Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park wasn’t just another game—it was a reality check for the Houston Astros. It felt like a snapshot of what resulted from the moves—or inaction—at the trade deadline. Carlos Correa, now back in his familiar colors, watched from the dugout as chaos unfolded in the fourth inning. Valdez, who came into the game with a 10-game win streak, imploded in the most uncharacteristic way possible. It started with a bunt; he couldn’t grab it. But that was not all.

Then came a wild pitch, a balk, a passed ball, and a missed cutoff. By the end of the inning, six Boston Red Sox runs had crossed the plate—four of them earned—and the damage was done. Correa tried to put into words what happened to the Houston $18 million lefty Valdez: “It was a weird inning. It doesn’t happen too often for him… Flush it and be ready for the next start.” 

In fact, later, even Astros manager Joe Espada didn’t sugarcoat what he saw. “I just don’t think we played our cleanest the last three days. Nothing to do with energy. We are better than that. We’ve got to get ready for the next series.” He even admitted that offensively, they just unraveled, and it’s hard to argue, isn’t it? Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox’s Lucas Giolito was in complete control all afternoon.

He allowed just one run over eight innings, and he helped seal a 6-1 sweep-clinching win. Trevor Story and Ceddanne Rafaela opened the floodgates in the fourth inning with RBI singles. For Sox fans who were troubled by the question of where to watch the game, given that Roku was to stream it, this is a happy outcome. For Houston, meanwhile, it was a rare moment of unraveling. But in Correa’s words and in Espada’s hope, the best thing they want to do is flush and move on.

The Houston Astros are betting big on injured arms

That “better than that” that the skipper is saying needs to come fast. But given the moves they made at the trade deadline, it seems unlikely. Well, with Dylan Cease off the table, Houston added no starters. They are simply stuck with what they have got. That means all eyes are, of course, on Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown. But what about beyond that?

Well, those are two anchors of Joe Espada’s rotation, and you saw how that unraveled. It’s simply a game of wait and hope now. Astros legend Lance McCullers Jr. couldn’t shake off the rust after missing years. Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti are both recovering from injuries and are now key to the Astros’ October hopes. Arrighetti is currently on a rehab assignment, and Javier is not far off.

On top of that, there is a lot of buzz around the team. About how the Houston Astros could have used Cease for stability and momentum, but they went and took another swing. Their 2025 deadline was not aggressive in terms of the rotation for sure. For now, the future is murky, but they are hoping they can make another deep run.

Do you think they can manage to keep their lead in the AL West? What do you think is the main issue with the team now? Let us know in the comments below.