Convenience Big Store: Why has Ryan Pressly struggled? A look inside the numbers.

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The struggles of Ryan Pressly have been one of the issues the Astros have faced in their disappointing start to the season, one that has them at 31-38 and 8½ games behind the Mariners in the AL West.

By many metrics, Pressly is pitching similar to previous seasons. But a lack of execution in key situations and some bad luck has added up to a 5.28 ERA in 28 starts.

Matt Kawahara takes a closer look into the numbers for Pressly, who says "obviously, the fans aren't happy about it, I'm not happy about it, teammates aren't happy about it. You've just got to figure it out, just kind of keep your head down and go to work every day, and then eventually start executing pitches better. And when you do that, good things will happen."

Up next for the Astros is a three-game series against the Tigers.

We're six weeks away from the Olympics in Paris. Simone Manuel is an action this week at the U.S. swimming trials as she hopes to qualify for a third Olympics. Danielle Lerner is tracking all the Houstonians who will be heading for Paris.

A little bit closer to home, the Copa América soccer tournament is coming to Houston with three matches at the end of June and first of July. The final match at NRG will be a quarterfinal and could feature Lionel Messi.

Texas A&M opens the College World Series on Saturday against Florida. One of the Aggies key players has been slugger Jace LaViolette, who says picking Texas A&M over LSU "best decision of my life."

The Texans wrapped up minicamp last week and are officially off until mid-July. Jonathan M. Alexander and Jon Poorman break down what we've learned and questions ahead in latest episode of the Fifth Down podcast.

Stat of the day: .302. The average of batters against Ryan Pressly, which is 60 points higher than their .242 expected batting average, according to Baseball Savant.

Reid Laymance, Sports Editor

reid.laymance@houstonchronicle.com

Astros / MLB

Houston Astros relief pitcher Ryan Pressly (55) reacts after a wild pitch advancing two Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning of an MLB game at Minute Maid Park on Friday, May 3, 2024, in Houston.

Photo by: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

Breaking down Ryan Pressly's rough first half

The right-hander's high ERA is attributable to a mix of poor execution and bad luck, but a clean save in his last outing was encouraging.

On deck: Astros back home to face Tigers and their ace, Tarik Skubal.
Karma: The Astros have had a rough 2024 and Gina Luhnow, wife of fired general manager Jeff Luhnow, doesn't mind sharing her thoughts on the situation.

Texans / NFL

Social media/promo image for Fifth Down Texans podcast.

Photo by: Houston Chronicle Staff Illustration

Fifth Down podcast: Takeaways from Texans minicamp

Jonathan M. Alexander and Jon Poorman break down what they saw from minicamp, as well as what the Texans need heading into training camp.

College Baseball

Photo by: Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire Via Getty Images

CWS-bound Jace LaViolette says picking A&M over LSU 'best decision of my life'

The sophomore outfielder's 28 home runs are the second-highest single-season total in Aggies history, and he's already third on the school career list with 49.