HOUSTON — Friday afternoon, Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde stopped the barrage of questions about his brother-in-law to issue a warning. Someone surrounding him wondered if the forthcoming series felt like one where “you can’t let the record fool you.” Hyde’s eyes grew wide.
“This is a playoff team,” he said.
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Then, the Houston Astros finally played like one. The lineup lit up a Baltimore pitching staff that brought baseball’s fourth-lowest ERA into this three-game series. Houston’s two best starters stymied the same Orioles offense that scored 24 runs across two games Wednesday and Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
The Astros outscored Baltimore 27-13 and never trailed to end an inning across a three-game sweep that must be called their most complete performance of the season. Houston clawed within two games of .500 and six games of the first-place Seattle Mariners. Manager Joe Espada hoped the club could use it as a “trampoline” into more consistent play. Here are three takeaways from the series.
What could be
The Orioles offer so much of what Houston has lacked all season: athleticism, quickness and the sort of speed becoming more en vogue under baseball’s new rules. Action is constant and energy is palpable whenever Baltimore plays. Few can say the same about the Astros.
Houston’s roster construction restricts how much it can replicate what the Orioles do so well. Baltimore has baseball’s fourth-youngest group of position players. Houston has the fifth-oldest and won’t get younger overnight.
Introducing more athleticism and youth could be one of general manager Dana Brown’s objectives this winter, but his ballclub has two options to increase it. Joey Loperfido and Mauricio Dubón bring elements to Houston’s lineup that few others on the 26-man roster can replicate.
Removing José Abreu from the active roster has allowed Espada to deploy both players with more ease. Dubón and Loperfido started all three games against the Orioles — and twice hit back-to-back in the batting order — bringing a dynamic not seen for so much of this season.
“It’s exciting. It’s athleticism. It’s explosiveness. It’s exactly what we’re looking for, that little spark that we need,” Espada said after Friday’s game, one in which Loperfido finished 3-for-4 and made a diving catch in left field.
Welcome Back Joey Loperfido!pic.twitter.com/NXiLg8G0lI
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 22, 2024
Loperfido covers 28.6 feet per second when he sprints. Only two Astros players are faster: shortstop Jeremy Peña and center fielder Jake Meyers, both of whom entered Sunday’s game with identical .312 on-base percentages. Loperfido’s is .396, albeit after just 49 major-league at-bats.
The Astros’ average sprint speed is 27.2 feet per second. Only eight clubs are slower. Dubón averages 27.1 feet per second, faster than Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker.
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Foot speed alone should not determine playing time — production should. Loperfido’s lack of experience against left-handed pitching is problematic, and Dubón hasn’t hit right-handed pitching well throughout his career.
Finding matchups in which both players can have success should be Espada’s foremost goal, but it’s clear he’s trending more toward playing a more dynamic lineup than anything Houston fielded in April or May.
Dubón has started 14 consecutive games. Loperfido started all three since arriving back with the team Friday, and Espada has not hidden from the fact he wants to play Loperfido as much as possible. Tucker’s slow recovery from a shin contusion makes it easier for Espada to play them together, but his return could cloud the picture.
Jon Singleton has started five of the nine games at first base since Abreu’s departure, but playing Dubón there Sunday behind one of baseball’s best ground-ball pitchers illustrated how the team views both players defensively.
Espada can continue to keep Singleton involved at first base against some right-handed pitching, but he does not afford any of the aforementioned athleticism that Dubón does.
The rotation’s revolving door
Two off days this week could’ve masked the Astros’ dwindling rotation depth. Houston has four healthy starters on its 40-man roster, but the upcoming schedule doesn’t require a fifth. Espada wants one anyway. Where he will find it is anyone’s guess.
Sunday, Espada acknowledged the Astros would like to reinsert a fifth starter for the finale of their upcoming series against the New York Mets. Justin Verlander isn’t eligible to be activated from the injured list until July 1, a day after that series concludes. That Verlander has yet to resume throwing suggests he might not be ready to return on the first day he is eligible.
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Promoting Jake Bloss straight from Double A — and starting his service-time clock after 11 months in pro ball — backfired when the 22-year-old right-hander departed his major-league debut with a shoulder injury.
Houston’s search to replace Bloss in the starting rotation might shift back to Triple-A Sugar Land, but that Brown bypassed all the options there in favor of Bloss illustrates the faith — or lack thereof — in many of them. Designating Blair Henley for assignment Friday to make room for Bloss on the 40-man roster only reinforced it.
Presuming Houston stays in rotation, Ronel Blanco and Framber Valdez will have an extra day of rest while starting the first two games of the Mets series. Hunter Brown, who is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies, would be on only four days’ rest if Houston chooses to start him for the finale at Citi Field.
Hunter Brown has already thrown 74 1/3 innings, and Tuesday’s start will be his team-leading 15th of the season. This winter, he acknowledged fatiguing in the second half of last season due to a heavy workload, an outcome the Astros cannot afford this season. Houston has enough problems keeping pitchers healthy, so it is of paramount importance to preserve the precious few still standing.
Espada did not sound enthused at the prospect of a bullpen game when asked about the possibility Sunday. On the team’s pregame radio show, Dana Brown mentioned stretching out long man Shawn Dubin to 50 or 60 pitches for a possible spot start, but that wouldn’t be much different from deploying a bullpen game.
Veteran left-hander Eric Lauer remains in Triple-A Sugar Land but will make a prorated $1.5 million if he is called up to the major leagues. Given Houston’s proximity to the second CBT threshold and insistence it will buy at the trade deadline, it’s worth wondering whether that salary is a deterrent.
Perhaps more intriguing: Lauer’s contract also contains an opt-out on July 1. The Astros are so thin on starting pitching depth that they may not want to risk losing Lauer. Promoting him for a spot start could be an avenue to ensure he stays.
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Can Yainer Diaz catch Valdez?
Valdez and backup catcher Victor Caratini had turned into the closest thing Houston had to a personal battery. An awkward slide into home plate during Houston’s series win in Chicago broke it up.
Caratini could miss up to four weeks with the left hip flexor strain he suffered against the Chicago White Sox, depriving the Astros of an unsung hero while exposing their lack of experienced catching depth.
Caratini sported a 102 OPS+ while starting 30 of Houston’s first 77 games at catcher. Espada enjoyed deploying him late in games as a pinch hitter for his contact-centric approach and ability to hit from both sides. Caratini is responsible for two of the team’s walk-off wins this season, both as a pinch hitter.
His absence will thrust César Salazar into a more pronounced role, but it might include just one pitcher. Everyday catcher Diaz has not caught Valdez since a disastrous start against the Los Angeles Angels on May 20, after which both batterymates acknowledged Valdez deviated from the team’s game plan during a seven-run fifth inning. Valdez has a 3.32 ERA when throwing to Caratini, compared to a 5.94 ERA with Diaz behind the plate.
Espada has either deflected or denied any insinuations that he’s hesitant to have Diaz catch Valdez, but pairing the southpaw with Caratini for five consecutive starts suggests otherwise. Salazar caught Sunday with a sweep in the balance, guiding Valdez through seven innings of one-run ball against one of baseball’s best lineups. He now has a 3.00 ERA since that aforementioned start on May 20.
Salazar is renowned for his relationships and meticulous game planning. He will not supply the same offense Caratini could but will excel with his preparation, presence and receiving skills.
Still, bringing in a veteran with more major-league experience to supplement the depth at Triple A feels necessary.
“If we get an opportunity to sign someone just as a safety (net), we’ll do it,” Brown said on the team’s pregame radio show, “but right now we feel pretty comfortable where we are.”
(Top photo of Mauricio Dubón: Tim Warner / Getty Images)