It isn’t often that you see Yordan Alvarez strike out four times in a game. In fact, this is only the fourth time in his impressive career to date that Alvarez has struck out this many times in a single game. Only the third game in which all of his plate appearances concluded with a strikeout. And all of those previous instances before today occurred within a roughly three-month stretch in 2021.
So, yeah, this kind of game from Alvarez rarely happens.
I wish I could say the same about the Astros and disappointing losses, but I have no control over such matters. And this Mother’s Day, at least as it pertained to baseball, was an absolute downer.
So, where do I start my rant? That’s easy.
Today was a bullpen game for the Astros. With a rotation basically flying by the seat of its collective pants this season, they’re essentially a traditional starter or two short at times. This finale against the Reds in Cincinnati was essentially one of those games. Kai-Wei Teng, who has been one of Houston’s better relievers, has been picked to help handle opener duties. I think there is a plan to stretch him out, though I am not a huge fan of that development. Personally, I’d leave him in the bullpen and use him more as a “traditional” opener of an inning, perhaps two, at a time. Remember that extra velocity he had to start the season? It came as a typical reliever. While it can be more complex than simple velocity spikes, I think there is something to that, given Teng’s earlier results this season.
In any case, Teng pitched three innings for the Astros, holding the Reds scoreless. Only allowed a hit, a walk, and one hit-by-pitch. Yeah, he wasn’t perfect, but the end result was great across those 51 pitches. Considering that was a season-high in pitches thrown and you held the opposition scoreless, take the win and go with the next reliever in line. But Joe Espada and the Astros had other plans.
For some reason, it was decided among the powers to be that Teng would start the fourth inning. Again, a pitcher who has been used as a reliever for most of the season and has already exceeded his season high was brought back out to open the bottom of the fourth inning. I like to think of myself as a reasonable person, and even I fail to comprehend how Espada or anyone else even remotely thought that was a good idea. And, in predictable fashion, the inning imploded with the Reds scoring three. In fact, it is a wonder they didn’t score more than those three runs.
So, explain to me how it made any sense for Teng to open the fourth, only for AJ Blubaugh to relieve him four hitters later. Or, I don’t know, open the inning with Blubaugh if you’re willing to pitch him in the fourth. To be fair, perhaps there was something with a matchup or two that Espada and the pitching coaches thought they could exploit with Teng. But, for the third time, Teng had already thrown 51 pitches. I somewhat understand if you want to stretch him out to fully transition him into a starter’s role if he hasn’t already exceeded his season-high. I’d argue the smarter decision was to take the three scoreless innings and start fresh with someone else. Yes, I know this bullpen has been hot dog water for most of the season. But this decision to stick with Teng was definitely worse, especially with how NO ONE ELSE was warming up in the fourth, just in case things went south.
And, mercy, did things go south.
The blunder of leaving Teng in for too long didn’t really matter, though. The lineup didn’t have an answer for anything that the Reds were throwing.
Overall, it was another poor showing in a growing list for the Astros. Cody Bolton allowed two more earned runs, one each in the fifth and sixth innings, to make it a 5-0 deficit. Dropping two of three to the Reds, with the Mariners and Rangers coming to Houston for seven games, leaves the Astros in a precarious position. Their season likely hinges on how the next week of games unfolds. If things don’t break right, I have a feeling some changes are in order.
Feature photo from @astros on X, Source Link
Sure, hindsight is 20/20. But, if the reason to keep Teng in the game was to stretch him….think again. Why will you take an unnecessary risk in a tight game? Do you want to experiment? Do you want to see how Teng react? Wait for a game with a different score. That’s not hindsight. We need to fight every game, we need to hold the fort until the reinforcements arrive. We don’t want to surrender before we empty the IL. That’s not hindsight.
His season high was like 41 pitches Rag. Espada sends Teng out to squeeze some water out of rocks in the 4th ss he sat at 54 pitches. What type of negligence or egregious management is this.???
And we had a fully rested pen.
Would had been decent for Joe to have played Shewmake today, our hottest hitter, instead of Little Nicky. Also, Cam needs a big break. Denz was ready to go today. Even his family was at the game, only to watch their son sit and Cam….take at bats.
Joe has got to go. Enough is enough.
Maybe Shewmake’s splits against LHP are not favorable?
At times, it seems like Espada’s “pitch count limit” is “until multiple runs are scored against us.”
It does kind of feel like there’s a Peter Principle (people keep getting promoted based on past success until they get into a position where they’re not qualified or competent for) approach for Espada in pitching management.