Rough first costly » Hector Rondon allows six runs in the first inning of the Astros’ 7-2 loss to the Angels.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jake Marisnick absorbed the 89.6 mph fastball on his front shoulder in the sixth inning. He drew a deep breath and jogged to first base without staring toward the pitcher who plunked him. Home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater stepped in front of home plate to warn both benches.
Retaliation was expected. Tensions still simmer in Anaheim after Marisnick’s awful — albeit accidental — collision with catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The Angels backstop underwent a procedure to realign his broken nose on Tuesday afternoon.
Hours later, his team took out some form of awaited revenge. For some reason, Angels reliever Noe Ramirez chose to hit Marisnick — the nine-hole hitter — to begin an inning of a four-run game. The top of the order was behind him. The opportunity was golden for Houston to grab momentum.
Instead, it fizzled as fast as any brouhaha the beaning birthed. The Astros stranded 14 baserunners and hit 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. They put the leadoff runner aboard in seven of the nine innings they played.
Two runs were all they could claw across in a 7-2 loss. The Astros’ second straight setback sliced their American League West lead to 4 ½ games over Oakland.
Before the game, manager A.J. Hinch lamented the situation in which his team was embroiled. Scarce starting pitching depth would require an opener for the second straight game. After Hector Rondon exited, the baseball would go to Rogelio Armenteros, a minor league call-up who threw 96 pitches just four days ago.
Hinch harbored hope Rondon could perhaps throw more than one inning and afford a sorely needed respite for Armenteros. Instead, he recorded two outs. The first six men he saw reached base. All scored.
Of the 32 pitches he threw in his first career start, only one induced a swing and miss. Rondon received just six called strikes, but a five-pitch free pass to Justin Upton was his lone walk. It loaded the bases with no outs and a run already across.
Rondon’s next pitch plunked Kole Calhoun, allowing another Angel to score. Albert Pujols loomed.
No man can torment the Astros like this lumbering, legendary first baseman. In 273 prior games against them, Pujols drove in 160 runs. Three more came Tuesday. He cleared the bases with an opposite-field double down the first base line, pushing the Angels’ lead to five. His 163 career RBIs against the Astros are the most by any player.
The six-spot should have sufficed for Angels starter Andrew Heaney. The lefthander lasted 4⅓ innings. Heaney allowed the leadoff man aboard in every frame he began. Multiple baserunners reached in four of the five innings he appeared.
Somehow, the Astros accrued only two runs. Tyler White launched run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings for the extent of Houston’s damage against Heaney.
Rondon’s performance was wretched, but his teammates did have countless chances to make it moot. Armenteros was wonderful, lending four innings of one-run ball to keep the game within striking distance. His offense, instead, stranded at least 10 baserunners for a fourth straight game.
Ramirez began the sixth with a 1-1 count to Marisnick.
On Tuesday, he was booed between every pitch he saw and every time he touched the baseball in center field. Ramirez hit him high on the back, far too close to his head for Houston’s liking.
Marisnick’s Astros teammates took to the top step of the dugout. Lance McCullers Jr. and Gerrit Cole, among others, voiced their displeasure. Ramirez did not engage them, opting instead to ready for leadoff hitter George Springer.
Before his pitcher could toe the rubber, Pujols heard something from the first-base dugout that incensed him. The venerated first baseman wagged his right index finger at the Astros’ bench and began to approach it. McCullers continued to chirp.
McCullers and fellow starter Wade Miley exited onto the field. Hinch and Angels manager Brad Ausmus emerged to prevent a fracas. Both bullpens emptied. Nothing other than words were exchanged — at Marisnick’s behest.
The outfielder all but expected some form of retaliation on this road trip. Cameras caught him waving his teammates back into the dugout and pleading with them to stop the shouting. Marisnick sought to move on.
He stole second base and advanced to third on a fly ball. To little surprise, he was stranded there.