Isaac Paredes only has himself to blame after blunder cost Astros dearly vs. Cardinals

The Houston Astros are not exactly off to the start they were hoping for. The team's 8-10 record isn't a total abomination, but it's certainly well below the standard the Astros have set for themselves in recent years.

Christian Walker's painfully pathetic start to his Astros tenure has been awful to watch, and mind-numbing slumps from designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and backstop Yainer Diaz have caused more than a couple issues for Houston's woeful offense. On Thursday, however, it was a boneheaded defensive mistake courtesy of third baseman Isaac Paredes that compounded the Astros' struggles and led to their demise against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Isaac Paredes' defensive gaffe cost the Astros dearly in loss to Cardinals

Things started off innocently enough in the fifth inning. The Astros had a 1-0 lead and Cardinals' batter Victor Scott II laid down a great bunt that trickled along the third base line and was clearly drifting foul. Paredes did what every single infielder is taught to do in little league, and allowed the ball enter foul territory.

But he then inexplicably picked the ball up before it had fully cleared the chalk line. The home plate umpire ruled it a fair ball, Scott was safe at first base, and the consequences of Paredes' blunder were severe.

Paredes was not happy with the umpire's decision, but the play is not reviewable. A closer look at the instant replay revealed a reasonable chance that the ball was still touching the third base line. Had Paredes just waited another second or two, the ball would have (likely) rolled foul. Why Paredes picked the ball up so quickly was beyond understanding, and if he wants to be mad at anyone, he may want to take a look in the mirror.

Predictably, the Astros were almost immediately punished for the mistake. The next St. Louis batter dropped in a bloop single to give the Cardinals runners at the corners, allowing Lars Nootbaar to hit a three-run bomb which proved to be the difference in the game.

This one play wasn't the reason the Astros lost the game. The offense didn't show up yet again and most teams are going to lose the vast majority of games when only one run is scored, and your No. 3 through No. 9 hitters combine for one hit and eight strikeouts. However, this was the kind of preventable error that Houston cannot afford to make when they're struggling to close out games.

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