Correa delivers frank message on Astros' recent play after being swept

DETROIT -- Carlos Correa immediately stepped back into his leadership role with the Astros when he was acquired from the Twins at the Trade Deadline. Even after spending 3 1/2 seasons in Minnesota, Correa is still comfortable saying the things that need to be said when it comes to the Astros.

Correa said he was among the players who spoke up in a team meeting after Tuesday’s loss to the Tigers, which marked the Astros’ third consecutive shutout. It was a message of encouragement, to keep the faith, as well as a reminder they’re still in a pretty good spot atop the American League West.

Those words didn’t pay immediate dividends with the Astros losing, 7-2, to the Tigers on Wednesday to get swept out of Comerica Park. Astros starter Framber Valdez gave up six runs in the first inning and a sputtering offense couldn’t recover, though it did finally end its scoreless innings streak at 31 on a two-run homer by Mauricio Dubón in the fourth inning.

Still, Correa didn’t mince words.

“We got outplayed,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. They played better baseball. They played a really good brand of baseball and we didn’t. When you are facing one of the best teams in the league and we don’t show up, that’s going to happen.”

The Astros, ravaged by injuries, are 9-16 since July 14, but still lead the AL West by 1 1/2 games over the Mariners, who have lost five in a row and seven of their last eight. Misery loves company.

“We’ve got to continue to grind and this is what happens in August,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “You fight through these tough stretches.”

The Astros are hitting .168 and have scored seven runs in their past six games with five extra-base hits. They’ve been shut out four times in that stretch, including twice in Houston to a Baltimore team that will play host to the Astros for four games beginning Thursday.

“We’re in a great spot besides the terrible play in the last week,” Correa said. “We’ve got to acknowledge that, and we’ve got to recognize the things we are not doing very well right now in order for us to move forward, be better and be the team we know we can be.

“We want to look at the bigger picture, but also we want to have a fix for what’s been happening the last week. We got a good opportunity to do that in a four-game set in Baltimore. That’s where my head is at right now. I want to flush this series away. I want to start fresh tomorrow and go out there with a positive mind and go out there to win.”

The acquisitions of Correa, Jesús Sánchez and Ramón Urías at the Deadline provided an initial boost to Houston’s offense, but Sánchez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Wednesday to extend his slump to 0-for-29. Correa said the team’s offensive approach it had during road series at the Red Sox, Yankees and Marlins post-Trade Deadline has been lost.

“We had a really good collective approach, but in baseball there’s some days that you pick up the bat and look at the pitcher and you don’t even know where to put your hands,” Correa said. “You don’t even know what the hell you’re doing at the plate. It seems like it’s happening to a lot of us at the same time. We’ve got to put in a little more work and go out there and try to have those at-bats again.”

The Astros won 13 consecutive games started by Valdez from May 5-July 22, but they’ve lost each of his five starts since. He’s 0-3 with a 6.14 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in that span, during which his ERA has risen from 2.67 to 3.32. In the first inning Wednesday, Valdez allowed four hits, three walks and threw two wild pitches. He didn’t record his first out until his 29th pitch and wound up throwing five innings without his best curveball.

“When there’s a lot of balls in play, that’s when he usually [unravels],” Espada said.

Correa has seen this Valdez before. His animated mound visit to regroup Valdez in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the 2020 ALCS against the Rays solidified him as Houston’s leader. Five years later, the shoe still fits.

“He’s a great pitcher, he’s going to adjust,” Correa said. “You saw the little adjustment he made later in the game with his slider and throwing something moving into [hitters] so they were not diving as much. He knows what he needs to do to be the Framber that we know.”