The Houston Astros lost their 4th game in a row on Saturday, dropping to 6-8 on the season with a loss against the Oakland Athletics. The Astros are now 4 1/2 games behind the As in the American League West, making this the very first time considering that 2016 that theyve been that far back this late in the season, according to MLB.coms Sarah Langs research.
For those who havent been following along with the Astros early season woes, enable us to explain whats going on in Houston by highlighting 3 talking points worth knowing.
1. Offense has actually been excellent, with a notable exception
The Astros lineup was stymied on Saturday by Frankie Montas, but theyve been among the most productive units in baseball from an aggregate point of view. Houston got in Saturday ranked fourth in the majors in runs scored and fifth in FanGraphs wRC+ metric– a catch-all offensive stat that adjusts for ballpark and properly weighs on-base portion.
Based upon history, it would be reasonable to anticipate Jose Altuve to be leading the offensive charge. That hasnt held true. Of the 9 Astros hitters to receive at least 40 plate looks getting in Saturdays video game, only three had OPS+ under 100: one anticipated, in catcher Martin Maldonado (82 ), and two not, in young outfielder Kyle Tucker (76) and Altuve (82 ), who disembarked from Saturdays game with a seasonal line of.177/.261/.355.
In a little sample to date, Altuve has been swinging and missing out on more frequently than typical and making weaker contact when he links, according to Statcast. Hell ostensibly start at some point, however his battles are visible when compared to the rest of the lineups success.
2. Injuries, youth are plentiful on pitching personnel
Houston appears like itself offensively, but that isnt the case on the pitching side of things. The Astros are presently running without stalwarts or potential stalwarts like Justin Verlander, Jose Urquidy, Roberto Osuna, Brad Peacock, and Chris Devenski due to injury. Factor in Joe Smiths choice to pull out and Will Harris offseason move to the Washington Nationals, and Dusty Baker has been left with a largely anonymous pitching personnel.
The Astros rotation consists of Framber Valdez (who tossed the ball well in defeat on Saturday), Cristian Javier, and Brandon Bielak. The bullpen, on the other hand, features the following names: Blake Taylor, Andre Scrubb, Enoli Paredes, Humberto Castellanos, Carlos Sanabria, Nivaldo Rodriguez, and Brandon Bailey, who was taken by the Baltimore Orioles in last winter seasons Rule 5 draft and then returned before the pandemic started and the league shut down.
Is it any marvel why the Astros rank 15th in staff-wide ERA, as opposed to taking their normal perch near the top of the league? Or why theyve had the 3rd most bullpen disasters (a stat based on win possibility added), ahead of just the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Angels..
Decrease any team to that numerous rookies and theyre going to face some reasonably tough times.
3. Great deals of close beats.
Here are the margins-of-defeat in the Astros 8 losses, in chronological order:.
1.
3.
2 (in 13 innings).
1 (in 10 innings).
7.
1.
1 (in 13 innings).
2.
Houston looks like itself offensively, but that isnt the case on the pitching side of things. The Astros are currently running without stalwarts or prospective stalwarts like Justin Verlander, Jose Urquidy, Roberto Osuna, Brad Peacock, and Chris Devenski due to injury. It can be argued that run differential is a misleading metric for a group like the Astros, who have so many young relievers and who are likely to suffer more high-leverage damage than the common team. Still, run differential tends to be a more trusted indicator of a groups play in little samples than their win-loss record.
Thats 4 one-run losses (2nd most in MLB) and 3 extra-inning losses (most) in 14 games. The Astros have lost so numerous close video games that, regardless of their record, they entered Saturday with the 10th-best run differential in baseball on a per-game basis, ahead of groups with considerably much better records, such as the 10-3 Chicago Cubs and 8-6 Chicago White Sox.
It can be argued that run differential is a deceptive metric for a team like the Astros, who have numerous young reducers and who are most likely to suffer more high-leverage damage than the normal group. Its a reasonable point. Still, run differential tends to be a more reputable indication of a groups play in small samples than their win-loss record.
Maybe the Astros prove to be fatally flawed due to their pitching staff direct exposure. For now, and despite their early deficit in the AL West, its probably too soon to compose them off as a bad team.
Of the nine Astros hitters to get at least 40 plate appearances entering Saturdays video game, just three had OPS+ under 100: one anticipated, in catcher Martin Maldonado (82 ), and 2 not, in young outfielder Kyle Tucker (76) and Altuve (82 ), who disembarked from Saturdays game with a seasonal line of.177/.261/.355.
