The Yankees went into Houston and took the Astros’ lunch money. Call it revenge for 2017.
In a rematch of last year’s American League Championship series, the Yankees demoralized the reigning World Champs, taking three of four including a come-from-behind 6-5 win in Thursday’s series finale at Minute Maid Park. The Bronx Bombers were getting lapped by Boston early in the year but they’ve since trimmed the Red Sox’s lead in the American League East to a single game. But before we go patting New York on the back for claiming its 12th win in 13 games, it might be time to finally address the elephant in the room. Shall we?
You already know this, but it’s worth reiterating—the Astros are a legitimate juggernaut with very few shortcomings. The lineup is full of Greek gods like Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa while the rotation features a pair of Cy Young winners (Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel), a guy whose CURVEBALL sits in the high 80s (fun fact: any time you type the phrase “spin rate,” it immediately summons Trevor Bauer) and Charlie Morton, who might be the hottest pitcher in all of baseball. There’s a reason Vegas set the over/under for Houston wins at 96.5—they’re phenomenal.
But the Astros aren’t perfect and perfect is about what it takes to beat the Yankees these days. It may have been hard to see amidst all the champagne, confetti and on-field marriage proposals, but Houston’s Achilles heel did show itself during last year’s playoff run. The back end of the Astros’ bullpen was a catastrophe in the postseason and Ken Giles was the worst of the bunch (11.74 ERA in seven games). In fact, Giles was so toxic during the World Series (five runs over 1 2/3 innings) that manager A.J. Hinch benched him for Games 5-7. Imagine that—a flame-throwing closer who the Astros once traded FIVE players for, rotting away on the pine during the most important three-game stretch in the history of the franchise.
As awful as he looked during the postseason, the Astros graciously gave Giles a clean slate in 2018. Then Tuesday happened. Giles came on in a scoreless tie in the ninth inning following another breathtaking performance by Verlander (8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 14 Ks) and promptly let everything around him fall to pieces. It took all of 16 pitches for Giles to fully implode, allowing hits to four of the five men he faced including Gary Sanchez, who slugged a 423-foot homer to give the Yankees a 3-0 advantage. In total, Giles allowed four runs, raising his ERA from a surprisingly decent 1.80 all the way to 5.23.
It wasn’t technically a blown save for Giles since he never had the lead, but the meltdown was enough for Hinch to rethink his ninth-inning pecking order. When the Astros pulled ahead on Thursday afternoon—Houston’s four-run seventh erased a 28-inning scoreless streak—Giles was nowhere to be found. Instead, Hinch tasked Will Harris with protecting a 5-3 lead in the ninth as the Astros looked to salvage a series split.
The Yankees’ broadcasting crew on YES openly questioned this move, suggesting the Astros should have stuck with Chris Devenski, who struck out the side in relief of Lance McCullers an inning earlier. Devenski, owner of arguably the league’s filthiest change-up, was an All-Star last year and has been nothing short of spectacular in 2018, contributing an electric 0.68 ERA over 13 1/3 stellar innings. Despite his utter dominance, Hinch has preferred to use Devenski in a setup capacity, similar to how Terry Francona employs Andrew Miller in Cleveland.
Naturally, Harris face-planted harder than the Raptors against LeBron James. Mayhem ensued as Harris issued a free pass to Neil Walker to begin the inning. Next came Miguel Andujar, who singled to center, followed by pinch-hitter Aaron Hicks, who loaded the bases by roping another single to left-center. Hinch tried to put out the fire by summoning Brad Peacock from the pen, but that didn’t work either. The Yankees’ shiny new second baseman Gleyber Torres tied the game with a single swing, plopping a base hit into shallow left center. Then for good measure, Torres broke up a double play with a hard slide at second base, allowing Aaron Judge to score the go-ahead run from third. Aroldis Chapman, who went through a mid-career crisis of his own before winning back the closer job for good last year, mowed down Houston in the ninth for his seventh save of 2018.
So where do the Astros go from here? There’s no shame in dropping three of four to a team as hot as New York, and even with a difficult assignment coming up against the Diamondbacks (21-10) this weekend, the Astros will surely bounce back from this. Championships aren’t won on May 4, after all. But did the Yankees’ expose Houston’s greatest flaw? The Astros looked plenty vulnerable in the late innings last season and this series proved that Houston’s bullpen remains fragile. Harris has been a successful reliever throughout his career but as Thursday demonstrated, he’s not closer material. Giles has the make-up of a closer and the Astros gave up a ton to acquire him from Philadelphia, but he’s running dangerously low on confidence right now. Moving Devenski to the closer role seems like the logical next step for Houston but remember, the bullpen is a fragile ecosystem. There’s no guarantee that Devenski’s success as a setup man would translate to the ninth inning.
Maybe Houston will address its bullpen need at the trade deadline. The Astros pursued Baltimore closer Zach Britton last summer and could go back to that well once he’s healthy. We’re not at Defcon Five territory or anywhere close, but if the Astros plan on thwarting the Yankees in October, they’ll need a ninth-inning arm they can count on. I’m not sure that player is on their roster right now.
AL Quick Hits: The biggest story out of baseball on Thursday came from the Mariners, who have decided to transition Ichiro Suzuki into a front office role. While Ichiro won’t play again this season, the 44-year-old was adamant that he’s not retired and left open the possibility of resuming his career, either in MLB (he said he’ll only play for Seattle) or back in his native Japan. If Suzuki doesn’t end up getting another chance in the majors, he’ll finish with 3,089 hits, 117 homers and 509 steals over 2,651 career games for the Mariners, Yankees and Marlins … Albert Pujols moved closer to history by recording his 2,999th career hit in Thursday’s win over Baltimore. Pujols is seeking to become the 32nd player in major league history to reach 3,000 hits … How’d Josh Donaldson make out in his return from a three-week stint on the disabled list? Pretty good! He went 4-for-11 in Thursday’s doubleheader with two doubles and a pair of homers. Donaldson’s teammate, Yangervis Solarte, also fared well, plating seven runs with two round-trippers including a go-ahead grand slam in Game 1 of Thursday’s double-dip … Miguel Cabrera returned to action on Thursday after missing time with a left biceps injury but only lasted six innings before going down with a strained hamstring. The Tigers called up Grayson Greiner from Triple-A Toledo late Thursday night, signaling that Cabrera could be on his way to the disabled list … Here’s something you don’t see every day. Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor homered from both sides of the plate Thursday in the first game of Cleveland’s doubleheader against Toronto. He’s the first player in the major leagues to accomplish that feat this season … All-Star reliever Andrew Miller could be activated from the disabled list as early as Sunday. He’s been nursing a hamstring injury for the past week and a half … Nathan Eovaldi will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Charlotte on Friday. The Rays right-hander is nearing a return from arthroscopic elbow surgery. He hasn’t appeared in a major league game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2016 … Welington Castillo was scratched from Thursday’s game against the Twins due to lower abdominal pain. Omar Narvaez filled in behind the plate and went 1-for-3 with a double in Chicago’s 6-5 victory. Castillo is day-to-day … Yoan Moncada sat out Thursday’s game due to hamstring tightness but could return to action on Friday. Yolmer Sanchez handled second base in Moncada’s absence and went 1-for-4 with a single and two RBI in a win over Minnesota … Adrian Beltre took batting practice along with teammate Elvis Andrus (elbow) on Thursday. He also took grounders at third base. There’s no word on when Beltre might be back from his hamstring strain, though he’s obviously making good progress.
NL Quick Hits: Despite his recent struggles, the Cubs have no plans to demote Ian Happ. “I’m not even talking about that with Theo or anybody yet,” said manager Joe Maddon. “Of course he’s frustrated, but he’s handling it so well.” Happ has hit just .233 with 36 strikeouts in 73 at-bats this season … Steven Souza made his Diamondbacks debut on Thursday. Souza had been out with a pectoral strain he suffered during spring training. He started in right field and went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in Arizona’s loss to the Dodgers … Kris Medlen will make his first major league start in nearly two years when he takes the mound for Arizona Friday against the Astros. The 32-year-old is filling in for Robbie Ray, who was placed on the disabled list with a strained oblique earlier this week … Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu is expected to miss the remainder of the first half with a strained left groin. Ryu won’t be easy to replace. He’s 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA this year and has limited opponents to a .154 average with 36 strikeouts in 104 at-bats … Twenty-four hours ago, Jacob deGrom was due to miss significant time with an elbow injury. Now it appears he’ll make his next start Monday against Cincinnati. DeGrom left Wednesday’s outing with a hyperextended elbow, though an MRI cleared him of any structural damage … Matt Harvey endured another disastrous outing on Thursday, allowing three hits and five runs in a two-inning cameo against Atlanta. The right-hander has limped to a 10.50 ERA since losing his spot in the Mets’ starting rotation. Harvey may not be long for New York if his struggles continue … In minor league news, former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow swatted his second home run of the year Thursday in Double-A Binghamton’s win over New Hampshire.
Blue Jays third base prodigy Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (MLB.com’s No. 3 prospect) also homered in that game.
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