Aug 11, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Houston Astros center fielder Carlos Gomez (30) throws the ball infield after catching a line out along the wall against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
With the recent woes on the road for the Astros, it’s very easy to write the team off and say that they can’t compete in 2015 because they can’t win right now. This is the WRONG way to handle a very tough streak on the road, as there’s still a lot of baseball left to be played this season.
You better believe the Astros aren’t writing themselves off inside that clubhouse, as they are still in sole possession of 1st place in the AL West with a lot left to play for. George Springer will be back in September, and Lance McCullers will be back from the minor leagues soon enough.
And while this road trip has been very tough to handle for all Astros fans, it hasn’t been all terrible. There were some positive signs that are worth looking into deeper and not just ugly signs that suggest the team needs some help.
The Astros need to use today’s game to gain some momentum and “salvage” this road trip in San Francisco before heading back to Houston for a home stand against Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Los Angeles. Scott Feldman will pitch for the Astros and oppose Chris Heston. I expect the Astros lineup to attack Heston and get on him early.
With that being said, here are some positive takeaways from what has been a terrible road trip to Dallas, Oakland, and San Francisco:
Aug 11, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) hits a single against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
While the Astros offense struggled during this most recent road trip, it wasn’t because of a lack of production at the top of the lineup. Altuve, the Astros leadoff man, killed the Rangers, Athletics, and Giants with singles and good at-bats.
Altuve hit .269 (7 for 26) in the home stand against the Angels and Diamondbacks and then went on the road and hit .315 (11 for 35). If you take out the Rangers series, Altuve is hitting .429 in his last five games (9 for 21), which included four games against Oakland and one against San Francisco.
It’s well-documented that Altuve absolutely destroys Oakland in his career, which is good because Danny Valencia countered him on this past road trip by mashing against Astros pitching. It’s unfortunate that Carlos Gomez and Carlos Correa had poor road trips, because Altuve was on base a lot during their plate appearances.
Altuve only hurt himself a couple of times on the base paths, when he was caught stealing on Sunday against Oakland and yesterday against San Francisco. I don’t think you can blame Altuve for trying to swipe some bases and get ahead when no one is hitting behind him. I have no problem with him going for that extra base when no one is producing in the rest of the lineup.
I used to think that when Altuve is hitting, the rest of the Astros team is hitting. I thought he was the main catalyst for this offense, but this road trip has me questioning those beliefs. I guess Astros fans will learn who the real energizer bunny is for this team once Springer returns.
Next: Luis Valbuena is Slowly Gaining His Swing Back
Luis Valbuena Provided Big Hits in a Solid Road Trip
Aug 4, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Luis Valbuena (18) singles in a run in the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
If you’ve been reading any of my articles over the last few months, you would know that I haven’t exactly been defending Valbuena’s efforts in an Astros uniform. A lot of Astros fans got a litle heated on Twitter when I brought up that Matt Dominguez might even be a better option than Valbuena, which I now know is just so very wrong.
In any case, Valbuena’s recent road trip silenced some haters, as he is now way over the Mendoza line and adding some nice production in the bottom half of the lineup. He posted a .400 (8 for 20) batting average on the road trip with two home runs, three RBI, one double, and only four strike outs.
Valbuena brought his season average from .202 to .213 on the road trip, which is definitely a great trend for Astros fans to see. When hitting well, Valbuena brings a great sense of swagger to the lineup that needs some more punch right now. If he can start producing and put some pressure on guys like Chris Carter and Hank Conger to hit more consistently, it will make this team that much better.
Still, Valbuena shouldn’t be satisfied with a .213 batting average. His power numbers have been lower since the All-Star break and no major league baseball playe should be satisfied with a .213 mark. If he can contribute anywhere near the level he was at in Spring Training, he’ll be a great addition to a lineup that really needs him.
Next: Middle Relievers were Clutch in Close Games
Although the Closer Struggled, Middle Relievers were Crisp for Astros in Road Losses
Aug 4, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Tony Sipp (29) fields a bunt by Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor (not pictured) but cannot reach first base in the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Texas won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Many will blame the Astros bullpen as a whole for the losses on this road trip because many of the losses were in close games, but if you look closer at the bullpen as a whole, it wasn’t all so bad. Guys like Chad Qualls, Josh Fields, Tony Sipp, and Oliver Perez were dominant in their appearances over the last few games.
Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-3MLB: 5 late-season call-ups who have already impressed /
Qualls, as much as he gets from the Astros fans about how bad he is, has actually been very good in relief for this team since returning from the disabled list. Qualls made a total of five appearances in this eight-game road trip and didn’t allow a run in any of them. He pitched for a total of four innings and was very clean. It definitely wasn’t flashy, as Qualls only tallied one strikeout, but it was clean and effective.
Perez, who was acquired by Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow in the middle of the road trip, has come in and done exactly what he was expected to do when the Astros got him. He pitched in two games, getting one out on each occasion, and giving up zero hits. Perez was very successful with the Diamondbacks and has apparently made an easy transition into the Astros clubhouse.
Fields and Sipp have also been perfect on this road trip, giving some really positive innings and outs to this team. With Luke Gregerson seeming less and less reliable by the day, there might be a re-opening of the closer position in Houston. If that’s the case, A.J. Hinch will have a plethora of candidates to choose from in this bullpen.
%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201055.1%20200%22%20style%3D%22enable-background%3Anew%200%200%201055.1%20200%3B%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cstyle%20type%3D%22text%2Fcss%22%3E%0A%09.st0%7Bfill%3A%23231F20%3B%7D%0A%09.st1%7Bfill%3A%230E203C%3B%7D%0A%09.st2%7Bfill%3A%23EC4324%3B%7D%0A%09.st3%7Bfill%3A%23FFFFFF%3B%7D%0A%3C%2Fstyle%3E%0A%3Cg%20id%3D%22Template%22%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3Cg%20id%3D%22Layer_2%22%3E%0A%09%3Cpath%20class%3D%22st3%22%20d%3D%22M58.3%2C200.3h82.4c12.4%2C0%2C21.7-1.5%2C28-4.5c20.2-9.6%2C30.2-26.1%2C30.2-49.3c0-3.2-0.2-9.3-0.6-18.3h-65.1v14.9%0A%09%09c-0.9%2C3.9-3.4%2C5.8-7.5%2C5.8H73.2c-5%2C0-7.5-2.5-7.5-7.5V59.2c0-5%2C2.5-7.5%2C7.5-7.5h52.5c5%2C0%2C7.5%2C2.1%2C7.5%2C6.4v10.8h65.7V55.7%0A%09%09c0-16.3-3.8-28.3-11.4-36.1c-8.8-12.9-24.7-19.3-47.4-19.3H58.9C47%2C0.3%2C38%2C1.7%2C32%2C4.3c-21.3%2C9-32%2C26.1-32%2C51.4v88%0A%09%09c0%2C16.5%2C3.6%2C28.7%2C10.9%2C36.6C20.1%2C193.7%2C35.9%2C200.3%2C58.3%2C200.3z%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st3%22%20points%3D%22596.6%2C64%20596.6%2C0.8%20400.1%2C0.8%20400.1%2C64%20442.7%2C64%20442.7%2C51.3%20466.1%2C51.3%20466.1%2C148.1%20442.1%2C148.1%20%0A%09%09442.1%2C199.9%20554.8%2C199.9%20554.8%2C148.1%20531.5%2C148.1%20531.5%2C51.4%20554.8%2C51.4%20554.8%2C64%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st3%22%20points%3D%22942.4%2C148.5%20942.4%2C200.2%201055.1%2C200.2%201055.1%2C148.5%201031.8%2C148.5%201031.8%2C51.2%201055.1%2C51.2%201055.1%2C0.8%20%0A%09%09943.1%2C0.8%20943.1%2C51.3%20966.3%2C51.3%20966.3%2C80%20888.9%2C80%20888.9%2C51.3%20912.6%2C51.3%20912.6%2C0.5%20800.1%2C0.8%20800.1%2C51.4%20823.5%2C51.4%20823.5%2C148.6%20%0A%09%09800.1%2C148.6%20800.1%2C200.1%20912.6%2C200.1%20912.6%2C148.6%20888.9%2C148.6%20888.9%2C116.4%20966.3%2C116.4%20966.3%2C148.5%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st2%22%20points%3D%22315.5%2C83.9%20299.6%2C34.9%20283.7%2C83.9%20232.2%2C83.9%20273.9%2C114.1%20258%2C163.1%20299.6%2C132.8%20341.3%2C163.1%20%0A%09%09325.4%2C114.1%20367%2C83.9%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st2%22%20points%3D%22715.6%2C83.9%20699.7%2C34.9%20683.8%2C83.9%20632.3%2C83.9%20674%2C114.1%20658%2C163.1%20699.7%2C132.8%20741.3%2C163.1%20%0A%09%09725.4%2C114.1%20767.1%2C83.9%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
