USA Wins + Astros Lose + Sean Feels Duped by Imai

Summary

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Payne & Pendergast

Episode: USA Wins + Astros Lose + Sean Feels Duped by Imai

Date: July 2, 2026
Podcast Network: Audacy / SportsRadio 610
Hosts: Seth Payne & Sean Pendergast

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Episode Overview

In today’s episode, Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast unpack a night of contrasting fortunes for Houston sports: the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team advanced in the World Cup with a gutsy win, while the Astros lost a crucial series, ending their impressive streak. The conversation dives deep into the state of the Astros’ pitching staff, with particular frustration centered on Tatsuya Imai’s inconsistent performance. Expect sharp analysis, banter, notable rants, and relatable moments as the hosts dissect what these developments mean for their teams and Houston fans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. USA Soccer Survives Red Card, Advances at World Cup

[02:16–05:56]

• America’s Highs and Lows:
  Sean celebrates the USMNT victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina despite being down a man for 30 minutes due to a controversial red card. He expresses greater concern over Folarin Balogun’s suspension for the next match against Belgium.

  “It was a tale of two nights last night. … The United States won.” — Sean [02:16]

• Understanding Soccer’s Discipline:
  Both hosts agree the red card rule is harsh compared to “softer” American sports, sparking some comedic soccer-vs-football debate.

  “Now we’ve got all the Euros saying, ‘Americans just do not understand soccer.’ Yeah, a little bit.” — Seth [02:50]

  “The red card is just… That’s a killer, man. He’s your best goal scorer. And now he’s going to miss this game against Belgium.” — Sean [04:22]

• Cultural Observations:
  The duo riff on entertaining European fan traditions, like Norway’s “rowing” routine—even in the middle of Times Square or on the grimy NYC subway.

  “They sat down on the subway in New York… That’s nasty, man.” — Sean [05:42]
  “Soccer people are just tougher than us… Or dirtier.” — Seth & Sean [05:56]

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2. Astros’ Pitching Nightmare: Imai Meltdown & Playoff Worries

[05:58–16:34]

• Sean Feels ‘Duped by Imai’:
  Sean laments how Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai made him look foolish after a disastrous start. He’d been publicly arguing that Imai should be the Astros’ #2 playoff starter, only for Imai to implode.

  “Tatsuya Imai made me look like an idiot.” — Sean [05:58]
  “I don’t like when people make me look like an idiot.” — Sean [06:05]

• State of the Rotation:
  A deep dive into the Astros’ unstable rotation. Sean argues that despite other options being shaky or overperforming (Lambert, Arrogetti), Imai’s potential still seemed highest—until now.

  “You look at everybody else, Imai would go number two for me right now… Until last night, he had five really good performances with one stinker mixed in.” — Sean [06:20]

• AAA Syndrome & Pitcher Development:
  Seth compares Houston’s glut of “Quadruple-A” arms to previous talent waves—players who look great in Triple A but can’t sustain major league success.

  “They feel like back in 2013 and 14… They’d get up to the majors, and you’d realize, ‘Oh, no, these guys are quadruple-A baseball players.’” — Seth [07:23]

• The ‘Imai Triage Squad’:
  The bullpen has to be on high-alert any time Imai starts, given his blowup potential. Seth dubs them “the Imai triage squad.”

  “Guys like Tong are basically just…just in case Imai only goes one inning or two innings.” — Seth [08:32]
  “They’re like the Imai triage squad. They’re all on call that night.” — Sean [09:13]

• Chandler Rome Article Jinx:
  Sean jokes about terrible timing as Chandler Rome’s glowing article about Imai’s off-field adjustment dropped the same day as Imai’s disastrous outing.

  “What horrible timing for Chandler Rome… Really good article about Imai… and then he goes out and has one of… like, you just look at the box score… every way possible.” — Sean [09:26]

• Statistical Meltdowns:
  They review Imai’s game logs—three starts under two innings, each catastrophic for the bullpen, even if the team occasionally wins despite him.

  “That’s got to get old after a point… a reliever furiously warming up in the first inning.” — Seth [10:00]
  “Imai is a guy who goes out there and, Seth, there’s a chance he throws your whole staff off kilter for the next four days.” — Sean [10:47]

• Bullpen Game Solution:
  A listener’s suggestion of starting Blue Ball (the reliever) in Game 2 and going full-bullpen to mitigate risk is taken humorously, but somewhat seriously by the hosts.

  “Someone just said this, and this is actually a really good point. The solution… might be to start Blue Ball for two innings and just go a bullpen game.” — Sean [14:31]

• Joe Espada’s “Glowing” Postgame Comments:
  They mock Astros manager Joe Espada for his stretched optimism about Imai’s “good” recent outings—pointing out that even the quality starts mask deeper issues.

  “Espada, after the game, said, ‘You know, he’s been good the last few games.’ I’m like, wait a second…” — Seth [15:04]
  “It was good enough for me to say I’d start the guy in Game 2 of a playoff series, and now I look like a dunce.” — Sean [15:59]

• Self-Deprecation & Trust:
  The hosts riff on Sean’s tendency to believe in talent and people, leading to good-natured teasing about his trusting nature.

  “You believe, Sean. You believe. That’s why I had to—remember when Amy and I had to go bail you out of that cult you had joined…” — Seth [16:05]
  “Yeah… They offered me chocolate. They seemed really nice.” — Sean [16:13]

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3. Astros Injury Notes & Yordan Alvarez Discussion

[16:34–17:43]

• Imai & All-Star Game:
  Relief that Imai likely won’t be an All-Star selection.

• Yordan Skips Derby:
  Both hosts agree Yordan Alvarez skipping the Home Run Derby is the right call to protect his health and swing.

  “I approve. I don’t need anybody messing with Yordan’s swing right now.” — Sean [16:56]

• Base Tips & Delgado’s “Pizza Box” Injury:
  Playful complaints about new, larger bases—Delgado injures his pinky on the “pizza box” bag.

  “We can’t even keep Delgado healthy, man.” — Seth [17:43]

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4. Viral Moment: The Empire State Building Engagement

[17:43–22:17]

• Fear of Heights & Houston Tales:
  Lighthearted detour as they react to news of a couple climbing the Empire State Building’s antenna (and getting engaged at the top).

  • Both admit to various height-related fears.
  • Seth recalls climbing farm silos as a youth.
  • The hosts joke about the likely instability of the high-flying couple’s marriage.

  “They got engaged up there. … This is definitely two very well adjusted—” — Sean [18:49]

  “Everything you’re gonna do is at the top of some superstructure. That was crazy though, man.” — Sean [19:19]

• Inappropriate Memes:
  Brief aside about a Photoshopped flag in poor taste referencing Brian Kelly.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Soccer Red Cards and American Confusion:

  “Now we’ve got all the Euros saying, ‘Americans just do not understand soccer.’” — Seth [02:50]
  "The red card is just... That’s a killer, man. He’s your best goal scorer." — Sean [04:22]

• On Imai’s Implosion:

  “Imai is a guy who goes out there and, Seth, there’s a chance he throws your whole staff off kilter for the next four days.” — Sean [10:47]

• Self-Awareness:

  “It was good enough for me to say I’d start the guy in Game 2 of a playoff series, and now I look like a dunce.” — Sean [15:59]

• Fan Suggestions:

  “The solution… might be to start Blue Ball for two innings and just go a bullpen game…” — Sean [14:31]

• Banter & Trust Issues:

  “You believe, Sean. You believe. That’s why—remember when Amy and I had to go bail you out of that cult you had joined?” — Seth [16:05]
  “Yeah… They offered me chocolate. They seemed really nice.” — Sean [16:13]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:16] — USMNT advances, but faces adversity due to Balogun’s red card
• [05:58] — Sean’s public faith in Imai is shattered after a rough start
• [06:20] — Astros rotation debate; who should start playoff games?
• [07:23] — The “Quadruple-A” pitching pipeline problem
• [09:13] — Bullpen arms as an “Imai triage squad”
• [10:47] — How Imai’s volatility messes up the entire pitching staff
• [14:31] — Listener proposes bullpen-game playoff workaround
• [15:04] — Scrutiny of manager Espada’s “glowing” comments
• [16:56] — Yordan Alvarez and All-Star/Home Run Derby health
• [17:43] — Delgado gets hurt on a base; playful “pizza box” commentary
• [18:14] — Viral moment: couple’s Empire State Building stunt engagement

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Tone & Style

• Conversational, lively, and laced with humility, sarcasm, and good-natured ribbing.
• Unfiltered sports talk: explicit fan frustrations, quick-witted analogies, deep dives paired with funny detours (cult rescues, silos, “pizza box bases”).
• Deeply relatable for Houston sports fans and sports radio listeners.

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Conclusion

This episode captures the highs and lows that define Houston’s sports fan experience. From a resilient US soccer victory to an Astros pitching debacle, Seth and Sean blend serious analysis, personal anecdotes, and rapid-fire banter. Listeners get a clear sense of what’s driving local sports talk: hope, skepticism, and the ability to laugh at themselves when predictions go awry.

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Transcript

[Charles Barkley]

It's Charles Barkley here with Wayfair. And let me tell you, game day is serious business at my house. If I'm grilling, chilling and watching hoops, my outdoor setup better be ready to play. That's where Wayfair wins. From patio seating and umbrellas to grills and grill accessories, Wayfair's got it all and it shows up fast. I'm talking fast and easy delivery. So level up your grill game and your outdoor chill game and head to Wayfarer.com to get your outdoor space ready for the season.

[Seth Payne]

Wayfair.

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Every style, every home.

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[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

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So anyways, this has been a refreshing break. Brought to you by Snapple. Real tea, real juice with snaps are

[Seth Payne]

the refres

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[Sean Pendergast]

Sports Radio 610 presents

[Seth Payne]

Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.

[Charles Barkley]

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, Slammy. Oh, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Let's do it. And this ball in the air to right center. Ridler makes the call and the catch. And the Twins have won this series two games out of three and won the season series four games to 2.

[MLB The Show 26 Ad Voice]

8 3.

[Seth Payne]

The final today with Minnesota winning.

[MLB The Show 26 Ad Voice]

There's the final whistle. Seattle coming back Monday night in the round of 16. The United States, despite being down a man for half an hour, has beaten Bosnia and Herzegovina and has moved on to the next round of the World Cup.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was a tale of two nights last night. We had the the Astros this the the streak is over. There will be no celebration play today. They lost a series for the first time in six series the Astros lose a series. But. But the United States won.

[Seth Payne]

So we move on.

[Sean Pendergast]

We move on to the round of 16 set.

[Seth Payne]

Despite even Pat Mahomes last night felt that it was a. That it was an unjust red card on the U.S. it's, it's.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's unjust because the punishment is just so severe.

[Seth Payne]

This is. This is like the extreme version of. Now we've got. Now we've got all the Euros saying, americans just do not understand soccer. Yeah, yeah, a little bit. A little bit. A little bit. But it is honestly the red card and being down a player, like, for the rest of the game, just having a power play against you, it's one of the most. In rugby, in soccer, in hockey, any other sports where you can actually just be down an entire player. It does make me feel like American football is a little bit soft. Well, you know, God, if you go. If you went out there with 10 defensive guys on the field for, for, for every single snap, yeah, you just concede the game.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm not even talking about that, though. I'm talking about the fact that Ballergan misses the next game. Like, that's.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, that's a biggie. That's.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's the part I'm talking about. Because, you know, we've watched hundreds of soccer games where teams are at a disadvantage because of a red card. And yeah, it sucks, but it's not nearly as impactful in soccer as it is like in hockey when you're on a power play.

[Seth Payne]

Just because hockey is short lived.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, it's short lived, but even like 4 against 5 is way different than, you know, 9 against 10. I'm not counting the goalies. So I, I didn't like it. I didn't think the call was good. I didn't think the red card was good. But at the time, I was way more worried about, holy crap, they're going to have to play Belgium without Ballerkin now than I was. They're down a man against Bosnia Herzogovania. Hell, they ended up scoring another goal. You know, it was one nothing. When, when, When Bin went out, that's, that's where soccer, man, I'm like, God, the red card is just. That's a, That's a killer, man. He's your. He's your best goal scorer. And now he's going to miss this game against Belgium, who, you know, they needed a miracle comeback just to get there. They were losing to Senegal with five minutes to go in the game, and they come back and win in extra time, 3 to 2 on a penalty kick. It was a really. It was a fun day of soccer yesterday, man. So, yeah, USA moves on. They'll play Belgium on Monday. And. And on and on we go.

[Seth Payne]

Belgium's routine before the game, I can't remember, do they have a march or something?

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't know. The only two that I know of are the Netherlands. They all. All the orange march to the stadium, all the fans. And then the Norway people have the rowing that they do. You know, they. They row. They sit and they row. The Norway people in a boat? No, no, Like a. Like a pantomime. You know, they all, like. You haven't seen. You ever seen the Norwood people doing the rowing thing?

[Seth Payne]

No, I haven't seen it.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm just surprised it hasn't. Yeah, they. They sat in the middle of Times Square, all of them, and sat down and rode.

[Seth Payne]

It sounds a little bit like the old kids in the hall skit. The urban beaver trappers. They used to. They would ride around in a canoe on land.

[Sean Pendergast]

No.

[Seth Payne]

Remember that?

[Sean Pendergast]

No, I didn't see that, but it sounds. It sounds.

[Seth Payne]

I don't. I'm not impressed. Unless they have actual canoes with wheels on them.

[Sean Pendergast]

They don't. And here's the thing they did. That was disgusting. The Norway people, they sat down on the subway in New York.

[Seth Payne]

Like on floor.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes. And road. That's nasty, man. That's nasty. The floor of a New York subway.

[Seth Payne]

German said, soccer people are just tougher than us.

[Sean Pendergast]

I guess so. I guess. Or dirtier.

[Seth Payne]

Definitely dirtier.

[Charles Barkley]

Dirtier.

[Sean Pendergast]

So the other thing that happened last night is Tatsuya Imai made me look like an idiot.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, he did. And I really did.

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't like when people make me look like an idiot.

[Seth Payne]

You know what? No, Sean, you don't look like an idiot. You look like somebody who trusts people. You. And then. And that's why you're so.

[Sean Pendergast]

People are idiots.

[Seth Payne]

That's why you're so petty. Sometimes it's because you get embarrassed that you trusted.

[Sean Pendergast]

For those who missed it. Those who missed it. I have been saying for the last few days that if the Astros had to play in a wild card round, two out of three series tomorrow, that Hunter Brown would obviously be starting game one. There's no argument there. Even though Hunter hasn't been like peak hunter since he came back. There's no argument there. And then I said, looking at everybody else, Imai would go number two for me right now, just based on the. Until last night, he had had five really good performances with one stinker mixed in. And if you come at me and say, okay, well, that there's no way it can be, ima. I'm like, well, tell me who it would be. And a lot of people said, lambert. And I'm just. I think Lambert's pitching a little over his head right now. And I think we saw some of that earlier this week when he gave up the three home runs.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

And, you know, and they lost that game. Spencer Arrogetti is not pitching well at all. And it's been an extended period of time. He's not pitched well. And then who else? Yeah, Burroughs. So Javier is not even going to be a starter when he comes back. He's going the bullpen, you know, the

[Seth Payne]

pitching staff feels like right now, Sean, they feel like back in 2013 and 14, they had all these guys that were like really good Triple A players, John Singleton and the like, that just then they would get up the majors and you'd realize, like, oh, no, these guys are quadruple a baseball players.

[Charles Barkley]

Y.

[Seth Payne]

They do such a good job with the education and everything or with the pipeline of development and all the things they were doing back leading into the golden era that were so good. You'd get the absolute most out of these guys when they were in Triple A. But then they get to the major leagues and they're like, okay, they're not really that good. And I feel like the last few years with the pitchers, we have all these guys rotating through that show you, wow. Oh, boy. Look at this. Might be the best version we've ever seen of this guy. But at some point, it just starts to fall short. That's what I worry about with guys like Lambert or anybody else.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's. He's 20, 26. Brandon Walter.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Colton Gordon had a few good starts last year. Who was the big one was Jason Alexander last year.

[Seth Payne]

Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Jason Alexander, like, kept the staff afloat for a while.

[Charles Barkley]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

They give you just enough to really feel like, oh, there might be something here.

[MLB The Show 26 Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I mean, that's Dana. Dana Brown brings in six guys in the off season, and you're almost thinking like, okay, well, at least one of these guys is really going to show us something. Yeah. Plus, and then Imai, I mean, like, Imai, I still. You still see even in the midst of his bad performances, where the potential is, he's just so damn erratic. Where now you've got. Okay, Kyrie Tongue goes to the il. When he comes back, he's going to be in the bullpen. Christian Javier comes back, he's going to be in the bullpen, like blue ball, blueba. Christian, Javier. And guys like. Guys like Tong are basically just. You need as many of those guys around just in case Imai only goes one inning or two innings.

[Sean Pendergast]

They're like the Imai triage squad.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

They're all on call that night. You know, we, we heard that. We heard Emai is going to be out on the town. We need, we need some extra EMTs on call tonight.

[Seth Payne]

Everybody's been very supportive of him and

[Sean Pendergast]

yeah, what horrible timing for Chandler Rome.

[Seth Payne]

I know you wrote that nice article yesterday.

[Sean Pendergast]

Long, really good article about im how he's adapting to the United States and they've got all these cute little rituals he's got with his teammates and he's learning a little bit of English and he likes these acai bowls and things like that. And then he goes out and has one of it. Like, you just look at the box score. Like, oh, how did they get to him? Every way possible.

[Seth Payne]

Home runs, there's got to be, there's going to be a point where when blue ball's warming up in the first inning, he's got to be like, oh my, are you kidding me?

[Sean Pendergast]

Is this what, what happened four times?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, like you just got, you got a, you got a reliever furiously warming up in the first inning and that's got to get old after a point.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, that's the thing that, like, I wonder, I wonder who. I'm just going to use Burrows here as the, as the foil to this.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

I like, deep down, I wonder which guy Joe Espada just likes better or feels better about when he trots out to the mound because Burroughs or E My because their numbers are actually pretty similar in terms of era.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

You know, one loss record. Burrows is like four and eight. I don't know what he might actual one loss record. Like Burroughs answered the bell every time Imai missed a month because he was getting his head right.

[Seth Payne]

Shoulder fatigue, Sean.

[Sean Pendergast]

So yeah, yeah, no arm fatigue.

[Seth Payne]

Arm, shoulder, whatever.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. So I wonder which one of those two. Because the ceiling with Imai we've seen like Burrows, you know, Burrows had a few good starts. I'm not going to say he's been trash every time out, but Burrows is at least a guy that when he goes out there like, all right, I know it may not look great, but I'm going to get five innings out of the guy. Imai is a guy who goes out there and Seth, there's a chance he throws your whole staff off kilter for the next four days. When you have a starter that routinely. And it's happened, by my count, it's happened at least four times this year where he hasn't made it out of the second inning. Some of them, he hasn't made it out of the first inning.

[Seth Payne]

He hasn't. Okay, so these are the times you

[Sean Pendergast]

got the game log in front of you.

[Seth Payne]

These are the times when there's either a one or a zero in front of his. Okay, he's in his third game this year against Seattle. That was when he went for a third of an inning. And then it was three games ago against the Royals that he went for two thirds of an inning. And then this is the third time that he's gone. He went one and a third inning.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay, so those are.

[Seth Payne]

Those are the three times. Absolute disastrous disasters.

[Snapple Ad Voice]

And the first.

[Seth Payne]

You know what you're thinking of his first ever. He won two and two thirds. The relative marathon for him.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's. That's okay. Yeah, I think I was at that game.

[Seth Payne]

First game against the Angels, I was at that game.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep.

[Charles Barkley]

It's Charles Barkley here with Wayfair. And let me tell you, game day is serious business at my house. If I'm grilling, chilling, and watching hoops, my outdoor setup better be ready to play. That's where Wayfair wins. From patio seating and umbrellas to grills and grill accessories, Wayfair's got it all, and it shows up fast. I'm talking F and easy delivery. So level up your grill game and your outdoor chill game and head to Wayfarer.com to get your outdoor space ready for the season.

[Seth Payne]

Wayfair.

[Carvana Ad Voices / Kristen Press & Tobin Heath]

Every style, every home.

[Snapple Ad Voice]

Would you look at that? It's time for some of our favorite snapple reel facts. Ryotback 1433. Toe wrestling is a competitive sport. Riothak 732. The chicken is the closest living relative of the tyrannosaurus rex. And ryotback 1599. A man once ate an entire airplane. Y. Did he have any hot sauce?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Snapple Ad Voice]

So, anyways, this has been a refreshing break brought to you by Snapple. Real tea, real juice with snaps and refreshing.

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[Sean Pendergast]

So, yeah, that. That's. That's the pro. The problem. I mean, obviously it's a problem that you're losing these games. Except that Royals game, they actually won because he came. He got knocked out in the first inning of a game where the team got him nine runs in the first inning. But. But it. But even in a game that you win, the point I'm about to make is valid in that game, which is you now affect the next two or three games because certain relievers aren't going to be available. You know, certain relievers are going to empty the tank just to finish that game that you're in that he got shelled in. It's almost like you didn't have a start. It's almost like it was a bullpen game with a bad opener, you know?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Yeah. No, yeah, exactly. He couldn't even come out and give you a good opener. Right. Maybe if they had told them, hey, you're only. We're only expecting you to go one inning, then he could really. I don't know, man.

[Sean Pendergast]

Someone. Someone. Just so real quick, Seth, someone just said this, and this is actually a really good point. The solution in a game, too, right now.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Might be to start blue ball for two innings and just go a bullpen game just to, you know, try to end the series. You know, that's. I'm not even joking.

[Seth Payne]

That's a really good suggestion.

[Sean Pendergast]

This has been the best bullpen in baseball for the last month and a half.

[Seth Payne]

I just. I don't. We might have to play the Espada later because I know how much you love Espada's glowing reviews.

[Sean Pendergast]

Did we get the audio from Espada?

[Seth Payne]

I heard it. I must have seen it on the Internet.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay.

[Seth Payne]

But Espada, after the game, said, you know, he's been good the last few games. I'm like, wait a second. Last few games usually means three. Three, a few. Usually three or four.

[Sean Pendergast]

How many games?

[Seth Payne]

It was three games ago. That was the two thirds of an inning where he allowed five runs. And then even, like, the next game after that, he had that. We were. It was a quality start. Six innings pitched with three runs allowed.

[Sean Pendergast]

That was the one where he got shelled early and then was really good late.

[Seth Payne]

But it was. But I always look at even the quality start. That's a little bit misleading because that. That still does work out to an above four era, you know, on a. If you go nine innings.

[Sean Pendergast]

I've always thought that, too.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Like, it feels like where you're gonna draw the line. Six innings, I don't know. So, no, it hasn't been really all that impressive for the last few starts. It was in. He was impressive in his last start.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And it was only three starts ago that he went two thirds of an inning.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, it was good enough for me to say I'd start the guy in Game 2 of a playoff series. And now I look like a dunce.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, because you just.

[Sean Pendergast]

You.

[Seth Payne]

You believe, Sean. You believe. That's why I had to. Remember when Amy and I had to go bail you out of that cult you had joined.

[Jimmy Conrad]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

They're just about to castrate you.

[Sean Pendergast]

They were like, no, they offered me chocolate. They seem really nice.

[Seth Payne]

You remember you took to the Internet and you said this, and then, Seth Payne is texting my wife.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right.

[Seth Payne]

What the hell?

[Sean Pendergast]

Right?

[Seth Payne]

What the hell? You were out of your mind because

[Sean Pendergast]

you believed I Iooked myself.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes. So. Yeah. So.

[MLB The Show 26 Ad Voice]

So.

[Sean Pendergast]

Ima was. He was terrible last night.

[MLB The Show 26 Ad Voice]

They're.

[Sean Pendergast]

They're off today. Thank God. The bullpen is very happy that they're off today. They off today?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, they're off. Yeah. I hope Imai's not going to choose to participate in the All Star Game, is he? Is that. That's my biggest worry.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. No, I think. I think we're safe there. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I think Jordan's not doing the Home Run Derby. He announced that a while ago.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which I approve. I approve. I don't need anybody messing with Yordon swing right now. That was a good thing last night. He was still getting on base last night.

[Seth Payne]

I was about to say his. Yordon. I can't remember a notable time where he got injured at the plate, but his hand issues are swinging the bat.

[Sean Pendergast]

Related issues. His big issue was the plate. Was with the plate. Was stepping on it.

[Seth Payne]

That' not as a batter, but as a runner scoring a run.

[Sean Pendergast]

He has no issues with the plate while he's in the batter's box.

[Seth Payne]

He's like, imai. He's adjusting the more slippery American home plate.

[Sean Pendergast]

Slick American home plate.

[Seth Payne]

70 years career. You know who didn't adjust to the new pizza box bases last night? Poor Delgado. No, Delgado got that ball that caromed off the pizza box and dislocated his pinky. We can't even keep Delgado healthy. Man.

[Sean Pendergast]

Hey. Baseball Talk On Sports Radio 610 is presented by Xfinity. Score. The most reliable Wi Fi 1 price, five years guaranteed. Xfinity. Imagine that. Hey, did you see the two people that climbed the Empire State Building yesterday?

[Seth Payne]

I saw that. How do you get vertigo like I do? Right? Yeah. When you. When you watch something, the helicopter circling around. That's not helping.

[Charles Barkley]

Okay.

[Sean Pendergast]

I didn't see. With. Oh, the. I didn't see that part.

[Seth Payne]

There was a video of the helicopter circling around. So the buildings are spinning in the background and these two are holding on to this tiny little spire at the top.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, it Was the. That was the part that got me was the part. It's, you know, you. You see the caption, and the first thing you wonder is how the hell did they get up there? That's number one and then number two. Like, okay, how high did they go? Oh, they went to the very top. The very top of the antenna that's up there.

[Seth Payne]

Which, I mean, humans do go up there, but they're usually tethered with safety ropes and all kinds of.

[Sean Pendergast]

You're usually hired to go up there.

[Seth Payne]

These two are just up there going free solo on it or free duet on it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, and they got engaged up there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they got engaged.

[Seth Payne]

I mean, that is going to last.

[Sean Pendergast]

That is. That. That's the first thing I thought. I'm like, well, this is definitely two very well adjusted.

[Seth Payne]

These are two well adjusted people. That really funny things I thought, dude,

[Sean Pendergast]

I thought the same thing. Like, this marriage is definitely not going to last.

[Seth Payne]

Nobody even came to the wedding. Where are you guys getting married? The engagement party.

[Carvana Ad Voices / Kristen Press & Tobin Heath]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Were you guys getting married out of, like, at the top of one of those rocks?

[Sean Pendergast]

Needle in Seattle?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Everything you're gonna do is at the top of some superstructure. That was crazy though, man. I don't know about you. Like, I get. I look at stuff like that, Especially the part where they were at the very tippy top there. And it's just this. This little tiny balcony.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

My legs, dude, my legs turn into jello just watching it.

[Seth Payne]

They're hanging onto that antenna.

[Charles Barkley]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And I don't think that antenna is meant to be hung on to. That's the part that I don't get there. It's one thing to climb up there, but then to just be both of them.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I can guarantee it's not meant for, like. It wasn't engineered for two people to be hanging.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, no, no, no. Two people in masks that snuck up there. What's the highest that you've climbed in anything where there's a threat of, like, fear of height or falling or whatever?

[Seth Payne]

I think. Well, I mean, there's like different, like, you know, mountains and everything, which always looks worse in pictures than it is. You know, in real life. You always feel like you see somebody standing on a big rock next to a precipice. Oh, my God. But in real life, it doesn't feel like that.

[Jimmy Conrad]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

The scariest was always climbing silos. Silos are climbing silos without a. And if there's a ladder with no like the. The cage around it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

That used to be. I remember when I was a kid, I used to. I had to talk myself into climbing to the top of a silo.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, man.

[Seth Payne]

You know, in a hard, hard way.

[Sean Pendergast]

What do you. You do. Why are you going up. Why are you climbing to the top of the.

[Seth Payne]

There's. There's a silo unloader up there sometimes. Well, two things. One, sometimes you go up and you manually throw silage down. She has to be careful about. Because every now and then, there's gases up there. But then. Or you gotta adjust a silo. A silage unloading. There's like a. There's a shoot. There's a. There's a thing up at the top that'll send silage.

[Sean Pendergast]

Gotcha, gotcha, Gotcha. Dude.

[Seth Payne]

I remember, man. It's been a long time.

[Sean Pendergast]

I get nervous climbing the farmers.

[Seth Payne]

Correct me. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

I get nervous climbing the ladder to the high dive at the Munich. That. The muni pool back in the day.

[Seth Payne]

The. Oh, the high dive. Anytime.

[Sean Pendergast]

Standing on the high dive, going off the high dive. That's no rail, kid.

[Seth Payne]

We used to do scum jumping, which was. We'd go to an old railroad bridge over a creek and jump into the railroad bridge. Yeah. That was always. The big step was like there was a. Like a cliff or, you know, a really steady decline next to it. You could also jump in.

[Charles Barkley]

Yep.

[Seth Payne]

So the first time you went off the actual bridge, that was the scariest.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I thought I saw that one tweet, which I thought was in poor taste, but the. Those two. That. Those two lovers that climbed up to the top of the Empire State Building.

[MLB The Show 26 Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And they had a flag with them.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And there was a Photoshop that said on the flag, brian Kelly sent us up here. Oh, and I thought that was in very poor.

[Sean Pendergast]

I did, too. I did.

[Seth Payne]

I didn't think that was acceptable at all.

[Sean Pendergast]

That was 16 years ago.

[Seth Payne]

What did the flag actually say?

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, something about love is power is love. Love over power. Something about love. Something like that.

[Seth Payne]

Nothing like politically driven on the surface or anything.

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't know. It might have been a little bit like. It was something about power and love where love exceeds power. So it could have been a political statement. I'll find it during the break. All right, we're off and running on a. On a Thursday here. Payne and Pendergast. Hey, David Montgomery, Texans running back, was on James Harrison's podcast. I've already grown to really like David Montgomery, and he hasn't even taken a snap in the regular season yet for the Texans. What's it like working for d' Amico Ryan's compared to where he came from, which was Dan Campbell and also David Montgomery. On the big topic this offseason, C.J. stroud. We've got that coming up for you next.

[Snapple Ad Voice]

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[MLB The Show 26 Ad Voice]

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[Jimmy Conrad]

As the U.S. men's National Team takes center stage at a home World cup, make sure you're listening to Call it what you Want, part of the CBS Sports Podcast Network, where you can join me. I'm Jimmy Conrad alongside Charlie Davies, Tony Miola, Marcelo Balboa and Benny Fieldhaver throughout this tournament for previews, instant reactions and analysis of every US Match. Then all summer, we're back every Tuesday and Thursday covering all things U.S. men's National Team. Download and follow Call it what yout Want on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

[Carvana Ad Voices / Kristen Press & Tobin Heath]

Mom, can you tell me a story? Sure. Once upon a time, a mom needed a new car. Was she brave? She was tired. But she went to Carvana.com and found a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required. Did you have to fight a dragon? Nope. She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually.

[Sean Pendergast]

Was it scary?

[Carvana Ad Voices / Kristen Press & Tobin Heath]

Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be. Did the car have a sunroof? It did, actually. Okay, good story. Car buying you'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. I'm Toba Heath. And I'm Kristen Press. We're World cup champions, Olympians and the hosts of the recap show. Week in and week out, we sit down with sports legends, cultural icons and global change makers to talk everything from clutch games to causes that matter. This is about creating the future of women's sports a future that's honest, inclusive and real. Join us for our reimagined journey. Follow and listen to the recap show wherever you get your podcasts.