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."