Stock Up, Stock Down: Astros, Rangers, Yankees, Giants

The MLB season is closing in on just three-plus weeks remaining before the postseason begins in October. Pennant races are heating up and some teams are certainly improving their playoff chances while some are making it more difficult for themselves.

It has been a good last seven days for some teams and some teams have had a bad week. It’s time to fire up the latest Stock Up, Stock Down.

Stock Up: Jose Altuve’s impressive performance

The Houston Astros were sliding and on the verge of falling out of an American League Wild Card playoff spot, but up stepped their leader, Jose Altuve, against the Texas Rangers..

Talk about setting the table at the top of the order. Tuesday night, the Astros second baseman led off the game with a solo home run off of Nathan Eovaldi. He was just beginning. In the second inning, he hit a two-run home run off of Eovaldi. He wasn’t done.

In the third inning, he hit his third consecutive home run, in the third consecutive inning when he hit a solo shot off of Dane Dunning. Three at-bats, three home runs, and four RBI. That is a good week for a lot of players, never mind three straight innings in the same game.

Houston came into the series after being swept at home by the New York Yankees and was on the verge of falling out of playoff position. Instead, Altuve stepped up and played a big part in a much-needed sweep of their in-state rival.