Springer hurt hitting wall in second consecutive loss
A 7-1 loss to Texas at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night didn’t hurt the Astros nearly as much as a head-banging catch might have rattled George Springer because the right fielder may have suffered a concussion on the play in the top of the seventh inning.
With two out, Adrian Beltre smashed a ball to the warning track that Springer corraled with a leap that put him face first into the MLB Network sign to
the right of the home bullpen. Springer was pulled before the next inning.
Springer, 25, is expected to be out of the lineup Wednesday when the Astros try to avoid being swept in a series for the first time this season. If a concussion is diagnosed, Springer would head to the seven-day disabled list.
No roster move was announced Tuesday night for Springer or to aid a bullpen that had to account for six innings after starter Scott Feldman allowed six runs in three innings.
“He’ll go through a battery of tests through our doctors, through our trainers,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said after the team’s second consecutive loss. “These are all standard tests that we would run any time the head’s involved. But it jarred his contact (lens) a little bit, so I
think that was a little bit weird for him when you can’t see out of one eye a little bit. We learned that was just the contact moving.”
The Astros managed only three hits against former Astros pitcher Wandy Rodriguez, who went eight innings, struck out eight and allowed one run — numbers the 36-yearold lefthander had not matched or bettered in an outing since 2011. The final 22 Astros hitters were set down in order from the final out in the second inning on, with Rodriguez accounting for 19 of those consecutive outs.
Fantastic plays that sacrifice the body have become common for Springer, who showed no fear running down a ball in foul territory Monday in the series opener with the Rangers.
“That was a scary play,” Hinch said. “Everybody has seen that before, when he’s flying into the foul wall last night. He’s going as hard as can be tonight, and he’s pretty banged up. When he got up, we were starting to head out there to see what happened. You could tell he was a little bit dazed, and he was going full speed when he did it. Complete disregard for anything but trying to catch the ball. That’s the way he plays.”
Center fielder Jake Marisnick could tell Springer was woozy.
“He hit that thing pretty hard, and he was kind of getting his bearings under him,” Marisnick said. “He seemed good coming off.”
Hinch said Colby Rasmus will be somewhere in the outfield lineup Wednesday.
Springer’s situation aside, the Astros are living a comedown from all their recent winning. They had won five consecutive series before losing Tuesday. They have not lost three consecutive games at any point and had not lost two consecutive games since April 13-14 against Oakland.
Even with a rough showing against the Rangers, who had not won consecutive games this season, the Astros (18-9) have matched their best record through 27 games in club history.
Feldman saw his ERA reach 5.50, but the beauty of the seven-game American League West lead the Astros took into Tuesday’s game is that they can weather some normal ebb and flow without losing position.
“I wish I knew,” Feldman said of what his problem was. “Just warming up felt great, and obviously there’s a pretty good vibe around here with the team and they’re playing great. I went out there and did terrible. I’ve got to try to iron that out in between my next start.”
Rodriguez’s outing was his longest since 2012.
Hinch said Rodriguez and lefthander Ross Detwiler had similar game plans in the first two games of the series.
“(Rodriguez) does a good job of getting strike one and sort of pitching to a chase weakness or where he felt like we were going to swing out of the zone,” Hinch said.
Luis Valbuena’s 389foot homer to right field — his team-high seventh of the season — in the first inning accounted for the Astros’ only run.
The Rangers pounced for four runs in the first, including the first homer of the season from Carlos Peguero, who entered the day hitting .171 after a 1-for-23 skid.
Feldman had bicep tendinitis to start last year that sapped his velocity. This year, the radar-gun readings don’t show anything alarming, leaving a little mystery. In four of his starts, he has allowed two runs or fewer — all stints that ranged from six to seven innings. The other two outings weren’t forgiving. He allowed seven earned runs to the A’s in an 8-1 loss April 13.