SEEING PATTERN
Fiers latest victim of offense only able to generate 3 runs in 3 games
For the third game in a row, and second to Rangers, a 2-1 loss was net result.
Two games have passed since the Astros became the latest team dominated by Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale. They didn’t hit in those, either.
Managing three hits Saturday at Minute Maid Park, the last-place Astros lost 2-1 for the third consecutive game, the second straight against the Texas Rangers.
The hole the Astros dug themselves with a terrible April has deepened through a mediocre May, and at 17-27 they are better than just the 11-win Minnesota Twins in the American League.
The second-place Rangers (24-19) have won the five meetings between these instate rivals this season and 13 of the last 15. It doesn’t seem to matter which pitcher starts for last year’s AL West champions. They have the Astros’ number.
“It’s frustrating losing,” Astros starting pitcher Mike Fiers said. “We know we should be better right now and things just aren’t happening like we want (them) to.”
Marwin Gonzalez’s home run in the third inning accounted for the Astros’ run Saturday. They put multiple runners on base in only the seventh inning, and even in that situation two outs had been recorded. Cesar Ramos, a journeyman lefthander who spent last season in the Los Angeles Angels’ bullpen, held the Astros to two hits over six innings.
“They faced three (batters) over the minimum,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “That’s not a good recipe for run scoring.”
The offensive ineptitude begs the question of whether it’s time for Hinch to mix up his top-heavy lineup. With a mostly consistent top four and an inconsistent bottom five, the manager’s options are limited.
Perhaps Hinch could lengthen the lineup by dropping one of his top three of Jose Altuve, George Springer and Carlos Correa, but it does not sound as if such an alteration is onthe horizon. The Astros are just days removed, Hinch said, from five consecutive games in which they scored five or more runs.
“The difficulty becomes, ‘Where do you slide the hot hitters?’ and ‘How do they remain hot and get some consistency?’ That’s the difficulty in taking Jose out of the leadoff spot or Correa out of the three-hole spot,” Hinch said. “We need an entire offense to be a little bit more consistent.”
The Astros’ latest dismal night at the plate wasted another strong outing from one of their starting pitchers. Fiers, making his first start in 12 days, completed seven innings for his second consecutive start, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out six without a walk.
Fiers pitched as efficiently as he had in any of his nine outings, requiring only 96 pitches. The Rangers scored a run in the second and another in the third. Elvis Andrus opened the scoring with his first home run of the season and Rougned Odor delivered what became the gamewinning, RBI single.
Springer and Colby Rasmus recorded the Astros’ other two hits, both singles. Altuve snapped a 12-game hitting streak with an 0-for4 evening. Correa also failed to reach base, striking out three times.
Matt Bush, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson pitched the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respec- tively, for the Rangers. Dyson recorded his second save in as many nights with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Seven of the Astros’ last eight games have been decided by one run, and of those contests they won three. They are 5-10 in onerun games, a record far from a harbinger of success over a 162-game schedule.
“It’s tough. We’re grinding,” outfielder Jake Marisnick said. “We’re in all these ballgames. It’s just one little thing here, one little thing there and the games go the other way. Just keep plugging along. A lot of season left.”
Until there isn’t.