Astros: Ken Giles not likely to be used in high leverage situations

Don’t expect to see Ken Giles much during the final games of the World Series for the Astros.

We get the idea, Houston Astros fans are not happy with Ken Giles at the moment. After coughing up the lead in Game 2 of the World Series, Giles has been the big topic on Talking Stros on SportsTalk 790. The Astros did win after Giles allowed the game-tying homer in the ninth inning of Game 2. The question then was should A.J. Hinch have tried to get two innings out of Giles?

While it was not the first time that Giles has been asked to pitch two innings, he has only one scoreless appearance. That was against the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS. Giles has allowed ten runs in 7 2/3 innings. Last night he allowed three runs in the ninth inning to lead to the 6-2 loss in Game 4. He failed to retire a batter and was removed and look deflated.

Not needed in Game 3.

With how Lance McCullers and Brad Peacock pitched in Game 3, Hinch did not have to decide to pitch Giles. After Game 3, people applauded Hinch for sticking with Peacock. The question was whether it was because of how Peacock was pitching or the lack of faith in Giles.

With the verdict of last night’s game, it was apparent that Hinch still felt confident in Giles bringing him in the 9th inning of a tie game. Giles came in and allowed a single to Corey Seager and walked Justin Turner. Then Cody Bellinger doubled to left field to put the Dodgers ahead for good.

Joe Musgrove was called in to try to limit the damage, but it’s hard to do with runners on second and third with no outs. Musgrove was able to strikeout Yasiel Puig. He allowed four more runs to score. Two of those belonged to Giles, but the damage was done. The crowds left after the Bellinger homer and Dodgers fans in the stadium were cheering.

Postgame disappointment.

After the game, Giles described his pitches as crappy. He felt like he let his team and that he will help them win tomorrow. After an appearance like last night, would Hinch bring him back the next day? If Giles does pitch tonight, it will not mean good things for the Astros. Giles will not be brought into the game unless the Astros are being blown out.

Francisco Liriano seems to be in the doghouse, and Giles looks to join him. When Giles was warming up, I hoped that they would leave Chris Devenski on after only throwing 12 pitches in the eighth. Hinch was doing what managers do. They go to their closers in the eighth inning of tie games.

It was Game 4 of the World Series. You go with who is pitching the best at the moment. Devenski was pitching well and has shown the ability to bounce back after pitching multiple innings the game before. They should have shown the faith in Devenski that they showed in Peacock.

Hinch should not run Giles out again expecting a different outcome. While Hinch has not come out and said that they would not pitch Giles again, it’s hard to find a situation where he comes in with the game on the line.

Next: Astros: Collin McHugh Can Help This Bullpen

While people are down on Giles, he is under team control through 2020. While it’s too late to fix him for the remaining three games of the playoffs, they need to figure it out this offseason. If not, they need to find another option this offseason. Giles has the stuff. He needs to figure out the best way to pitch with pressure.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***