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Tag: Ryan Pressly

  • Astros Bounced from the Postseason by A.J. Hinch’s Tigers: Four Winners, Four Losers

    Astros Bounced from the Postseason by A.J. Hinch’s Tigers: Four Winners, Four Losers

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    Baseball is so tough because the season is so long and it can end so abruptly leaving those who love it with a hollow pit in their stomachs. That’s essentially what happened on Wednesday as the Astros were swept in the Wild Card series against the upstart Detroit Tigers and former Astros manager A.J. Hinch, 5-2.

    It was a somewhat similar refrain for the Astros who got great starting pitching but provided no run support, came back to tie it only to see their well-paid bullpen implode. It’s going to be a longer-than-normal offseason for this team and there will be plenty of changes. For now, let’s check the winners and losers from this final game of the year.

    WINNERS
    A.J. Hinch
    It wasn’t exactly that Astros manager (and Hinch’s former bench coach) was overmatched by Hinch, but there were times it felt like that. The Tigers seemed more prepared and more aggressive overall, much of which can be attributed to Hinch who brought his team back from what seemed like a lost season all the way to the ALDS.

    Momentum
    The Astros were one of the better teams in the American League post All-Star break. Guess who was better? The Tigers carried a boatload of momentum into the postseason, resurrecting their playoff hopes from a 0.2 chance to get in to a sweep in the Wild Card Series. They have only one player with postseason experience. The last team to have that in the playoffs, the 2002 Angels who won the World Series.

    Hunter Brown
    At this point, it’s not hyperbole to call Brown the Astros number one pitcher. He was lights out yet again on Wednesday giving up a solo homer and suffering with absolutely no run support. Brown proved, after an absolutely awful start, that he belongs at the top of this rotation and seemed to get stronger as the year went along.

    Detroit Pitching
    We all know that Tarik Skobul would be tough and he was. But who could have predicted they would hold the Astros to two runs throwing seven pitchers on Wednesday? It was a glorified piggyback game and they were dominant. They allowed just three runs in the two games at Minute Maid.

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    Ryan Pressly blew another save to essentially end the Astros season.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    LOSERS
    Minute Maid Park
    Seven straight postseason losses at home is the only stat you really need to know. The Astros were substantially better at home this year than they were the previous season, but when it comes to hitting the baseball, there is something about Houston’s home ballpark that is a problem for this team.

    Postseason RISP
    The Astros were 4-23 with runners in scoring position beginning in game seven of the ALCS last year through today. It has been a problem that plagued this team all season and it continued right through this sweep.

    The Ryan Pressly/Josh Hader Combo
    Coming into the season, the belief was the seventh, eighth and ninth belonged to the Astros with Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader. Pressly and Hader began the year with a blown save in game one of an eventual sweep against the Yankees. They ended it pretty much the same way, a blown save by Pressly and a loss for Hader in a sweep against Detroit. That is a LOT of money in the hands of two guys who have been very mediocre this season and who couldn’t deliver when the team needed it most.

    Anyone Not Ready for the Offseason

    For the first time in eight years, the Astros are going home before the ALCS, just like the fans. Winter is coming and it will be long and no doubt eventful. Get some rest.

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    Jeff Balke

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  • Four Reasons the Astros Are Bad at Baseball Right Now

    Four Reasons the Astros Are Bad at Baseball Right Now

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    The Astros lost their second of three games to the lowly Washington Nationals on Sunday 6-0 dropping them to 7-16 on this still young season. There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. This is a bad baseball team doing bad baseball things right now. Sure, they could turn it around. The Major League Baseball season can be excruciatingly long.

    But, also, they might not. Five of their best players are playing well including Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Peña and Yainer Diaz. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to show for it and when those guys inevitably have a slide — as every good player does during a long season — what the hell do they do then?

    We can point to some reasons they have not been very good. There are many. Here are four.

    Injuries

    This is not an excuse. Period. All teams suffer injuries. But when essentially your entire projected starting lineup is on the IL, that’s a problem few teams (if any) can overcome. They got Justin Verlander back and will get Framber Valdez back in short order, but they now lost Cristian Javier. Where would this team be if Ronel Blanco hadn’t suddenly become an ace starter? We shudder to think.

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    Josh Hader and his fellow back-of-the-bullpen teammates have blown six saves this season already.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    The Final Three

    Remember in Spring Training when everyone was all, “Dude, no one is going to score runs on us in the seventh, eighth and ninth. If we get a lead, teams are toast.” Um, OK so that was then. Now, the reality is Bryan Abreu has been the best of the bunch and he has an ERA of 4.91 and a WHIP of 1.818. Yikes. Ryan Pressly, the closer-turned-setup-guy, has an 8.31 ERA with a WHIP of over 2. And the $95 million dollar closer Josh Hader has a baffling 8.38 ERA with a WHIP of 1.655.

    They have blown six saves this season including a brutal two-run lead in the ninth in D.C. by Pressly. The Astros have been super fond of talking about looking at the back of players’ baseball cards to understand how good they will likely be once more of the season has passed, but progression to the mean is hardly guaranteed, and it will take a hell of a turnaround to make these three as feared as everyone hoped and expected.

    Lack of Timely Hitting

    The Astros are 22nd in baseball (.266 BA) with runners in scoring position. They are 28th in runners left on base per game (4.27). That speaks to two things. First, they get a good amount of people on base. They are a remarkable third in both team batting average and OPS (seventh in slugging). We say remarkable because they fact that they rank that highly in hitting categories yet drop to the bottom of the league when it comes to driving runners in is just crazy.

    Second, their clutch hitting is absolutely brutal, the polar opposite of Astros teams in the past despite having many of the same players. There is definitely some luck that plays into this and some problems in the lineup (more on that shortly), but the lack of clutch hitting does not auger well for a team that is struggling to get guys out in the last three innings of the game.

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    Alex Bregman tends to start slow, but this is ridiculous.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    Giant Gaping Lineup Holes

    When we had Martin Maldonado, we didn’t realize how good we had it. Maldy’s .606 OPS in 2023 may as well have been 1.100 when you consider the just putrid .223 OPS we are getting from Jose Abreu. Right now, Abreu is simply not a major league baseball player, but he’s out there every day because our only option behind his is…Jon Singleton. His numbers are positively Maldonado-y slashing .229/.308/.306 with a .594 OPS. You could almost live with that if you thought he would remain that consistent.

    But, that is before you calculate the lack of hitting from Alex Bregman (.213/.302/.280) and Jake Meyers (.220/.273/.415). Meyers may not play every day — thankfully, that job belongs to Chas McCormick, who is finally starting to see his numbers turn around; and Mauricio Dubon, who is one of the best clutch hitters on the team — but when he does, he is little to no help. Bregman is the most galling. In his free agent year, he looks like he showed up ready to take a discount to remain in Houston. He pops up more often than new taco trucks.

    When you have that many holes in your lineup, it’s tough to string together any kind of crooked-number innings and this team is definitely not doing that.

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    Jeff Balke

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  • Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

    Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

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    HOUSTON — Framber Valdez made a five-run lead stand up after Houston’s lightning first-inning burst, Alex Bregman homered and the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 Saturday night to tie the World Series at one game apiece.

    Just like in Game 1, the Astros rushed to a 5-0 lead. Unlike ace Justin Verlander in the opener, Valdez and Houston held on.

    Valdez rebounded from a pair of poor outings in last year’s Series to pitch shutout ball into the seventh, and the bullpen survived a couple of jams to close things out.

    “Framber did a great job,” said Jose Altuve, who broke out of a 4-for-37 postseason slump with three hits. “Just amazing performance by him and our bullpen, as well.”

    Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez all doubled as Houston took a two-run lead four pitches in against Zack Wheeler. A throwing error by shortstop Edmundo Sosa allowed another run in the first, and Bregman added a two-run homer in the fifth.

    A day after coming back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings, Philadelphia tried to rally in this one, too.

    With the Phillies trailing by four runs, Kyle Schwarber hit a drive deep down the right-field line with a man on in the eighth against Rafael Montero that was originally ruled a two-run homer by right field line umpire James Hoye.

    First base umpire Tripp Gibson at first signaled for umps to conference and the call was reversed on a crew chief review when it was determined the ball was just to the foul side of the pole.

    Schwarber, who led the NL with 46 home runs this season and added three more in the playoffs, then hit a long drive that was caught at the right field wall.

    Ryan Pressly finished the combined six-hitter, giving up a run on an error by first baseman Yuli Gurriel on Brandon Marsh’s grounder.

    Following the split in Houston, the Series resumes Monday night when Citizens Bank Park hosts the Series for the first time since 2009.

    Of 61 previous Series tied 1-1, the Game 2 winner went on to the title 31 times — but just four of the last 14.

    After struggling to a 19.29 ERA in a pair of Series starts in last year’s six-game loss to Atlanta, Valdez pitched with polish and poise. His cheeks glistening with sweat, the 28-year-old left-hander struck out nine and walked three, allowing four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

    He blew by batters with a fastball averaging 95.6 mph and baffled them with his curve, which got six of his strikeouts — three of them looking. Unusually, he changed his glove and spikes mid-outing.

    When the Phillies put two runners on for the only time against him in the sixth, Valdez struck out Game 1 star J.T. Realmuto with high heat, then got Bryce Harper to bounce a first-pitch sinker into an inning-ending double play.

    “His sinker was fantastic. His curveball was pretty good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “His putaway pitches were good.”

    Thomson didn’t take issue with Valdez rubbing his palm — social media was abuzz, wondering if there was some substance there.

    “The umpires check these guys after almost every inning and if there’s something going on MLB will take care of it,” Thomson said. “We saw it the last time he started, too.”

    Nick Castellanos led off the Phillies seventh with a double and Valdez left after a groundout advanced the runner. Montero allowed Jean Segura’s sacrifice fly to the left-field warning track.

    A day after the deflating defeat, the Astros came out swinging and became the first team to open a Series game with three straight extra-base hits.

    Altuve lined a sinker into left, and Peña drove a curveball into the left-field corner for a 1-0 lead.

    Alvarez fouled off a pitch and drove a slider high off the 19-foot wall in left.

    “I was pulling for a fourth, actually,” Baker said. “Try to score as many runs as you can. Because you know Wheeler is one of the tougher guys in baseball.”

    Wheeler should have escaped down just 2-0, but shortstop Edmundo Sosa bounced his throw to first on Gurriel’s three-hopper for an error, the ball glancing off the mitt of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

    Bregman, healthy after two injury-hampered seasons, hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth when Wheeler left a slider over the middle of the plate. Bregman has six career Series homers and three this postseason with nine RBIs.

    Wheeler gave up five runs — four earned — six hits and three walks in five innings, a day after Aaron Nola struggled.

    “I think everybody deserves a poor start every once in a while,” Thomson said. “Those guys have been so good for us for so long, and I fully expect them to come back and be ready to go and pitch well for us.”

    BIG DIFFERENCE

    Houston won 106 games during the season and Philadelphia 87, the second-highest win disparity in the Series behind the 93-win Chicago White Sox beat the 116-win Cubs in 1906.

    UP NEXT

    RHP Noah Syndergaard will start Game 3 for the Phillies and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. for the Astros. Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez will take the mound for Game 4, and likely LHP Cristian Javier for Houston.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Alvarez homers again, Astros top Mariners 4-2, lead ALDS 2-0

    Alvarez homers again, Astros top Mariners 4-2, lead ALDS 2-0

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    HOUSTON — Yordan Alvarez and his mighty bat did it yet again, launching a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Seattle ace Luis Castillo that lifted the Houston Astros over the Mariners 4-2 on Thursday for a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series.

    Alvarez was the Game 1 hero with his gut-punch, three-run shot off reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray with two outs in the ninth inning that gave the Astros an 8-7 win in a game where they’d trailed by four.

    Castillo, acquired from the Reds near the trade deadline and coming off 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball against Toronto in the wild-card round, gave up an early home run to Kyle Tucker but little else as he took a 2-1 lead into the sixth.

    But with two outs, Jeremy Peña singled on a blooper that fell in between second baseman Adam Frazier and center fielder Julio Rodríguez. Castillo bent down and slapped his legs in disappointment as he watched the ball drop in shallow center.

    That brought up Alvarez, who hit a 98 mph pitch tailing away to the opposite field, into the short porch in left to put the Astros on top 3-2.

    Alvarez, who had 37 homers in the regular season, trotted around the bases as cameras panned to his Cuban parents, who are watching their first postseason series after arriving in Houston in August. The lefty pointed to them as he reached the plate before reenacting the powerful swing that has the Astros one win away from their sixth straight AL Championship Series.

    There were two outs and a runner on first in the eighth when Seattle had surely seen enough of Alvarez leaving the yard. The Mariners intentionally walked him and Alex Bregman made them pay, adding some insurance when he singled to make it 4-2.

    Houston starter Framber Valdez had a solid start, allowing four hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He had a different look than he did in his last postseason appearance after he and fellow pitcher Luis Garcia both got hair extensions this season.

    Hector Neris got the win after getting the last out of the sixth inning to escape a bases-loaded jam. Bryan Abreu got the first two outs of the seventh before Rafael Montero came in and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

    Ryan Pressly walked the leadoff batter in the ninth before J.P. Crawford lined into a double play. Rodríguez doubled after that, but Pressly struck out Ty France for the save. The Astros won despite issuing seven walks overall.

    The Mariners will head back to Seattle for Game 3 Saturday in a huge hole in the best-of-five series as they host their first playoff game in 21 years.

    Alvarez has carried the Astros early in this division series, shouldering such a load that Houston catcher Martín Maldonado asked Alvarez after Game 1 if his back was sore because “you carry us as a team.” The 25-year-old bounced back this postseason after a tough time in last year’s World Series where he batted just .100 with no homers and six strikeouts.

    The slugger who’s been criticized for poor defense in the past has been making big plays in left field, too.

    Alvarez grabbed a sharp liner hit by Eugenio Suarez to end the seventh. In Game 1, he fielded a single by Suarez in the fourth and threw a perfect strike to Maldonado, who tagged out France at the plate.

    Castillo yielded five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

    There was one out in the second inning when Tucker hit a slider from Castillo into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0.

    Crawford doubled with two outs in the third. But second baseman Jose Altuve made a leaping throw after fielding a sharp grounder hit by Rodríguez that just beat him to first base to end the inning.

    Suarez walked with one out in the fourth and Mitch Haniger doubled. Carlos Santana then hit a one-hopper that Valdez fielded cleanly toward the third base side, but his throw home was offline for an error that allowed Suarez to tie it at 1-all.

    Santana was out on the play after getting caught in a rundown. Haniger scored when Dylan Moore singled to put the Mariners up 2-1.

    Valdez walked Haniger on a full count with two outs in the sixth, Santana doubled and Moore drew a walk to load the bases and chase Valdez. Neris took over and retired Cal Raleigh on a groundout to escape the jam.

    UP NEXT

    Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr., who started just eight games this season after missing the first four months of the year with a forearm strain, will oppose rookie George Kirby in Game 3 in Seattle Saturday. Kirby pitched in relief in Game 2 of the wild-card round and became the first rookie in MLB history to record a postseason season in his first career relief appearance.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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