Astros: Tigers are hitting like they know what pitch is coming

As the Houston Astros lose their second series in a row, the Detroit Tigers continue to tear up the Houston pitching staff. While moving to a regressed four man rotation, Jake Odorizzi made his Astros’ debut but it didn’t go to plan just like his spring training debut. The offense cooled off at the wrong time, while the Tigers posted eight runs to the Astros’ two.

While Tigers’ Manager A.J. Hinch might know how to beat the Astros more than anyone in baseball, the former Houston employee has exposed the pitching rotation and has had his own staff quiet the bats of his former players. Although not being all out front runners for the American League Central, Detroit’s pitching and hitting continues to catch Houston off guard at the worst time.

As Jake Odorizzi is shelled, the pitching staff continues to struggle.

While the pitching staff has allowed 14 home runs over the past four games, we can tell the Astros have hit their first funk of the season. The offense is also in the same boat, while many of players have gotten to the point of being sore or not feeling well in the field.

As Odorizzi recognizes his poor outing, the right-hander looks to contact Justin Verlander for pitching advise moving forward. In his Astros’ debut, Odorizzi went 3.1 innings with seven hits, five earned runs and four strikeouts. The right-hander looked good early, but as his fastball started to rise, so did the ball over the outfield fence.

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With five home runs given up tonight, it’s obvious this Astros’ team is trending in the wrong direction. From injuries to players not being fully ramped up, the start to the 2021 season has delivered an adapt to survive mentality. The pitching rotation will benefit with Cristian Javier coming back with full endurance, and hopefully, the return of Framber Valdez, which is still unknown, will push this team into an everyday threat. All pitchers will have a bad start in a season, but the Astros are having them all at once against the manager that knows them best.

There were four lineup adjustments on Tuesday for the Astros, and by the looks of how depth was in their favor for the first week, it is not looking that way now. With Chas McCormick, Aledmys Diaz and Robel Garcia all seeing time in defensive or offensive adjustments, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley haven’t felt the best on the field this past week. While they look to be at full strength by May, this team will be worlds better on paper and on the field.

While 11 games into the season, the offense is still riding off early games’ numbers to be a top ten hitting team in MLB. While the Los Angeles Angels are currently beat up as well, the Oakland A’s are making a surge into the win column with the Astros now standing in second place in the division. This shouldn’t be a worry only two weeks in, but hopefully an off day will be what the team needs to regroup and rest.

The Astros are back on the field on Wednesday against the Tigers to close out the series at 6:10 p.m., and while the series is lost, they look to not be swept for the first time this season. With Lance McCullers Jr. matching up with Michael Fulmer, it is early in the season, but the team has fallen off immensely.

With an off day on Thursday, it is a must needed to regroup as the offense hasn’t had any run support, although the pitching staff has struggled. From the mound to the batter’s box, the Astros have come down to Earth, but as a team of mid-season progressions, they will soon adapt to other teams’ play styles.