Yankees too much for the Astros yet again
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 7-5 loss
Jun 22, 2019, 9:25 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Carrying a six-game losing streak on their shoulders, the Astros went back to work on Saturday night in a nationally televised game to try and right the ship against the Yankees. Here's how they did:
Final Score: Yankees 7, Astros 5.
Record: 48-30, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Jonathan Holder (5-2, 5.55 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Ryan Pressly (1-1, 1.31 ERA).
1) Miley terrific early, struggles late
Wade Miley's night started less than ideal, walking his first batter on four pitches then going down 2-0 on the next. He was able to bounce back very quickly, though, getting a double play to erase the walk and then a strikeout to end the first inning. Miley would lock in after that, keeping the Yankees hitless through the first four innings.
The first hit for New York was a loud one, a two-out two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to capitalize on a one-out walk earlier in the inning, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. After the offense tied the game in the top of the sixth, Miley went back to work in the bottom of the inning but would end up loading the bases on back-to-back walks then a single to start the inning.
Will Harris would come in to finish the sixth, but not before allowing a two-run single, charged to Miley. Miley's final line: 5 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 HR.
2) Taking advantage of the short porch
With little offense happening through the early goings of the game, when the Yankees broke through first with their two-run home run in the fifth things looked bleak for Houston considering their recent struggles to get runners home. Josh Reddick gave the Astros a boost of momentum in the top of the sixth with a game-tying two-run home run of his own, but they'd quickly find themselves down again with the Yankees re-taking the lead in the bottom of the inning.
Houston would respond with arguably their best inning of offense in this series in the top of the seventh, getting back-to-back two-out singles from Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley before Yordan Alvarez delivered another great moment in his early career with a go-ahead three-run home run to the short porch in right field.
Yordan is clutch. pic.twitter.com/8KVgJ1VuvN
— MLB (@MLB) June 23, 2019
That gave the Astros a 5-4 lead, but it too would quickly be erased, and Houston would be unable to answer again despite getting the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning.
3) Pressly with a rare shaky inning
After Will Harris would watch the Yankees re-take the lead in the sixth, Ryan Pressly would meet the same fate in the seventh. With a 5-4 lead, Houston went to Ryan Pressly to try and hold down their one-run lead. Instead, Pressly would be unable to contain New York's lineup, allowing a one-out solo home run to tie the game 5-5 before later allowing a two-RBI single to put the Yankees back in front 7-5.
After stranding two runners in the top of the inning, the Astros looked to Reymin Guduan to keep the score at 7-5 in the bottom of the eighth, and he was able to do so with a little defensive help. That would end the night of pitching for Houston with the offense coming up empty in the top of the ninth, giving them their seventh loss in a row.
Up Next: Houston will wrap up this seven-game road trip with the series finale against New York tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PM. The Astros will turn to their ace, Justin Verlander (9-3, 2.59 ERA) to get his tenth win of the season while the Yankees are expected to start J.A. Happ (7-3, 4.59 ERA).
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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It doesn’t quite equate to scaling Mount Everest, but from their shockingly inept 7-19 start to this season and being twelve games under .500 most recently at 12-24, the Astros reaching the break-even mark one game short of the exact midpoint of the regular season schedule is a fine accomplishment. Since 12-24 they have gone 28-16. Of course, that becomes a hollow accomplishment if it's not built upon in the direction the Astros expected to be from the jump.
Less than a week and a half ago, the Seattle Mariners held a 10 game lead over the Astros in the American League West. The gap is now four and a half games. On July 4, 1979 the Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds to build their National League West lead to ten and a half games. The Astros were on pace to win 101 games, the Reds were at .500. Unimpressed Reds’ pitcher Tom Seaver predicted the Astros would “fall like a lead balloon.” He was right. The rest of the way the Astros went 37-42 and the Reds roared from behind to snatch the division by a game and a half. The Astros would have to wait until the following year to make their first ever postseason appearance. Now here they are very reasonably positioned to make a run at an eighth consecutive postseason appearance.
The same night the Astros went to sleep ten games back of the Mariners, they sat seven and a half games out of the third AL Wild Card spot. That gap is now three games. Given how far the Astros are behind the Yankees, Orioles, and Guardians, it's unlikely that the Astros wind up with one of the two best records in the AL and secure a bye past the best-of-three Wild Card round. As such, whether it's winning the West or nabbing any of the three Wild Cards, the point is to make the tournament and take their shot. Remember, last season both the World Series winning Texas Rangers and runners-up Arizona Diamondbacks were Wild Cards. The Diamondbacks squeaked into the postseason with an 84-78 record.
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This weekend, the Astros are in New York for three games against the Mets. Like the Astros the Mets have overcome a lousy start to sit smack-dab at .500 (39-39). Since their bottom of 24-35 the Mets are 15-4. While the Astros have the good fortune of the AL West being the worst division in the Majors, this season and being just four and a half games off the lead, the Mets National League East location means it's pretty much Wild Card or nothing with them 13 games behind the high-flying Phillies.
There will be no Justin Verlander pitching for either team. It's moving toward done deal status that neither the Astros nor Mets will be on the hook for the 17 and a half million dollars each would owe him if Verlander's 2025 35 million dollar option became guaranteed by him reaching 140 innings pitched this season. At just 57 innings banked as the first half wraps up, he's 83 innings short. Verlander's sore neck seems likely to keep him in moth balls until at least the All-Star break. With perfect health from day one after the break, the absolute maximum number of starts Verlander could get is 14.
Other collateral damage with Verlander's repeated physical breakdowns in his 40s: his chance at getting to 300 career wins is fading. Only 24 pitchers in Major League history have reached 300. There will likely never be a 25th member of the club. With just three victories in 2024 Verlander is presently stalled at 260. Squeezing out 40 more seems a Herculean task. The next pitcher on the winningest active list is Max Scherzer with 215, he's followed by Clayton Kershaw with 210. It then drops off a cliff to Gerrit Cole with only 145. Zero chance at 300 for any of them. “J.V.” finished his 20s with 124 wins. Larry Dierker booked all but two of his 139 career wins before turning 30. Roy Oswalt put up 111 wins pre-30. The current win leader yet to turn 30 is German Marquez with a mere 65 victories.
Astros winning despite Kyle Tucker's absence
Before fouling the ball off his shin June 3 that (eventually) put him on the injured list, Kyle Tucker was the Astros' best everyday player this season. In fact, no one else was even close. In the 19 (and counting) games Tucker has missed, the Astros are 13-6. While “Tuck” need not familiarize himself with Wally Pipp, this is the latest example that one player, no matter how great, can only lift a baseball team so far. It probably isn't making Jim Crane think that eight years 240 million or the like is the way to go in a contract extension for Tucker. Crane's dream Astros' outfield in 2026 could have Jacob Melton in center flanked by Luis Baez on one side and Joey Loperfido on the other, with Yordan Alvarez in left of course when not DHing. Melton and Baez may be the Astros' top two minor league prospects. They'll be 25 and 22 years old opening day 2026. Add Loperfido with them and the Astros could pay their whole outfield under two and a half million dollars for the season.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.