Brian McTaggart, Astros beat reporter for MLB.com, joins The Matt Thomas Show after the Houston Astros concluded their .500 road trip with Wednesday's 8-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics. 
With the Los Angeles Angels sweeping the Seattle Mariners, the Astros take the lead in the AL West. Seattle's "offense is so bad," so the division race "is very much wide open" for the Astros, McTaggart said. The Astros are returning to Minute Maid Park to host the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Astros schedule is "not getting any easier," so "they just got to worry about the division at this point." The MLB trade deadline is approaching on July 30, and the Astros have areas of concern that could be addressed through a deal. "If they don't" get a pitcher, "then something drastically has gone wrong." However, McTaggart says there are some "untouchables" when it comes to trade capital within the Astros organization, specifically Jacob Melton, A.J. Blubaugh and Brice Matthews. "These teams want young value." 

Matt Thomas of The Matt Thomas Show reviews the Houston Astros losing a road series to the Oakland Athletics following Tuesday's 8-2 loss. Even though the Astros extended their losing streak, they are still tied for the lead in the AL West. Matt also reacts to things getting a little heated at Texans training camp and remembers the life and career of Gene Peterson, who spent 33 years as the play-by-play voice for the Rockets.

Matt Thomas and Ross Villarreal of The Matt Thomas Show review the Oakland Athletics shutting out the Houston Astros 4-0 on Monday. Spencer Arrighetti started on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out three over six innings. Josh Miller, pitching coach for the Astros, joins to discuss injuries to the starting pitching staff, while manager Joe Espada expresses concern over pitchers reaching an inning threshold. Matt and Ross react to the NFL Players Association and the NFL talking about extending the season to 18 games, comment on the Texans putting on full pads for the first time this training camp, give their latest "Gut Feelings" and more.

Josh Miller, pitching coach for the Houston Astros, joins The Matt Thomas Show before the second of a three-game road series against the Oakland Athletics. Spencer Arrighetti started on the mound during Monday's 4-0 loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out three over six innings. Arrighetti did an "admirable job," but it "wasn't the best showing of pitch execution," Miller said. Miller also provides insight into Hunter Brown's recent success following a rough start to the season, Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia working to return from injury, avoiding pitch clock violations, Ronel Blanco carrying a heavy workload and more.

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada joins The Matt Thomas Show following a 4-0 loss against the Oakland Athletics on Monday in the first of a three-game road series. The Astros arrived in Oakland after a series win in Seattle over the division rival Mariners. "The energy in Seattle felt like a playoff game," Espada said. The Astros are currently tied with the Mariners for the lead in the AL West. The Astros starting pitching staff has endured a heavy workload with many injuries to the roster. Ronel Blanco leads the Astros in innings pitched and quality starts. Blanco is already at 114.2 innings pitched this season after only pitching 134 last year. With his first full season in the Majors, the Astros will continue to lean on Blanco in this tight division race. Young pitchers reaching an inning threshold is "something we are very aware of" and "it keeps me up at night," Espada said. "We need a six-man rotation." Espada also discusses Justin Verlander and Kyle Tucker rehabbing from injury, Jake Bloss starting on the mound Tuesday and talks with the organization as the MLB trade deadline approaches.

Matt Thomas and Ross Villarreal of The Matt Thomas Show react to Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon missing multiple practices at training camp. The Texans signed free agent Cam Akers on Monday, and backup running back Dameon Pierce has received high praise from offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. The Astros won their road series against the Seattle Mariners. Yordan Alvarez hit the cycle in Sunday's 4-6 loss. The Astros are now tied with the Mariners for the lead in the AL West. Matt and Ross also react to the arrest of LSU cornerback Javien Toviano, discuss LeBron James being voted by fellow Olympians to be the Team USA flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, play "To Tell The Truth" and more.

Matt Thomas and Ross Villarreal of The Matt Thomas Show preview the Houston Astros taking on the Seattle Mariners for a three-game road series in a battle for the lead in the AL West. Matt and Ross also recap the second day of practices for the Texans during training camp, react to Tiger Woods missing the cut in the Open Championship, talk with Dave "Softy" Mahler about the Astros in Seattle, tell their "Non-Florida Stories" and more.

Matt Thomas and Ross Villarreal of The Matt Thomas Show recap the Houston Texans taking to the practice fields as training camp is underway. Matt and Ross also talk with Brian McTaggart, Astros beat reporter for MLB.com, about the possible trades the Astros could make before the MLB deadline, react to ESPN's ranking of the top 100 professional athletes since 2000, review where Reed Sheppard lands on the latest odds for the NBA's next Rookie of the Year, say "I Just Don't Get It" and more.

Brian McTaggart, Astros beat reporter for MLB.com, joins The Matt Thomas Show to recap the 2024 MLB Draft that saw the Houston Astros select Walker Janek, a catcher from Sam Houston State, with the No. 28 overall pick. Janek grew up in Corpus Christi, home of the Astros' Double-A affiliate. The Astros "thought he was the best catcher in the draft," McTaggart said. While Janek might be the catcher of the future, the Astros have problems in the present that general manager Dana Brown will attempt to alleviate before the trade deadline on July 30. The Astros have a depth in the outfield which could be used as capital in acquiring pitching. "I just don't see them trading [Joey] Loperfido." However, "[Jake] Meyers has more value at this point than [Chas] McCormick."