DETROIT -- The Astros have led the American League West for about 2 1/2 months, which is rather remarkable when you consider the key players who’ve missed big chunks of time with injuries -- slugger Yordan Alvarez and All-Stars Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes on offense, as well as eight starting pitchers on the injured list at one point.
The hope was an influx of talent at the Trade Deadline and the return of some of those injured starters – primarily Spencer Arrighetti and Cristian Javier -- would be enough to fend off the Mariners in the AL West race. The Astros’ tenuous division lead remains intact, but their second consecutive blowout loss, a 10-0 defeat on Monday at the hands of the Tigers at Comerica Park, may be their nadir.
“It’s not been pretty, it’s not been good,” third baseman Carlos Correa said. “If there is a group of guys that can turn it around, it’s the group in here.”
The Astros (69-56), who rode an energy infusion by adding Correa, as well as Jesús Sánchez and Ramón Urías, at the Trade Deadline, are 7-9 in August and still lead the AL West by 1 1/2 games over the Mariners (68-58). That’s only because Seattle has lost five of six games on the heels of an eight-game winning streak.
“We’re first in our division, and we’re in August and our best baseball is yet to come,” Correa said. “I feel good about where we’re at. We got some guys who are getting healthy and they’re going to help down the stretch, and we have a lot of talent in this clubhouse. But we feel great.”
The Astros are hitting .152 in their past four games, with two extra-base hits -- Correa’s first-inning double Monday and a Jose Altuve homer Saturday. They’ve been outscored by 28 runs (33-5) since the start of play Friday, including 22-0 in the past two games. The series-opening loss to Detroit marked the first time since April 2005 that the Astros have been shut out three times in a four-game span
If you need a silver lining, Alvarez will begin a Minor League rehab assignment Tuesday at Double-A Corpus Christi and ace pitcher Hunter Brown will start Tuesday in his hometown against the Tigers, albeit against reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
“Yordan will make us better, and having Hunter Brown tomorrow is something to be optimistic [about]. I look forward to it, but we have to be better at doing the small stuff,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We are a better club than we have shown [in] the last couple of games.”
The players’ frustration was evident at the end of the eighth, when Peña slammed his helmet to the ground after striking out. Things were so out of hand that Houston used outfielder Chas McCormick to pitch for the second game in a row. Remarkably, he’s thrown two scoreless innings.
“I think losing overall is going to bring some frustration, but I think we’re good at turning the page and going to the next game,” Altuve said. “I think that’s what we’re going to do as a team. We have great players here. We’re still in first place, and that tells you a lot about the season we’re having. Tomorrow starts a good winning streak and a new day.”
Arrighetti, making his third start since missing four months following a broken right thumb, allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings. He is 0-3 with a 7.90 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP since his return, allowing 12 runs on 19 hits and 10 walks in 13 2/3 innings.
“I started missing big over the plate,” he said. “They hit pretty bad pitches, for the most part. I went back and watched a lot of it. Just made some mistakes.”
With All-Star closer Josh Hader landing on the injured list last week with a left shoulder capsule sprain and likely out for the regular season, the Astros’ bullpen is struggling.
Tayler Scott, who began the season in Houston’s bullpen and was designated for assignment in May, was called up prior to Monday’s game and then rocked for five runs (including two homers) in 1 2/3 relief innings. Astros relievers have an 11.71 ERA with 10 homers in 27 2/3 innings in the past seven games.
“We’ve just got to execute better, get quicker outs and then give our offense an opportunity,” Espada said. “Offensively, we just haven’t been able to get anything going, which I know will turn around. Just hasn’t been the case the last couple of games.”