Spencer Arrighetti improves in his second big-league start
Losing this game makes me sick.
And why are the Astros so bad at choosing free agents?
Coming in, the Braves were the best-hitting team in baseball. They were facing Spencer Arrighetti in his second major league game. His ERA was 27.00.
Yet, if the defense hadn’t given away two runs, Arighetti would have lasted at least four innings without allowing a run. (The official scorer called the two runs earned, but that is absurd. I’ll show you.)
And yet, after eight innings, the much-maligned Astros’ bullpen held the Braves and kept the Astros close.
Until the other $90 million floparoo came in to throw away any chance for a win.
The Astros managed one run in the first after Kyle Tucker stole second with two outs and scored on an Alex Bregman single of Darius Vines.
That was it.
But the Braves weren’t much better, really. They needed a gift from the Astros defense to take the lead in the second inning.
After two were out, a hit and a walk gave the Braves runners on first and second. Luis Guilorme hit a gounder up the middle that was fielded by Jeremy Pena. It was a long run for Pena, but he fielded the ball cleanly, spun, and made an errant throw that allowed a run to score.
Clearly unnerved, the rookie Arrighetti then walked one hitter and hit another, scoring Atlanta’s second run.
The official scorer called the scoring play a hit and a throwing error, making both runs earned. But clearly, a good throw would have retired the hitter and ended the inning.
Any hope for an Astros win this game (and probably this series) evaporated when Josh Hader came in throwing batting practice. Hader allowed four runs on four hits, retiring only one batter.
He’s probably unavailable tomorrow.
Good.
Josh Hader. Wow. Just WOW. He made the Astros’ 1-7 with runners in scoring position irrelevant. His Astros ERA sits at 9.39. Some closer.
Well, Jose Altuve got three hits and Bregman two. Arrighetti looked serviceable, and Seth Matinez, Rafael Montero, and Bryan Abreu did their jobs out of the bullpen.
It adds up to another blowout. If one thing doesn’t go wrong for the Astros, something else does.