Hinch drops Bregman to 9th but praises the timely hitter
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman batted ninth for the first time in his brief major league career Saturday.
A.J. Hinch penciled him in there for Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Athletics.
The former No. 1 prospect who went from eyesore to budding star last year has gradually dropped in the lineup as his batting average has hovered around .250.
Despite his unimpressive totals, Bregman has made the most of his hits. He has been clutch and a key contributor in several comeback victories. Coming into Saturday, Bregman was 9-for-20 (.450) with runners in scoring position, and with two outs he is 5-for-9.
“Everyone’s fighting for the nine spot,” Hinch said jokingly, alluding to the production from the last spot in his lineups. “Batting average is a trap.”
He explained how it misleads fans like a blanket statement about a player’s performance that ignores the context of his most critical at-bats.
“Psychologically, it’s hard on hitters,” he said. “It makes you appreciate or unappreciate players too much.
“That being said, with the at-bats that really matter the most — with runners on base or in scoring position — this team has been really good at getting good pitches to hit.”
Bregman helped the Astros take a commanding lead in Friday’s 9-4 win over the Athletics. After Evan Gattis put the Astros ahead 5-4 with a double, Bregman drove in Yuli Gurriel with a sacrifice fly off an 0-2 pitch.
“Bregman finds ways to find hits,” Hinch said. “Mostly because if you zero in on the strike zone and you’re stingy with the type of pitch that you have to hit, things will go in your type of direction.”
Gurriel remains hot at the plate
Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel is the hottest hitter in baseball.
Going into Saturday and since April 11, Gurriel led the majors with a .458 batting average. In those 48 at-bats, he had 22 hits, with five doubles, seven RBIs and two home runs. He was 1-for-4 Saturday to put his average at .342.
In that span, Gurriel bested Bryce Harper (.414) and Mitch Haniger (.413).
Until recently, Gurriel’s production from spots six to nine in the lineup had been under the radar.
“For a while, I didn’t want to move him,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “I didn’t want to mess him up.
“But as I’ve moved him, he’s continued to hit. He can hit anywhere.”
Hinch pointed to an April 15-17 road stretch for Gurriel’s rebound. The Cuban infielder was benched for a game in Oakland and two games later drew a rare walk.
“That discipline catapulted him a little bit forward into getting pitches to hit,” Hinch said. “We’ve seen him use the whole field. He’s been pretty pull-conscious, which is directly opposite of what his strength is.”
Gurriel pulled his second home run of the season into the Crawford Boxes in Friday’s 9-4 win over Oakland.
Watt weighs in on pitching, QB
Wearing a customized No. 99 white Astros jersey with his last name on the back, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt threw out the first pitch before Saturday’s Astros-Athletics game at Minute Maid Park.
He wound up and tossed a smooth, straight throw in to a crouched Dallas Keuchel behind the plate.
Before taking the mound, Watt praised the Astros for their “phenomenal” 15-8 start. Then he spoke favorably of the Texans drafting Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“It’s been good,” he said. “Obviously in this league you need a quarterback. Getting a guy like Deshaun, who’s a proven winner, and the ability to come in and not have to start right away and be able to learn and grow is really good for him. We’re excited.”
Watt did not prepare with precision for throwing for the home crowd.
“I pulled up in the garage, I got out, they handed me the jersey, I put it on and I walked out here,” he said.
He opened the 2013 season at Minute Maid Park with a more deliberate windup and uncorked a respectably fast pitch that veered off the plate.
“A few years back I fired one in there and tried to look good doing it,” he said. “This year, I don’t care. I’m just going to try to lob it across the plate and look nice.”
Hunter Atkins