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.

Stock Up: New York Yankees and Jasson Dominguez

It’s safe to say that 2023 is rock bottom for the first time in a long time for the New York Yankees. They cut ties with Harrison Bader and he was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds and they have decided to go to a youth movement.

Part of that youth movement was seeing what prospect Jasson Dominguez can do in the majors and the returns so far have been promising. In fact, since he was inserted into the starting lineup, New York has won six straight, which included sweeping the Astros on the road.

In his very first at-bat last Friday night against Verlander, he hit a home run. He homered in Sunday night’s series finale to complete the New York sweep. So far, the prospect had played well in center field, while smacking three home runs and driving in five runs.

He hit his first Yankee Stadium home run against the Detroit Tigers Wednesday night. He is quickly becoming a fan favorite and future center fielder in the Bronx. The Yankees could have a power-hitting combination in center field with Dominguez and Aaron Judge in right field for a long time.

Stock Down: San Francisco Giants fade

The San Francisco Giants have been in the thick of the National League Wild Card race since June, but manager Gabe Kapler is watching his team slide quickly in the standings. They hit rock bottom this week on the road.

They dropped the final three games of a series with the San Diego Padres after winning the opener, then they went to Wrigley Field for a three-game set with the Chicago Cubs, one of the teams they’re in a fight with for a Wild Card berth. Things went from bad against the Padres to worse against the Cubs.

Chicago swept the Giants and San Francisco finds themselves 2.5 games back for the final playoff spot in the National League, needing to jump three teams to get into a spot. With just over three weeks left in the season, this last week may have done Kapler’s team. They host the Colorado Rockies this weekend in a series that seems like it’s a must-sweep for the Giants.

There are 23 days left until the 2023 season ends and this week was a big week for some teams in terms of positioning themselves for the postseason, while the Giants and Rangers didn’t do themselves any favors.