Good, bad equal split
Doubleheader serves as barometer of how injury-plagued season has gone
The Astros’ doubleheader split Tuesday with the Angels offered a condensed — presuming one can describe 14 innings of baseball across five hours and 50 minutes as condensed — version of the Astros’ strengths and weaknesses as they now have an unexpected two days off at the midpoint of this truncated 2020 season.
Even without George Springer, Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley in the lineup for either or both games Tuesday, Houston retains sufficient punch to put up five-run and four-run innings, thanks in part to Kyle Tucker, who leads the major leagues in triples with five, and the consistency of Yuli Gurriel, who has hit safely in 10 of 12 games.
They’ve had moments of excellence from their young pitchers — Framber Valdez on Monday and Cristian Javier in Tuesday’s first game being the latest examples — mixed with maddening inconsistency. They lead the major leagues in walks at 135, including 10 by eight pitchers in their 12-5 loss to the Angels in Tuesday’s nightcap.
There have been occasional baserunning
lapses, occasional defensive failures, the continued struggles in the field and at the plate of Jose Altuve but also bright spots such as young pitchers like Valdez, Javier, Andre Scrubb and Blake Taylor under the tutelage of catcher Martin Maldonado.
Now they have two days off, courtesy of Wednesday’s postponement because of the approaching Hurricane Laura and an off day Thursday before a series with the American League West-leading Oakland A’s.
“It’s great. It’s excellent to have this kind of break in the middle of the season,” Gurriel said. “It feels like this is our All-Star break.
“This has been a season of some ups and downs for us, but we’re trying to do the best we can, and the biggest thing is that we are in the zone to qualify for the playoffs. We’ve had people out, but we have to do what we can to stay in the playoff picture.”
Manager Dusty Baker isn’t as comfortable with the extra day off, although he does acknowledge the benefit for Springer, who sat out both games Tuesday as he recovers from taking a pitch off his left elbow on Monday, and Brantley, who has yet to play the outfield since an early season ankle injury sent him to the injured list.
“George was in good spirits (Tuesday), and those two days help him more than anybody on the team, him and Brantley, and they’ll be back in the outfield come Friday,” Baker said. “I’m just hoping guys don’t lose their (batting) stroke with two days off.”
Baker also got some good news Tuesday afternoon with the resumption of activities at the Astros’ alternate training site in Corpus Christi. That could help clear the way for a return within the next couple of weeks for pitchers Jose Urquidy, who has yet to pitch this season, and Chris Devenski plus utility ace Aledmys Diaz.
“That helps us big time if we can get them back,” Baker said.
Walks continue to frustrate Baker, as does the lack of what he describes as a killer instinct when the Astros have an opponent on the ropes.
In the opener, as an example, Houston lost half of a six-run lead and couldn’t tack on late runs while the Angels had their lead in the nightcap cut to two and added six late runs off the Astros’ bullpen to secure the win.
Still, Baker said, “These guys continue to fight. How they’ve kept their spirits high with everything — the coronavirus, and I don’t think any team has been hit more with injuries to key players.
But they never use it as an excuse.
“It shows how good we can be. And the attitude of this team, I’m proud of how they have performed and not gotten down.”
For every Valdez or Javier of late, there has been a Brandon Bielak, who struggled for the second start in a row in the nightcap, or a struggling veteran like reliever Joe Biagini, who allowed four runs in mop-up duty Tuesday night.
Baker, however, said he is inclined to stick with Bielak for the moment for any number of reasons.
“We don’t have a bunch of options,” he said. “How small is your faith in somebody if when they hit a rocky road you give up on them? We have to remain positive, and hopefully he stays positive.”