With the way that the Houston Astros both finished the regular season and then ran through the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS, it seemed like the club might be steamrolling its way to back-to-back World Series victories. The rival Texas Rangers, however, have now showed the other plans for the ALCS, and it's been bad news for the reigning champion Astros.
After getting blanked at home in Game 1 with a gem from Jordan Montgomery, Game 2 on Monday was a must-win game for the Astros. Unfortunately, they started it by giving up four runs in the first inning. Though Yordan Alvarez tried his best with his fifth and sixth homers of the postseason (in only six games!), that hole was too great to climb out of. Houston lost, 5-4, and now has completely conceded home-field advantage by falling into an 0-2 hole with the ALCS now going to Arlington.
This was the biggest moment to date of the 2023 postseason for the Astros, and they failed to get it done. Someone has to be blamed for such a disheartening and back-breaking loss like the one in Game 2, and we know exactly where to point fingers.
4. Martin Maldonado gave the Astros next-to-nothing in Game 2
Look, we know why Martin Maldonado is in the Astros lineup -- and it's most certainly not his bat. He's the trusted catcher for the majority of Houston's pitching staff. Perhaps more importantly, he's the defensive catcher that Dusty Baker trusts the most behind the dish. So it's not shocking that he was the starter for Game 2.
Having said that, starting Maldonado looks particularly bad in situations like what we saw unfold at Minute Maid Park on Monday.
For one, his game-calling and defense were ineffective. This isn't putting a poor start from Framber Valdez on the catcher more than the pitcher -- far from it. However, the reason that he's in the lineup at all turned out to not be anything that mattered in a must-win contest.
Beyond that, though, Maldonado proved to be exactly the player that everyone expects him to be at the plate, striking out in his one plate appearance. The most damning aspect of this, however, is that, once Valdez was pulled midway through the third inning, Baker quickly pulled the plug on Maldonado to get Yainer Diaz up to bat in the bottom of the third because the Astros needed offense, which the veteran backstop was almost surely not going to provide.
Smart money is that Maldonado's role as the starting catcher isn't changing for all of the reasons mentioned above. But it's becoming more and more difficult to justify him being in the lineup when even the manager knows he can't be trusted at the plate.
3. Kyle Tucker has faded into obscurity at worst time for Astros
In the non-Ohtani division of the AL MVP race this season, there was a large chunk of the year wherein Kyle Tucker looked like one of the best players in baseball. Though he faded a bit, he still ended the year with massive numbers, slashing .284/.369/.517 with 29 home runs, 37 doubles, five triples and a career-high 112 RBI.
Naturally, Houston would be hoping that Tucker, even if those numbers took a dip against elite competition in the postseason, could continue being that type of big-time hitter in the postseason.
He hasn't, though. And Game 2 made that even more evident as he continued to slumb at the absolute worst time. Tucker finished the game going 0-for-4 with a strikeout and, arguably, only one competitive at-bat. That also came in the first inning, which resulted in a nice play from Nathaniel Lowe at first to snag a hard-hit line drive. The rest of his plate appearances also didn't leave the infield, though, and all obviously resulted in outs.
Tucker is now slashing just .111/.238/.167 in the playoffs for the Astros. That's a drop in OPS of more than 400 points, which is wholly indicative of how much of a non-factor he's been in this lineup. It would be bad enough to have an everyday player hitting so poorly, but it's even more detrimental when Tucker is in the 3-hole and part of the heart of this Houston batting order.
If we don't see Tucker start to turn it around in Game 3 -- or maybe even regardless of that -- it might be time for Baker to drop him in the order. Right now, he's providing nothing for the offense and, frankly, might be doing more harm than good.
2. Jose Altuve was anything but clutch for the Astros in Game 2
Over the years and multiple World Series wins, we've grown accustomed to Jose Altuve being a king of clutch. Whether it's been leadoff bombs, coming up with hits in big moments, or any other various iterations of that, Altuve has delivered more often than not in the postseason. In Game 2, though, we saw him not when the Astros could've used such a hit from their diminutive second baseman.
Altuve finished the game going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in this game, including a game-ending fly-out in the bottom of the ninth. Yes, it was a tough pitching matchup, but to have the leadoff hitter failing to get on base, especially when the expectation has long been for him to be a tone-setter and clutch player, is an awful sign for the offense.
Perhaps the most indicative at-bat of Altuve's bad night at the dish, though, was the strikeout in the bottom of the fifth inning against Eovaldi. The second baseman came up with the bases loaded and only one out while the Astros had cut the lead to 5-2. A hit or even a fly ball deep enough for a sac fly could've been monstrously important for Houston. Instead, Altuve struck out swinging on four pitches, which ended up leading to the Astros ultimately squandering an ideal run-scoring opportunity.
Particularly in contrast to someone like Yordan Alvarez and the way he's currently hitting for Houston, it stands out to see Altuve not deliver the goods when his team needed him most. If the Astros are going to have any chance of climbing out of the 0-2 ALCS hole, Altuve is going to have to get right at the plate with a quickness.
1. Framber Valdez put the Astros in a bad spot right away in Game 2 loss
Losing Justin Verlander's start in Game 1 was a tough pill to swallow, but the argument could be made that the future Hall-of-Famer wasn't completely at fault for the loss. After all, there's only so much a pitcher can do when the offense fails to get on the scoreboard.
That same narrative, however, isn't true of the Game 2 starter, Framber Valdez.
Valdez was nails throughout the regular season this year, posting the AL's 15th-best ERA (3.45) and 13th-best WHIP (1.13), which wasn't held up by his 12-11 record, but spoke to how well he pitched. He appeared to be a lefty that the Astros could feel wholly confident in to deliver in what looked like a must-win matchup entering Monday's action.
Instead, Valdez got hit immediately as both Marcus Semien and Corey Seager delivered singles on the first two pitches of the game from the Astros starter. It didn't get better from there, either, as the Rangers scored four of their five runs for the day in the first inning -- and it could've been more if not for a questionable foul-tip strikeout call.
Dusty Baker ultimately pulled Valdez from the game after just 2.2 innings with the southpaw giving up five runs (four earned), seven hits, and one walk. It was the last thing that Houston needed to set the tone for this game and they did the opposite, giving Texas all of the momentum... not that they needed any after stealing Game 1.
Valdez helped dig this hole for the Astros and he now might be lucky to get another chance this postseason at redemption.
