OAKLAND, Calif. — Hiding the Houston Astros’ flaws is impossible, a fact two dismal days at this decrepit ballpark have reinforced. Any momentum gained during their series win against the Seattle Mariners last weekend melted away across 18 excruciating innings inside the Oakland Coliseum.
That Houston still sits atop the American League West is more of an indictment on this inglorious division than anything the Astros have accomplished. Their two losses against the A’s coincided with Seattle’s continued free fall, perhaps the only positive anyone in the Astros’ orbit can extract.
“The way I look at it, we have a chance to come in here tomorrow and make it a .500 road trip, which is what you want to do as a team,” said manager Joe Espada, the most perpetually upbeat person in a Houston uniform. “There’s no highs, no lows. We have to keep pushing forward.”
Sixty-one games remain in a furious sprint to secure a playoff spot, a fate that has long felt like this franchise’s birthright. Everything that can prevent it surfaced during this series loss, accentuating the Astros’ acute needs as the July 30 trade deadline nears.
Oakland’s streaking offense shelled two substitute starters Houston must replace in its injury-ravaged rotation. A top-heavy lineup has scored two runs against an army of pitchers from a staff that brought a 4.44 ERA into this series. Oakland has outscored the Astros 12-2 as a result.
Welcome back, Victor! pic.twitter.com/13XoDyd6ep
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 24, 2024
“Obviously we’ve played terrible in all phases of the game,” third baseman Alex Bregman said.
Starting 7-19 does not allow for late July letdowns. Houston is 10-8 this month with three games remaining against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend. When the Dodgers depart, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes looms to start the teams’ series-opener at Minute Maid Park on Monday night.
Few stretches of this golden era have been as stressful as what is about to unfold. Reinforcements are required to finish it. Espada has acknowledged the enormous amount of energy his club expended to erase its early-season deficit. Injecting new energy feels mandatory.
General manager Dana Brown has six days to deliver it. The Astros’ needs are apparent. Another high-leverage reliever is desired, as is a bat to extend a lineup that still misses Kyle Tucker, but Houston’s foremost priority must be fortifying a depth-starved starting rotation relying on far too much inexperience in meaningful games.
“If you’re leaving stuff up like I was today, missing a few spots, they’re going to punish it,” rookie starter Jake Bloss said after Tuesday’s game. “(Major-league hitters) are a little better at punishing mistakes.”
Bloss is learning that lesson while appearing in games Houston can’t afford to concede. Starting him, however, has become the closest thing. He allowed four home runs in four innings Tuesday night and boasts a 6.94 ERA after three big-league starts.
Bloss is a 23-year-old prospect with 15 2/3 innings of experience above A-ball, a man not ready to be a major leaguer but forced here by circumstances out of his control.
“That’s where we’re at right now as a team,” Espada said. “We all felt like he was ready to pitch at the major-league level and he has shown signs that he can pitch at the major-league level.”
Houston can no longer afford to start Bloss or fellow rookie Spencer Arrighetti as the calendar nears August, a month in which the Astros have series against the Phillies, Orioles and Royals along with two against the Red Sox.
Arrighetti raised his ERA to 5.65 on Monday. He has a 6.15 mark across his past seven starts. Blaming either him or Bloss for this circumstance is crazy. Houston has six starting pitchers on the injured list and a front office that neglected to add rotation insurance this winter, leaving these two rookies as the club’s last line of defense.
Neither Justin Verlander nor Luis Garcia, the two pitchers Houston plans to get back, are facing hitters. Protecting Hunter Brown and Ronel Blanco from overuse will require expanding to a six-man rotation, but the Astros do not have the available bodies to accomplish it. Acquiring one outside starter by Tuesday would make it feasible, though it would still force either Arrighetti or Bloss into the rotation while awaiting Verlander’s return.
The Astros cannot afford that outcome, perhaps increasing the need for a second starter. These games are too important for rookies to continue learning in-game lessons, even if the club has survived thus far. Only the New York Mets have a better record than Houston since June 1. Before this slide, the Astros had not lost three consecutive games since May 27-29.
Sustaining it is a more difficult matter, especially for an offense that must mask this pitching mess with elite run production. Two subpar games in Oakland shouldn’t create panic — the Astros still lead the American League in hits and batting average — but missing Tucker is becoming more difficult to absorb. Tucker is still not running or hitting on the field and, according to Espada, is still having problems putting adequate weight on his right shin during defensive drills. No timeline exists for his return.
Since June 4, the first day of Tucker’s 40-game absence, the Astros are extracting a .254 on-base percentage from the bottom three spots in their batting order. Only the Atlanta Braves have a lower one.
Houston’s seventh, eighth and ninth hitters are slugging just .346 with a .600 OPS across that same time frame. Tucker’s return won’t automatically turn that around but will offer length to a lineup looking for someone to assist Bregman, Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez with production.
Though pitching remains their foremost priority, the Astros are exploring a variety of offensive additions. According to multiple people familiar with their thinking, the team is interested in Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes, a pull-happy power threat who would profile perfectly with the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park.
Paredes has three more seasons of club control after this one. He would fill Houston’s gaping hole at first base this season and could slide over to third during the next three. Whether Houston has enough prospect capital to compete with other teams in contention for his services is a legitimate question.
Whether the team should spend what it does have on a bat with the dire state of its pitching staff is another — a query these two games in Oakland may have helped answer.
(Photo of Lawrence Butler’s home run off Jake Bloss: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
