Well, the bullpen game was largely successful until it wasn’t. Thanks, Bryan Abreu.
In a game without Yordan Alvarez, with Miguel Ullola listed as the opener, my expectations weren’t high for a win. Especially against the AL-leading Rays. But baseball can do some unexpected things, including Ullola, Bryan King, and Ethan Pecko combining for eight innings of one-run ball. Pecko, in particular, flashed some of his potential, allowing that lone run across 5.2 innings while striking out four.
The lineup, however, struggled to score runs once again. To some extent, that much was somewhat expected without Alvarez. But the Astros weren’t completely hapless, still finishing with nine hits on the evening. Christian Walker was the only hitter for Houston to not have at least one hit. Alas, other than Yainer Diaz’s RBI forceout in the fourth inning, there wasn’t a lot to like. Jeremy Peña’s slump continues unabated, called out on strikes with two runners in scoring position in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, the Astros wouldn’t have a baserunner advance past first base after botching that opportunity.
The bullpen game would eventually fail Houston, with Abreu giving up the deciding blow. This time, it was Junior Caminero and his AL-leading 40th home run to win the game for Tampa in a walk-off. With first base open, though, one has to wonder why Joe Espada had Abreu face one of the best hitters in baseball.
On the one hand, I do agree with Espada’s assessment that Abreu has been throwing the ball well lately. He’s allowed only three earned runs in his last 20 innings prior to Friday. Even a base hit wins the game for the Rays. But we’re talking about Caminero, who is one of the best hitters in baseball. Yes, even in a limited sample, Liam Hicks, the hitter behind Caminero, had a 171 wRC+ in 86 plate appearances against right-handed hitters. I’d rather face Hicks with two runners on base with one out rather than pitch to Caminero. It felt like an unnecessary risk that backfired.
In any case, at the time of this recap, the Rangers were losing to the Diamondbacks 9-1, and the Mariners are tied with the A’s 4-4. A Texas loss keeps them three games back of Houston while a Seattle win moves them to five games out.
Feature photo from Astros on X
That’s a nutty idea, to walk Caminero and put a runner in score position in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied.
The Adtros don’t have difficulties scoring runs, Espada does.
Are we witnessing the return of Strom magic?
The runner was already in scoring position — on 2nd base.
Right, the double almost HR before Caminero.
Thank God for Plan B.
Texas loses, mariners lose, white Sox lose, blue jays lose.
Cleveland won but those other ones were more important
Glad you focused on Espada’s decision not to walk Caminero. I was back in Texas watching the game with my baseball-savvy daughter. With 1B open and Caminero up, I told her, “Espada should walk Caminero. His run means nothing in a tie game and it sets up a potential double play. Pitching to him would be as stupid as another manager pitching to Yordan in this situation.” Boom. For Espada to say he didn’t even think about walking Caminero is quite telling. Enjoy the rest of your season, Joe. It will be your last as Astros manager.
Agree with you, Maris61. Just setting up the DP or force play was sufficient reason to walk Caminero with 2 outs and no penalty for putting him on base. Sure, Abreu is capable of striking out Caminero, but that’s true of subsequent batters too. As Cody said, why take the risk?