Somehow, Houston won three games to salvage a split and stay at least tied atop the American League West. Solace can be taken in that, but concerns about the club\u2019s extended period of pedestrian play are valid.<\/p>\n
Since finishing a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 6 and surging to 20 games above .500, the Astros are 14-20. Only five teams entered Sunday with 20 losses across that same stretch: the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals.<\/p>\n
Two of those teams orchestrated trade deadline fire sales. Another may be the worst major-league team ever assembled. This is company no contending club should want to keep, but here stand the Astros, a team that pushed all-in at the trade deadline and must start playing like it.<\/p>\n
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Cristian Javier left Sunday\u2019s game after three innings due to an illness. (Tim Warner \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Shawn Dubin\u2019s dreadful return from the injured list continued on Sunday, a game in which Houston needed length in relief of starter Cristian Javier, who fell ill and finished just three innings.<\/p>\n
Dubin instead faced four batters. All of them scored. In three appearances since the Astros activated him on Tuesday, Dubin has surrendered 11 runs and secured five outs. Jordan Westburg\u2019s three-run home run on Sunday is the third Dubin has allowed since returning from a 44-game absence caused by a forearm strain.<\/p>\n
Dubin is the closest thing to a long man Houston has in its bullpen. Rarely do those relievers generate much attention, but the role is more pronounced for an Astros team full of starting pitchers in various states of recovery from substantial injuries.<\/p>\n
Even if Javier didn\u2019t get sick on Sunday, it stood to reason he would have a shorter leash than a traditional starter. If or when Luis Garcia returns from a 27-month Tommy John surgery absence, he will be in a similar predicament. Spencer Arrighetti, who is scheduled to start Monday\u2019s series opener in Detroit, has failed to throw more than five innings in either of his first two starts back from a fractured thumb.<\/p>\n
The Astros must find someone able to piggyback a planned short start or step in during a situation like Sunday\u2019s and deliver length. Garcia, J.P. France or Lance McCullers Jr. could become a factor when they\u2019re ready to return to a major-league mound.<\/p>\n
Javier\u2019s illness forced the Astros into an impossible situation. Dubin recording even four or five outs would\u2019ve been welcomed. Procuring just one put the pitching staff in a putrid position and almost ensured roster changes are looming. How Houston will engineer them is another matter.<\/p>\n
Optioned pitchers must remain in Triple A for 15 days before being summoned back to the major leagues \u2014 unless they\u2019re replacing a player going on the injured list. None of John Rooney, AJ Blubaugh, Colton Gordon or Nick Hernandez have been demoted long enough to be called up on Monday. Logan VanWey is the only pitcher on the 40-man roster who could be called up before Monday\u2019s game without putting a pitcher on the injured list.<\/p>\n
Jordan Weems, already designated for assignment once this season, threw 37 pitches and procured one out on Sunday in a seven-run game. His hold on a roster spot is, at best, tenuous. Swapping those two names would make sense.<\/p>\n
Rooney was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Aug. 4, meaning he could return as early as Tuesday without the Astros putting anyone on the injured list. Blubaugh got optioned on Aug. 5.<\/p>\n
Bringing back Blubaugh when he\u2019s eligible may become a foregone conclusion. He aced an audition in Miami last week, throwing five innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen while bumping 98 mph with his fastball. He threw 56 pitches on Friday in Triple A, meaning he could be well-rested when the Astros arrive in Baltimore this weekend for a four-game set.<\/p>\n
Dubin\u2019s struggles are so pronounced that Blubaugh\u2019s potential arrival may prompt discussion about the viability of his spot on the active roster \u2014 or at least his presence in any sort of leverage situation. That Dubin does not have minor-league options remaining may be his saving grace.<\/p>\n
The only members of Houston\u2019s bullpen that do have minor-league options are Bryan King and Bennett Sousa, two southpaws who have all but secured leverage roles in the wake of Josh Hader\u2019s shoulder injury. Neither is in danger of a demotion, even for a team desperate for fresh arms.<\/p>\n
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Jes\u00fas S\u00e1nchez is batting .173 since joining the Astros. (Carmen Mandato \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Jes\u00fas S\u00e1nchez feels \u201cweird.\u201d Asked on Sunday to elaborate, the effervescent outfielder said through an interpreter that \u201cit\u2019s difficult to explain, it just feels weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez swears it is not his new surroundings, where he\u2019s fallen into an ill-timed slump. The deadline acquisition went hitless during his Daikin Park debut, finishing 0-for-16 during a six-game homestand in which the Astros were starved for offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to find myself,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said after finishing 0-for-4 in Sunday\u2019s loss. \u201cYou have to keep your head high and try to get some good at-bats.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez is 2-for-27 since the Astros\u2019 three-game series at loanDepot Park, where the longtime Marlin was able to catch up with old teammates and thrive in a familiar setting. Logic suggests the whirlwind of changing teams and clubhouses may have set in for the 27-year-old outfielder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just a slump, and that can happen to anyone,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the team because the team has helped me a lot and given me a lot of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez has struck out seven times during this slump. His 42.5 percent groundball rate in August is lower than his career average, but the Astros are trying to implement some changes in hopes S\u00e1nchez can elevate the baseball with more authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to make him stay shorter and through the ball, kind of elevate some of those,\u201d Espada said. \u201cRight now, he\u2019s just around and beating the ball into the ground. He\u2019s getting good pitches to hit, just have to make that tiny adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez\u2019s energy is infectious and he continues to sport one of the widest smiles in Houston\u2019s clubhouse. Within a span of seven innings on Sunday, S\u00e1nchez robbed both a grand slam and a three-run home run with leaping catches at the right field wall. After both, he watched the replay on the scoreboard and applauded himself.<\/p>\n
(Top photo of Carlos Correa: Alex Slitz \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 Morale is higher within the Houston Astros\u2019 clubhouse, and merchandise may be more popular inside the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":154438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4345,2382,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-154437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-houston-astros","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115047039357281553","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}