Astros drop game to A's to snap winning streak
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: A's 2, Astros 1
Apr 17, 2019, 11:37 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Houston put their ten-game winning streak on the line on Wednesday night, looking to extend it to eleven by beating Oakland. Here's a quick recap of the game:
Final Score: A's 2, Astros 1
Record: 12-6, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Frankie Montas (3-1).
Losing pitcher: Wade Miley (1-2).
Star of the game: The lone highlight of the night for the Astros belonged to Michael Brantley, who knocked in the lone run for Houston on a single in the sixth inning.
Notes: Unlike the night before where Oakland went much of the game scoreless, the A's struck first on Wednesday night, getting an RBI-double off of Wade Miley to take an early 1-0 lead. They would hold on to that lead well into the game, holding the Astros to just one hit over the first five innings, until the top of the sixth when Michael Brantley tied the game with an RBI single. The A's took the lead right back in the top of the next inning, though, with a solo home run. With Miley's night over after allowing two runs over six innings, Will Harris took over in the bottom of the seventh and kept Houston within a run with a 1-2-3 inning. Brad Peacock was next out of the pen for the bottom of the eighth and worked around a one-out walk to send things to the ninth. The Astros would come up empty despite getting a few runners on, though, snapping their winning streak and splitting the two-game series in Oakland.
Up Next: Houston will get the day off tomorrow before starting a three-game series with the Rangers in Arlington on Friday night. First pitch will be at 7:05 PM and will feature Justin Verlander (2-0, 3.52 ERA) for the Astros versus Drew Smyly (0-1, 7.15 ERA).
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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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.