Houston Astros skipper confident after big late-inning rally

The Houston Astros didn’t have the season they and many in the baseball world expected after spending by surprise this winter to bolster their already championship-caliber roster.

Once again considered a favorite in the American League, this was not the case from the start.

They stumbled out of the gate and fell even further after the team was hit hard by the injury bug that forced them to rely on inexperienced pitchers.

Entering Friday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, they were 11 games under .500 and needed to put together a strong performance against a team they should beat. The Astros announced some roster changes that should also give them the best chance of winning their second series in May.

It seemed like that wouldn’t be the case at first, though.

Framber Valdez had a relatively smooth first two frames before allowing three straight hits, including a two-run double that put Houston in an early hole after three innings.

Normally, this type of deficit wouldn’t be something the Astros or their fans would worry about, but this hasn’t been their normal type of season, and when they were leading 2-1 going into the eighth inning, we feared they might have given up on another game.

However, this setting provided a little reminder of what this club has done in the past and what it can do in the future.

Houston scored four runs on singles, a walk, a sacrifice fly and several fielder’s choice plays where they took advantage of a throwing error.

Manager Joe Espada has been on this team for a long time as an assistant and hopes this will be the spark that turns everything around.

“We’re a really good team, and it’s just about us getting over the hump and starting to do the little things well. The eighth inning offensively shows what this team can do. Bryan Abreu coming in and closing the door, it was remarkable. “Hader comes in tonight and closes the door, this is the team,” he said according to Dawn Klemish of MLB.com.

Throughout their first slide, the phrase “it’s still early” was constantly repeated.

That’s because it is.

Yes, the Astros are now 10 games under .500, seven games out of first place in their division and nine games out of the Wild Card, but there’s still time for them to make up some ground if they’re able to leave again. together wins.

They have done it in the past.

Now is the time for them to do it now.