Fatigue setting in as injuries add up
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Few teams need an AllStar break more than the Astros. Their lineup is beset by injury, the latest a left knee contusion that forced Jose Altuve from Thursday’s game after one inning. Their airtight defense is suddenly sketchy and, apparently, signs are still being missed left and right.
The final flaw is unacceptable to Dusty Baker, a manager left to explain how his team threw away a golden opportunity for a more comfortable win. Houston’s first four hitters reached against Angels starter Reid Detmers on Thursday.
On Detmers’ ninth pitch, Kyle Tucker hit a single to score the game’s first run. Aledmys Díaz delivered a fielder’s choice to drive in another. With two outs and Jake Meyers at bat, Díaz stood at first base and Alex Bregman stood at third.
Meyers worked a 2-1 count against Detmers, a rookie lefthander already demoted to Class AAA once this season. He is the sort of pitcher prone to disaster. The Astros had a chance to inflict one.
Bregman covers just 26.3 feet per second when he sprints. Díaz covers 27.4. League average is right around 27. Yet, with Detmers behind in the count, Díaz took off for second base. He stopped between first and second after Angels catcher Max Stassi’s throw in hopes Bregman could bound home. He could not.
“We have to get these signs right,” Baker bemoaned after the game, a 3-2 win this baserunning gaffe further complicated. “We had (Detmers) on the ropes. We’re certainly not going to run first and third, especially with Breggy on. With a faster runner, maybe. We escaped a bullet.”
The phrase fit Tuesday’s game, too, a 6-5 win Baker refused to call ugly but acknowledged “wasn’t pretty.” His team overcame two errors and a bases-loaded hit by pitch. The Angels tied the game on a passed ball.
On Thursday, somehow, the Astros allowed that exact scenario to happen again — during another game they committed two errors. Houston allowed three runs to score on passed balls during this six-game road trip.
The team committed six errors in that same span, five of which arrived during these three games in Anaheim. In 13 games since finishing their stretch against both of New York’s teams, the Astros have committed 11 errors. They are 11-2 despite it, a mark that deserves commendation despite the dismal play.
“I think maybe it’s just one of those times,” said Bregman, who booted a routine ground ball on Thursday after throwing away a potential doubleplay ball on Tuesday.
“You have your peaks and your valleys throughout the course of the season, but something we take a lot of pride in is our defense and playing clean baseball. Down the stretch, the second half and into the postseason, I think we’ll play really, really solid defense that we’ve been accustomed to.”
Panic or grand presumptions should not arrive as a result of six games. As a team, Houston still entered Thursday’s game worth 22 outs above average, according to Baseball Savant, and 36 defensive runs saved, according to Sports Info Solutions. No American League team is worth more outs above average. Four are worth more defensive runs saved, including the New York Yankees.
Explanations for the downturn vary. Baker mentioned fatigue both before and after the game.
The luxury of an 11-game lead in the American League West and being 28 games over .500 is obvious, but the manager surmised it can also become a curse.
“When you have a big lead, you kind of have to grind because you’re kind of playing against yourself right now until if or when it gets closer,” Baker said. “You hope not, but these guys have been grinding. Nobody complains about the times that we get in or playing every day.”
The mistakes are both mental and physical. After Tuesday’s game, reliever Phil Maton acknowledged the mistake of attempting a double play instead of securing a sure out at first base. The Astros had a four-run advantage and eight outs left to collect.
A batter later, Bregman had a chance to step on third base for a guaranteed force out or to set his feet and make a throw across the diamond to first. He opted for a crossbody throw to second base instead. It almost trickled into the outfield.
Both are errors of awareness, inviting wonder if the grind of this season — the “dog days of summer” perhaps — may be creeping in. Houston is in a stretch of 19 games in 20 days while playing without both Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez.
“We have a couple guys on the IL right now,” right fielder Kyle Tucker said. “We’d prefer to not have them on there, but it is what it is. We still have to play these games. Other teams play the same amount of games as us. We just have to fight through it and win as many games as possible.”
Added Bregman: “We haven’t played our best, but we’ve been doing enough to win and maintain a big lead in the division.”