ASTROS FALL TO KC
Astros once again bested by Royals in lopsided loss
Aug 23, 2021, 10:51 pm
The Astros continued to struggle against beatable teams in a loss to the Royals on Monday. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
The Astros continued to struggle against beatable teams in a loss to the Royals on Monday.
After a disappointing 1-3 series against the Royals last week, the Astros entered the new three-game series with Kansas City hopeful for a different outcome with this series at home. Instead, they would fall again as the baffling trend of losing to beatable teams continues.
Final Score: Royals 7, Astros 1
Astros' Record: 73-52, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Daniel Lynch (4-3)
Losing Pitcher: Zack Greinke (11-4)
Greinke tosses another quality start
It was not the start that Houston, who dropped three of four to the Royals in Kansas City last week, hoped for on Monday. The Royals jumped out to an early lead against Zack Greinke, getting a one-out double and two-out RBI ground-rule double in the second, then a solo homer in the third, going in front 2-0.
Houston cut that lead in half in the bottom of the third, getting a leadoff single by Taylor Jones, who would later score on an RBI double by Yuli Gurriel, making it 2-1. Greinke kept it a one-run game the rest of his start, tossing a 1-2-3 fourth and working around a single and walk in the fifth before finishing with a scoreless sixth. His final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 92 P.
Astros once again can't handle the Royals
Despite having the tying run on third with one out in the fifth, Houston remained down one run after Greinke was done, with Yimi Garcia taking over in the top of the seventh. He did not do well, allowing a walk, RBI double, and another run on an error, putting the Royals in front 4-1 before Blake Taylor would finish the frame.
Opening things up in the 8th!#TogetherRoyal pic.twitter.com/phXk75rzqj
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 24, 2021
Taylor remained on the mound in the top of the eighth, but things quickly spiraled out of control for Houston as after a single and an out, they would switch to Phil Maton, who would have a rough outing. He allowed three earned runs, one on a two-out single, then a two-RBI triple, as Kansas City broke the game open at 7-1. The six-run lead would hold for the Royals, who handed the Astros another loss, and after winning three of the four-game set at Kauffman Stadium, would claim the season-series victory with two games left to play.
Up Next: The middle game of this three-game set will be another 7:10 PM Central start on Tuesday. The pitching matchup will be Luis Garcia (9-6, 3.39 ERA) for Houston and Brady Singer (3-8, 5.23 ERA) for Kansas City.
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All-Star balloting opened up this week for what used to be known as the Midsummer Classic in Major League Baseball. I guess some still refer to it as such but the All-Star Game has been largely a bore for many years, though the honor of being selected on merit remains a big one. As always, fans can vote at all positions except pitcher. The fan balloting has resulted in mostly good selections for years now, though pretty much all teams still do silly marketing stuff trying to drum up support for their players. The Astros’ part in that silliness is their campaign to make it the “All-’Stros” game on the American League squad in Atlanta next month. It’s one thing to be supportive of your team, it’s another to be flat out ridiculous if voting right now for Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker, Yordan Alvarez, Mauricio Dubon, or Cam Smith. The Astros tried to game the system in submitting Jose Altuve as a second baseman where the competition is weaker than it is in the outfield, but given Altuve has played only about 25 percent of the games at second base this season he should not be an All-Star second baseman selectee for what would be the tenth time in his career.
Isaac Paredes’s recent freefall notwithstanding, he has a legitimate case as a backup third baseman, especially with Alex Bregman likely missing more than a month of games due to his quad injury. Jake Meyers is having a fine season but is obviously not an All-Star-worthy outfielder unless he is sensational for the rest of June. That leaves Jeremy Peña, who is simply the best shortstop in the big leagues so far this season. To be clear, no team in baseball (including the Astros) would rather have Peña going forward than the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr., but we’re talking about the here and now. There are another 100 games to be played, but Peña not only is about a lock to deserve his first All-Star nod, but he is in contention to put in the books the greatest season ever by an Astro shortstop.
Over his first three seasons, Peña was a consistently mediocre offensive player. His highest batting average was .266, best on-base percentage .324, top slugging percentage .426. He is blowing away all those numbers thus far in 2025. While unlikely to come close to reaching his preseason goal of 50 stolen bases, Peña is swiping bags at the best success rate of his career. Add in Peña’s stellar defense and that he has played in every Astros’ game so far this season, and Peña has been irrefutably one of the 10 best and most valuable players in the American League. You could certainly argue as high as top three.
If Peña's productivity holds up for the rest of the season there are only three other seasons posted by Astro shortstops that are in the same league as what would be Peña’s 2025. Carlos Correa has two of them. Lack of durability may be the biggest reason Correa is not tracking to be a Hall of Famer. In only two seasons as an Astro did Correa play in more than 136 games. He was fabulous in each of them. 2021 was his peak campaign, playing in 148 games while compiling an .850 OPS, winning a Gold Glove, and finishing fifth in AL MVP voting. Correa’s Baseball-Reference wins above replacement number for 2021 was 7.3. Peña is at 3.6 with nearly 20 games still left before the midway point of the schedule.
For the other great Astro shortstop season you have to go back to 1983. Dickie Thon turned 25 years old in June of ‘83. He put up a .798 OPS, which gains in stature given Thon played his home games in the Astrodome when the Dome was at its most pitching-friendly. Thon won the Silver Slugger Award as the best offensive shortstop in the National League, and played superior defense. His Baseball-Reference WAR number was 7.4. He finished seventh for NL MVP playing for an 85-77 Astros’ squad that finished third in the NL West. Dickie Thon looked like an emerging superstar. Then, in the fifth game of the 1984 season, a fastball from Mets’ pitcher Mike Torrez hit Thon in the left eye, fracturing his orbital bone. Thon missed the rest of the ‘84 season. While Thon played in nine more big league seasons, his vision never fully recovered and he was never the same player. It’s one of the biggest “What if...” questions in Astros’ history.
Arms race
Players and the Commissioner’s Office pick the All-Star pitching staffs. Unless he suddenly starts getting lit up regularly, Hunter Brown can pack a bag for Georgia. Framber Valdez wouldn’t make it now but has surged into contention. Josh Hader’s first half is going vastly better than last year’s, so he is in line for a reliever spot.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me 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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