ASTROS REPORT
Yuli Gurriel and Yordan Alvarez stay hot to keep Astros above .500
May 10, 2021, 5:18 pm
What a year so far for Yuli Gurriel. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
The Astros had an interesting week that saw them face their toughest road series of the season so far, and saw a former Astros' homecoming spoiled by the injury bug.
After winning two of three games against the Tampa Bay Rays, Houston looked to conclude their road trip against the New York Yankees.
This was the first time the Astros played them since Jose Altuve's walk-off home run that sent them to the World Series in 2019.
Since their first playoff meeting in 2015, Houston and the Yankees have built a decent rivalry. The bad blood between the two clubs has since been exacerbated due to the Astros' cheating scandal.
Needless to say, the New York faithful were ready to show their disdain for Altuve and the rest of the Astros for the first time since the aforementioned scandal.
10,000 plus Yankees fans showed up to boo Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel relentlessly every time they stepped into the batter's box.
"It sounded like a packed house," Astros manager Dusty Baker said.
Game 1 of the series saw Zack Greinke face off with Domingo German.
Neither pitcher lasted longer than five innings as the hits came early for both the Astros and the Yankees.
In front of a chorus of booing fans, Alex Bregman silenced the crowd with a 410-foot homer to left center to start the game.
The celebration was short-lived as Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 1st to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead
Stanton continued to be a menace throughout the game finishing with four hits and three RBI.
The Astros were able to tie the game at 3-3 with a Michael Brantley solo shot and a Gurriel RBI double.
This was as far as the Astros would go this game as the Yankees would score four unanswered runs to win the first game of the series 7-3.
A scary moment occurred towards the end of the game as Yankees' second basemen Rougned Odor collided with Astros' catcher Martin Maldonado. Both had to be helped off the field and did not return.
The second game of the series saw more of the same as Astros did not have an answer for Stanton.
The Yankees' DH knocked in four runs as they bested Houston for the second night 6-3.
The final game showcased Gerrit Cole pitching against the Astros for the first time since he joined the Yankees after the 2019 season.
Cole gave up two solo homers to Yordan Alvarez and were the only RBIs surrendered by the Yankees' ace.
Chad Green came into relief for Cole and got into a little trouble as he gave up a leadoff walk to Kyle Tucker and Aledmys Diaz reached on an infield single.
This brought Altuve to the plate, and he delivered a 404-foot homer to left field, putting the Astros ahead 5-3 on his birthday.
Altuve had been 1 for 11 with no RBI in the series until this moment.
Yankee Stadium was dead silent after the home run.
"It quieted the fans," Astros' manger Dusty Baker said "for a little while, anyway."
The Yankees did score one run in the bottom of the 8th inning to make it a 4-5 contest.
Astros' catcher Martin Maldonado made his return after the collision with Odor and had his best game of the season. He collected three hits and hit a 2-run homer to put the game away for the Astros in the top of the 9th.
Houston won the game 7-4 but lost the series. Their first series loss since they were swept in Colorado on April 21st.
The Astros looked to return home to face another former Astro in George Springer and the Toronto Blue Jays (I know still weird to say.)
This homecoming was ruined by the injury bug, as Springer was placed on the injured list with a strained right quad.
The Toronto outfielder still made the trip to Houston and received a warm welcome by his former team's fans.
The touching moment was followed by an offensive showcase by the Astros.
Yuli Gurriel continued his hot hitting as he tied a career high with fours hits and drove in four runs.
Carlos Correa added a two-run homer to help the Astros route the Blue Jays in a 10-4 victory.
Astros pitcher Jose Urquidy continues to be a solid fixture in this rotation as he threw 7 strong innings for his second consecutive start and gave up only 2 runs.
Game two of the series saw Houston and Toronto flip scripts as the Blue Jays offense was rolling led by a name that will sound familiar to Astros fans.
Cavan Biggio, son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, hit his first career home run at Minute Maid Park in front of his family to lead the Blue Jays to a series tying 8-4 victory.
"I've sat in the seats for hundreds of games watching my dad play and now it's a little reversed," Biggio said. "It's pretty cool to be able to do that in front of him in his building."
Cristian Javier received his first loss of the season giving up five earned runs in less than six innings of work.
Game three of the series set up the rubber match between the two clubs.
The bats were once again flying for the Astros as both Kyle Tucker and Altuve went deep to help them win the game 7-4.
Yordan Alvarez continued his hot hitting as he is now third in the league with a .362 batting average.
Houston got off to a 7-0 run before Zack Greinke gave up four runs and was pulled in the 5th inning without recording an out.
This is the third consecutive start that saw Greinke throw four innings or fewer.
The Astros finished the week with a 3-3 record and improved to 18-16 overall.
UP NEXT: Houston will continue their home stand for seven straight games against their division opponents in the Angels and 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.