HOUSTON -- The next couple of days could be some of the most interesting of the year for the Astros, with the Trade Deadline looming on Thursday and a pair of key injured players on the cusp of returning to the team. More importantly, the Astros’ string of 13 consecutive games without a day off will end Wednesday with a chance to win a series.
An Astros team in desperate need for a pick-me-up got one on Tuesday night from different corners of the clubhouse, led by an offense that banged out 13 hits in a 7-4 win over the Nats at Daikin Park to snap a five-game losing streak. The Astros had scored only eight runs during their losing streak, so Tuesday’s outburst allowed everyone to exhale.
“For the team in general, we needed that,” said outfielder Cooper Hummel, whose pinch-hit RBI single in the fifth inning broke a 2-2 tie. “That was a big moment in the game. We’ve had a rough stretch the last few weeks, so for the team it was huge. For myself personally it was also huge coming off the bench knowing I can help get a job done with whatever they need.”
Despite losing five in a row at home to a pair of last-place teams in the A’s and Nationals, the Astros are only 1 1/2 games behind the Tigers and Blue Jays for the best record in the American League. They are scouring the trade market for help on offense and for pitching and could get both All-Star shortstop Jeremy Peña and starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti back from injuries within the next week.
“We know we’re hurt right now and we know we got a couple of guys on the shelf,” said third baseman Mauricio Dubón, who went 3-for-3 with a walk. “It’s baseball. We don’t worry about who’s going to come. We worry about taking care of business. We’re capable with the cast we have here and when help comes, whatever. I think we’ve been through this the whole year. A couple of bad games aren’t going to make us panic.”
Yainer Diaz clubbed a game-tying home run in the fourth inning and Hummel’s single made it 3-2. The Astros scored three more times in the sixth on consecutive bases-loaded hits by Jose Altuve and Christian Walker, whose single scored a pair to take over the team lead with 55 RBIs. Lefty reliever Bennett Sousa retired all four batters he faced to pick up in the win.
The Astros were 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position after going 3-for-32 in those situations during their five-game skid.
“Our at-bats with runners in scoring position today were phenomenal,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I thought we put [together] some really good at-bats from the beginning. We got their starter [Michael Soroka] out at 74 pitches and then we went to work against their bullpen. We grinded out at-bats, we hit some balls hard, we did some small ball very well. We found ways to score runs.”
Following Wednesday’s series finale, the Astros will travel to Boston for the start of a nine-game, 10-day road trip that includes stops in Miami and Yankee Stadium. The trip to Fenway Park will mark Houston’s first game facing former star third baseman Alex Bregman, who signed with the Red Sox in the winter.
Who else makes the flight to Boston remains to be seen. Thursday’s off-day comes on the Trade Deadline, so the Astros should have some new faces -- as well as Peña, who’s been out for a month -- heading with them out on the road. Arrighetti could start next week in Miami, and more injured pitchers should follow.
With exactly one-third of their schedule remaining, the Astros are still in the driver's seat to win their eighth AL West title in the past nine seasons and even make a run at the top overall seed in the AL.
“Even with the things we’ve been going through, we’re still one of the best teams in baseball and we expect to be one of the last teams standing at the end of the year,” Hummel said. “Guys are in good spirits, guys expect to win and we go out there every day expecting to beat up who’s on the other side.”