Houston looks ready for the postseason
Astros slug their way to walk-off win in regular-season finale
Oct 3, 2021, 5:09 pm
Kyle Tucker hit one of Houston's four home runs in the regular-season finale against Oakland on Sunday. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Kyle Tucker hit one of Houston's four home runs in the regular-season finale against Oakland on Sunday.
With their ALDS positioning already locked up, the Astros had the opportunity to use the 162nd and final game of the regular season as a tune-up on Sunday. Their offense looked ready, powering their way to a final victory.
Final Score: Astros 7, A's 6
Astros Record: 95-67, winners of the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Blake Taylor (4-4)
Losing Pitcher: Lou Trivino (7-8)
Houston and Oakland go back-and-forth with solo homers
After a scoreless first inning, the runs started coming one after another in the second and third innings. Oakland started the scoring with a leadoff solo home run off of Jose Urquidy in the top of the second, then got another with one out in the third. However, Houston matched them both times, getting solo shots by Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers in the bottom half of the frames to make it a 2-2 tie going to the fourth.
The A's got back in front in the top of the fifth, getting back-to-back singles to get a runner to third to set up Tony Kemp for his second RBI of the game on a sac fly to put the Astros behind 3-2. Urquidy would finish that inning and continued with a scoreless sixth to end his day: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 84 P.
Tucker gets his 30th homer, Greinke comes in from the pen
30TH TUCK TANK! 💣#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/brOIo41Cee
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 3, 2021
Urquidy would get off the hook and end up in line for the win thanks to his offense in the bottom of the sixth. Jose Altuve led things off with a double; then, with two outs, Kyle Tucker would blast his 30th homer of the season, a two-run go-ahead shot to make it a 4-3 Houston lead. In what is shaping up to be his role on the post-season pitching staff, Zack Greinke entered from the bullpen in the top of the seventh to make a relief appearance.
Greinke made easy work of the 7-8-9 hitters of Oakland's lineup, retiring them in order to maintain the one-run lead. The lead became two runs in the bottom of the inning, with Jose Altuve getting his second double in as many innings to make it 5-3. In the top of the eighth, Greinke had another 1-2-3 inning, getting through the top of Oakland's order on just seven pitches.
Oakland ties it in the ninth, but Astros walk it off to end the regular season
At the beginning of the game, the Astros let Carlos Correa take the field by himself for a moment in what could potentially be his last regular-season game as a member of the team, if not re-signed this offseason. In the bottom of the eighth, he showed why he will garner such a large contract, hitting an opposite-field solo homer to make it a three-run game. He would take the field for the top of the ninth, but the Astros would give him another memorable moment, making defensive adjustments to take him out of the game and walk back to the dugout and get a standing ovation from the Minute Maid Park crowd.
After retiring the first six batters he faced, Greinke had a rough start to the ninth, allowing a single then a two-run homer to make it a one-run game at 6-5. He would get one more out before Dusty Baker brought in Blake Taylor, who, after getting an out, would allow a game-tying solo homer with two outs.
Houston wasted little time in the bottom of the ninth, getting a leadoff single by Jason Castro, who moved to third on a one-out double by Yordan Alvarez. That brought Yuli Gurriel, soon-to-be batting title winner, to the plate with a chance to win the game. He did just that, getting one more hit in the regular season, this one the walk-off single to give Houston a victory to cap off their successful regular season.
Perfect ending to La Piña's regular season. 🤘#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/V13AnIQeA8
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 3, 2021
Up Next: While we know what day ALDS Game 1 will take place (Thursday, October 7th) and where it will take place (Minute Maid Park), the start time and pitching matchup will be determined in the coming days as the rest of the playoff bracket shakes out.
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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.