Green light ahead for some baserunners
Jose Altuve stole a base on Wednesday. It was his second steal of the year and first since April 1.
He was caught stealing on April 20 and hadn’t dusted up the basepaths on a pitch to home plate since then until this week’s series at Oakland.
He first tried for steal No. 2 in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the A’s. With two outs in the seventh and Carlos Correa batting with a chance to produce an insurance run, Altuve took off for second base on consecutive pitches. Correa fouled both off.
Manager A.J. Hinch clarified those were attempts for a straight steal, not a hit-and-run, in order to take advantage of a pitcher with a slow delivery.
Altuve’s attempts might have concerned reliever Lou Trevino enough to throw him off his rhythm. Trevino balked. But Correa struck out on the third pitch.
Altuve finally got his second stolen base Wednesday, preceding a two-run, eighth-inning double by Yuli Gurriel that put the Astros up by the final 4-1 margin. The two stolen bases for Altuve, who has had 30 or more in six consecutive seasons, make it appear Hinch is not interested in sending the 28-year-old second baseman as often.
“They come in spurts,” Hinch said. “We’ve talked a little bit about our lack of stolen bases. Some of that’s against lefthanded pitching.”
Hinch said that according to the schedule of probable pitchers, seven of the Astros’ next 10 opposing starters are lefthanded, including Cole Hamels and Matt Moore in this weekend’s series against the Rangers at Minute Maid Park.
“That’s not ideal,” Hinch said. “We have been a little conservative. But we can pick that up a little bit if the situation allows. I do think teams have done a pretty good job of combating the stolen base against us.”
The Astros have stolen 12 bases. Alex Bregman leads the team with three.
The increase in high fastballs — how pitchers are trying to thwart another record year of home runs this season — also has slowed steals because catchers can more easily throw to second off them.
Hinch also suggested a recent trend of organizations favoring catchers stronger on defense than at the plate.
“We’re seeing a lot of high fastballs, and you see a lot of guys quick to the plate,” Hinch said. “Teams are conceding a little bit of offense behind the plate for better defense. All of that goes into it.”
Hinch said the Diamondbacks were a specific recent deterrent to the Astros, as was the Angels’ catching duo of Martin Maldonado and Rene Rivera, who the manager said have an “elite” ability to petrify runners.
“With the Angels, you don’t run,” said Hinch, a former catcher. “You’re just giving up outs. Unless you’re running with some hitter protection, like a 3-2 count or action pitches.”
Still, Hinch made sure to mention an inevitable outcome: At some point, Altuve and the Astros will steal more bases.
“We’re gonna run a little bit more when the opportunity presents itself,” Hinch said.