For the third time in 15 starts, Tatsuya Imai failed to get out of the first inning. For a pitcher with his salary, on a team trying to get back to the postseason, that’s becoming an increasingly untenable situation. Something has to give; otherwise, it might cost the Astros an opportunity to play in October.
But what can Houston do with Imai?
The answer isn’t easy nor obvious. For one, Imai’s salary, with his two player options for 2027 and 2028, makes a trade rather difficult. Of course, Dana Brown could attach prospects, but that defeats the purpose. Plus, Imai has a Daikin advertisement, and look who has naming rights to the ballpark. For an organization looking to establish its presence in the Pacific Rim, jettisoning Imai after one down season might prove counterproductive. Not saying it is the best baseball decision, but there are some external factors at play.
In a pure baseball sense, Imai’s profile doesn’t really lend itself, at least right now, as a reliever. For a pitcher who has struggled to consistently throw strikes, I don’t see that transition panning out well in 2026. But the Astros are also in a position where they can’t keep running him out there once every five or six games. The uncertainty around his starts, even if he will make it out of the first inning, has ramifications beyond one game, especially if Joe Espada is forced to use most of his relievers to piece together nine innings.
Thankfully for the Astros, although Imai failed to escape the opening frame, the bullpen wasn’t used too much. Credit to AJ Blubaugh for bailing Houston out of the first inning, escaping a two-out, bases-loaded jam. Ultimately, he allowed only one run in the third inning, courtesy of Vaughn Grissom’s solo home run. Although Josh Hader would eventually earn the save, the real save of the game came from Cristian Javier, who…
*checks notes*
…threw five shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out seven. And no walks. Nine whiffs on 19 swings against his fastball. Yes, I’m just as surprised as you are.
Javier has long been known as a four-seam, slider/sweeper combo pitcher, with an occasional changeup in the last couple of years. We all know well by now how he used his fastball and sweeper, especially that “invisiball,” to become one of the better pitchers on the staff in 2021 and 2022. But a decline in stuff and injuries have derailed him now for years, dating back to 2023. There is a real question, even after Monday’s performance, whether he can reach those same heights again or even get close. That said, his performance against the Angels should at least promote a discussion about whether he should start again in the near future. They do need at least one starting pitcher, and I haven’t seen Javier this effective in quite some time.
The lineup was fairly quiet for most of this game. Taylor Trammell hit a solo home run in the fourth to score the first run of the game for the Astros. Yordan Alvarez drove in a run with a single in the eighth. But the ninth inning is when it all came together for Houston, with some help from the Angels.
A few hit-by-pitches, misplayed balls, and fielding errors helped pave the road for this comeback. What was once a 4-2 deficit turned into a 6-4 lead, with no extra base hits. While I can’t blame the Angels, you can’t help but wonder if the decision to intentionally walk Alvarez with two on, two outs backfired. I mean, it is Alvarez, who is the best hitter in baseball this season. It is easy with the benefit of hindsight to question the decision. But, again, it is worth wondering.
Ultimately, this four-run ninth inning propelled the Astros to an unlikely victory. With the Rangers winning over the Mariners, Houston remains half a game up on the latter in the standings while still trailing the former by two games. A much-needed win for a team looking to stay in the postseason race with the trade deadline next Monday. And, somehow, they survived another extremely short Imai start.
Feature photo from Astros on X
You have to wonder if optioning Imai to AAA is up next. Though I’m not sure if they know how to fix Imai, and therefore unsure if a AAA stint would be worthwhile. Another possibility could be using an opener in front of Imai, with Imai considered the bulk guy. Perhaps changing things up so he isn’t pitching the first inning would help.
They aren’t really comparable in terms of pitching profiles, but maybe looking at Roki Sasaki’s experience is worth doing. It’s been a long, slow development for him with flashes of brilliance in between, and stints in AAA after most people would’ve hoped he could stay permanently in the majors.
Imai needs to go to AAA until he proves he can pitch in the majors. Keeping him in the big leagues because he is Japanese is a travesty and won’t sit well with the fans and his team mates.
So the Astros are down in the very first inning. Then, Altuve’s error made it a little worse. As a manager, what do you do to get your team back on their feet? If you are Espada you do nothing. If you are a good manager, you attack the psychological side of adversity. For instance, you play small ball. You know the Angels are a flawed team in the field, put pressure on them, energize your players, show them you want to win, keep fighting, keep bunting, stealing, crowding the plate, argue with the ump, yell from the dugout. You are alive and kicking. Do something, don’t wait for the opposite team to gift you a win.
Well said. This has been an Espada problem for his entire tenure. Very slow to adapt his strategy and low energy as a “team leader”.
“Our team is never out of a game. We have ways to fight and play you [for] 27 outs. We’ll give you a run for your money. That’s what we do.”
Guess who said that…