Gerrit Cole leads Astros to series win
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 6-3 win
Aug 22, 2019, 10:01 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
With a disappointing end to the third game of this four-game set on Wednesday night, Houston tried to end the series with a win and a series victory on Thursday evening. Here is how the finale shook out:
Final Score: Astros 6, Tigers 3.
Record: 82-47, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.75 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Jordan Zimmerman (1-9, 6.48 ERA).
1) Cole dazzles in his return
Gerrit Cole, much like Justin Verlander the night before, was able to take advantage of a struggling Tigers lineup and expand on his already fantastic season numbers. Cole allowed a walk and a single in the second inning, the only two baserunners he would see through the first five frames.
In the top of the sixth, he allowed the second hit of the night by Detroit but stranded that runner as well. He returned for another scoreless inning in the seventh and was shut down after reaching 94 pitches over that span. Along the way he continued to rack up swings and misses, locking up yet another double-digit strikeout by the end of the sixth.
It was a terrific start for Cole, who was coming off the hamstring discomfort that had him sidelined for a little over a week. His final line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K, 0 HR.
.@GerritCole45 has tied J.R. Richard for the most 10+ K games (14) in a season for an @Astros pitcher. pic.twitter.com/6pxuq6RjFK
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 23, 2019
2) Astros back up Cole with plenty of runs
While the offense was not electric through the early parts of the game, they did at least provide Cole double the amount of run support they gave Verlander the night before. The two runs they put on the board came in the bottom of the fourth after Michael Brantley hit a leadoff double before Alex Bregman drilled a line-drive two-run homer to make it a 2-0 Houston lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Brantley and Bregman struck again with singles to get on base before an RBI-double by Yordan Alvarez to extend Houston's lead to 3-0. Once again Brantley was able to play a factor into the game in the bottom of the seventh, coming to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs and delivering a two-RBI single to make it a 5-0 Houston lead.
Yuli Gurriel joined the other three hitters in the middle of the order with RBIs, getting one of his own on an RBI-single to make it 6-0 before the Tigers could get out of the bottom of the seventh.
3) Finishing up the series win
With Cole's night done, Joe Smith took over on the mound for the top of the eighth and was able to record a twelve-pitch 1-2-3 inning. Joe Biagini returned to Houston's bullpen roster and was brought in for the top of the ninth, but allowed back-to-back home runs to cut Houston's lead in half at 6-3.
Biagini was able to get another out, but after issuing a four-pitch two-out walk was pulled in favor of Roberto Osuna who was able to get the last out, despite walking a batter, to close out the win. Abraham Toro, called up before this game to make his major-league debut, went 0-for-4.
Up Next: The Astros will turn their attention to the Angels who come to town for a three-game series starting Friday night with the series opener scheduled for 7:10 PM. Zack Greinke (13-4, 2.84 ERA) will make his fourth start with Houston and will face Jose Suarez (2-4, 6.75 ERA) who will be on the mound for Los Angeles.
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.