We’re still in early May, so I want to avoid being too fatalistic about this team. Lots of baseball left. That said, I do have my doubts about this team’s prospects for the rest of the season. But when they do happen to lose a well-pitched game amid the backdrop of this season, well, these types of outcomes tend to sting more so than the average loss in May.
For as much grief as the pitching staff has caused this season, the non-Lance McCullers Jr. starts have gone fairly well in the past couple of weeks. Since April 20, Mike Burrows (2.50), Peter Lambert (1.04), and Spencer Arrighetti (2.12) have run a sub-3.00 ERA. While we can’t expect those guys to maintain such a sparkling ERA in the long-term, that trio has helped mitigate the bleeding. It makes a huge difference to have three starters who you can realistically expect to provide multiple innings of hopefully adequate pitching.
Arrighetti and the bullpen continued that trend against the Reds on Saturday, throwing the ball well enough for most of the game. Five hits and three walks created a fair bit of traffic on the basepaths for Arrighetti, which was a problem that came back to bite him in that fateful fifth inning. Cam Smith dropping a fly ball with two runners already on base proved to be the difference maker, with a 1-0 lead quickly evaporating into a 3-1 deficit. For even as good as Smith is defensively in right field, those kinds of plays will happen. Unfortunately for Arrighetti and the Astros, he was unable to prevent the eventual damage.
The lineup, however, was the primary culprit in today’s loss. Just four hits and three walks that only led to a lone run (Braden Shewmake’s solo home run in the top half of the fifth). It wasn’t like the balls weren’t hit hard, though. After all, four of the top five exit velocities in this game belong to the Astros. But it wasn’t a complete surprise that Chase Burns was able to limit any damage. I mean, he’s dynamic and one of the better starters in baseball at the moment. A successful game against him would’ve been impressive. Alas, it was one of those games, even with decent contact, that didn’t break right for Houston. With little margin for error, even for May, a loss like this one stings a bit more.
Feature photo from @astros on X, Source Link
That’s the kind of play that makes me turn off the TV. That can’t happen in the big leagues, it just can’t. That lack of focus on the field is not acceptable.
I will loop back to Zack Cole. We can’t have Cole in the OF long term. I hope he is there to showcase for an upcoming trade.
Play well or go away.