Houston's offense struggles in loss

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 4-1 loss

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Astros were able to take game one of this series against the Orioles on Friday night, though it took eleven innings to pull off. Houston and Baltimore were right back at it on Saturday afternoon, and here's how the middle game of the series went:

Final Score: Orioles 4, Astros 1.

Record: 44-22, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Paul Fry (1-3, 3.29 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Will Harris (1-1, 1.54 ERA).

1) Reddick gets hit 1,000 in an mostly quiet offensive day

After being blanked through the first five innings, Houston finally threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning. Back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with no outs and a chance to erase a 1-0 deficit. They'd come away with just one run, getting an RBI from Yuli Gurriel on a sac fly to tie the game 1-1.

That would be the lone run the Astros would manage during the game, though Josh Reddick was able to notch a milestone with the 1,000th hit of his career with a single in the bottom of the second.

2) Valdez fills starter spot well 

Framber Valdez was terrific in his first start of 2019, filling the vacant spot in the rotation after Corbin Martin was optioned back to AAA after some rough starts. Valdez didn't allow a run until the sixth inning, a solo home run which broke the scoreless tie.

Besides that one hiccup, Valdez was electric and had a great day, recording efficient innings on his way to a seven-inning afternoon. His final line: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR.

3) Orioles go-ahead in the eighth, add insurance in the ninth

Will Harris took over for Valdez in the top of the eighth but would deal with a lot of traffic. Baltimore started the inning with a single followed by a double to get runners on the corners with no outs. Bregman made a great heads-up play on a ground ball to catch the runner between third and home to save a run and keep it a tie game.

Harris was able to get another ground ball in the next at-bat which had double-play potential but instead an errant throw by Jack Mayfield after getting the out at second allowed the go-ahead run to score. Reymin Guduan pitched the top of the ninth, but after getting two strikeouts to start the inning allowed a walk then two-run home run to put the game out of reach.

Up Next: The Astros will wrap up this series with the Orioles with the rubber game tomorrow at 1:10 PM. Wade Miley (5-3, 3.39 ERA) will be on the mound for Houston looking win the series, while Baltimore is expected to start Dylan Bundy (3-6, 4.64 ERA).

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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When we look back at last year's championship roster, we remember the big home runs from Yordan Alvarez and the combined no-hitter against the Phillies. But we often forget the total lack of production from the DH position throughout the postseason.

Whether it was Trey Mancini, David Hensley, or Aledyms Diaz, the Astros couldn't find anyone to consistently produce in that role.

In the ALCS against the Yankees, Yordan only hit as the DH in 1 of 4 games. In the other three games, the DH spot in the lineup went hitless.

In the World Series, Alvarez was only used as a DH twice. And when that happened, Aledmys Diaz started in left field. In his two starts in left, he went 0-7 with 4 strikeouts.

It wasn't until Game 6 when Dusty Baker finally started Christian Vazquez, that the club finally got some production out of the DH spot.

So why bring this up? When looking at the 2023 version of the Astros, they have a rookie phenom in Yainer Diaz and a quality left-handed bat in Michael Brantley (health pending). If Yordan continues to play primarily in left field throughout the postseason, Yainer can give the Astros all the thump they need at DH.

And the Astros are going to need it. They've fallen to 21st in team ERA over the last 30 games. But on the bright side, they're No. 1 in team OPS over that same time period.

Of course, to make this work, the club may have to add another catcher to the postseason roster for Dusty Baker to feel comfortable starting both Diaz and Maldonado in case an injury should occur. When Vazquez finally started at DH in Game 6 last season, the team added another catcher after Yuli Gurriel went down with a knee injury.

But if this plan is put into place, the 2023 Astros offense should be even more potent than last year's version. The only question is, will Dusty use it to his advantage?

Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion.

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