Astros, Jays on opposite paths
Streaking Houston proving to be anything but a laughingstock now
HOUSTON — They were the laughingstocks of baseball.
They had a position of power in their organization with a strange title.
They didn’t sign the No. 1 draft choice in North America.
Yep, baseball people were laughing a lot at the Houston Astros. That was last year. The Astros, who failed to sign the top amateur (Brady Aiken) and were paying someone to have the title of vice-president, strategy and analytics, were a downright hoot last year.
This season they sit in first place — 11 games over .500 — after a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays before 27,102 fans at Minute Maid Park. This year people are laughing at another team.
“How can they expect to win with that pitching?” said one evaluator watching the Astros beat the Blue Jays. “I looked at their lineup. Everyone has injuries but how can they have six of nine guys in (Saturday’s) lineup who were in the minors either this year or last.”
Coming soon on the MLB Network: A Draft Kings ad for a pool on when/if the Jays will win again.
Mark Buehrle starts Sunday afternoon for the Blue Jays.
To paraphrase Paul Simon’s song Mrs. Robinson:
“Where have you gone, Jays pitching?
“A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”
Either Buehrle saves the day Sunday or the Jays go oh-for-Texas to finish the seven-game Baltimore-Texas trip with one win.
The Jays fell to four games below .500, having dropped six of their past seven.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch came out to remove starter Scott Feldman and he flung the ball toward the Astros dugout.
So either Blue Jays batter Devon Travis was a milestone strikeout (it was Feldman’s 10th of the game, the 705th of his career) or he was upset as the skipper’s presence.
His rationale could have been, “You don’t think I can get these guys out?”
BEST TROT IN BASEBALL
There used to be drama involved when Dennis Lamp, Bill Caudill and Roy Lee Jackson blew Jays leads.
Aaron Loup threw 10 pitches before spitting up a two-run lead on Thursday.
Last night, first Jeff Francis and Liam Hendricks were given a one-run lead and 11 pitches later the lead evaporated quicker than someone could dial 7-1-6 B-U-FF-A-L-O.
Left-handed hitting Preston Tucker singled to right on a 2-1 pitch and some guy named Colby Rasmus bounced an 0-2 pitch over the centre field wall. That was it for Francis. Hendricks came on and Chris Carter hit a 1-2 pitch 393 feet to right for a three-run homer.
One out later — a smash to the base of Tal’s Hill in centre field by No. 8 hitter Hank Conger — Marwin Gonzalez hit a 3-1 pitch 392 feet into the Astros bullpen, just as the noise and smoke had cleared from Carter’s home run.
Carter still has the best home run trot in baseball.
He runs the baseball in old-timey fashion. No pimping and no styling.
“It’s frustrating losing leads like that,” said Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin. “We’ve got lots of horses down there.”
LAST TIME FOUR BELOW
The Jays, now 17-21, have not been four games below .500 since May 3, 2014 when Todd Redmond gave up two runs on a Neil Walker double in the eighth to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
The next day the Jays began a five-game winning streak as Dustin McGowan, J.A. Happ, Marcus Stroman, Buehrle and R.A. Dickey pitched wins over the Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies.
KEEPING IT CLOSE
Starting pitcher Marco Estrada gave the Jays five solid innings in his third start of the year.
He allowed a two-run homer to Evan Gattis in the third, which scored Jose Altuve ahead of him.