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The Houston Astros arrived at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City on Saturday searching for a symbolic fresh start, and Yordan Álvarez, their menacing slugger, found it almost immediately — on a white piece of paper taped to a wall inside their temporary clubhouse. On it was a simple message, scribbled in black marker:

Introductions, 3:45 p.m.

At that time, members of the team would line up along the third-base line to be formally introduced for the start of Major League Baseball’s brief foray into Mexico City, just like they normally would on Opening Day. Álvarez saw it as an opportunity.

“It was like we were starting a new season,” Álvarez said in Spanish. “I told the guys, ‘This is the moment to believe our season starts today.'”

The Astros, losers of eight of their previous nine games and already in a deep hole within the American League West, proceeded to put together two of their most complete and impressive performances all season, beating the Colorado Rockies by a combined 14 runs on Saturday and Sunday. They were playing against one of the worst teams in their sport and hitting in the thin air of a ballpark that sits 7,300 feet above sea level, but the Astros — still a whopping 10 games below .500 — came away from that series believing they had turned a corner.

“We’re going to get super hot and go on a run,” Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said in the wake of it.

It would have to be quite the run.

The Astros lost 18 of their first 25 games, tied for the second-worst mark in their franchise’s history. Only two teams — the 1981 Kansas City Royals, in a strike season, and the 1914 Boston Braves — have overcome such a start to make the playoffs.

Entering the Mexico City series, six of their starting pitchers had already spent time on the injured list. Their vaunted bullpen trio of Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader had combined to allow 24 earned runs in 32 innings. Their decorated offense had stranded an American League-leading 202 baserunners. And two of their most important bats, Bregman and, to a greater extent, José Abreu, were in the midst of a profound slump.

In spring training, a two-game series in Mexico City was looked upon by players as a fun getaway to break up the monotony of a traditional schedule. As the season ensued and the losses mounted, it evolved into a necessary respite, an opportunity for a clean slate. The results only seemed to validate that.

“We want to use this series as a springboard to play better than we have,” Astros manager Joe Espada said in Spanish. “I think we demonstrated over these last two games the type of team we are.”

The Astros carry the unwavering confidence of a club that has appeared in each of the past seven AL Championship Series, even if present circumstances make it seem misplaced. Legitimate reasons for optimism do exist, though, beginning with the health of their starting pitchers. Justin Verlander made his delayed season debut on April 19, Framber Valdez was activated off the injured list Sunday, Cristian Javier should rejoin the rotation this week and José Urquidy is on track to return next month. The Abreu-Pressly-Hader trio should be much better. And there’s little reason to believe the lineup, which has gone through 23 different variations already, won’t eventually be a force.

But it’s also easy to see why the Astros are vulnerable — why we might actually be witnessing the end of one of the most dominant runs in recent baseball history. Most of the Astros’ best players are in the back half of their careers, some nearing the ends of them. The organizational depth that prolonged their window has dried up, making injuries potentially more devastating than ever before. These past two games were nice, but the Astros’ next series will come against far better teams in the Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees, with little margin to fall much further

And then there’s Abreu, in his age-37 season and in the middle of a contract that pays him $58.5 million through 2025. His first 71 at-bats have consisted of just seven hits and 18 strikeouts. Scouts say he has been late on almost every fastball. The Astros have recently placed Abreu in a quasi-platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jon Singleton. The recent promotion of first-base prospect Joey Loperfido might cut into his playing time further.

“You know what’s been the hardest thing for me? And I say this from the bottom of my heart — I feel embarrassed,” Abreu said in Spanish. “The people in this organization brought me here to do a good job. I haven’t done that. The hard thing, too, is that my teammates see that I haven’t done my job, although they’ve always supported me, always been by my side. But I won’t stay down.”

Abreu got two hits past a drawn-in infield Saturday. And though he didn’t take much solace in a result that came while still feeling out of rhythm, he did acknowledge the significance of his first multi-RBI game all year.

“It’s been a while,” Abreu said with a smile.

Something similar occurred late in Sunday’s game, when Bregman, homerless while slashing .216/.287/.268, lined a base hit up the middle. Bregman, a famously slow starter, called it “my best swing of the year.” He had been fighting timing issues all season, but he told himself to be ready to hit sooner when he came to bat in the top of the eighth. He started his load earlier so he could wait on the fastball, adjust to an off-speed pitch and avoid feeling rushed. When he loads earlier, he said, “everything is simpler.”

He thinks that eighth-inning swing was the start of something.

He thinks the Astros are finally coming.

“I know the character of the guys in this room,” Bregman said. “I know that we have fighters in here that are going to continue to show up and compete every day and prepare correctly and go out and execute on the field. We have way too many good players in here, way too many who know what success is like at this level.

“I think we’ll see a different Stros team the rest of the year. We’ll be where we need to be by the end of it. I know no one’s done it since 1914 or whatever, come back from this start, but we’ve got a good group in here and we’re up for the challenge.”

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

CINCINNATI — Christian Yelich had two homers among his four hits and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 Friday night for their club record-tying 13th straight victory.

The Brewers became the first team in 94 years to extend a double-digit win streak with a comeback win of seven or more runs, according to ESPN Research.

The Reds chased Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski – making his first start since July 28 – with a seven-run seventh inning to take an 8-1 lead.

Yelich homered leading off the second against Nick Martinez for Milwaukee’s first run. He had an RBI double in the third before Andrew Vaughn hit his 14th homer – a three-run shot – and Brice Turang‘s RBI double to cut it to 8-6. Yelich had a two-run single in the fourth to tie it at 8-all and then hit his 26th homer – a one-out, solo shot off Scott Barlow (6-1) in the sixth to give the Brewers the lead.

Yelich did his damage with a bat honoring the late Bob Uecker. It had the home run call of the former catcher and longtime Brewers’ announcer written on it.

This was also Yelich’s third career game with four hits and two home runs, tying Ryan Braun and Willy Adames for most in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

Brandon Lockridge went 3 for 5 and doubled off Sam Moll with two outs in the seventh before scoring on a wild pitch for an insurance run.

Misiorowski loaded the bases with one out in the second on a hit batter and two walks and left after walking Spencer Steer to force in a run. Elly De La Cruz had the first hit in the inning – a two-run double off DL Hall for a 4-1 lead. Four straight singles increased the lead to 8-1.

Misiorowski was charged with five runs on four hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings hours after coming off the injured list. Nick Mears (4-3) pitched a scoreless fifth. Trevor Megill struck out two in the ninth for his 29th save. Six relievers combined to retire the final 23 Reds in order.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

LOS ANGELES — Third baseman Max Muncy was diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain and landed on the injured list Friday, a major blow to a Los Angeles Dodgers team that finds itself fading in the standings.

Muncy was originally a late scratch from Wednesday’s lineup after feeling soreness in his right side during pregame batting practice. The Dodgers’ hope was that sitting out for the finale from Angel Stadium, then getting extra rest during the Thursday off day, would allow Muncy to return for a critical series against the division-rival San Diego Padres, who have taken a one-game lead in the National League West.

But Muncy will miss this weekend’s series from Dodger Stadium, as well as the following series from San Diego’s Petco Park next weekend.

“I don’t think anyone expects it to be season-ending,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “but hopefully it’s sooner than later.”

Roberts doesn’t believe the current oblique injury is as bad as the one that forced Muncy to miss about two months last year, but even in a best-case scenario, the Dodgers might be without their third baseman and left-handed power hitter until around mid-September.

Muncy got off to a bad start this year before turning it on in the middle of May, slashing .312/.438/.616 with 11 home runs in a stretch of 41 games. Muncy then injured his left knee during a scary collision at third base and wound up missing most of July. He returned Aug. 4, went 8-for-23 with four home runs over the course of eight games, and now he’s out again — at a time when the reigning World Series champs could really use some reinforcements.

The Dodgers held a nine-game lead in the NL West as of July 3 and have since gone 12-21 to fall a game back of a surging Padres team that arrived in L.A. on the heels of a five-game winning streak. As many as six high-leverage relievers reside on the Dodgers’ IL, though three of them — Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott — are nearing returns. The offense, meanwhile, has been mostly unproductive over the past six weeks, posting an 0.708 OPS that ranks 22nd in the major leagues.

During Muncy’s absence, the Dodgers will use Alex Freeland, a switch-hitting rookie who’s batting .176 in his first 12 games, and Buddy Kennedy, a right-handed-hitting journeyman with a career .193 batting average. Other potential reinforcements like Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim and Enrique Hernandez remain on the IL and aren’t close enough to a return.

“It’s certainly a tough loss,” Roberts said. “I think it’s just guys got to continue to perform to their abilities. It’s hard to kind of backfill Max, what he means, as far as the plate discipline, the slug, the on-base, all that stuff. I feel good about our lineup, the guys that we have, and they just have to go out there and take good at-bats. That’s all we can do right now.”

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Phils’ Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

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Phils' Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

WASHINGTON — Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran was carted off the field after he took a comebacker off his right foot in the ninth inning of a 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

The Phillies said that initial X-rays were negative and that Duran would be evaluated further Saturday.

Pitching in a non-save situation after four days off, Duran began the ninth by facing Paul DeJong, who hit a sharp grounder to the mound on his fourth pitch. The ball deflected off Duran’s foot and into foul territory for a single.

Duran ran toward the ball but began limping as he approached the foul line. After a lengthy visit by team trainers, he took a seat in the Nationals’ bullpen cart and was driven off the field.

“He ran like a shot to retrieve the ball, and once he got there, I think the adrenaline wore off and the pain set in,” Thomson said. “But before the cart came out, he said, ‘I actually feel better, I think I can walk over to the dugout.’ But we got all these steps up here, so we just wanted to use the cart and take him all the way around, so he didn’t have to go up the steps.”

Acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Duran is 4-for-4 in save opportunities with the Phillies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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