Houston's celebration continues to wait
Astros lose lopsided game to Rays as magic number stalls again
Sep 29, 2021, 10:17 pm
It was a rough night for the Astros against the Rays on Wednesday night. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
It was a rough night for the Astros against the Rays on Wednesday night.
With a walk-off win in the ninth in the series opener to put them a win or Mariners loss away from clinching the AL West, Houston sought to get the magic number to 0 on their terms with a win to secure the series Tuesday night. That plan fell apart early, though, as Tampa Bay would jump out to an early lead and hold it to even the series.
Final Score: Rays 7, Astros 0.
Astros' Record: 92-66, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Drew Rasmussen (4-1)
Losing Pitcher: Luis Garcia (11-8)
Forgettable outing for Garcia
After a scoreless top of the first where he erased a double and a walk, Luis Garcia dealt with a costly error in the top of the second. With two outs, a fly ball to center field went sideways for Jose Siri, who dropped the ball, allowing the Rays to keep the inning alive with a runner on third. They followed that with an RBI single to start the scoring, then a two-run homer to put Tampa Bay in front 3-0.
After those three unearned runs, Garcia rebounded with a solid third and fourth inning, but things went from bad to worse in the fifth. A one-out double and two-out walk set up a three-run homer, doubling the lead to 6-0. Garcia would get the final out of that frame, but that would be it for him: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 84 P.
Astros shutout as magic number stays stuck at one
Meanwhile, Houston's offense had nothing for Tampa Bay's pitching, getting held hitless until a Yuli Gurriel single in the bottom of the fifth, though he would get left stranded. Peter Solomon came in to eat some innings after Garcia, and in the sixth and seventh, he did so without allowing any runs. That changed in the top of the eighth, where a leadoff double would come around to score on a two-out RBI triple to make it a seven-run game.
Solomon would finish the piggyback in the top of the ninth, saving Houston's bullpen from having to use any more arms. The Astros offense went quiet at the plate again in the bottom of the ninth, making the 7-0 score final and leaving them awaiting another Oakland vs. Seattle outcome to see if they will enter Thursday as division champions or still waiting. Tampa Bay's win gives secures them the number one seed in the American League.
Up Next: This series's third and final game will start an hour earlier on Thursday, getting underway at 6:10 PM Central. The Rays have not yet named who will start for them on the mound, but it will be Lance McCullers Jr. (12-5, 3.17 ERA) for Houston.
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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.