Houston wins the opener
Astros grab comeback win over Rangers in Arlington
Aug 27, 2021, 10:31 pm
The Astros came alive for a five-run inning which put them over the Rangers on Friday. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
The Astros came alive for a five-run inning which put them over the Rangers on Friday.
After taking two of three from the Royals earlier in the week and benefiting from some losses by the A's to extend their division lead, the Astros entered Globe Life Field on Friday looking to continue to set themselves apart on top of the AL West. Despite going down four runs in the game, they would grab the comeback win to start the series.
Final Score: Astros 5, Rangers 4
Astros' Record: 76-52, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Phil Maton (3-0)
Losing Pitcher: Brett Martin (3-4)
Odorizzi gives up two over five innings
After three scoreless innings, Jake Odorizzi allowed the first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double scored later in the inning on an RBI single, putting the Rangers up 1-0. They doubled their lead in the next inning, getting a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to make it 2-0. Odorizzi would finish that frame, but Houston turned to their bullpen in the sixth, making his final line 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 88 P.
Rangers extend their lead, but Houston battles back
Phil Maton was the first reliever out for the Astros, but he did not fare well in the bottom of the sixth, allowing the Rangers to push their lead to 4-0 on back-to-back two-out RBI doubles. Houston battled back in the top of the seventh, getting five runs on four hits, including a two-RBI double by Jake Meyers, a two-RBI single by Michael Brantley, and an RBI groundout by Yuli Gurriel, giving Houston their first lead of the night at 5-4.
Professional hitter, Michael Brantley.#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/DkJ4jmHg3q
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 28, 2021
Astros take the opener on the comeback win
Yimi Garcia was the next reliever out of the bullpen for Houston, and he worked around a one-out single for a scoreless inning. After a scoreless top of the eighth, Ryne Stanek took over on the mound, and he, too, erased a one-out single to maintain the one-run lead. That set up the save opportunity for Ryan Pressly, and despite allowing two singles, he would notch his 20th of the season with some solid defense behind him, finishing the win for the Astros and starting the series with a win.
Up Next: The middle game of this series will get started at 6:05 PM Central on Saturday. The pitching matchup is expected to be Framber Valdez (8-4, 2.94 ERA) for the Astros and Kolby Allard (3-10, 4.86 ERA) for the Rangers.
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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.