Houston is back on top
Astros take control of division with series win over A's
May 20, 2021, 6:05 pm
The Astros took two of three in Oakland to get back on top of the AL West. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
The Astros took two of three in Oakland to get back on top of the AL West.
With an impressive win to even the series on Wednesday night, the Astros forced a winner-take-all finale for not only the victory of the three-game set but for sole possession of first place in the AL West. They would accomplish their mission, taking two of three in Oakland to continue their recent success.
Final Score: Astros 8, A's 4
Astros' Record: 26-18, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Luis Garcia (2-3)
Losing Pitcher: Cole Irvin (3-5)
Houston builds up a lead behind Garcia
Unlike recent games where Houston scored first to take an early lead, Mark Canha started the scoring Thursday afternoon with a solo home run off of Luis Garcia to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Oakland held that 1-0 lead until the top of the third when the Astros would put together a three-run inning on four hits, including an RBI double by Martin Maldonado and back-to-back RBI singles by Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman. That made it a two-run lead for Houston at 3-1.
.@Machete1224 goes oppo! 🌮#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/ax93p5K9PX
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 20, 2021
Former Astro Tony Kemp got one of those runs back to lead off the bottom of the inning, launching Oakland's second solo homer of the day, making it 3-2. Maldonado would make it back-to-back RBI at-bats in the top of the fourth, though, hitting a two-run homer to extend the lead to three runs. Garcia limited Oakland to those two solo homers over his five innings of work, allowing just one more hit in the third through fifth. His final line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 92 P.
Astros win the series and move into first in the AL West
Brooks Raley took over out of the bullpen in the top of the sixth, getting through the inning but allowing a run on two hits to cut the lead to two runs. Bregman notched another RBI in the next inning to get it right back, a double to make it 6-3. Bryan Abreu was the next reliever, erasing a leadoff double for a scoreless bottom of the seventh. Ryne Stanek had the bottom of the eighth but put himself into a jam by hitting and walking a batter to start things off. After back-to-back strikeouts, he would issue another walk to load the bases, prompting Dusty Baker to bring in closer Ryan Pressly for a potential four-out save.
He would strand all three runners to get out of the jam, then a costly error by Oakland would extend the top of the ninth where Houston would add on two runs to make it a five-run game at 8-3. No longer a save situation, Pressly would stay in the dugout while Andre Scrubb would come in to finish things off, despite allowing a solo home run in the inning. The victory gave the Astros the series win and moved them a half-game ahead of Oakland to take over first place in the AL West.
Up Next: The Astros will travel back to Texas, heading to Arlington to take on the Rangers at Globe Life Field, starting a three-game set Friday at 7:05 PM Central. Kyle Gibson (3-0, 2.32 ERA) will be on the mound for the Rangers, while the Astros will be bringing up Tyler Ivey to make his MLB debut.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.