Hinch: Keuchel’s struggles are temporary
ARLINGTON — If he pitches every fifth game for the rest of the season, lefthander Dallas Keuchel will make nine or 10 starts before the American League Division Series.
That means nine or 10 starts for Keuchel to regain the form he showed before his eightweek injury absence, when he pitched like the ace the struggling Astros will need if they are to advance in October.
Next up for Keuchel are the intrastate rival Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Park. Given his importance to the Astros and their World Series aspirations, Keuchel’s outings will be under scrutiny every fifth game through September.
Keuchel (9-2, 2.87 ERA) hasn’t looked like the same pitcher from April and May in the three starts he has made since he returned from his neck injury.
Absent have been his usual pinpoint command and the typical degree of late life on his pitches. The former Cy Young Award winner was hammered in his last start Monday by the AL’s worst team.
Which version of Keuchel will show up Sunday against the Rangers?
“This is probably the best three or four days in between (starts) since the first couple months (of the season),” he said Saturday. “So I have no doubt that tomorrow’s going to be a lot different than the first three.”
Keuchel, 29, said he played more catch between starts than he had recently and feels like he’s getting back into a routine.
He has maintained since his return that he feels healthy, which leaves the long layoff as the most viable explanation for his recent struggles.
Keuchel has allowed as many earned runs in his last three starts (14) as he did in his first 11. The opposition is batting a blistering .390/.463/.644 against him in his three recent outings. He has recorded more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven) in 12 innings since his return.
“Controlling contact on the ground is key,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We had a lot of guys hit the ball in the air in this three-game stretch, which is uncommon for Dallas. He’s usually able to control contact a little bit better. Some of that is by pitching ahead and getting strikes but most of it’s by putting the ball where he wants to.”
Hinch said he believes the longer removed Keuchel gets from his layoff the better he will feel.
“I think once he has a good game of success, that will catapult him forward with his execution,” Hinch said. “Physically, I think he’s been fine. Mentally, I think the grind of just trying to be perfect and trying to do something positive and get back in his rhythm has taken a toll on him.
“And I think that comes with any time you go through a lull or a tough stretch where you’re not pitching at your optimum.
“It can be a little bit of a grind. But a good outing tomorrow would be good for our team, would be good for him and set him up for a nice finish.”
Rangers retire Pudge’s No. 7
In a ceremony on the field before their 8-3 win over the Astros on Saturday night at Globe Life Park, the Texas Rangers officially retired Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez’s No. 7.
Rodriguez became only the third Ranger to have his number retired, joining Nolan Ryan (34) and
Johnny Oates (26). The Astros (Craig Biggio) and the New York Yankees (Mickey Mantle) are the only other major league teams to have retired No. 7.
The Rangers played on their video board a tribute that featured congratulatory messages from the likes of George W. Bush, Johnny Bench, Ryan and Jeff Bagwell, Rodriguez’s fellow National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee two weekends ago in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Rodriguez’s Hall of Fame plaque was on display at Globe Life Park on Friday and Saturday. Instead of a ceremonial first pitch, the 13-time Gold Glove Award-winning catcher threw a strike from behind home plate to Roberto Alomar at second base.
Alomar and Ferguson Jenkins were the Hall of Famers on hand for the ceremony. Also in attendance were several former Rangers to wear No. 7, a group that included David Murphy, who got the biggest ovation.
Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star, drew standing ovations before and after delivering a speech to the fans he played in front of from 1991 to 2002 and then again in 2009, when he was traded back to Texas after his 93-game stint with the Astros. He last played in the majors in 2011 for the Washington Nationals.
The Rangers and Astros on Saturday wore uniforms from 1999, the year Rodriguez was voted American League MVP, as part of the festivities.
Saturday’s was the second jersey retirement ceremony this season for which the Astros were in attendance. They also played at Yankee Stadium on May 15 when the Yankees retired Derek Jeter’s No. 2.
Whitley advances through minors
Righthander Forrest Whitley continues to move quickly through the Astros’ farm system.
Whitley, one of the top prospects the Astros declined to part with before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, was promoted to Class AA Corpus Christi on Saturday after only seven outings in Advanced Class A.
Last year’s 17th overall draft pick likely will make his Texas League debut Wednesday in Tulsa.
Only a year removed from pitching at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Whitley, 19, has advanced more quickly than expected in his first full professional season.
He began the season in low Class A Quad Cities before moving to Advanced Class A Buies Creek in early July.
Whitley should have enough time left on the Texas League schedule to make three starts with Corpus Christi before the minor league season’s end. In 311⁄3 innings with Buies Creek, he had a 3.16 ERA and a blistering 14.4