Baserunning gaffes costly as Hader surrenders lead in 9th
A series of scoring chances squandered, a baserunning blunder still fresh, the Astros entered Tuesday's ninth inning still in an enviable position. Josh Hader, their $95 million closer, emerged from the Minute Maid Park bullpen and jogged toward the mound and the first of a presumed many save opportunities for his new club.
Hader is here for scenarios like Tuesday. Houston summoned one of baseball's most dominant relievers to protect the slimmest of leads on a night its starter shone and its offense proved mostly ineffective. It is very possible the left-hander's first Astros save chance will fade into a footnote in the long run. But in its immediate wake, Hader offered a succinct summary.
“That's not what I want to do is go out there and make mistakes,” he said. “And the one mistake I made, it paid. So it sucks.”
One out from securing their second win of the season and a series victory over the Blue Jays, the Astros instead sustained a 2-1 loss Tuesday that matched the tenor of a start few could have envisioned. Davis Schneider, the Blue Jays' bespectacled left fielder, struck a two-run homer off Hader in the ninth inning that defied Houston's late-innings script and delivered its fifth loss in six games.
Hader erased a leadoff single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by inducing a double play from Bo Bichette. Justin Turner took a strike, then four pitches out of the zone. Turner had three hits in the game. Hader said he was not “trying to be careful, I just didn't get to execute my pitches. I was probably a little too fast.”
It brought up Schneider. Hader built a 1-1 count and threw a slider. Last season, Hader threw 206 sliders to right-handed hitters. In the 40 at-bats that ended on sliders, righties batted .075 with one extra-base hit. Hader didn't allow a home run against his slider in 2023. He spun one to Schneider that missed his spot.
“I was trying to get it below,” Hader said. “Hung it.”
Schneider did not miss, hammering the pitch 423 feet to left-center field. Hader sunk into a crouch briefly near the mound, his head lowered.
“No one wants to give up two runs, especially when you've got (starter) Framber (Valdez) doing what he did, going as long as he did,” Hader said. “Unbelievable start. Just not being able to give him that win, it's unfortunate.”
Valdez held Toronto scoreless for 7 2⁄3 innings. Jose Altuve provided his only run support with a fourth-inning home run. Altuve also made one of two baserunning gaffes that proved costly in the late innings.
Altuve was thrown out by catcher Alejandro Kirk for the final out of the eighth inning after straying too far from third base, and was tagged out. An inning later, Jake Meyers, who had entered to pinch run for Yanier Diaz after a leadoff single, was caught in a rundown after stumbling during an attempted steal.
“I think we're playing hard,” Altuve said. “I know we've won only one game, but the boys are going out there and playing hard. Like I said, I made a mistake today trying to do something. But I think the effort and the adrenaline is there for everybody. So I think that's the only thing we can control and I know good things are going to start happening.”