Slam makes one proud, angry poppa
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As Darren Baker rounded the bases after hitting a game-tying grand slam, he peered into the third-base dugout to try to make eye contact with his dad. Instead, he only caught a glimpse of his back. As his son triumphantly trotted toward home plate, Dusty Baker turned away from the railing and took a couple steps toward the dugout wall, flooded with mixed emotions.
“I didn’t know whether to be a proud poppa or an angry poppa,” the Astros manager said.
Witnessing your son take advantage of a rare opportunity in a big league spring game is thrilling. Watching him do it as your team blows a four-run lead and loses 11-7 after giving up an eight-spot in the ninth, even if it’s just spring training, is what makes it conflicting.
“I love my son, but I hate to lose,” Dusty said.
After the game, the 24-year-old Darren, who split time last season between High A Wilmington and Class AA Harrisburg, tried to catch up to his old man as he headed back to the clubhouse in the spring training home the Astros and Nationals share.
“He didn’t want to speak to me after the game,” said a chuckling Darren. “I had to run down the third-base line and he said he’d talk to me later.”
There will be no avoiding each other since the two live together in a house each spring.
“I’m getting to the house as quick as possible,” said Darren, who was the Nationals’ 10thround pick out of Cal in 2021.
When Darren, who has hit just three homers in 127 minor league games, sent the ball soaring the opposite way in the ninth inning, his father made a deal in his head that didn’t pan out.
“I was just hoping when that ball went up that it would just be a sacrifice fly. I would have been happy with that. He could get an RBI and we’d get the win,” Dusty said.
It was quite the day for Darren, who was playing in just his third major league spring game of the year. Like they did before a game last spring, Darren brought out the lineup card at home plate for his father, who gave out a hug with his lineup. Then, Darren entered the game at second base in the seventh inning and promptly ripped a single up the middle. Two innings later, he hit the shot that filled his dad with mixed emotions but brought his mom — and Dusty’s wife of 28 years — Melissa Baker, wearing a Nationals cap, to her feet.
Jeter Downs, who was on first base when Darren hit the shot, exhorted his teammate as the two joyously jogged around the bases, and the Nationals dugout exploded, a rare sight for a spring training game.
“It was unbelievable,” Darren said. “I don’t know when I’ve been mobbed like that in the dugout … It was an out-ofbody type of experience.”
He shouldn’t expect the same reaction from his father when he gets home, although the family did plan to sit down for a family dinner. Who’s buying?
“Same guy who buys it every night: Me,” Dusty said.
Command better for Brown in loss
As spring training progresses, it’s only natural for players to get more and more comfortable. Hunter Brown is making that much obvious.
The 24-year-old righthander, who appears to be locked into a spot in the back of the starting rotation at least to start the season, put together another solid start, allowing one run and three hits while striking out four and walking none in four innings of an 11-7 loss to the Nationals on Friday. Most importantly, Brown threw 44 of his 66 pitches for strikes.
Brown, who made his big league debut last September, struggled with his command early in throwing just 38 of his 73 pitches for strikes and walking five of the 15 batters he faced in his first two outings. He was much better the next time out, throwing three perfect innings and 24 of his 36 pitches for strikes.
“I’m just trying to string the good ones together and put some distance from the not-sogood results with a bunch of good ones,” Brown said of his second straight solid outing. “I like where I’m at. Trying to keep focusing on the process and go from there.”
Baker often talks about looking for mental toughness out of his players, and he likes what he’s seen from Brown in that regard.
“He threw the ball well when he got behind,” Baker said. “In his first couple outings, he’d get behind and kind of lose it, but he’s regrouped. He pitched well.”
Brown said the key for him in this particular outing was being able to throw his fastball for strikes, which allowed him to open up more with his curveball and slider. But, in general, he believes his effectiveness has come just from getting in more innings.
Alvarez swings to take big step
With opening day less than two weeks away, Yordan Alvarez took a step toward making sure he’ll be ready by March 30 when he took swings on the field for the first time this spring Friday morning.
Alvarez, who battled hand injuries much of last season, reported to spring training with left hand soreness and didn’t swing a bat at all until last weekend. He has been taking part in outfield drills and defensive work all spring.
The next step in Alvarez’s progression would be getting into his first spring training game. After Friday, the Astros have just eight games left in Florida before returning home for a couple exhibitions against Class AAA Sugar Land.