pass ball. Yeah, yeah. So. So then Nick Allen grounds a ball. No, no, sorry. Nick Allen came in to run for Christian Walker. So. And he got thrown out at home plate. Eventually they. Joe Espada did that thing where he put somebody in. It's like a. A tiny fraction of a second faster than a good hitter.

[Brandon Scott]

And he loves to do it with Nick Allen or Bryce Matt.

[Sean Pendergast]

He doesn't like Allen is Vince Coleman or something like that.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So that's another Espada thing, man. Like this whole pinch running thing because you might go to extra innings, man.

[Brandon Scott]

It's like he's got some kind of pride in using the entire bench. But it's like that's cool and all. But sometimes it feel like he's doing it just for the sake of using the entire bench. He overthinks just to say he did it.

[Sean Pendergast]

And this is I guess what they used to do back in the 80s, you know, that kind of thing. The Angels then Lucas Spence grounds a ball to second which should have been a double play. Yeah. Should have practically ended the game. And it rolls through the second bay. It rolls through. Through Grissom's legs. In the innings alive. Instead of two outs and a runner on third. It's. It's runner on, I think. Well, no, it's. It. It's. Tramel scores on the play.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Now it's four to three.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Vasquez pops out a sacrifice bun. So here's. Here's Joe Espada doing 80s baseball again. Got a bun. And I know, I know Vasquez is your nine hole hitter. He's also been pretty decent this year with in clutch situations. Yeah, I think I'd rather have Christian Vasquez swinging the bat right there if it were me. But I'm not going to go through this like Paredes gets. They. They intentionally. Eventually they intentionally walk Jordan Alvarez upper run with runners on first and second. Yeah. They choose to walk Jordan Alvarez. So they now push the tying run to third base. Yeah, relevant because the next batter, Isaac Perez was hit by a pitch.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah. Another. We're talking still in the ninth inning.

[Sean Pendergast]

Another hit by pitch. Another hit by pitch that scored a run because the Angels manager chose to push the tying run to third base with an intentional walk to Jordan Alvarez.

[Brandon Scott]

This will be the only spot here. Not that I'm here to defend the Angels at all, but this is the one move that they made that I thought was not a comedy of errors. Because I would rather face anybody in the Astros lineup, especially with the game on the line, considering that they're actively coughing up the game in the moment. Well, knowing that I'm not going to give Jordan Alvarez a chance to beat me, but you know what else I'm not going to do? What else is non negotiable? Like, I think it's non negotiable to let Jordan Alvarez bat in that situation. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

It's also non negotiable to hit the next guy.

[Sean Pendergast]

Being a guy, you can't do that. Cannot do it, man.

[Brandon Scott]

And they did.

[Sean Pendergast]

And they did. And that only tied the game because then Lamont Wade Jr. Walked with the bases loaded. Bases are still loaded here.

[Brandon Scott]

Can't do that either.

[Sean Pendergast]

By Angels. Angels challenged the call. Got it wrong.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah, they should do that.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's a. That's a spot where you do challenge. Smoke them if you got them. Then. Then there. There's another fielding error by the third baseman. And in. In Jordan Alvarez scores. So if you're keeping track at home, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth inning last night had two errors to hit by pitch. A past ball.

[Brandon Scott]

Walked you on Alvarez to load the bases.

[Sean Pendergast]

Walked. Intentionally walked him to push the tying run to third.

[Brandon Scott]

Yes.

[Sean Pendergast]

And then hit a batter. I mentioned the hit by pitch. Then walked a batter with the bases loaded. Lost a challenge in the process. These were two. One really bad baseball team and one just really inconsistent, mediocre baseball team. And I'm glad I got to watch it on YouTube.

[Brandon Scott]

A hit, two walks, two errors. It's one of hit batters. It's to hand them their. To hand them their ninth loss of the season. This is the Angels I'm talking about here. This is their ninth loss of the season when leading after eight innings. I mean, I don't know if you can describe collapse any more clearly. Any more clear or succinct than that. Yes. Like, that's as bad as it gets.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep. Yep.

[Brandon Scott]

It was almost like by the time he got to the ninth inning, the Angels were like, yeah, I know we've been leading the game for pretty much its entirety, but. But here's the game. We're not actually interested in winning it. Here you go.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, and let's. So. So we laid out the comedy of errors. That was the ninth inning. And look, credit the Astros for being gritty. This is. This is a gritty team. They, you know, they. They have during this run where They've played better baseball. They didn't play great baseball, but better, better baseball. They've, they've been much more of a threat in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings than they were in the first couple months of the season. So I will grant them that. The, the MVP of this game undoubtedly was Christian Javier. Yes, Christian Javier last night had five innings in relief, three hits, no earned runs, no runs at all. Shut up ball. No walks, which is big. And seven strikeouts, which is big, too. Cause that's the big thing we've been watching with Javier since, really, since the Tommy John surgery, is his velocity has been so up and down. And not that he's some guy that blows you away with Velo, but he does need to be in the mid-90s with the invisible and everything like that.

[Brandon Scott]

Exactly. It's not just the velocity, but it's the movement. And if you can make a dish,

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[Brandon Scott]

I've been asking ever again, ever since he came back from Tommy John, is the invisible still invisible? Yep. And that's. That's just been an open question for a long time now. And shout out to him last night for actually performing when I feel like the Astros, you could argue it needed a most.

[Mountain Cement Advertiser]

This was.

[Brandon Scott]

This was probably his most like I don't even know if you'd call it high leverage because it seemed like it was unlikely that they'd be able to come back. But they absolutely, if they were, they needed him to be what he was.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, this is what the inconsistency of guys like Imai, Spencer Araghetti And I know he's on the IL now, but he couldn't make it through an inning and he was even before the injury. Like, he, he's been very up and down. Spencer Arrogetti, Post AL Picture of the

[Brandon Scott]

Month Whenever that was May or June.

[Sean Pendergast]

May.

[Brandon Scott]

May or May.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was May. And he's been terrible since then. Yes, he's been awful. So. So with the inconsistency of the staff as a whole, it's really almost evolved into where AJ blueba and I guess now Christian Javier are almost like your, your starters, 5A and 5B. Like they've got those two guys now have to be on call, especially when Emi is on the mound. They've gotta be on call, like an emergency doctor.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Cause you don't know if Tatsuya Imai, I don't think I've ever seen an Astros pitcher that has a bigger window into what you may or may not get out of him. There have been times in the last couple weeks where Imai has looked every bit worth the $18 million that they're paying him. And then there's nights like last night where he doesn't get out of the first inning. Like, he looks like a guy they called up from Double A that day, you know, who got no sleep the night before. Like, he just looks terrible. Half his starts, he doesn't. He doesn't make it to the, to the fifth inning, you know, and that's his third start where he doesn't make it out of the first. Yeah. And we know the damage that does to your, to your bullpen. That's the pressure it puts, boy, the pressure it puts on Peter Lambert tonight. Peter Lambert, almost, to use your word, non negotiably, has to give you six innings tonight. He has to.

[Brandon Scott]

Well, it is gotten to the point, and I feel like they've been here for a while now because this is not like, obviously we're talking about the most recent events with the Astros, but it's not like this is a new sort of feeling with Tatsuya Imai and the way you just laid it out, a host of the Astro starters. And so this is kind of like, this is almost like a part of their identity now, which is an unsettling thing, but a part of their identity nonetheless.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep.

[Mountain Cement Advertiser]

Yep.

[Brandon Scott]

And you know what? I would say this about Imai. I'd love to make the excuse that, well, because, you know, earlier it was, oh, the mounds are different and dinner's at the wrong time, and I'm just not comfortable. And I'M fatigued. And I thought, well, maybe it's going to be. Maybe Tatsuya Imai is going to be the guy who just pitches well at home, and going on the road is just going to be an adventure every time. Tatsu Yamaha turn around the rotation.

[Sean Pendergast]

His. If you look. Or his.

[Brandon Scott]

I'm looking at his.

[Sean Pendergast]

What are his splits, but they're.

[Brandon Scott]

That's the thing. When you look at his splits, you're expecting to see much better home numbers versus away, and you don't. His ERA on the road is 4.8, 4.88 on the road.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's. That's. I know. That's better than his home because his. His actual era is in the sixes.

[Brandon Scott]

There you go. His era at home is 6.68.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

So it's like, okay, well, you want to give him a pass for or maybe not give him a pass. But. But consider. Maybe this guy gets just much more comfortable on a mound that he pitches on more often, which is obviously the case at home. But he ain't good on. He's not reliable, at least because he can be good at times on the road or at home, but he ain't reliable at home, on the road or anything like that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Nope. Reliable is not.

[Brandon Scott]

That's not going to be him.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's not him, man. That's not him. And yet, if he had to start a playoff series, well, it'd be pretty easy right now if it were a wild card round. You pitch Hunter Brown and you pitch Peter Lambert and you hope that you win the thing in two, and then you deal with the divisional round when you get there.

[Brandon Scott]

But. But to the point, though, if you do have to play that third game, it's basically as it should be because it's one. That means it's one one at that point. But it's all hands on deck.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes.

[Brandon Scott]

Like, no matter who you go with, it could be Tatsuya Imai, it could be Christian Ivier who has playoff experience, but any of those guys. And you and I were talking about this before the show, whoever it is, you need a backup plan and maybe even a backup plan to that backup plan.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's wild, man. It is wild, but here we are. They got a win last night. I'll read this text real quick, and then we'll. We'll. We'll hit the break here. I'm an. It says I'm a. I'm an OTR driver. I'm in New York, so I didn't have a prayer of staying up late, but When I woke up, I saw we had 10 batters in the ninth and had just one hit. And my first thought was, Angels gonna Angel. Yep, it's exactly right. Man. One hit.

[Brandon Scott]

Our angels.

[Sean Pendergast]

10, 10 batters go to the plate. One hit.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah, true Angels. Y' all are Angels to me. Don't let. Don't let nobody.

[Sean Pendergast]

You are Angels in the outfield.

[Brandon Scott]

Don't tell any infield. Don't let anyone tell you anything about Anaheim. And behind home plate, your Angels in

[Sean Pendergast]

our eyes, all of you contributed. All of you. All of you Angels came from the catcher all the way out to the center fielder. All of you contributed.

[Brandon Scott]

The Astros needed Angels last night to win. They did, and they got them.

[Sean Pendergast]

There was literally an angel on their shoulder. At least nine of them. Baseball talk on Sports Radio 610 is presented by Xfinity. Score the most reliable Wi Fi one price five years guaranteed Xfinity. Imagine that. Ten days. Still training camp. It's a series. I know there's one day, really two for purposes of this segment, but we've been doing 10 days till camp and we've been doing a question each day. We're down to question number two. Question number one will be tomorrow when Seth is back. This is a B. Scott question and it's a simple one. Forward question. What is Tank Dell? We'll dig into that. We'll do that coming up next.

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[Jen Hatmaker]

Hey, it's Jen Hatmaker. Here's what I've learned in midlife. Joy isn't the reward you earn, earn. After all the work is done, joy is the work. That's what this new series on for the Love is all about. The sacred yes. It's choosing delight, rest and pleasure on purpose. Because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else. Come find your sacred yes with me. Follow and listen to for the Love. Wherever you get your podcasts.