ASTROS REPORT
Slumps, injuries, and plain bad luck surround Astros in disappointing week
Jul 1, 2018, 11:05 pm
Justin Verlander is struggling. Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images
Houston had another set of games against weaker opponents this week with a full seven-game slate of winnable games. Unfortunately, it did not end with a good result. Here's why:
Monday, June 25th: 36-41 Blue Jays (J.A. Happ) vs. 52-27 Astros (Justin Verlander)
The week started on Monday night with the beginning of a rough week for Justin Verlander. Verlander allowed two runs in the top of the first on two hits and a walk, giving Toronto an early 2-0 lead. Yuli Gurriel continued his hot streak to cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single, then Alex Bregman tied the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the third, making it 2-2. Bregman struck again in the fourth, getting an RBI single to give Houston their first lead at 3-2. Unfortunately, Curtis Granderson for Toronto got the best of Verlander twice with solo homers in the fifth and seventh innings, ending Justin's night at six and two-third innings pitched with four earned runs and giving the Blue Jays a 4-3 lead. Toronto got another homer against Will Harris in the eighth, this time a two-run shot to extend their lead to 6-3, which held to the end despite a rally by Houston in the bottom of the ninth to get runners on second and third. In addition to losing the game, this would also be Carlos Correa's last game for a while as he would miss the next couple of games with back discomfort before landing on the DL.
Final Score: Blue Jays 6, Astros 3
Tuesday, June 26th: 37-41 Blue Jays (Ryan Borucki) vs. 52-28 Astros (Charlie Morton)
Charlie Morton had a terrific start on Tuesday night to help Houston bounce back from the loss the night before. Morton kept the Blue Jays without a hit through the first four innings and worked around four hits in innings five through seven to finish with a dominant seven innings pitched, four hits, zero runs, and thirteen strikeouts. That earned him the win as the Astros started the scoring in the fifth with a two-RBI single by Evan Gattis then tacked on five more in the eighth with a three-run home run by Jake Marisnick and a two-run homer by Alex Bregman. After Morton, Chris Devenski pitched a perfect eighth before Hector Rondon closed things out to complete the lopsided shutout win.
Final Score: Blue Jays 0, Astros 7
Wednesday, June 27th: 37-41 Blue Jays (Marco Estrada) vs. 53-28 Astros (Dallas Keuchel)
In stark contrast to Morton's brilliant start the night before, Wednesday afternoon saw a horrible beginning to a start by Dallas Keuchel. The Blue Jays avenged their shutout the night before by ambushing Keuchel with five runs on four hits in the top of the first, putting Houston in a huge hole. The Astros had a strong first inning of their own, quickly trimming the lead down to 5-3 with a two-RBI double from Evan Gattis and an RBI single by Josh Reddick. Gattis added to his crazy RBI total in June again with another RBI double in the fifth, making it just a one-run lead for Toronto. To Kuechel's credit, he did lock in after the disastrous first inning getting through the next four innings with just one hit. He faltered again in the sixth, however, loading the bases before an error scored a run to make it 6-4. Marwin Gonzalez made it a one-run game yet again with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, giving the Astros a chance to tie or win the game in the ninth thanks to strong bullpen work from Brad Peacock, who came in to finish the sixth and pitched the seventh, Ken Giles in the eighth, and Will Harris in the ninth who kept the Blue Jays from adding any more runs. Tony Kemp led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to put the tying run on base, but instead of tying Alex Bregman played the hero with a two-run walk-off home run to complete the comeback to steal the series.
Final Score: Blue Jays 6, Astros 7
Thursday, June 28th: 54-28 Astros (Lance McCullers Jr.) vs. 39-40 Rays (Ryne Stanek)
Tampa Bay deployed their unique strategy of starting the game with a reliever on Thursday night, with Ryne Stanek taking the mound first before Ryan Yarbrough took over for extended innings. The strategy paid off early, but it was Jake Marisnick who scored the first (and only) run in the top of the fifth with a solo home run. That one run was enough, with Lance McCullers Jr. pitching a gem by going seven strong innings giving up just three hits, no runs, and striking out seven. He was followed by Chris Devenski in the eighth and Hector Rondon who got the save in the ninth as both offenses started the series off quiet in a one-run game.
Final Score: Astros 1, Rays 0
Friday, June 29th: 55-28 Astros (Gerrit Cole) vs. 39-41 Rays (Wilmer Font)
Another pitcher's duel was brewing early on Friday night, with Gerrit Cole and Wilmer Font getting through the first three innings scoreless. Things took a wrong turn for Houston in the bottom of the fourth, though, with Cole giving up back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with no outs before a sac fly gave Tampa a 1-0 lead. They added two more on an error by Marwin Gonzalez who made a bad throw to first which should've been the final out but instead gave the Rays a 3-0 lead. Alex Bregman got Houston on the board and trimmed the lead to one with a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to end Font's night, but that would be the end of the scoring as Tampa Bay's bullpen held Houston at bay to finish out the Astros' loss.
Final Score: Astros 2, Rays 3
Saturday, June 30th: 55-29 Astros (Justin Verlander) vs. 40-41 Rays (Ryne Stanek)
Much like Keuchel on Wednesday, things got bad in a hurry for Justin Verlander on Saturday. Verlander allowed five runs across the first and second innings to put Houston in another 5-0 hole. Verlander didn't allow any more damage after that, but it resulted in his shortest start to date with only five innings during which he allowed the five runs on nine hits. The Ray's sent Ryne Stanek out to start the game again before the true starter Vidal Nuno took over. Alex Bregman was once again the one to try and spark the offense with another two-run homer, making it a 5-2 game, but like the day before, Tampa's bullpen would outmatch the struggling offense of Houston to wrap up another loss for the Astros.
Final Score: Astros 2, Rays 5
Sunday, July 1st: 55-30 Astros (Charlie Morton) vs. 41-41 Rays (Blake Snell)
Charlie Morton had his second strong start of the week to close things out on Sunday, getting through his first six innings with just four hits and no runs allowed to the Rays. Evan Gattis gave Houston a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the top of the seventh, which looked like it may be enough to take to the end. Unfortunately, Morton would get tagged with two earned runs after he allowed two singles in the seventh which would come around to score off Chris Devenski who relieved Morton earlier in that inning. Brad Peacock allowed Tampa to extend their lead to 3-1 with a solo home run in the eighth before the Rays worked around another solo home run by Evan Gattis in the ninth to win the series and end Houston's week with a losing record.
Final Score: Astros 2, Rays 3
Summary: Despite Alex Bregman and Evan Gattis having strong weeks to cap off a great month of June for them, it was not enough to salvage this week which ended with a disappointing 3-4 record. Between Correa moving to the DL, George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez worsening their slumps, and a couple of weak starts from starters, this week was a bad stretch in an otherwise great season to this point. There were still some high points in the week with the bullpen continuing to perform well, and dominant starts from Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers. We've all learned not to panic too early with this team when they show signs of slowing down, so I'm not ringing any alarm bells just yet. Justin Verlander had two of his worst starts of the year which he will likely bounce back from this week with a start against the struggling White Sox. George Springer is definitely streaky, so him heating back up can turn a lot of things around offensively. Carlos Correa out of the lineup is definitely going to be a temporary pain, but better for him to get something like this corrected now than it biting him later in the season. This team is too good to have a setback last too long, so I'm willing to write this last week off as another bout of bad luck at Tropicana Field.
MVP of the Week - Alex Bregman:
Bregman may have arguably surpassed Evan Gattis to have the best month of June with his performance this week. He dominated at the plate, going 13 for 28 in the seven games this week for a .464 average. He hit five doubles, stole two bases, and scored seven runs, five of which came on his powerful five homers this week, the most notable being the walk-off blast to win the game on Wednesday. He has all the makings (if he can limit some errors on defense) to be a superstar very soon. This Week:
- Tue-Wed: (55-31) Astros @ (38-47) Rangers
- Thu-Sun: (29-54) White Sox @ (55-31) Astros
The Astros will have the day off Monday to travel to Arlington and hopefully hit the reset button on the series in Tampa Bay. They'll play a quick two-game series with the Rangers on Tuesday and Wednesday then head home for four games against the White Sox. These are two struggling teams, and teams that Houston has feasted on already this year, so it's a great opportunity to right the ship and put together a great week. If they can't win these two series, even with their current slumps and injuries, something will have to change.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
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!
_____________________________________________
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!