Astros drop series finale to the Cubs
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 2-1 loss
May 29, 2019, 9:47 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Despite injuries starting to pile up for the Astros, they still had the chance for a series sweep of the Cubs with a victory on Wednesday night. Here is a recap of the series finale:
Final Score: Cubs 2, Astros 1.
Record: 37-20, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Kyle Hendricks (5-4, 3.09 ERA)
Losing pitcher: Wade Miley (5-3, 3.25 ERA).
1) Miley allows two runs in another solid start
Wade Miley looked to be in trouble early in the game after allowing a solo home run to Kyle Schwarber in the very first at-bat of the game then another to Kris Bryant in the top of the third to put the Cubs up 2-0 early. However, he'd rebound from those early runs and lock in over the rest of his start, completing seven strong innings, including a season-high in strikeouts and innings pitched — Miley's final line: 7 IP, 6H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K.
Chris Devenksi took over in the eighth and despite loading the bases with a single and two walks was able to get a strikeout to leave them all stranded. Will Harris had the ninth and would give the offense a chance for a walk-off by keeping it a one-run game after a 1-2-3 top of the ninth. Unfortunately, a walk-off would not come to fruition.
2) One run not enough
The Astros were able to trim the lead to one run after putting runners on the corners with no outs in the bottom of the fourth on a leadoff double by Alex Bregman and single by Michael Brantley. They'd score the run on a one-out sacrifice fly by Josh Reddick but would get stopped there as the Cubs maintained the lead at 2-1.
They'd go scoreless the rest of the way, dropping the series finale despite taking the series with the two wins on Monday and Tuesday.
Up Next: The Astros will get a day off tomorrow as they travel to Oakland for a three-game series over the weekend. The first game of the series will get started at 9:07 PM on Friday and will feature Brad Peacock (5-2, 3.19 ERA) on the mound for Houston going against former-Astro Mike Fiers (4-3, 5.05 ERA) for the A's.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo 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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