HADER STRUGGLES AGAIN
Houston's bullpen falters, Astros lose to Pirates 6-3
Jul 30, 2024, 10:12 am
Pirates defeat the Astros, 6-3. Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.
Paul Skenes allowed one earned run over six innings in a no-decision and Michael A. Taylor hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the ninth off Josh Hader that led the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Houston Astros 6-3 on Monday night.
Skenes lowered his ERA from 1.93 to 1.90, giving up two runs, five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. His 103 strikeouts in his first 13 starts trail only Hideo Nomo (119), Kerry Wood (118), Herb Score (107), Jose DeLeon (106), while matching Masahiro Tanaka.
Skenes’ streak of starts with seven or more strikeouts ended at nine, tied with Dwight Gooden (1984) and Brandon Beachy (2011) for the most among rookies, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Skenes averaged 98.5 mph with his fastball, down 0.6 mph from his season average, and he didn’t touch 100 mph. He threw 34 splinkers, 28 fastballs, 28 sliders, eight curveballs and three changeups, getting 16 swings and misses, up from 11 in his first start after the All-Star break.
“I thought it was terrible,” Skenes said of his slider. “I wasn’t executing, and frankly, got lucky. I was trying to find it.”
Houston took a 2-0 lead in the fifth after loading the bases when Jon Singleton singled, Jake Meyers walked and Victor Caratini was hit by a pitch. Jose Altuve hit what appeared to be a potential inning-ending, double-play grounder, but the ball glanced off the glove of Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes for an error as two runs scored.
Yasmani Grandal homered in the sixth off Kaleb Ort and Oneil Cruz hit a tying double in the eighth off Ryan Pressly, a 119.3 mph drive that bounced to the right-field wall. Pressly had entered with 15 consecutive scoreless innings.
Taylor homered in the ninth off Hader (4-6) for a 5-2 lead on a night fans received replica Hader jerseys as a promotional giveaway. Taylor drove a 96.6 mph sinker 421 feet to left-center for his third homer this season.
“I was looking for a fastball, and he’s got a really good one,” Taylor said. “I was looking for one I could hit. It felt great.”
Aroldis Chapman (4-4) struck out two in a one-hit eighth and David Bednar earned his 19th save in 22 chances. He forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk to Yordan Alvarez, then retired Yainer Diaz on a game-ending popout.
“Full team win,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think grit is a good word. We’ve had to use a lot of people in the last two days, and we’ve had a lot of people really step up in big moments. So overall, two good team victories.”
Houston’s Tayler Scott pitched three hitless innings in his first big league start this season after Jake Bloss was scratched. The Astros boosted their rotation, acquiring left-hander Yusei Kikuchi from Toronto for Bloss, first baseman/outfielder Joey Loperfido and infielder Will Wagner, son of former pitcher Billy Wagner.
Pittsburgh acquired infielder Nick Yorke from Boston for right-hander Quinn Priester and left-hander Jalen Beeks from Colorado for Double-A left-hander Luis Peralta.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: LHP Bailey Falter (left triceps tendinitis) was activated from the 15-day injured list and is expected to make his first start since July 6 on Tuesday. … RF Joshua Palacios left with left hamstring discomfort in the fifth, an inning after a groundout. ... CF Ji Hwan Bae left with left knee discomfort. ... OF Bryan Reynolds was activated from the bereavement list and OF Jack Suwinski was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander and RHP Luis Garcia are on track to throw off a mound on Tuesday, manager Joe Espada said. Garcia will face hitters that will swing while Verlander will face batters that will not swing.
UP NEXT
Falter (4-7, 4.08 ERA) will start the second game of the series for the Pirates on Tuesday. Astros RHP Hunter Brown (9-6, 4.40 ERA) will try to extend his streak of pitching six or more innings in 12 consecutive starts, the second-longest streak in the major leagues this season.
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The Houston Astros have looked like one of baseball’s most dangerous teams in recent weeks, riding a hot streak fueled by dominant starting pitching and a red-hot offense that’s erupted for double-digit runs in four of their last eight games. But behind the current success, there are fair questions about whether this pace is truly sustainable as the grind of the season continues.
Yes, the Astros are winning — and winning big — but context matters. Many of their recent victories have come against struggling clubs like the White Sox and Athletics. Even matchups against the Twins and Guardians, while respectable, don’t exactly represent championship-caliber tests. That soft stretch of the schedule has certainly helped Houston pad its win column, but it may not be the best predictor of long-term performance. Houston will be tested in the upcoming series against the Phillies and Cubs.
On the pitching side, the numbers have been impressive, but how repeatable is it? With Lance McCullers Jr. sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, the Astros are relying on a patchwork rotation that includes unproven arms like Colton Gordon, Ryan Gusto, and Brandon Walter. While each has shown flashes, asking them to shoulder the load deep into the summer may be a tall order.
Offensively, Houston is firing on all cylinders. But scoring 10 or more runs every other game simply isn’t sustainable over a 162-game season. Regression is inevitable; the question is how the team responds when the bats cool down or the bullpen is asked to carry more weight.
Amid all this, rookie third baseman Cam Smith continues to shine. Just a few months into his major league career, Smith is producing at a level that suggests he’s not just a key piece of the future — he’s already one of the team’s most valuable players. His batting average sits just a point behind Jose Altuve’s, and his OPS is even higher. If the Astros were forced to choose two players to build around long-term, factoring in youth and contract status, the logical duo might be Smith and breakout pitcher Hunter Brown.
So what about the big picture? Is this team a true World Series contender?
Oddsmakers currently have Houston with the seventh-best odds to win it all, and only the Yankees and Tigers rank higher among American League teams. The core is still there, the experience is undeniable, and if the pitching continues to hold — especially with the anticipated return of Spencer Arrighetti and a healthy McCullers — the Astros have every reason to believe they’ll be in the mix deep into October.
But that’s a big “if.” The ceiling is still high, and with Cam Smith emerging as a star in real time, this team might just have another gear. Whether they can reach it when the competition stiffens, that remains to be seen.
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