Astros: Key takeaways from opening series against Mariners

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Houston Astros baseball is back, and the local nine has won the first home series against the Seattle Mariners.

I was so excited to finally get to watch live baseball that I forgot to use my score sheets to keep track of everything, so you’ll forgive me all of the gory details, won’t you? It was so good to see the Houston Astros on the TV with Geoff Blum and Kevin Eschenfelder announcing, even if fans were represented by cardboard cutouts and piped-in sounds.

And even though it looks a lot different, hearing the balls hit into the catcher’s mitts and the crack of the bats were sounds for sore ears making it so much easier to overlook the mostly empty seats in the background. Even though we didn’t get the coveted sweep, we won the series and that’s all that matters, right?

Maybe that is all that matters because in the end, it is about the end goal, not the journey, no matter how tumultuous the journey can be.

Game 1, (8-2 Astros win)

Justin Verlander made his 12th consecutive Opening Day start on Friday night and walked away with the win, leading the Astros to their eighth consecutive Opening Day win in Dusty Baker’s 3,500th regular season game as manager. The takeaway from Friday night was not so much the performance of Verlander on the mound but the fact that on Saturday, he was shut down for at least a couple of weeks with forearm discomfort. Along with Aledmys Diaz, the first game of the Astros season opener saw two key players placed on the IL.

For all of the talk and worries surrounding the bullpen, Friday night was encouraging. The last three innings of the game were highlighted with characteristic strength by Chris Devenski, but perhaps the most hope came from the debuts of both Blake Taylor and Enoli Paredes. These are two guys to watch as they are sure to continue to impress.

Even more surprising was the breakout by Martin Maldonado. He deserves to be named the player of the game, if not the series, going 2-for-4, scoring one run and driving in two.

Game 2, (7-2 Astros win)

Making his first start since August of 2018, Lance McCullers, Jr., had a strong outing for the win. He threw 92 pitches (53 for strikes) with a pitch mix of 39 percent curveballs, 28 percent changeups, and 32 percent fastballs.

Again, the pitching out of the bullpen in this game was not as concerning as the hype would have had us all believe. Strong relief appearances were made by Cristian Javier and Cy Sneed, not to mention a surprise appearance by Roberto Osuna, who was rumored not to be ready.

Sneed is perhaps the sneaky silent weapon of the bullpen, striking out three in the eighth. But the offense was looking good with Yuli Gurriel and George Springer both getting their first home runs of the season. Kyle Tucker had a promising outing as DH, going 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Again, Maldonado managed to impress, going 2-for-4 with two more RBIs. He’s been working hard and it shows.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – JULY 26: Shed Long Jr. #4 of the Seattle Mariners scores on a single by Kyle Lewis #1 in the eighth inning as Martin Maldonado #15 of the Houston Astros is late with the tag at Minute Maid Park on July 26, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Game 3, (7-6 Astros loss)

Sunday’s loss is where pitching proved to be the concern. In his 448th start in his 17th season in MLB, Zack Greinke was pulled after just 3.1 innings and 58 pitches. Because of testing issues in summer camp, Greinke missed a day or two of training and this played a major part in his limited pitch count and could also have played a role in him being the No. 3 starter.

Even if his pitching wasn’t stellar, we were reminded of the great defensive pitcher he is when he covered a few plays at first. He is definitely fun to watch.

But here’s where the game took a turn and the concerns popped up (you’ll pardon the pun). The relievers used were Joe Biagini, Bryan Abreu, Taylor, Devenski, and Brandon Bailey. To say that Biagini struggled with control would be quite the understatement. And while Abreu struggled a bit, he did manage to record a scoreless outing.

In his 1.1 innings, Taylor managed to record two strikeouts and shut down the side in the seventh, looking like a most promising addition to the bullpen. On the other hand, Devenski gave up three runs in the eighth. While this was the turning point in the game for the Astros, Bailey made his big league debut and managed to close out the ninth without any more damage making him yet another interesting addition to keep an eye on.

Once again, Maldonado was the rockstar, going 1-for-3 and getting yet another two RBIs. For the series, Maldonado was 5-for-11 with six RBIs. He is the first MLB catcher since Brian McCann in 2007 to have six RBIs in the first three games of the season. During the game, Eschenfelder mentioned Maldonado is the first catcher on the Astros to do it, and also that he is the first nine-hole hitter on the Astros to accomplish this.

Game 4 (8-5 Astros win)

At first glance, it looked like things were going to be easy. Josh James had a fairly strong outing in the first and second, striking out two and then three, respectively. The third inning was not nearly as promising as he struggled to throw strikes and issued four walks. But things started to look up when he managed to get a double play that led to only one run scoring in the third.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was Brandon Bielak. Making his big league debut, Bielak managed to hold the Mariners down with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings of a stellar performance. Both Paredes and Sneed proved themselves again, and Osuna stayed in character coming in as the ever-reliable closer.

Alex Bregman managed to get his first homer of the year, joining the century club with his 100th career home run. Altuve followed suit in the fifth with his first bomb of the season. But perhaps most exciting was the nine-hole hitter, Dustin Garneau, going 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Our catching platoon has some pop, combining to go 6-for-14 in the opening series of 2020.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 25: Chris Devenski #47 of the Houston Astros delivers a pitch in the third inning against the Miami Marlins during a Grapefruit League spring training game at FITTEAM Ballpark of The Palm Beaches on February 25, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Key Takeaways

First off, I’m so glad baseball is back. I cannot tell you how much I’ve missed it and I’m sure I’m not the only one in that boat.

Second, pitching continues to be a concern, especially with news that Devenski and Ryan Pressly are dealing with nagging injuries. Though I’m not so sure that this will hurt us in the long run, this could explain Devenski’s performance, or lack thereof, in his relief appearance in Saturday’s game.

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Third, we have some promising youngsters in the bullpen and we could all be very surprised at their ability to step in and step up.

Fourth, our offense is still super deep. Granted, the sample size is too small to be cocky, but it says a lot about your lineup when your number nine hitters, both catchers, start the year at third and fourth in team average and combine to have the most RBIs over any other position.

Fifth, while getting used to the management style of Dusty Baker is going to be a challenge for me (and I suspect it will for all of us armchair managers), I’m still excited to see 2020 play out. I am, however, a true believer that our boys are going to surprise us with their resilience and drive to be number one.

Sixth, we’re only four games into the season, but it’s promising that we’re in first place. And even though it looks like we’re tied with Oakland, our run differential of +13 and 29 runs scored screams volumes.

Seventh, the only thing that could make this season better would be if we could all fill up the seats at Minute Maid Park and eliminate the need for cardboard cutouts and piped in crowd sounds.

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