Houston is back up to second in the division
Astros mount a late comeback over Mariners to secure series win
Apr 28, 2021, 10:44 pm
Houston's offense helped bail Zack Greinke out on Wednesday. Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Houston's offense helped bail Zack Greinke out on Wednesday.
Having gone 5-1 in this homestand so far, the Astros tried to secure this series against the Mariners and keep moving up the AL West standings with a win on Wednesday night. Things looked bleak for Houston after a rough outing from Greinke, but his offense would get him off the hook and mount a late rally to win the game.
Final Score: Astros 7, Mariners 5
Astros' Record: 13-11, second in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Joe Smith (1-1)
Losing Pitcher: Rafael Montero (2-1)
Greinke has a rough night on the mound
Houston's offense would provide Zack Greinke an early lead to work with, getting two runs on the board in the bottom of the second on RBI singles by Chaz McCormick and Myles Straw. Seattle would quickly erase that, though, and send Greinke to an early exit.
First, they cut the lead to one run with a solo home run to lead off the top of the third. They then got after Greinke in the top of the fourth, working back-to-back two-out walks before a two-RBI double and single-RBI double to grab a 4-2 lead. That would also be Greinke's last inning, ending his disappointing night early: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 85 P.
Houston gets a huge eighth inning to pull out the win
Brandon Bielak would enter in relief to try and chew up at least a few innings. He, too, was met with Seattle's momentum, giving up a two-out solo home run in the top of the fifth to make it a three-run game at 5-2, but would continue on to finish three innings of work.
Houston would get one run back in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a two-out double by Yuli Gurriel to set up an RBI single by Carlos Correa, making it 5-3. Joe Smith would take over for Bielak in the top of the eighth, tossing a scoreless frame to keep it a two-run game. Houston would get a rally going with one out in the bottom of the inning; getting back-to-back singles before an error would bring in a run to make it 5-4, then an RBI single by pinch-hitting Aledmys Diaz to tie the game.
They went on to load the bases, still with one out, setting up another pinch-hitter, Jason Castro, to bring in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk. Jose Altuve added an insurance run with a sac fly, extending the new lead to 7-5 before the inning was over.
Ryne Stanek would come in for the save opportunity in the top of the ninth. He would convert it, retiring the Mariners in order to lock up the win and give Houston the series victory with a chance for the four-game sweep on Thursday. It also improved their record to 13-11, putting them ahead of the Mariners for second place in the division behind the Oakland A's.
Up Next: The finale of this four-game series and homestand will be an afternoon game, starting at 1:10 PM Central on Thursday. Luis Garcia (0-2, 3.00 ERA) will make his third start of the season for the Astros, while Yusei Kikuchi will be on the mound for the Mariners.
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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.