What an awful (offensive) game. Pitching was great. glad they won. imagine losing that game. lol so easy!
Huge effort by the pitching staff (sans Scott). Wack effort by the offense, and fireable effort by the manager. Astros uphill battle continues.... Happy for the win .
Prospects + Comp Picks > Wins + Pennants. This lineup would be much more competent with a proven third baseman or right fielder.
I see Montero got shipped out........can they take Scott also Had to go to bed so didnt see the end of the game but I see Scott gave up the only run and we snuck a win. I hate these WC games that are on so late
Because catatini has had a couple of big pinch hits. This will result in espada show horning him into every situation he can.
When we **** the bed in the 11th I went to bed. Normally I stay up to the bitter end. That’s the first time I’ve ever shut it off. Woke up and we won. So there ya go clutchfans.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6266201/2025/04/09/astros-cam-smith-hitting/ Five games into Cam Smith’s major-league career, Houston Astros coaches noticed something peculiar. Smith’s position in the batter’s box seemed farther away than at any point during his prolific spring training, leaving him susceptible to pitches thrown on the outer half. Video analysis confirmed the club’s suspicions and sent the coaching staff into action. Manager Joe Espada sat Smith on Sunday and Monday in hopes some cage work could remedy the problem — one Smith himself said he hadn’t noticed. During the discussions, hitting coaches Troy Snitker and Alex Cintrón encouraged Smith to get more into his legs and start his swing quicker, hoping the 22-year-old phenom could drive the baseball with more authority. Smith awoke Tuesday with a 66 percent ground-ball rate. None of his first nine batted balls were line drives, either. “It’s a process,” Espada said after Tuesday’s game. “This kid is very talented. He’s grinding. He’s figuring stuff out.” Two days off to decompress and diagnose the deficiencies in Smith’s swing are more productive than pushing him to play through his struggles and risking cratered confidence. It is a gamble Espada and his coaching staff could not risk for someone they want to play a pivotal role this season. “I always remind him it’s a very long season and I want him to trust the process,” Espada said. “We got some really good coaches helping him, some really good veteran players helping him through stuff.” Smith struck out in 10 of his first 21 major-league at-bats, the sort of failure he has never experienced. Even after slapping a run-scoring triple down the third-base line during Tuesday night’s win, he is still searching for continuity. “Obviously it’s not productive,” Smith said of his at-bats. “I know I’m an elite hitter, but I have to show that. Working with Cintrón and Snit, they’re helping me out along this process and I’ll get going.” Treat the triple for what it is — an encouraging sign for someone who needed one. It snapped a 2-for-20 start to Smith’s season while crossing off two firsts. Seeing Smith turn on a hanging sweeper and showcase his speed — he made it from home plate to third base in 11.53 seconds — showcased his tantalizing potential. Watching the two at-bats before it offered a reminder of how far he has to go. “This kid is going to be a good player,” Espada said. “I believe in him. It is going to take some time to get him going, but he’s doing the work that we’re asking him to do and he’s going to be just fine.” •After eking out a 2-1 win in 12 innings on Tuesday, the Astros have now scored two or fewer runs in six of their first 11 games. That the team is 5-6 is a credit to its pitching staff and, in this series, the atrocious Mariners lineup it is facing. Seattle and Houston are the only two offenses in the sport with fewer than 10 doubles. The Astros’ seven home runs are the second-fewest in baseball and no lineup has a lower slugging percentage than Houston’s .290 clip.
Like others, I fell asleep and assumed we would lose after they tied it at 1. Woke up this morning to see we squeaked it out for the win. Not sure which offense looks worse - Astros offense or Cougar offense in the last 2 minutes against Florida.
It obviously ended up working out with Caratini having the GW RBI single in the 12th (thanks to our pen in extras)… but when Espada pinch hit Caratini for Smith to lead off the 10th- Caratini was sat down swinging on 3 straight pitches. Smith had just tripled in his previous AB and I thought that leading off the 10th with a RISP was a great opportunity for Smith to build on his prior AB, potentially get another RBI or at a minimum have a productive out and move the runner over to 3rd in some capacity. To me, it was a classic case of Espada tinkering and overthinking things (as @Nook has mentioned here). In my opinion, when you’re dealing with a young player like Smith who has struggled a bit to start the year, yet had an RBI triple in his previous AB which produced our only run of the game up to that point- you should “reward” him by letting him take that next AB with a RISP. Again, we ended up winning the game on the Caratini single his next time up at the plate- so I guess it worked out in the end. But if Cam Smith was going to be on this roster you should give him every opportunity to excel and build him up.
Diaz + Zach + Jake + Cam + Walker + Dubon + Chas == 153 ABs, 23h, 5 XBH, 5 RBIs, 56 Ks (~37% of the time)
There's a lot of things this group need to fix and one of them is holding the runner at 1st. Every single/walk/error is an automatic double for opponents and it's a major concern. But because it's the Mariners, their offense is so bad combining with Astros' great pitching you get some dubs here and there.
Very true. Another thing I noticed last night, and I will be paying attention more often, Diaz would widen his stance behind the plate when he called a breaking ball for Framber in preparation for a potential block. Good baseball teams will and likely already have picked up on that. Luckily, Framber’s curve is hard to barrel up even if you know it’s coming- but baserunners are going to have a field day unless Diaz gets that cleaned up.
