Houston is in last place
Offensive and bullpen woes continue as Astros fall to Rockies
Apr 20, 2021, 10:50 pm
Houston's struggles continued Tuesday in Denver. Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images
Houston's struggles continued Tuesday in Denver.
After dropping two of three in Seattle to start this road trip, the Astros moved on to frigid Coors Field in Colorado to try and turn things around against the 4-12 Rockies. Although they'd have to scratch their original starter, Lance McCullers Jr., and instead go with Luis Garcia on the mound, they did receive a morale boost by getting four players back off the COVID IL: Alex Bregman, Martin Maldonado, Yordan Alvarez, and Robel Garcia.
The fresh bats wouldn't be enough to spark the offense, though, as the Astros would have yet another disappointing night at the plate, and out of the bullpen, in a loss to the Rockies:
Final Score: Rockies 6, Astros 2
Astros' Record: 7-9, fifth in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Jon Gray (2-1)
Losing Pitcher: Luis Garcia (0-1)
Rare low-scoring battle early before Houston strikes first
Something you don't see all that frequently: a low-scoring pitching battle in the thin air of Coors Field. It happened Tuesday night between Luis Garcia of the Astros and Jon Gray of the Rockies, though, with both offenses struggling to put together hits. Houston would get the scoring started in the top of the sixth, with Michael Brantley getting a one-out single then scoring on an RBI-double by Carlos Correa, making it a 1-0 lead.
.@TeamCJCorrea doubles home Brantley š¤#Astros lead 1-0! #ForTheHĀ pic.twitter.com/eznYPqQGtv
ā Houston Astros (@astros) April 21, 2021
Garcia fills in well, still gets dinged with runs
Meanwhile, Garcia, whose last appearance was an impressive 4.1 scoreless innings in relief out of the bullpen, was having a great start. After erasing a few baserunners through the first five scoreless, he would make it into the sixth, getting two outs in before allowing a single and hitting a batter, prompting a call to the bullpen. Bryan Abreu would enter and, before getting the third out, allowed a go-ahead two-RBI double, both runs charged to Garcia, making his final line 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 82 P.
Losing ways continue for the Astros
After the Astros stranded a runner in the top half of the inning, Ryne Stanek took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh. He would allow a one-out solo home run while getting two outs before Dusty Baker brought in Brooks Raley to get the third. Raley remained in the game in the bottom of the eighth but would put two on base while getting one out before Houston moved on to Joe Smith.
Smith would watch C.J. Cron blow the game open, blasting a three-run homer to make it 6-1 and put it out of reach for the Astros. Houston would get a late run on an RBI by Aledmys Diaz in the top of the ninth but still falls to 7-9 on the year with the loss, falling deeper into a hole in the division.
Up Next: The second and final game of this short series between the Astros and Rockies will be an afternoon start Wednesday at 2:10 PM Central. Jose Urquidy (0-1, 4.50 ERA) for Houston and Austin Gomber (0-2, 3.52 ERA) for Colorado will each make their fourth start of the season.
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Itās May 1, and the Astros are turning headsābut not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starterāheās never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, heās slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
Whatās more troubling than the overall dip is when itās happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, heās hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outsā.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In ālate and closeā situations, when the pressureās highest, heās practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldnāt be clearer when you look at JosĆ© Altuveālong the engine of this franchiseāwho, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squadābut someone else may yet step into that role.
And yetāthe Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houstonās offense, in general, hasnāt lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). Theyāre 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where thereās been light, it hasnāt come from the usual spots. Jeremy PeƱa, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the teamās highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. PeƱaās balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then thereās the pitchingāHoustonās anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, itās the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. PeƱaās emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. Theyāre not dominating, but theyāre grindingāand in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesnāt, the turnaround weāre witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, thatās the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold āStros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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