JV GOT SHELLED
Verlander struggles, Diamondbacks rout Astros 12-6
Sep 9, 2024, 7:49 am
It was a rough day for JV. Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images.
Pavin Smith homered in first three at-bats for his first multi-home run game and drove in a career-high eight runs, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks rout the Houston Astros 12-6 on Sunday night to end a three-game losing streak.
Smith became the second Diamondback with a three-homer game this season, with Eugenio Suárez doing it against Washington on July 30. J.D. Martinez set the Arizona record with four home runs at Los Angeles on Sept. 4, 2017.
“It was a great day for Pavin,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “Pavin can hit. We always feel comfortable with his at-bats, his ability to come in the lineup after not playing for a couple of days and be able to barrel up the baseball.”
Smith fell an RBI shy of the Arizona record set by Erubiel Durazo in 2002. Chris Iannetta also had eight RBIs for the Diamondbacks in a 2017 game. Smith’s previous high was six.
Arizona — which scored at least 10 runs for a majors-best 18th time — pulled within a half-game of San Diego for the National League’s first wild card and increased its lead over New York and Atlanta to 1 1/2 games. Houston leads Seattle by 4 1/2 games in the AL West.
Smith’s first home run of the night followed back-to-back singles to start the second inning and struck the foul pole in right. Arizona had increased the lead to 4-0 when Smith came up with the bases loaded in the third and sent a 2-2 fastball from Justin Verlander (3-6) into the Crawford Boxes for the third career grand slam.
“Just one of those nights where you’re in a zone,” Smith said. “Obviously, Justin’s a great pitcher. I faced him before, and he’s got great stuff, so once I was able to put a good swing the first at-bat it gave me confidence the rest of the game.”
Verlander allowed eight runs on eight hits over three innings and failed to record a strikeout for just the third time in 381 career regular-season starts. He has a 9.68 ERA in four starts since returning from the injured list.
“Felt better, physically,” Verlander said. “It seemed like they had a really good game plan, and saw some pitches really well in some surprising spots, so tip your cap.”
With Verlander out of the game, Smith answered Alex Bregman’s fourth-inning, two-run home run by starting the fifth with his seventh homer of the season, a solo shot off Kaleb Ort that left the bat at 112.1 mph. Smith wanted to hit a fourth home run, but he struck out and walked in his final two plate appearances of the night.
“It’s something that not many people have done, and I figure if you have the chance you might as well go for it,” Smith said.
Suárez was 4 for 5 with his 26th homer, two RBIs and four runs.
Kevin Ginkel (8-3) got the last out in the fifth for the victory.
Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz each had three hits for the Astros. McCormick is batting .409 in six games since being recalled from Triple-A.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros INF Mauricio Dubón missed his second straight game after jamming his left thumb when he dove into first base Friday. He was able to take swings in the cage before the game.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: RHP Zac Gellen (11-6, 3.69 ERA) was scheduled to face Texas RHP Nathan Eovaldi (11-7, 3.55 ERA) at home Tuesday night.
Astros: RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-12, 4.82 ERA) was set to meet Oakland RHP Osvaldo Bido (5-3, 3.52 ERA) at home Tuesday night.
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The Houston Astros have some big decisions to make this offseason and deciding whether to re-sign Alex Bregman is only part of the equation.
Following the Astros being eliminated by the Tigers, GM Dana Brown said the club may have to get “creative” this offseason, and exploring the trade market could be a real possibility.
With so much salary already committed to Rafael Montero, Jose Abreu, and Lance McCullers for the 2025 season, it's hard to believe the club will be spending a bunch of money in free agency.
Which also means they may elect to let Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi come off the books permanently and sign elsewhere.
(For the purposes of this video, we're going to be talking about the pitching specifically. If you want to hear our thoughts on the outlook for the offense, be sure to watch our video from last week. You can find it here.)
If the Astros do consider making a trade this offseason, which pitchers would make the most sense to deal? Let's start with Framber Valdez. The club should be able to get a big haul for Framber, and he's projected to make around $18 million this season.
Framber is also a free agent after 2025, so his time in Houston may be coming to an end in the near future anyway.
Typically, we wouldn't consider the possibility of the Astros trading Framber one year before free agency. History tells us they let players walk after the final year of their contract. They didn't trade Bregman before the 2024 season, and we know what happened with George Springer, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Correa.
But the Astros are in a different place now than they were a few years ago. The current version of the Astros aren't nearly as deep as those other teams.
The 'Stros don't regularly win 100 games like they used to. They're just another contending team over the past two seasons. But fortunately for them, they're in the AL West. So they should have a great shot to win the division once again.
But as currently constructed, they're not the dominate team they were a few years ago. Trading Valdez could bring some young talent into the organization and safe the club money that could be reallocated to other parts of the team (outfield, first base). They should be looking for a trade similar to what the Brewers received for Corbin Burnes.
If the Astros don't plan on offering Framber a long-term deal, then why not get something for him while they still can?
Astros owner Jim Crane would probably argue that he wouldn't want to trade away his best pitcher in what could be Kyle Tucker's final year with Houston. Which is a fair point, and why this probably won't happen, considering their history with players in the final year of their contracts. But based on everything laid out above, it might be time for a change in philosophy.
Another player they could look to move is Ryan Pressly. Would he be willing to waive his no-trade clause for the right situation? Pressly is 35 years old and in the last year of his contract. He's set to make $14 million this season, and one could argue that it's time for Bryan Abreu to take over the setup role. Pressly has done some amazing things for this organization, but $14 million for a seventh inning guy is hard to justify. And just to be clear, we're not letting Josh Hader off the hook. Pressly had a lower ERA than Hader in 2024. But good luck finding anyone that would trade for Hader's massive contract.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we evaluate the Astros pitching staff heading into 2025, and explore some trade possibilities that could improve the roster in the short and long-term!