JINXED! DOUBLE JINXED!!!

GAME 69: Rays 6, Astros 1
GAME 70: Astros 7, Rays 3
GAME 71: Rays 4, Astros 3

All it took for me to jinx the Astros into losing their first series in almost a month was that post about not being able to lose, no matter how hard they tried to. So of course, they then lose this weekend's series against the Rays -- their replacement for the Worst Team in Baseball. That's irony for you. We were supposed to sweep this one. Three consecutive no hitters. That's what happens when you assume that the Worst Team in Baseball can't win any games. People thought that about the Astros, too, and we surprised them. And then the Rays surprised us. Bummer.

The bad news this weekend was the absence of Altuve in the starting lineup. They've been benching him until his hand gets better after his painful HBP last week. At the same time, Springer has gone back into a strikeout frenzy. In today's Fathers Day game -- like last month's Mothers Day game -- he struck out 4 times. Over this series, he struck out in 9 of his 11 at bats. I don't think that these bad things are entirely unrelated. There's something about having Altuve right before Springer that is beneficial to his hitting. Perhaps it's just having Altuve so often on first base, ready to steal second, that makes the opposing pitchers more likely to throw fastballs to Springer. I'm convinced that they are a dynamic duo when placed together in the lineup -- Mutt and Jeff. Mighty Mouse and Superman.

It's funny how fast fans can get used to winning. Players, too, I guess. Not too long ago, I would have been satisfied with this series, with the Astros getting their single win to beat last year's record. Now I'm comparing our record to our 2005 record, setting a bar that's totally unrealistic for this group of kids. Probably...

You can go to the Astros website and read the details of what happened in each game this weekend. I'll just point out a couple of interesting tidbits. In today's loss, Porter tried the Sipp-in-the-Outfield trick again. (Click here for a description of when he did it in Arizona.) But it backfired! Last time, in a NL stadium, moving Sipp from the mound to the outfield and then back to the mound didn't have any particular negative side effects. But this time, in Houston's AL stadium, the Astros ended up losing their DH position when they put a pitcher in a non-mound position. (Note to Porter: Read the fine print.) I don't actually understand why Porter does all this switcheroo stuff with Sipp -- the guy pitches really well to both left- and right-handed batters. Why not just leave him in?

Another interesting tidbit: You don't always get what you want. So when the Astros were down 4-3 today, with two outs and one on in the bottom of the ninth, and then Singleton came to the plate to pinch-hit -- and you just KNEW in your heart he was going to get that walk off homer... Well, he didn't, and there's a lesson there. Some games have dream endings, but some games just don't. This one had the dream start (2 homers in the first inning), and the bummer ending.

Here's a good thing from the past few games. MattyD is batting well - he went 5 for 11, with a few RBIs in the series. Here's a not-so-good thing from this weekend: Two of the three starting pitchers had mediocre starts, lasting only 4 and 5 innings, and putting the outcome on the backs of the bullpen. The bullpen's improved, except maybe for Farnsworth. (When the younger guys don't perform well, they just send them back to Triple A; they aren't going to do that with Farnsworth.) Well, happy to have a day off tomorrow. Let them all rest up for this week's bake-off (temps in the 90s) in DC.

Next up: The Nats. The good news: The Astros are coming up here to the DC area to play a pair of games against the Nats on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bad news: We're getting a heatwave and it will be close to 100 degrees (with a chance of thundershowers) for the games this week. I love the Astros, but I really, really hate the heat. I think I originally became an Astros fan because the Astrodome was air conditioned. But I'm still planning to go to both games anyway.

DUST EATERS COUNT: 7! The Astros record is now 32-39 (.451). There are still SEVEN teams worse than the Astros, including the 2013 Champion Red Sox (.449), Rays (.386), Phillies (.433), Freakin' Mets (.449), Cubs (.418), Padres (.420), and Diamondbacks (.417).