The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - It’s Crunch Time: Should the Astros Change the Lineup for a Playoff Push?

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

It’s Crunch Time: Should the Astros Change the Lineup for a Playoff Push?

Let's say hello to Steve. On 7.9 with Matt Ross in the morning. Good morning, Steve. Hey, thanks. I really like your show. Thank you. So Astros is crunch time, right? Yes.

I have to go. And the pitching rotation sets up where Sunday, which could be an all or nothing game, would be Javier, who left last night with an injury. So questions, should they, depending on how the next day goes,

so Sunday could end up being a bullpen game, should they push Brown back and have a bullkin game in the next two or three days to have Brown on Sunday? That's one. And then two, you've got, you know, Blanco and Ami on the roster that you can't put in a competitive game. Should they send Blanco down? And I know he didn't do anything early in the year with the Astros, but Ryan Wise, his last two starts in Sugar Land, were great. bring him up, you know, as an option instead of Blanco. And at last, if Yordon doesn't win MVP,

that'll just be a travesty. Because without him, they're 10 games out. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, Yordon's going to win MVP. Yoron's going to win it. It will not be as, it'll be closer than probably it would have been a month ago, but he's still going to win it.

And I kind of didn't think about that. If you try to win these games before you get to Hunter Brown, somehow even be clinched. Oh, let's go on. a slow roll down a little bit under that. I'm just saying it could happen. It could. Especially when the Astros go,

they're one and O so far on a five and one road trip. Yeah, you're Mr. Two games up. I know. So if they're two games up going into Saturday, then they're fine. They can't lose. Steve, I hate to give you an incomplete answer, but there is, I honestly,

if Joe, you know, when you go to the hotels like those little no pads, like I like to take the ones you steal? I don't steal. They're giving to me as a gift. That's fine. He's got scenarios. Up for grabs on everything here. Yeah.

There is no way that even Joe Espada knows what he wants to do. Yeah, but you wouldn't push Hunter Brown to Sunday because you want him ready for a wild card series. If you push him to Sunday, you don't get him at all in the wild card. You don't even get him on Wednesday. No, excuse me, Saturday, Thursday. Yeah. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. No, Thursday would be his turn if you pitch Saturday.

He's on turn to pitch Saturday right now, right? The caller was suggesting Sunday, which is not going to happen. That's what I'm saying. Hunter plays pitches on Saturday if needed. That would be his turn right now. I don't know what kind of rest would he be on. Could you pitch him early and have him ready to go earlier this season? So he last pitched on Sunday.

So you could pitch him Friday. Absolutely, because you're on Monday off day. Okay, so let's do this then. Let's put Hunter in Friday's game. That's regular rest. Yes. Saturday, Sunday, Sunday, season ends,

Monday is the scheduled off day. You could pitch game two. That's right. So maybe pitch him Friday and he's ready to game two. Let's put it, we can put this in cement. Okay. He's pitching Friday night.

I would say so. Especially because they had a scheduled off day on Monday. And he hadn't pitched. Yeah. So there you go. So you will see Hunter Brown. You're just swapping with Weske. You'll see Hunter Brown on Friday and Tuesday.

Okay. Lambert goes when Lambert is scheduled on this Thursday so he'd be ready to go for a game one you'd start with Lambert and then Hunter Brown Lambert Brown Wisniewski slash bullpen yeah there you go

okay punch your chance that's it right there easy dubs punt yeah that you feel better about that yeah because if you hold Hunter back till Sunday then you are in theory risking not seeing him at all in the wild card. Now, if you clinch

and you don't need Saturday or Sunday, then you give him a nice long break. He pitches game one wild card Tuesday. You can't clinch by Thursday. You've got to use him Friday. They're probably not going to clinch by Thursday. There's no way. No, because they're tied.

Yeah. You can't clinch by Friday. So, yeah. We will see him Friday. Friday for sure. All right. Now that we've confused all of you. Yes.

And confused ourselves. Well. And by way, Ryan Weiss isn't on the radar. Yeah, I do. How would you? I mean, the guy was a month of miserable. Why would you say, oh. I mean, I like Ryan Weiss.

Maybe next year, maybe they can retool and get him ready to go next year or something like that. But let me tell you, Ryan Weiss and Mike Burroughs will have shots in 20, 27 or whenever they resume. But short of that. Well, does Ryan Weiss, do he sign a one-year deal? I think, though. He was, but I don't know how it works when you get released from that deal. He was a free agent for a little while, wasn't he? Yeah.

I ain't worry about next year. Okay. All I'm going to worry about right now is where the parade rot will begin and end. For what? For the Astros. What parade? Because let me tell you, if Yordon, stay with me on this. Yoron has this.

Your World Series parade. Big ass meeting. What's wrong with you? And then they shut out the Mariners on seven hits. You don't think Bennett Sousa? And AJ Blueball and Miguel Uliola didn't rise the occasion after a Yaron-Anne-Alvarez meeting? That's powerful.