Game Report: Houston Astros Need a Win After 5-4 Loss to Oakland Athletics

I consider myself a wordsmith of sorts. However, as I write this, I find myself struggling to find the words to describe what we witnessed from our local 9 this past week. The Astros embarked on a 7 game road trip this past week riding high after a dominant 6-1 home stand which included a series sweep of the rival Angels. The Astros had found a nice groove entering August. Unfortunately, that groove was obviously dug a little too deep because the Astros, rather than riding said groove, fell face first into it by going just 1-6 against the Rangers and last place Athletics last week. So, back to my linguistic struggle. I’m leaning towards some combination of shocking, dreadful, embarrassment and sadness.

Despite the foregoing, our Astros have shown all year they’re a good baseball team. Despite going 1-6, they remain first place in the American League West being 1.5 games ahead of the second place Angels. However, their road record has to be a concern to first year manager, A.J. Hinch. The Astros are a jaw dropping 38-18 at home while a paltry 23-34 on the road. While it is safe to look at the offense as the main culprit this week, and all year frankly, there seemed to be a lot of cumulative issues that led to the Astros struggles. Inconsistency in all aspects of the game did them in repeatedly. If the starter was on, the offense went in the tank (which was the majority of what we saw). However, there were other games where our starter struggled (McCullers), the bullpen struggled (Sunday night) and the defense was less than stellar (again, Sunday night).

Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Athletics truly epitomized how cruel this week has been to the Astros. In the top of the 9^th inning with the Astros facing a 3-1 deficit, Colby Rasmus finally gave the Astros the timely hit they had been looking for all week, by hammering a CLUTCH three-run home run to right giving the Astros a 4-3 lead. Call in closer Luke Gregerson, a former A, to shut the door. What happens? The phenom, Carlos Correa “misplays” a ball that he makes 99/100 times and Gregerson misses, making the final out of the game by a span of inches. Then a ground ball hit by Josh Reddick, hits his left wrist and away from an awaiting fielder. That play allowed the score to become tied. Then, Danny Valencia, who has seemed to bring down the Astros all series, lined a Gregerson slider to left field allowing the winning run.

Part of this is just baseball. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way. There is plenty to like on this team, but let’s not be naïve about its holes. Those holes were put on display last week and I honestly believe the Astros are good enough to survive those holes. But they have to get a better offensive performance on the road. The home road dichotomy is a mental aspect of the game, and the Astros, being a young team, are failing that mental game right now. With more than half of their games left on the road, the Astros better figure out how to bring some of that Minute Maid Park home cooking on the road with them. Until they do so, there will be plenty of UGH faces sitting in front of their television sits. Yup, that’s the word I was looking for. UGH.

The Astros look to turn around their slumping ways this week against the Giants in San Francisco and finishing up the week at home against the Tigers. Here’s to hoping for better fortune this week. Until then, Astros fans. Stay classy.