Carlos Correa singled his way out of a slump while Yuli Gurriel continued his ascension up American League leaderboards. The Angels offered little resistance and a ragtag lineup absent many of their regulars. Kyle Tucker bludgeoned a baseball into the second deck of right-field seats to ensure a series win against a divisional foe.
All of the Astros’ accomplishments arrived amid an ominous undertone, a wonder if Wednesday’s victory may soon feel pyrrhic. They struck a season-high five home runs and led after seeing one pitch. Tucker and Yordan Alvarez both deposited balls farther than 400 feet. Little-used rookie Chas McCormick mashed a three-run homer in the eighth. The 9-1 win never felt competitive, yet Houston still left it concerned.
In the middle of a mauling, after three of his best innings of the season, José Urquidy surrendered the baseball and left the pitcher’s mound. Pitching coach Brent Strom noticed something awry with the strike-happy righthander in the fourth inning. He brought assistant athletic trainer Lee Meyer to the mound. Dusty Baker joined them soon after. Their conference lasted only a minute.
“All of a sudden he just lost his velocity,” Baker said. “I asked him how he felt and he said he was feeling some discomfort behind his shoulder. We thought that we’d take every precaution to check him out. Didn’t want him to throw anymore.”
Urquidy left the game and entered an uncertain environment. The Astros described his injury as “posterior shoulder discomfort.” They listed him as day to day. His departure did not stop the Astros’ beatdown, but delivers obvious concern for their immediate future. Urquidy declined to speak with reporters after the game, according to an Astros spokesman.
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Wednesday’s game never felt threatened. Angels manager Joe Maddon rested Mike Trout and Justin Upton. Anthony Rendon remains on the injured list with a bruised left knee. The lineup without them inspires little faith. Shohei Ohtani hit leadoff and Jared Walsh loomed in the three hole. The seven other Angels signal little alarm for an opposing team.
Brandon Bielak, Andre Scrubb and Joe Smith finished the final 4 1/3 innings after Urquidy departed. Bielak retired 10 of the first 11 Angels he saw. He tossed only eight balls in that 3 ⅓-inning span. Scrubb saved the game’s only tense moment, stranding two baserunners in the eighth when Walsh lifted a lazy popout to center field. Houston poured on four runs in the next half inning.
“I didn’t even know that the trainers were out there talking to (Urquidy),” Bielak said. “It was kind of a spur of the moment type thing. I had to be able to get my mind loose and my body ready.”
The Astros had a lead after the first pitch they saw. Jose Altuve ambushed starter Andrew Heaney’s for a leadoff home run off the left field foul pole. Alvarez added a two-out single that allowed Gurriel to hit.
Gurriel’s career-long assault on the Angels is incredible. He’s struck 16 home runs against them in six major league seasons. He has no more than 11 against any other club. He harassed Heaney throughout a 10-pitch plate appearance.
After falling behind 1-2, Gurriel spoiled four pitches foul and filled the count. Heaney fired a four-seam fastball to try and escape the mess. Gurriel lined it into the right field seats. His OPS now sits at .986. His .411 on-base percentage leads the club.
Gurriel exited the game in the eighth inning after “feeling sick all of a sudden,” according to Baker. He was being evaluated by the team’s medical staff after the game and not available for postgame interviews.
“I could tell he wasn’t feeling right,” Baker said. “We just took him out to make sure that he’s OK. He said he wasn’t feeling good all of a sudden. We don’t know.”
Hitting behind Gurriel in the six-hole, Correa contributed three singles. He entered the game 2-for-35 in the first nine games he played in May. Correa reached base in all four of his plate appearances, spearheading an 12-hit outburst that offered a pitching staff every ounce of support it could want. Correa declined a postgame interview request, according to an Astros spokesman.
“When you look at your lineup, one through nine rakes,” said Tucker, who totalled two hits. “I kind of feel bad for a lot of teams that come in and they have to face us, because you can never take a pitch off when you’re facing us. Everyone is just an All-Star here. When (Correa) is hot, he’s one of the best in the game.”
Houston’s starting rotation has stabilized since an inauspicious April. Losing Urquidy for a prolonged period could threaten the continuity. Ample depth exists, especially as Framber Valdez and Jake Odorizzi work their way back to the major leagues. Urquidy is a still critical piece, a playoff seasoned strike-thrower who is unafraid of contact and can be the epitome of efficiency.
On Wednesday, he appeared sharper than any of the seven starts that preceded this. Urquidy struck out three hitters in the first inning. The Angels swung and missed seven times against the 44 pitches he threw. Of the 13 hitters he faced, five saw two or fewer pitches, offering hope that Urquidy could finish seven innings for a third straight start.
Tucker robbed Walsh of a hit with a diving catch to start the fourth, allowing Taylor Ward to bat. Urquidy became engaged in an eight-pitch battle. Two of the fastballs he threw did not eclipse 90 mph. His season average is 92.1. He threw a 70.3 mph curveball to start the at-bat, almost six miles per hour below his season average. Catcher Martin Maldonado gave the dugout a look after it landed.
Urquidy got a 91 mph four-seamer over on the eighth pitch. Ward lifted it to center field. Strom left the dugout immediately. Meyer followed. Urquidy talked to both men before his starting infield joined in. Whatever was said stayed brief. Urquidy handed his manager the baseball and trudged from the field, unsure what is next.
“I saw him when I came in the clubhouse and he said he’s fine, 'I’m feeling OK,'” Baker said. “He felt some discomfort and as a pitcher whenever you have that discomfort, you’re always a little scared, a little afraid. When I came in he seemed a lot better than when he left the ballgame.”
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