HOUSTON -- The 12 games the Astros have remaining before the Trade Deadline could determine their fate in October. With the deadline looming in two weeks, the Astros are still considered to be buyers and will be in the market for relief pitching and an outfield bat, though their needs go deeper than that.
The Astros’ uninspiring play out of the All-Star break -- the Orioles beat them, 5-2, on Sunday afternoon at Daikin Park to sweep the three-game series -- has some wondering which direction the club should take at the Aug. 3 deadline. Houston has lost four games in a row and six of its last seven, dropping to 47-54.
The Astros have been passed by the Orioles and Tigers in the Wild Card standings in recent days, which leaves winning the American League West their most viable path to the postseason. Houston is four games behind the first-place Rangers, who are 50-49 and will play three games against the Astros at Daikin Park right before the Trade Deadline.
Simply put, if the Astros are capable of making a run to solidify their stance as buyers at the Deadline, now is the time.
“I feel we’re at a point in the season where we need to start getting results now,” shortstop Jeremy Peña said. “We need to keep pushing. The guys are showing up every single day. We’re working hard. We’re trying to get it done. There’s no quit in this team. Like I said, our division is pretty tight. Obviously, we want to come out of the break swinging, but this is the position we’re in right now. We’ve just got to bounce back.”
Neither Peña nor veteran first baseman Christian Walker played Sunday after both left Saturday’s loss following painful swings. Peña has a right hamstring cramp, but hopes to be able to play Monday against the Marlins; Walker is nursing right hip tightness and sore knuckles, but it appears both will avoid the injured list.
The Astros let an eighth-inning lead slip away Friday and couldn’t score with the bases loaded and no outs in the 10th inning Saturday, losing a pair of winnable games en route to being swept for the fourth time this season.
“Not the outcome we were looking for,” manager Joe Espada said. “I thought we could have easily won two of three [vs. Baltimore]. Just things didn’t go our way, but we need to flush it and start playing better.”
Not even ace Hunter Brown could rescue the Astros on Sunday. He issued a career-high six walks, hit two batters and gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings. A third-place Cy Young finisher in the AL a year ago, he has a 5.22 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in six starts since coming off the injured list.
“Obviously, it’s not what we envisioned,” Brown said of the Astros’ four-game losing streak. “You want to come out of the break and get on a nice little run and we haven’t done that yet, but we’ve got a lot of talent in this clubhouse and a lot of guys that believe in one another. Still a lot of baseball to be played.”
The Astros’ desire to add a relief pitcher, preferably a right-hander, was underscored in the series against the Orioles. Lefty Bryan King, a key setup man for the Astros the last two years, allowed his fifth homer in his past four outings Sunday after allowing one homer in his first 40 innings pitched this year. He was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land following Sunday’s game.
Their need to add an outfielder remains paramount. Center-fielder Lucas Spence, who was called up for his Major League debut Friday, went 0-for-4 on Sunday with three strikeouts, and right-fielder Cam Smith is in an 0-for-13 slump after going 0-for-4 on Sunday. Yordan Alvarez started in left field Sunday and had an RBI double for his 73rd RBI.
The Astros will get right-hander Ronel Blanco off the injured list to make his first start Monday in more than a year, and right-hander Hayden Wesneski could return later in the week. Both had Tommy John surgery early last year. Their return could satisfy the club’s need for more starting pitching.
The club needs help, and the next two weeks loom large.
“I don’t think we’re really thinking about that,” Peña said. “Our division is up for grabs. We hope to come out swinging here in the second half. I think we have the guys necessary to get it done. We have the guys to make a push. Yeah, why not?”