Houston is now 2-1
Greinke exits early, Mariners rally late as Astros pick up first loss
Jul 26, 2020, 4:52 pm
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Zack Greinke made an early exit in Sunday's game vs the Mariners
With two games behind them, the Astros brought their AL-best 2-0 record into Sunday's matchup with the Mariners in game three of the four-game series. Here is a quick recap of game three of four in this series:
Final Score: Mariners 7, Astros 6.
Record: 2-1, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Dan Altavilla (1-0, 0.00 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Chris Devenski (0-1, 13.50 ERA).
Greinke makes an early exit as Mariners jump ahead
Zack Greinke did not have the first appearance of 2020 he would have hoped. In the top of the first, he allowed three-straight two-out hits, nearly four if not for a great catch by George Springer, including an RBI-double by Kyle Seager and an RBI-single by Evan White to put the Mariners ahead 2-0 before Houston could get to the plate.
Jose Altuve walked in the bottom of the first, then would score on a long double by Alex Bregman to get one of the runs back and make it 2-1. After a quick 1-2-3 second inning for Greinke, he would walk two in a scoreless third. A one-out double in the fourth would prompt a move to the bullpen after 58 pitches with Dusty Baker either already having a low pitch count in mind, or not liking the volatility with his command.
Joe Biagini took over on the mound in the fourth, but would not get through the inning before allowing Greinke's third run and one of his own to extend Seattle's lead to 4-1. Greinke's final line: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Houston bails him out with four-run fourth
Houston went to work against Yusei Kikuchi to claw back into it in the bottom of the fourth. They loaded the bases with no outs after two walks and a single, setting up an RBI-single by Yuli Gurriel to trim the deficit to 4-2. Kikuchi battled back to get the next two batters to strike out, but Josh Reddick would work a four-pitch walk to cut the lead to one run.
That brought Martin Maldonado to the plate, who already had big hits in each of the series's first two games. He would continue that streak, coming through with a two-RBI single to give Houston their first lead of the day at 5-4 and end Kikuchi's day.
Mariners rally to tie then go-ahead in eighth
Bryan Abreu was next out of the bullpen for the top of the fifth, and despite hitting two batters and walking another to load the bases, he was able to get through the inning with the one-run lead intact. He returned for the sixth, but after two quick outs would issue a two-out walk, prompting another call to the bullpen, this time for Blake Taylor, who would get a strikeout to end the frame.
After Josh Reddick would be left stranded on third after a leadoff triple in the bottom of the sixth, Taylor would return to the mound for a 1-2-3 seventh. Chris Devenski started the eighth but put a couple of Mariners on base to set up a tying RBI-single to tie the game up at 5-5, then later a two-RBI single to give Seattle a 7-5 lead. Michael Brantley would get Houston within a run with an RBI-double in the ninth, but the Mariners would hold on for the win.
Up Next: The finale of this four-game series between the Astros and Mariners will get underway at 6:10 PM on Monday. Josh James, who has primarily worked as a reliever out of the bullpen, will assume his role as the current fourth spot in Houston's rotation, while Seattle will send Kendall Graveman to the mound.
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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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