CHANGE CAN BE A GOOD THING
Houston Astros manager reveals polarizing lineup adjustment against Mariners
May 28, 2024, 6:01 pm
Alex Bregman will hit 5th on Tuesday night against Seattle. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Coming off a tough loss on Monday night, the Astros will be making some adjustments to the batting order for Tuesday night's game in Seattle.
Houston manager Joe Espada made his weekly appearance on the Astros flagship station and said he plans on moving Alex Bregman down to fifth in the lineup.
The Astros against Luis Castillo: Altuve 4, Tucker 9, Alvarez 7, Peña 6, Bregman 5, Meyers 8, Singleton DH, Abreu 3, Diaz 2
Brown RHP
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 28, 2024
Bregman has three hits in his last 30 at-bats, with zero home runs and just 2 RBIs. The last time Bregman was dropped in the order (May 13) he hit sixth against the A's and responded with a huge two home run game.
The following day, he hit fifth and recorded another home run. After that, Bregman returned to the cleanup role, and has yet to hit another dinger.
Perhaps moving Bregman back down will get his bat going once again. Many questioned at the time why Espada would move Bregman back to fourth if he was producing in the five or six spot. Why mess with a good thing? But here we are, moving Bregman back down just two weeks later.
Hopefully, this could provide another spark that could help propel the Astros to a series win over Seattle.
On the bright side
Espada said in his interview today that Luis Garcia is ahead of schedule in his Tommy John rehab and could begin facing hitters soon. If that goes well, rehab starts could be right around the corner. This could be critical to the team's success if Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier continue to miss time with forearm discomfort.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.