June is the time of year when the contenders start to separate themselves from the pack, or the pretenders come down to earth. It is common for mediocre teams to put together a good month or even two, but after about 80 games, you generally know who the good teams are. After two months of baseball, the Astros are off to a bad start but wins like tonight will keep fans interested, if not hopeful.
The night started inauspiciously, as the Cardinals got on board in the top of the first with a solo homer from Alec Burleson; however, the Cardinals would not hold the lead for long.
In the bottom of the first, down a run, Altuve and Bregman got in scoring position with no outs. Yordan would have liked to drive both in, but he still managed to drive Altuve home from third via a slow ground. No runs would have scored if he smoked a line drive to third; baseball is a weird game.
Later in the inning, Jake Meyers drove in a run via another weak ground ball to first base, giving the Astros their first lead. They would not give it up.
Spencer Arrighetti was not very good today, but you kind of have to cut him some slack because he took a hard-line drive off his left calf in the second. He was able to stick it out through three innings but it was clear he was not 100%.
Spencer only gave up one earned run in three innings, but that was more luck than skill as he walked three and gave up two more hits after the opening home run. He did, however, generate a healthy number of whiffs, and his CSW% was an encouraging 33%. To be an innings-eating, back-of-the-rotation starter, he will need to cut down on his walk rate.
The offense had its best inning in the bottom of the third. Jeremy Pena hit a rocket double to right to make the score 3-1. Check it out below.
Pena does not need to be a great hitter to be a valuable player. As an elite defensive shortstop, he can be average at the plate and still produce three wins above replacement. If he can develop into a consistently above average hitter, then he will be a perineal all-star. He is hitting really well this year, but he’s always had the ability to hit really well in small samples, the real test will be if he can continue this success over a long season.
Yanier Diaz, another promising young Astro, extended the lead to five with a three run home run later in the 3rd.
The Cardinals mounted a decent come back in the later innings with a pair of home runs, but their win probability was never above 20%.
Pressley came into the game in the ninth to attempt to pick up his first save of the season. RP the RP, had a vintage outing, striking out one while not allowing a baserunner or any hard contact. He has not had good results this season, but most of that is due to bad luck as his FIP and XFIP are both below three.
Final Score: Astros 8, Cards 5.
Observations:
This month is an inflection point for Houston’s season and they need to solidify the first base position. The Astros are hoping Abreu can get back to his old self, but that appears to be wishful thinking at this point. Father Time is undefeated.
Kyle Gibson got less money than Hader this offseason, and, although he isn’t lighting the world on fire, he is providing something the Astros really need right now: starting pitching depth.
As much as fans loathed to see Jake Ordorizzi pitch in 2022, he would have been far more valuable to the Astros if they hadn’t been so healthy that year. With the injuries the Astros have battled with this season, I imagine Crane and Co probably wish they invested more in pitching depth this past offseason.