8 RBIs push run by Gurriel to absurd level
Are these Astros going to end up as a better team than the 2017 World Series-winning Astros? Check back in a few months. Every good fan knows this right now: Yuli Gurriel has never been this good.
Gerrit Cole recording 10 strikeouts in a game has become automatic. Gurriel blasting, destroying and lining baseballs all over the ballpark, even more so.
He tied a franchise record with eight RBIs on Wednesday. He went 2-for-4 with a double and home run, recording his
third long ball in the last two games. He entered the day hitting .375 in his previous 34 contests, while being tied for first in Major League Baseball in RBIs, and ranking second in homers and OPS during that scorching span. And by the bottom of the seventh inning, you could be in awe of the Astros’ absolutely loaded lineup and feel sorry for Colorado at the same time.
It ended up as 14-3 Astros, as A. J. Hinch’s club pounded out 25 runs against the Rockies in a triumphant two-game series.
The barrage finished with Gurriel becoming just the ninth player in MLB history to rack up eight RBIs in one game on two or fewer hits. The last time that occurred, Eric Chavez was a Gold Glove third baseman for Oakland and it was 2001.
“(Gurriel is) one of the purest hitters I've ever seen, I've ever played with,” said the Astros’ George Springer, who was given a rest day while his team obliterated the Rockies. “He can get to
balls and hit them hard that you wouldn't expect anybody to get to. He finds a way. He's such a talented hitter, man. He knows what he wants to do. He knows what he wants to hit. And when he gets it, he doesn’t miss.”
I walked into Minute Maid Park planning to write about Cole, briefly switched to the increasing 2019 vs. ’17 debate, then gave in to the obvious and decided to devote this column to Gurriel.
Coming a long way
Almost three years ago to this date, Gurriel — then known to local fans by the first name Yulieski — was adapting to everything new at Class AA Corpus Christi. The Astros had just invested $47.5 million in the longtime Cuban slugger. But there were multiple question marks — Where would Gurriel play? How soon could he join a disappointing MLB team? — and he finished his initial Astros campaign hitting .262 with three home runs, 15 RBIs and a .677 OPS in 36 games for a 2016 club that failed to make the playoffs.
Gurriel batted .299 in the Astros' world title season. He hit
.291 last year, but his home-run total fell to 13 and his on-base percentage dropped to .323. His bat was streaky during his initial three seasons. He still doesn't walk much.
But on a team that features Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez and Springer, Gurriel is standing out for the Astros more than ever.
That says it all right now. Zack Greinke has joined forces with Justin Verlander, Wade Miley, Aaron Sanchez and Cole. The Astros have their best record (75-40) in franchise history through 115 games and are on pace to set the team mark for best home winning percentage.
Yet even with Alvarez hitting .348 as their must-see-TV rookie, Gurriel is the club’s hottest and most dangerous bat.
“It’s really incredible with this team. I feel a big responsibility to drive runners in when they are on base,” Gurriel said through a translator. “To be in that spot, I'm always focused and concentrated on driving those runners in.”
Had he ever reached eight
RBIs before?
“In Cuba,” Gurriel said. “Twice.”
Crowded at the top
The Astros are beating bad teams right now. They are a half-game behind the New York Yankees, who have refused to go away despite all their injuries, for the best record in the American League and are still a game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But those starting arms. That lineup. The way that this club can interchange the big-star name every game.
Sometimes it’s Brantley, Springer or Alvarez. Others, it’s Correa, Verlander or Cole.
Right now, it’s Gurriel. And the 35-year-old infielder isn’t just impressing his team at the plate.
“He’s an underrated first baseman. … He is a connector in the clubhouse and everybody loves him,” Hinch said. “The influence that he has is really, really incredible to watch and to feel and to see.
“The at-bats after the at-bats after the at-bats. His last six weeks is really symbolic of what our entire team did (Wednesday), where you just go up there and take whatever they give you. And if they make a mistake, you hammer it.”
Gurriel spoke of personal confidence three years ago in Corpus Christi. His big but quick bat and smooth glove were instantly noticeable. But he had so much to prove, a huge contract to live up to, and had already waited so long just to reach the majors.
"It's inevitable to dream about it,” Gurriel said in August 2016 through a translator. “It's been a dream of mine for a long time.”
He’s never been better in The Show.
He needs just two hits to drive in eight runs.
He’s swinging the hottest bat in a lineup that Hinch acknowledged is “probably” the best he’s ever managed.
When it’s all this powerful in early August, these are the words that come out.
“We’re trying to win the World Series,” Hinch said.
Gurriel is in October form.