Astros' pitching questions deepen after late collapse, walk-off loss to Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Success for the Houston Astros is not a playoff appearance or a season barely above .500. By Houston’s standards, a solid year means making a deep postseason run — at a minimum.
While Houston’s ultimate goal is to repeat as World Series champion, only 14 MLB teams have won back-to-back championships. The most recent repeat champions were the three-peat 1998-2000 Yankees.
So far this season, the Astros are trying to claw their way back to where they usually stand, which was made more difficult by a disastrous, 13-12 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in walk-off fashion in 10 innings Saturday.
Not only did Houston blow a six-run lead — and a three-run, ninth-inning edge — but the Angels also won on a chaotic walk-off play in the 10th inning, when Taylor Ward grounded into a fielder's choice that was misplayed by fill-in shortstop Grae Kessinger.
Cabbage produced a game-winning run 🛒#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/VMTiGqdN1Y
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 16, 2023
The Astros (51-42) will have to get back on track even as they're missing stars such as Lance McCullers Jr. and Jose Altuve due to injury.
McCullers had season-ending surgery to deal with a bone spur and a flexor tendon in June. Altuve is dealing with left oblique discomfort, though he’s working his way back. Other notable names on Houston’s injury list include star outfielder Yordan Alvarez and right-handed pitchers Jose Urquidy and Luis Garcia.
Urquidy hasn’t thrown for the Astros since April 30, but he’s expected back by August. Alvarez is expected to begin his rehab assignment soon. Garcia is done for the year and could miss some of next season, too.
Left-handed ace Framber Valdez started on the mound for Houston on Saturday in Anaheim. Although he tied his career high with 13 strikeouts, Valdez left the game in the seventh inning with a trainer. Astros manager Dusty Baker said postgame that Valdez has a left calf injury. Shortstop Jeremy Pena also suffered a right hamstring cramp, which led to Kessinger entering the game late.
Framber Valdez said he felt something pull in his left calf during his final pitch of the game. He doesn’t know whether it was fatigue, dehydration or something else.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 16, 2023
With the way Houston’s bullpen looks now, the Astros cannot afford to lose another durable pitcher. Houston had to use five relievers in Friday's 7-5 win over the Angels.
Then the Astros weren’t able to secure the series win against the Angels on Saturday, coughing up multiple leads in brutal fashion.
The @Angels are the first MLB team to face a 6+ run deficit in the 7th inning or later, erase that deficit, then fall behind again by 3+ runs and yet still win the game since the Phillies did so against the Pirates on September 16, 1930.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 16, 2023
Astros reliever Ryan Pressly threw 12 consecutive hitless innings coming into Saturday's game, but his streak ended with a ninth-inning home run from none other than Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese dual threat's homer was the first hit against Pressly since June 15.
"Some days you're going to get hit. You don't like it. [Pressly] doesn't like it. Nobody likes it. But that's part of the game," Baker said of the ninth inning. "It's hard to accept, but it happens."
The larger, overarching concern is the sustainability of this weekend’s pitching lineup. The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 1, and Houston has yet to make any splashy moves to obtain an experienced pitcher to fix its current situation. Four of the nine starters the Astros have used this season are rookies. Houston has had 37 rookie starts this year, third-most in the league behind Oakland and Cleveland.
The Astros are just three games behind their in-state rivals and current AL West leaders, the Texas Rangers. And they currently hold the last wild-card spot by a single game over the Yankees. They'll finish the series Sunday afternoon in Anaheim before heading to Colorado to face the Rockies.
