Inconsistency: Thy name is Astros

Our good buddy, Chip sent me a text Sunday saying “OK…If the Astros somehow figure out how to win this series today, I’m going to probably shake my head and throw my hands up. Go figure this team.”

And that is what the Astros did on Sunday, pulling out a series win over the previously red-hot Tampa Bay Rays. This series looked like it was headed for a Rays sweep around the fourth inning on Saturday as the Astros had already lost the opener and were down 7-2 in the middle game. But the team that friend of the blog, Daveb, called “a stubborn mediocre group” kept plugging and tied the game at 8-8, and the Rays ended up pitching to Yordan Alvarez to their detriment as he walked it off in the 9th.

On Sunday, the Astros played a close-to-the-vest game, winning behind another great start by Peter Lambert, 3.1 innings of bullpen-shutout ball, and homers by Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes. Side note – Walker rubbed Yordan’s bat all over himself after Saturday’s game and hit the opposite-field homer while Alvarez went 0 for 4. Coincidence?

But back to the theme of this post. The inconsistency of this team makes us shake our heads when we watch them today and when we look at their shaky run back towards .500 and contention. Run back? It has been more like an ooze back.

When the Astros lost to the Twins back on May 20, they were 20-31, 6 games back in the AL West and 5 games back of the Wild Card. Now they did go on a four-game winning streak immediately after that loss, but since then it has been a lot of two steps forward and one step back. They have won 6 of their last 7 series, sweeping none of them. That might seem like some consistency, but frankly it has been a bit of an odd run due to the inconsistency of their starting pitching. The bullpen, which has been sterling, has won 9 of their last 15 games.

Starters

One of the main things that has had the fans shaking their collective heads has been that we start every game (other than Peter Lambert’s starts) wondering what the starters will bring that day.

• Hunter Brown – Hunter has been back for four up-and-down starts. First time back, he threw a typical Hunter start – 5.2 innings and 1 run allowed. He followed it with a start where he only went three innings (1 run allowed), and then six innings with three runs/two earned allowed. Last time out he gave up seven runs/ six earned in a four-inning disaster that was saved by Yordan’s heroics. Which Hunter is showing up next?
• Spencer Arrighetti – After a scorching May, where he was chosen as the AL Pitcher of the month, Arrighetti went 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA in 5 very disturbing starts in June. He turned it around in his only July start with a 6 inning / 1 run stint against the Rays. Hopefully, May Spencer is back for July.
• Tatsuya Imai – His last four starts have been – 0.2 IP/5 runs, 6 IP/ 3 runs, 6 IP/ 0 runs, and 1.1 IP/ 5 runs. You tell me what will happen next.
• Mike Burrows – His first three starts of June he gave up 16 runs (13 earned) in 15 innings. Then after a re-set one inning outing from the bullpen, he had a good 6 inning/ 1 run start followed by a so-so 5 inning/4 run start. Which Mike shows up next?
• Kai-Wei Teng – After putting up an 8.83 ERA over 4 starts, Teng threw a sharp 6 IP/1 run start followed by a 3.2 IP/ 5 runs/ 4 earned start. He was then sent down to the minors but shifted to the IL.

In the last 6 weeks, the Astros have not lost more than 2 games in a row but have also not won more than 3 games in a row.  Staring at the results from all the starting pitchers not named Peter Lambert, it is no wonder the team cannot string more than 3 wins in a row. Those starters have a problem stringing two quality starts in a row.

Offense

The other side of the inconsistency problem has been the Astros offense. In the last couple of weeks, the Astros have won four big scoring comeback wins – 9-7 over Toronto, 8-6 and 7-5 over Detroit and 10-8 over Tampa Bay. But that same offense scored 2 or less runs in 7 of their last 15 games.

This offensive inconsistency has also played a part in the team not quite going  on a significant winning streak. That has been driven by several things:

• Jeremy Pena’s IL stint – as stated before, the Astros are a much better team won-loss wise with Pena in the lineup. He triggers the rallies and sets the table for Yordan and others to tote up the RBIs.
• Jose Altuve’s fall-off – His great Saturday game was an anomaly. Since April 12^th he is slashing .208 BA/ .269 OBP/ .615 OPS, which is probably the worst of his career over a 50+ game period.
• Christian Walker fall-off – Over his last 55 games he is slashing  .190 BA/.258 OBP/ .662 OPS. His 12 home runs and 31 RBIs helped a bit, but a sub-Menodza bat in the middle of the lineup is problematic.
• The wimpy outfield – the poor numbers out of anyone they put in the outfield (other than Taylor Trammell) has been off-putting. Cam Smith (.221 BA/ .293 OBP/ .672 OPS), Joey Loperfido (.216 BA/ .314 OBP/ .647 OPS), Jake Meyers (.206 BA/ .264 OBP/ .580 OPS), and Brice Matthews (.191 BA/ .244 OBP/.564 OPS) have all been performing below average to way below average at the plate and Loperfido and Meyers are in the minors because of it. Cameos by Zach Dezenzo, Zach Cole, Dustin Harris and Daniel Johnson have been equally poor.

Sometimes it is a wonder they can put together these offensive outbursts with so many below-average performers in the lineup. Of course, the results are equally inconsistent.

The bullpen has been the one beacon of consistency on this team and has, frankly, been critical in keeping it afloat.

The Astros badly need more consistency from their starting pitching to take the next step in their chase for a playoff spot. More consistent offense would be nice, but the starting pitching is always the most critical spot for this team.

Any thoughts on the Astros’ lack of consistency?