Bottom of order comes up big in sweep
OAKLAND, Calif. — With contributions from the seventh, eighth and ninth hitters, manager A.J. Hinch has started to feel like the Astros’ offense is clicking as it did so well last season.
“The first two games here, we’ve gotten production out of the bottom of the order,” Hinch said before Wednesday’s 4-1 over the A’s completed a three-game sweep. “When the bottom of the order contributes, it’s a complete lineup.”
Evan Gattis, Derek Fisher, Jake Marisnick, Brian McCann and Max Stassi typically occupy the end of the scorecard. In the the three wins over Oakland, they combined to bat .303 (10-for-33) with four RBIs, seven runs and six extra-base hits.
Production from the bottom let leadoff man George Springer seize enough at-bats to go 6for-6 on Monday and win Tuesday’s game with a run-scoring hit.
The Astros led the majors in runs in 2017. They often won by turning over the lineup for insurmountable rallies.
“An offense can only be as good as every guy,” Springer said. “For (the bottom of the order) to keep having quality atbats and turning it over to the top — it’s huge.”
The production also has offered relief to a batch of mostly struggling platoon players.
Fisher is hitting .267 (8-for-30) since April 20, with four homers and seven RBIs. He also has struck out 13 times.
During the previous series in Arizona, coaches implored Fisher to not let so many strikes go by and be more aggressive. On Monday, he struck the first of his two homers in the Oakland series.
Stassi’s two doubles on Monday night were his first extra-base hits in 17 days.
In Wednesday’s win, Stassi and Fisher homered back-to-back.
“If you’re a seven, eight, nine hitter here, you may be top of the order somewhere else,” Stassi said.
Marisnick exhaled hard after Tuesday’s win while reflecting on how he helped catalyze it with a two-out, two-strike double. Springer then drove him in as the goahead run.
Although Marisnick has three home runs, he has only two doubles. He is hitting .150.
“He’s been grinding,” Springer said. “He’s putting in the work every single day. Some people might not think the results are there, but he has very productive at-bats. He’s a guy that when he gets going, he can provide depth.”
Marisnick has felt cautiously optimistic after his latest hit.
“My swings in general have been good, I’ve just been swinging under the ball,” he said. “I’ve gotta make that adjustment sooner than I have, but I’ve identified the biggest problem: Stop swinging under the ball. Get on top of the ball.”
He suggested he has not yet found the exact method for how he can restore his contact rate with consistency.
“Change what I'm looking at or what my thought process is, but the big thing is you’ve got to make that adjustment sooner,” said Marisnick, who was 0-for-3 on Wednesday. “Little victories right now. You can’t figure it all out overnight.”
Verlander flips with Morton
Incorporating Thurday’s day off, the Astros will start Justin Verlander on Friday at home against the Rangers to keep the righthanded ace on regular rest.
Charlie Morton was pushed back to Saturday, and Dallas Keuchel will start Sunday.
It is common for teams to adjust their rotation to days off in the first two months of the season.
“We started the conversation a few weeks ago,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We have a number of off days over the next couple of weeks, and we’re trying not to disrupt too many starts for JV. He’s a very routine-based guy.”
Hinch said the team also has targeted Morton and Lance McCullers Jr. for extra rest as the season unfolds.
The adjustment will keep Verlander (4-1, 1.17 ERA) on regular rest for the next two turns through the rotation.
Gonzalez’s numbers rise
After a slow start, Marwin Gonzalez is playing more like the breakout switch-hitting super utility man who elevated the Astros’ season last year.
“He likes when the calendar turns to May,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
In his seven seasons, Gonzalez averaged .241 in April. His average dipped to .164 on April 16 this year. After a day off, Gonzalez went on a tear.
Even after going 0for-4 on Wednesday, he has hit .314 (22-for-70) with 18 RBIs over his last 19 games.
“Coming out of spring training, you don’t get that many at-bats, plus you’ve got the offseason without facing pitchers,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve been feeling a little better from both sides.
“Sometimes the numbers are not good, but you’re feeling good, hitting good. But I wasn’t. It’s obvious I wasn’t feeling good at the plate the first three or four weeks. I’m seeing the ball better now.”
Since his mid-April turnaround, he has hit much better against lefties in particular. The starkest contrast is in his averages against fastballs from southpaws. Batting righthanded, Gonzalez went from hitting .182 off heaters to .417 through Tuesday.
Hinch emphasized that Gonzalez has “two different swings.”
“He’s had a long evolution of hitting,” Hinch said. “We’ve always loved his lefthanded swing. For his righthanded swing in 2015, at the beginning of the season, I was pinchhitting for him. By the end of 2015, I was pinchhitting with him.”
Gonzalez credits the improvement to “actually seeing pitches” more often with the season underway. The Astros do not have a lefthanded batting practice pitcher, and he suggested there is not a reliable way for him, as a switch hitter, to train for batting against lefthanded pitchers. Their arm angles, pitch paths and timing cannot be simulated well. They must be experienced.
“That’s the thing,” Gonzalez said. “It’s just hitting BP from the right side or hitting the tee from the right side. It’s not the same as you practicing every day and actually facing pitchers every day. I just think you’ve got to do a little bit more than you’d normally do in the cage and practice. That’s the only way you can get better, I guess.”