ASTROS REPORT
Astros shine in the national spotlight, start second half with series win
Jul 23, 2018, 7:02 am
George Springer finally got it going. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
The Astros were represented in both the Home Run Derby on Monday, the All-Star Game on Tuesday, then picked up the second half of the regular season over the weekend. They did Houston proud. Here's the breakdown:
Monday, July 16th: 2018 MLB Home Run Derby
Just like any other season, the night before the All-Star Game saw the annual showcase of power hitting. With a few notable names like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton opting out, that left the playing field pretty wide open for anyone to take the trophy home. Alex Bregman was one of the eight contestants, and besides representing the Astros was the only AL participant, with the other seven coming from the NL. Bregman was matched up with Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs in the first round. Schwarber went first, setting a high bar at 16 homers, including some in bonus time he was awarded for hitting two longer than 440 feet in regular time. The bonus time was the difference maker, with Bregman taking a total of 15 into the final few seconds where he missed home runs on his last two swings by a matter of feet. Schwarber would go on to make it into the final where he would come up just short against hometown hero Bryce Harper who hit a home run in his bonus time to seal the win.
Winner: Bryce Harper (Nationals)
Tuesday, July 17th: 2018 MLB All-Star Game - American League vs. National League
The homers didn't stop on Monday night, with power bats coming alive Tuesday night in the spotlight of the All-Star Game. Aaron Judge was the first to strike, hitting a homer off of Max Scherzer to give the AL a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Mike Trout took Jacob deGrom long in the top of the third to extend the lead to 2-0, but Wilson Contreras cut the lead in half with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the third off of Blake Snell. The 2-1 score held for a while despite Jose Altuve getting his first career hit in the All-Star Game, but the ball started flying into the seats again late in the game. Trevor Story tied the game for the NL in the bottom of the seventh with a homer off of Houston's Charlie Morton, but Jean Segura answered right back for the AL, hitting a three-run homer which looked to be enough to put things away in the eighth, making it a 5-2 game. The NL got back to work, getting another homer off of Charlie Morton in the bottom of the eighth by Christian Yelich to make it 5-3, then Scooter Gennett launched the tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, sending the All-Star Game to extras. Alex Bregman, who had been put in the game in the sixth, was up first in the tenth inning to face Ross Stripling of the Dodgers, and as he has done so many times this year, came through in the clutch with a solo homer to give the AL the lead back at 6-5. George Springer was next, and in a fashion that brought back flashbacks of the World Series, joined Bregman to make it back-to-back Astros' homers off of the Dodgers' pitcher. The AL would go on to win the game in the tenth, with Alex Bregman earning a well-deserved MVP of the game award.
Final Score (10 innings): American League 8, National League 6
Friday, July 20th: 64-35 Astros (Dallas Keuchel) vs. 49-48 Angels (Tyler Skaggs)
After the fun of the break, Houston got back to regular season baseball by kicking off the second half on the road versus the Angels on Friday night. Dallas Keuchel looked refreshed and dominant, so much so that he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning which arguably should have kept going if not for a line drive that clipped the top of Marwin Gonzalez's glove and went into the outfield for the Angels' first hit of the game. Keuchel would give up a true hit to lead off the eighth, which would end up costing him a run after Gonzalez had another blunder throwing a groundball to third instead of first with the runner safe with an easy out left at first. Keuchel's final line ended up being seven and two-third innings with just one run on two hits and five strikeouts; a dominant start to keep his recent hot streak going. That earned him the win with Houston getting three runs over the first three innings on RBIs from Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Josh Reddick. Those three runs would be enough with Colling McHugh finishing the eighth for Keuchel, then Hector Rondon notching another save to wrap up the win.
Final Score: Astros 3, Angels 1
Saturday, July 21st: 65-35 Astros (Justin Verlander) vs. 49-49 Angels (Nick Tropeano)
Justin Verlander was another pitcher who looked rested and in command, pitching a lights-out game on Saturday night. Verlander only had to pitch six innings, but he looked dominant in those innings with eleven strikeouts and no runs on five hits. The reason he didn't have to go deep into the game was thanks to the offense giving him plenty of run support, including RBIs from Yuli Gurriel in the third and Tony Kemp in the fourth to get a 2-0 lead. That was followed by a huge sixth inning which started with a solo home run by Josh Reddick before Houston loaded the bases, setting up George Springer for a grand slam to keep his recent success going and putting the Astros up 7-0. That score held through the end with the bullpen completing the shutout with innings by Joe Smith, Brad Peacock and Tony Sipp.
Final Score: Astros 7, Angels 0
Sunday, July 22nd: 66-35 Astros (Lance McCuller Jr.) vs. 49-50 Angels (Andrew Heaney)
After being shut out the night before and held to just one run so far in the series, the Angels couldn't stop scoring runs on Sunday against Houston's pitching. Despite J.D. Davis giving the Astros an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the top of the second, the lead would be shortlived and they would never come close to tying or regaining the lead. It started with McCullers, who gave up five runs between the second and fourth innings including a two-run homer. He wasn't the only pitcher with troubles, as it would take a total of seven pitchers to get through the game including J.D. Davis coming in for the ninth when the game was well out of hand. Cionel Perez allowed one, Will Harris four, Chris Devenski three, and Davis one which combined with McCullers' five led to a horrible 14-run day. Some futile runs by Houston along the way were a two-RBI double by Alex Bregman, RBI walk by George Springer, and a run scored on an error.
Final Score: Astros 5, Angels 14
Summary
Although it ended on a severely sour note, the week overall for the Astros was positive. Even though Altuve was Houston's only starter, it was all about Alex Bregman Monday and Tuesday as he showed he could go toe-to-toe with the power bats of the MLB and the strongest arms too. If Correa could get healthy and back in this lineup, that top four would be the best in baseball with a resurgent Springer, unstoppable Bregman, consistent Altuve, and powerful Correa to punish opposing pitchers. Kyle Tucker is taking a while to acclimate to MLB pitching, but it's still too early to be making any real determinations about him, though it would be nice for him to have some more hits and RBIs under his belt at this point because he's had his chances, including going to the plate with the bases loaded twice just this weekend. Other than McCullers getting roughed up Sunday, this rotation is still very good and as long as they stay healthy are prime for a playoff run. Houston just needs to stay steady, get Correa back when he's healthy, and keep playing their game and before we know it it'll be September and we'll be counting down to another 100-win season.
MVP of the Week - George Springer
We all know Alex Bregman could easily be plugged in here for his performance in the Derby and All-Star Game, but to be honest I've been waiting weeks to get the chance to say this: Springer is back. Not only did he come through on the big stage Tuesday night with a homer, but he also had a hit AND RBI in all three games this weekend. It looks like he's officially broken out of that slump and his bat is finding the ball again. In all across the three games versus the Angels, Springer went 4 for 10 with six RBIs, four of which coming on the grand slam Saturdaynight. Springer is a streaky player, but a hot streak starting right now could last the rest of the year, which would be great for this team.
This Week
- Tue-Wed: (66-36) Astros @ (53-46) Rockies
- Fri-Sun: (42-58) Rangers @ (66-36) Astros
Houston has an unorthodox schedule this week, getting an off day Monday to travel to Colorado for a two-game set against the Rockies before another off day on Thursday before facing the Rangers this weekend. Look for the Astros to score a lot of runs in the mile-high air of Coors Field and take that momentum home for the last three games against the Rangers this year.
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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.