Utilityman Dubón savors first start at Minute Maid
Mauricio Dubón had a plethora of information to internalize before his first start as an Astro at Minute Maid Park on Friday.
The utility player, acquired by the Astros from the Giants on May 14 in a trade that sent minor-league catcher Michael Papierski to San Francisco, started at center field and batted seventh against the Rangers in the second game of a four-game series. He finished 0-for-3 on Friday.
But first, he had to interpret how the ball carries with the roof closed and no elements at play. The unique bounces of the terrain. Oh, and how the ballpark sounds filled with tens of thousands of people.
Dubón’s first three appearances for Houston came on the road May 15-17. His only previous experience playing at Minute Maid Park came during the 2020 season, when games were played without fans amid the pandemic. So when the Astros opened their homestand on Thursday with a 5-1 win over the Rangers, in which Dubón did not play, it was his first time seeing a packed house in Houston.
“It will be fun,” he said. “Yesterday was fun, 35,000 people. … It was exciting. So I can imagine going out there right now and being in the field, I’m sure it’s gonna be a lot different. I’m excited for that.”
In his first three appearances for the Astros, Dubón was an infielder. He played shortstop for the eighth and ninth innings of the Astros’ 8-0 win over the Nationals. Against the Red Sox, he played a complete game at shortstop and the next day entered the game at second base for the final three innings.
Dubón played primarily center field for the Giants. He said his practice time with the Astros so far has been equally divided between shortstop, second base and center field. He expects to eventually play some third base as well.
Friday, Astros manager Dusty Baker decided to play Dubón in the outfield in between Chas McCormick and Kyle Tucker.
“What gives me the confidence is that he’s played there a lot in San Francisco and if you can play in San Francisco center field, you can play almost anywhere,” Baker said. “I talked to their people over there that I really trust about him, mainly a couple of my coaches. And they had him as a kid and, you know, I just referred to them. I wanted him to get here first and work a couple of days before we just throw him out there, and get familiar with the carrying and get familiar with the sight lines and stuff.”
With outfielder Jose Siri getting the day off Friday, Baker said he would probably start Siri on Saturday and give McCormick the game off.
While playing for the Giants in 2020, Dubón started at second base in each game of a threegame series against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. In 11 plate appearances in Houston, he produced one hit and struck out once. (The Astros won the series, 2-1).
The 27-year-old Dubón, who made his MLB debut for the Brewers in 2019 before being traded to the Giants, said his memories of that 2020 series are faint. He is looking forward to making new ones at Minute Maid Park, this time playing for the home team.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “But I’m just going out there and just trusting my instincts, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Odorizzi dodges injury ‘bullet’
Astros pitcher Jake Odorizzi played catch at Minute Maid Park on Friday, his first day out of a walking boot since he suffered a gruesomelooking left leg injury during his start Monday in Boston.
Odorizzi said he felt a pop in the back of his leg when he pushed off the mound, but an MRI revealed no damage to his Achilles tendon. The Astros have described his injury as a tendon strain, and Odorizzi called it a “big dodge of a bullet.”
Odorizzi is still in the very early recovery stages and has no return timetable, though he expressed hope he will pitch again this season. On Friday, neither he nor Baker had updates on his condition beyond the removal of the boot. Odorizzi’s left foot and ankle were still taped tightly.
Sugar Land tops Oklahoma City
The Space Cowboys rallied from a 2-0 hole with three first-inning runs and added three more in the seventh to win 6-2 on Friday. Hunter Brown earned the win, striking out five over four innings.