The Houston Astros watched a two-run ninth-inning lead vanish Tuesday night to the Toronto Blue Jays, falling 4-3 in extra innings. After the game, manager Joe Espada delivered a scathing message to his clubhouse following what could be a pivotal loss in the AL West race.

The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, what the Astros manager told reporters postgame inside the visiting clubhouse.

“We’ve just got to be better. I thought that today … we’re a better ballclub than what we showed today. And we have to just be better on both sides of the ball.”

The Astros bullpen faltered at the worst possible time. Bryan Abreu entered the ninth with a 3-1 lead but surrendered a pair of walks and a game-tying single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Craig Kimbrel then

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