I think they need to put Reddick in the 2 hole until Bregman remembers how to hit. You can't have Springer and Bregman both being automatic outs in front of Altuve and Correa.
The Astros hitters came into this game with a 29.4% strikeout rate, which is way more than the 19.3% the 2017 team posted. Chief culprits: Marisnick, Fisher, Davis. So, really good to see the team avoiding the strikeout in the first 3 innings today. Somebody's gotta teach these guys about launch angle though. What's with all the ground balls?
****ing Hinch needs to move Springer out of the lead off spot too. Amirite? Not that I have any problem with Reddick batting 2nd but it’s only about a week of baseball. I think they’ll be alright.
Bregman and Altuve are the only 2 Astros hitters who are actually striking out less compared to last year. That bodes well for Bregman, who has just gotten BABIP'd to death. The hits will start falling for him soon; he is putting a lot of balls in play by avoiding the K. His main problem is that the contact he's making is of the light to moderate type; not really barreling the ball up like he did last year. That should come soon though.
that's still no K's through 4 innings. By my unofficial count that is also 13 balls put in play but only 2 hits to show for it. Nature has a way of bringing that back into balance though.
Padres learned from their mistake last inning. When Hosmer led off with a double, they should have bunted him over to third. Luckily they kept on swinging away and striking out. They're learning quickly though.
