Astros Struggle in San Diego, Post Trade Deadline Acquisitions, What's Wrong with The Dodgers

The Astros leave San Diego with another series loss, and this one exposed an increasingly frustrating problem: the offense is putting balls in play but not consistently doing damage. Ryan and Wally break down the Padres series, including Cam Smith’s huge two-homer opener, another gutsy Peter Lambert start, Bryan Abreu continuing to look like a legitimate leverage weapon again, and Daulton Varsho finally showing some power in an Astros uniform. But the bigger story is what happened after Friday. Houston managed only seven hits and four runs over the final two games, culminating in a bizarre Sunday loss where the Astros struck out only once yet finished with just two hits. We dig into the contact-quality problem, Houston’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position, Cristian Javier’s trouble finishing hitters, and what these offensive warning signs could mean down the stretch. Then we head to Los Angeles, where the powerhouse Dodgers suddenly look very human. They’ve lost eight of nine, their bullpen has collapsed, their once-massive NL West lead is shrinking, and even one of baseball’s deepest rosters is struggling to get its pitching, offense and bullpen working at the same time. Dirt Diamond Sports Talk is a proud part of the Spark Podcast Network. Ryan Bokros and Walter Penberthy co-hosts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.