Houston salvages a game against New York
Altuve walks off Yankees again to send Astros into All-Star break with a win
Jul 11, 2021, 7:12 pm
Jose Altuve hit yet another momentous homer against the Yankees in Sunday's series finale. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Jose Altuve hit yet another momentous homer against the Yankees in Sunday's series finale.
Riding a twenty-inning scoreless streak including being shutout in the first two of this series, the Astros needed a momentum shift to head into the All-Star break on a positive note. It took until the very end of the game, but thanks to Jose Altuve, they'd have plenty to celebrate before a few days off.
Final Score: Astros 8, Yankees 7
Astros' Record: 55-36, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Ralph Garza Jr. (1-2)
Losing Pitcher: Chad Green (3-5)
Valdez struggles with the zone, lasts only four
Framber Valdez did not have great control of the strike zone in the series finale against New York on Sunday, as evident by back-to-back walks to start the game. He was able to work around them to avoid any damage, and did the same in the second by erasing two singles. New York got to him in the third, though, with two walks and an error allowing the Yankees to take the early 1-0 lead.
After a Martin Maldonado solo home run in the bottom of the third to tie the game, the Yankees quickly regained the lead with a solo shot to lead off the top of the fourth, though Valdez would finish the inning by erasing another walk. He came back out for the top of the fifth, but after a walk and two singles against the first three batters to bring in another run to make it 3-1, and which his pitch count rising, Dusty Baker would make the early call to the bullpen to bring in Andre Scrubb, who would stop the damage there by retiring all three batters he faced. Valdez's final line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 91 P.
Yankees extend their lead against Houston's bullpen
That's a goner, Gary. pic.twitter.com/88XAk5rLzM
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2021
After a 1-2-3 inning by Joe Smith in the top of the sixth to keep it a two-run game at 3-1, Kyle Tucker trimmed the lead to one with a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the inning. New York quickly regained the momentum, however, against Bryan Abreu in the top of the seventh, getting an RBI single to make it 4-2. The Astros' pitching staff continued to deal with walks, as Blake Taylor would take over in the top of the eighth and issue two, setting up a three-run blast which at the time looked like it had sealed the game for New York, making it a five-run game at 7-2. Ralph Garza Jr. would end up coming in and finishing the eighth and remained in the game for a scoreless top of the ninth.
Altuve does it again to cap off a six-run ninth
In the bottom of the ninth, the Astros tried to get a rally going, starting with leadoff man Yuli Gurriel reaching base, then moving to third on a double by Kyle Tucker. Both would score in the next at-bat, with Chas McCormick hitting a two-RBI double off the left-field scoreboard, making it 7-4, and keeping the Astros alive. Abraham Toro kept the train moving next, getting his own RBI double to make it a two-run game.
Houston brought in Jason Castro to pinch-hit for Robel Garcia in the next spot in the lineup, and he too would get a hit, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. After New York notched the first out to try and get ahold of the game, Jose Altuve stepped to the plate against Chad Green, representing the winning run. Just like he ended the 2019 ALCS, Altuve sent the home fans into an uproar as he would hit a walk-off three-run home run to cap off the improbable six-run inning to give the Astros a win to avoid the series sweep and head into the break with a celebration, during which Altuve would not resist letting his teammates dispose of his jersey to reveal nothing but his tattood bare chest.
We heard it was cold, so we turned it up a notch.#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/tcC5xcRcRc
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 11, 2021
Up Next: The Astros will get some much-needed rest over the next four days, picking up after the All-Star break in Chicago on Friday to start a three-game series with the White Sox at 7:10 PM Central. Lance McCullers Jr. (6-2, 2.94 ERA) is expected to make the start for Houston, while Chicago has not yet determined their starter.
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The late ex-catcher and longtime broadcaster Joe Garagiola wrote a book called “Baseball is a Funny Game.” He wasn’t kidding, whether he meant funny as amusing, peculiar, or both (he meant both). The Astros lived it this past week, following a very satisfying three-game slap down of a previously red-hot Dodgers team in Los Angeles by having a Cleveland Guardians squad that staggered into Houston on a 10-game losing streak sweep the Astros three straight. As I put it during one of our “Stone Cold ‘Stros” podcast episodes this week: baseball, like a word that rhymes with spit, happens. The Astros try to clean it up this weekend with a chance to kick dirt on the Texas Rangers’ presently extremely faint American League West hopes. While no fun to endure, the Astros getting swept is no big deal. They weren’t going the rest of the season without any more bumps in the road. Unless they falter badly and/or Seattle has a huge rest of the way, the Astros' 29-10 surge before the Cleveland series is the stretch that will most define them making the playoffs for the ninth year in a row. The Astros hadn’t lost a home series since early April. Their longest losing streak all season remains just three games. They have to beat the Rangers Friday night to keep it that way.
Erratic starting pitchers Lance McCullers and Jack Leiter match up in the series opener, then it’s a pair of humdinger matchups. Saturday Framber Valdez goes to battle opposite Jacob deGrom. Sunday Hunter Brown starts on four days rest for just the second time this season countering the Arlington team’s Nathan Eovaldi. Framber tries to bounce back from his worst showing in over two months. Brown tries to rebound from his worst start since July 6 of last year. deGrom is quite a story. There has been no more dominant starting pitcher in his generation. It’s just that deGrom almost makes McCullers’s injury history look not so bad. Jacob deGrom won National League Rookie of the Year in 2014. He won back-to-back NL Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019, then finished third in the short 2020 COVID season. In 2021 he was off to what if maintained would have been one of the greatest seasons ever. 15 starts with a 1.08 earned run average. 92 innings pitched, a comical total of just 40 hits allowed, with only 11 walks, and 146 strikeouts. Sicko stuff. Then his shoulder fell off. deGrom missed over a year, came back and made 11 starts in 2022. All of that as a New York Met. The Rangers then crossed their fingers and gave him a five-year 185-million dollar free agent contract. DeGrom lasted six starts in 2023 before needing his second Tommy John surgery. The Rangers of course went on to win the World Series without him. deGrom returned to throw 10 innings late last season and looked good. With everyone around the Rangers holding their breath, deGrom has not missed a start this season. While not striking out batters near his rate in the past, deGrom has been fabulous. He’ll take the mound against the Astros sporting a 9-2 record (for a losing team) and 2.29 ERA. deGrom's career ERA is 2.50. He is 37 years old.
Options dwindling
All you can ask of players is that they prepare well, be mentally focused, and play their best. There is only so much juice to be squeezed from lemons. Zack Short, Cooper Hummel, and Taylor Trammell each played every inning of the Guardians series. They are 30, 30, and 27 years old respectively. Short has the highest career big league batting average of the three. That average is .169. Hummel sits at .167, Trammell at .165. Short went zero for 11 with seven strikeouts. Hummel went one for eleven and struck out in his last six at bats. Trammell actually had a good series going three for eleven including a three-run homer and a double. Bigger picture, manager Joe Espada is filling out a lineup card with one hand tied behind his back.
Espada’s task got no easier with the latest seemingly Astros-nomically inept medical work. It is mind-blowingly ridiculous that Jake Meyers further damaged a calf muscle while taking the field Wednesday night, just three days after he left a game with that calf ailing him. Organizationally the Astros look like a clown show on this (pretty sure Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez would co-sign). At least the All-Star break arriving after play Sunday will cover four days of Meyers’s absence, which is a good bet to extend beyond that, maybe well beyond that. That absence will be sorely felt. Beyond his elite patrol work in center field, Meyers’s offense this season made the leap from atrocious to well above average. About to come off the injured list, Chas McCormick gets one last chance to revive his Astros’ career. Decent prospect Jacob Melton is a center fielder who remains out injured. Kenedy Corona was called up this week when Christian Walker went on paternity leave. Corona also plays center field but is not a meaningful prospect. If Meyers is to miss months not weeks, general manager Dana Brown almost has to pursue an outfielder via trade.
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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