Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez left Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels with an apparent injury in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Success for the Houston Astros isn’t a playoff appearance or a season just over .500. By Houston’s standards, a solid year means making a strong showing (at least) in the postseason.
While Houston’s ultimate goal is to be world champions again, only 14 MLB teams have won back-to-back championships. The youngest repeat winner was the Yankees with three goals from 1998–2000.
The Astros are trying to get back to where they normally are, made even more difficult by Saturday’s disastrous 13-12 walk-off loss to the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings.
Not only did Houston lose a six-run lead — and a three-run lead in the ninth inning — but the Angels also won after a chaotic walkoff game in the 10th inning when Taylor Ward hammered into a fielder choice who misplayed by the fill-off. in shortstop Grae Kessinger.
Cabbage delivered a game-winning run 🛒#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/VMTiGqdN1Y
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 16, 2023
And the Astros (51-42) need to get back on track even if they’re missing stars like Lance McCullers Jr. and Jose Altuve through injuries.
McCullers underwent season-ending surgery for a bone spur and flexor tendon. Altuve is struggling with left slant discomfort despite making a comeback.
Other notable names on Houston’s long injury list include star outfielder Yordan Alvarez and right-handed pitchers Jose Urquidy and Luis Garcia.
Urquidy hasn’t thrown for the Astros since April 30 but is expected to be back in August. Alvarez is expected to begin his rehabilitation stint soon. But Garcia is down for this year and could even miss part of next season.
Left-hander Framber Valdez started on the mound for Houston in Anaheim Saturday. Despite setting a career high with 13 strikeouts, Valdez left the game in the seventh inning with a coach. Astros manager Dusty Baker said after the game that Valdez had a left calf injury. Shortstop Jeremy Pena also suffered a right thigh cramp, which meant Kessinger was late in the game.
Framber Valdez said he felt a pull in his left calf during his last throw of the game. He doesn’t know if it was fatigue, dehydration or something else.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 16, 2023
With Houston’s bullpen looking now, the Astros can’t afford to lose another long-lived pitcher. Houston had to use five substitutes in Friday night’s 7-5 win over the Angels.
The Astros were unable to secure the weekend series against the Angels on Saturday night as they brutally took the lead on multiple occasions.
The @Angels are the first MLB team to go 6+ runs behind in the 7th inning or later, close that gap, then fall back 3+ runs and still win the game since the Phillies in the Have done against the Pirates September 16, 1930.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 16, 2023
Astros substitute Ryan Pressly pitched for 12 straight innings early in Saturday’s game, but his streak ended after a ninth-inning home run by none other than Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese second division side’s home run was their first against Pressly since June 15.
“Some days you get hit. You don’t like that.” [Pressly] don’t like it Nobody likes it. But that’s part of the game,” Baker said of the ninth inning. “It’s hard to accept, but it happens.”
The bigger, overriding concern, however, is the sustainability of this weekend’s pitching lineup. The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 1, and Houston has yet to make any game-changing moves to bring in a veteran pitcher to fix his current situation. Four of the nine starters the Astros fielded this season are rookies. Houston had 37 rookie starts this year, third in the league behind Oakland and Cleveland.
Houston is just three games behind state rivals and current AL West leaders, the Texas Rangers. And it currently holds the last wildcard spot by a single game over the Yankees. The Astros will wrap up the series Sunday afternoon in Anaheim before heading on to Colorado to face the Rockies.
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