Astros’ bats awaken in rout of Rockies
Offensive lull ends with a bang of five home runs
With talk of losing nine consecutive home games and their long-held grip on the American League West extending into Wednesday afternoon, the Astros could breathe easier after seeing Oakland lose an extra-innings nail-bitter to Seattle.
The division cannibalism between the Athletics — baseball’s hottest team, who had surged to within one game of first place before their loss—and the Mariners—who remained in third place but temporarily closed to within four games of first — ensured that even if the Astros lost later in the day to the Colorado Rockies, order in the division would not change.
The scenario appeared to let the Astros unwind, unload and unleash a carefree torrent of four doubles and a seasonhigh five home runs amid 11 hits at Minute Maid Park. They thrashed the Rockies 12-1 — two runs shy of their combined total in five previous games.
A night earlier, manager A.J. Hinch dissected the psychological threat of underperformance and negative thinking: “It’s our reality right now.”
On Wednesday, with a day off to follow, he was glad his team earned the chance “to decompress and have a good time.”
“We needed to have a little
fun,” Hinch said. “Hitters love nothing more than hits and runs.”
The lineup, devoid of the injured George Springer and Jose Altuve, did not relent. It scored in five of eight innings at the plate.
Evan Gattis and Tyler White each homered twice. Gattis had three hits and took over the team lead with 23 home runs. White’s blasts were two-run shots, raising his OPS to 1.012 in 77 at-bats.
Carlos Correa, who had been 1for-15 since his return from back soreness, catalyzed the offense with a bases-loaded double up the left-field line to put the Astros ahead 3-0 in the first inning.
“For me, it was a relief,” Correa said.
Similar to Correa, Gurriel busted out of a 4-for-26 slump with his 17th double and seventh home run.
The Astros (74-47) mounted most of their onslaught against Rockies starter Tyler Anderson, who had held them to two runs in July.
“They didn’t really miss much,” Anderson said. “After Correa got that (double) on the line, they score three runs, and they felt a lot looser after that, I’m sure.”
Colorado has one of baseball’s worst relief staffs . Manager Bud Black waited so long to make a call to the bullpen that, after Anderson allowed nine runs through 41⁄3 innings, the manager might as well have phoned a funeral home instead.
The Astros dominated from all angles.
Alex Bregman zipped a running throw across his body and the diamond for the first highlight play. Correa topped Bregman with two of his own for consecutive outs in the ninth inning. Correa sped to his right for a spinning throw from the outfield grass. On the next play, Correa reached behind his back to stop a hard grounder and rifle a throw in time to get the runner.
Starter Gerrit Cole (11-5, 2.71 ERA) matched the overwhelming performance of his teammates with one earned run surrendered and 12 strikeouts in six innings.
The big lead let Hinch remove Cole, who threw 86 pitches, and Marwin Gonzalez before the seventh inning.
The recent concerns about the Astros seemed forgotten in the splendor at Minute Maid Park. It appeared that most of the 29,967 fans stayed to watch the final out. The Astros did not just snap a losing streak; they also looked as dominant as they had in any game this season.
“We won in our white uniforms,” Hinch said, half-jokingly endorsing their mystique. “We’re going to keep wearing them. It’s nice to finish a homestand that was disappointing on a high note. A happy flight tomorrow for a really important and really long road trip.”
Anxiety about falling in the standings could ease up for at least two more days. On Friday, the Astros begin a three-game series in Oakland and will follow with another in Seattle for a gauntlet that could decide how the West will be won.