Astros get back on track with lopsided win
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 11-2 win
Jul 18, 2019, 12:07 am
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
With two of their worst pitching performances behind them from Monday and Tuesday nights, the Astros had Gerrit Cole on the mound on Wednesday to try and right the ship. Here is a recap of the third of four games in this series:
Final Score: Astros 11, Angels 2.
Record: 60-37, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Gerrit Cole (10-5, 3.12 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Felix Pena (7-3, 4.92 ERA).
1) Overpowering offense makes it easy for Houston's pitchers
Houston's openers and primary pitchers put up disappointing numbers the offense could not overcome the previous two nights. Houston's bats flipped the script on that, taking control of the game on Tuesday night to make it less stressful for Gerrit Cole and the bullpen.
They started with a three-run first inning, getting a one-out single by Jose Altuve who would score on an RBI-double by Alex Bregman before a two-run homer by Michael Brantley in the next at-bat. They continued scoring in the next two innings, getting a run in each. Jose Altuve notched an RBI-double in the second, then Yuli Gurriel led the third inning off with a double before scoring on a wild pitch later in the inning.
They nearly doubled that 6-0 lead in the top of the fifth, getting four straight two-out hits. It started with a single by Robinson Chirinos to move Michael Brantley, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning, over to second. Tyler White was next with another RBI in this series, getting a single to score Brantley. Jake Marisnick was next, and he came through with an RBI-double before George Springer would clear the bases with a three-run dinger to make it an 11-0 game.
By George, the @Astros are raking. pic.twitter.com/q7QZsolmwA
— MLB (@MLB) July 18, 2019
2) Cole gives fans a breath of fresh air
As mentioned, Astros fans were desperate for an efficient pitching performance after the woes of the last two nights. Gerrit Cole delivered, rebounding from his previous start, which was a drop-off from his usual numbers and having a more typical night.
Cole allowed only a handful of hits and a walk over the first four innings, keeping the Angels off the board until the fifth. They would tag him with his near-daily home run in that inning, a solo shot to make it an 11-1 game, the only run he would allow on the night.
Even with his pitch count in the 90s after six innings, the Astros trusted him to come back out and eat another inning. He did so, getting a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh on three strikeouts, bringing his total on the night to eleven. Cole's final line: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 1 HR.
Cole's excellent performance meant only two innings of relief needed from Houston' bullpen. Joe Smith provided a scoreless eighth, then Ryan Pressly wrapped things up despite allowing a run in the bottom of the ninth to make it 11-2.
Up Next: The Astros and Angels will conclude this series tomorrow with the finale of the four-game set starting an hour earlier at 8:07 PM. The expected pitching matchup is Wade Miley (7-4, 3.32 ERA) for Houston going up against Matt Harvey (3-4, 6.88 ERA) for Los Angeles.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Winning consecutive series over last place teams does not mean all is well again in Astroworld, but taking five of seven games from the Orioles and Rockies stopped the bleeding which saw the Astros stumble through an awful 14-23 stretch. The regular season is now in its final month, the Astros are in the middle of three different playoff races. The high-end goal is finishing with one of the two best records in the American League to secure a bye past the two out of three lightning round Major League Baseball calls the Wild Card Series. Entering the holiday weekend the Astros sit four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, three and a half back of the Detroit Tigers. If the Astros can’t overtake either the Jays or Tigers, they at least want to hold off Seattle to win the American League West. Winning the division for an eighth consecutive full season would be its own accomplishment, for the postseason it would at least assure the Astros of homefield advantage in a best-of-three. The race the Astros hope to need to pay little attention to is holding off Kansas City for the final wild card spot. That would be necessary should the Astros lose out on the division title to the Mariners, and finish behind both the second and third place finishers in the AL East in the wild card race, presently the Red Sox and Yankees. The M’s, Bosox, and Yanks all finishing ahead of the Astros is a clear possibility. The good news on that front is the Astros holding a five game lead over the Royals with 28 games to go, though Kansas City does win the tiebreaker should it come to that. The Astros have a significantly easier closing schedule than do the Royals. The Astros have just six games left against teams that would currently qualify for the postseason. The Royals have 12. So to miss the playoffs entirely the Astros basically have to fold, and/or the Royals need to play four weeks of spectacular baseball.
Yordan Alvarez’s looooong awaited return is a big boost to the lineup. Even if he isn't peak Yordan, his presence matters. His missile of a home run to centerfield was the wow moment of his return series, but Alvarez drawing five walks in nine plate appearances speaks to what opponents think of him. Still, offense remains an Astro struggle all too often. The Rockies have the worst pitching staff in MLB. The Astros managed nine runs in three games against it. At least that was enough to win two out of three. 67 times this season the Astros have scored three or fewer runs, equaling their three or fewer total of the entire 2024 season. For a good while this year the Astros were winning an amazing percentage of their games where the offense did little. At one point the Astros were 19-27 when scoring three or fewer, which was stunning success and as I wrote at the time, wholly unsustainable. Since then, the Astros have lost 20 of the last 21 games in which they failed to score four.
Christian Walker’s power surge has been a boon, of late helping offset Jose Altuve’s slump (just 10 hits in his last 60 at bats heading into the Angels series) and Carlos Correa’s lack of thump (just two extra base hits and a sub-.700 OPS over his last 15 games). Over 46 games played from July 1 through Thursday, Walker has been very good hitting .279 with an .859 OPS. That doesn't undo his being wretched through June, but credit where credit is due.
Alvarez is the big bopper (remember the ex-Astro who had that nickname?) addition to Joe Espada's lineup cards, but Jake Meyers could be a lower key big return as well next week. To call Chas McCormick and Jacob Melton poor offensive players this season would be an understatement along the lines of saying Yao Ming is above average in height. When Meyers blew out his right calf it short-circuited what was his breakout big league season. Even if Meyers can't regain that form, by accident he'll still be better than what McCormick and Melton have provided.
After finishing up with the Angels on Labor Day, the Astros get the Yankees for three big games at Daikin Park starting Tuesday. Hunter Brown starting Sunday means he will not pitch against the Yankees. That's not a mistake, it's just how the rotation falls. It will be a mistake if the Astros' brain trust doesn't properly map out starting pitching ahead of the massive matchups against the Mariners September 19, 20, 21 and make sure both Brown and Framber Valdez start games in that series. After this homestand wraps, the Astro have only six home games remaining versus 15 on the road.
Oh yeah. Glenn Davis was "The Big Bopper."
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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