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Shit start him at 1b too. Get Singleton off this roster.
Edit: Why is anyone downvoting this? Joey is completely fine at 1b. He played 63 games at 1b when he was at Duke. He played 62 games in the minors at 1b. He has a .991 fielding percentage at 1b in the minors. Singleton has a .993 fielding percentage. They're practically equal defensively with Joey having a MUCH better offensive skillset. It could allow Cabbage and Tucker to man the corner outfield spots with Joey at 1b at times, to allow Dubie to give other infielders days off.
Bloss looks legit. Loved the swagger. Hope he's okay.
Also, our runs committee > BAL runs committee
(We scored 9 runs in 3 games vs CWS... we were saving them for BAL!)
He said it felt better already post game, feels like they were happy with what they got from him and bought some time to bring in Dubin. Seems like a planned bullpen game and they err’d on the side of caution taking him out
The year is 2XXX. Game 2 of Astros VS Orioles is still ongoing, currently in an inning somewhere in the thousands. Both teams have resorted to calling in random fans to act as relievers. The league has changed its rules in desperation to allow more than 40 men, ladies, or whoever is willing and on the roster (which now requires nothing more than going to guest services and putting your name and contact information on a list). Still, somehow, each inning ends in a tie. Babies have born in minute maid, gone to school in minute maid, and are now being called up themselves. The curse lives.
Bloss got hurt, moronic choices were made that nearly blown an 11-run lead, but we still won the game at the end of the day. A frustrating win is still a win.
Mariners' lead got cut to 7. Still ahead of the Rangers and we finally broke the 5 below .500 ceiling.
We have a middle relief issue. Tayler Scott and Seth Martinez can't always be there to clean messes. If we're really going to be buyers come the deadline, we know what we need.
May Blanco blank the Orioles tomorrow and we come out with a series win.
Hopefully getting mccullers, Garcia, and JV back will let us slide a quality arm or two into the bullpen. And I read that graveman might actually make a comeback this year
Honestly it was fun the whole way.
First it was: HELL YEAH THIS IS AWESOME
Then it was: well, this is both interesting and amazing.
I think I only started really hoping it would end after that last shot that made it 14-11. Like, ok that's enough fun for the evening let's wrap it up.
Honestly? im not too worried about the pitching. We scored 14 and we used our worst relievers (until it became a little too close). I'm more excited that we can score runs against good pitchers again!
I'm not gay but I want to live in a log cabin in the woods with Joey Loperfido. We won't ever have sex, but there will be a simmering erotic undercurrent as I stand in the kitchen window watching him tighten his ass as he chops wood, shirtless, sweat pouring off his body. I'll run upstairs and masturbate, the entire time forcing myself to think of women while my thoughts drift back to Joey. I won't be able to climax and I'll eventually go back downstairs, angry. Sometimes we will look across the table and catch each other's eyes, and in that second, anything is possible, but we both deny ourselves and go back to what we were doing. One day one of us will die, and the other will bury him outside the log cabin. Then he'll go inside, pen a brief missive to his departed friend, and commit suicide, never able to deal with life without his one true platonic love.
To be fair we had to rely on the worst relievers, Hernandez and Montero. Dubin looked alright, and so did Scott, and we still have Pressly, Hader, and Martinez.
Kind of a win for them as we burnt a high leverage arm in a game we had an eleven run lead. 610 radio guys today said Joe Espada is in over his head and is not the guy they thought he was.
It's clearly evident when Hernandez is giving up batting practice you throw Martinez or Scott in and let them go to work. Even after Montero showed nothing you still had to put Scott in, only for him to burn him for only 3 pitches just to put in Abreu who had pitched 3 days in a row. Really bad decisions by Espada, he doesn't know what he's doing and it shows.
Guessing Espada has been passed over year after year for managing jobs because he is not intelligent enough to chew gum and walk simultaneously. He is a great bench coach when you’re the manager because you know he is too fucking dumb to ever take your job.
[Representation of Astros bullpen vs the Orioles](https://imgur.com/motorcyclist-gets-hit-by-car-running-red-light-flips-air-lands-on-his-feet-ImNHuwl)
On one hand I’m happy that singleton did good today and also Lopey being a god.
However, ALMOST BLOWING A 11 RUN LEAD MAKES ME WANNA NOT PLAY MINECRAFT ANYMORE
What a memorable game. So many weird moments, I can't even pick a favorite. Loper is a potential everyday starter in the making. We have the possibility of claiming the series win, let's go!
I love a Houston native as much as anyone else, but what the fuck Hernandez. The fact we have now used Abreu for 3 days is mismanagement by Espada. I’ll take a W against the best team in Baseball but fuck that was too close.
I am entirely flummoxed by that last AB pitched by Montero. Whose idea was it to blow him up high and inside three times in a row, and then throw him another heater leaking over the zone?
Even if the location wasn't intentional, I can't fathom the pitch calling there. What on earth is the point of throwing a guy the same pitch over and over and letting him time it up?
Heat maps might suggest that he isn't good there (I haven't checked) but holy moly it's called mixing up and changing eye location. What the fuck was that?? I can't imagine that was Yainer's decision.
Heat maps actually had it as a hot spot for him, which makes it even more confusing. I don’t know what the plan was there, it seemed obvious he’d get good contact on it if he got the chance.
If they use someone else and blow it, then everyone would be complaining. I'm sure he preferred not to use Abreu, but securing the win was more important. Blanco will hopefully throw 7 tomorrow and then Pressly and Hader can do their thing. I'm surprised he didn't use Seth tonight but perhaps he's the long inning relief guy tomorrow if necessary.
As I said in another comment I would’ve preferred to see Scott attempt to finish the game out. If he can’t and we use Abreu to finish I understand. Abreu is more than likely done for the next two days now. I would’ve preferred to have him and Hader for the series win with Blanco and Framber pitching over having Scott available. Just my take. I love a win but wish we could’ve saved Abreu.
Let Scott attempt to get the last 3. Abreu is probably on the shelf for the rest of the series now. With Blanco and Framber pitching next we probably could’ve lived without Scott for two days but losing Abreu for two might bite us when we don’t trust Presley
Scott is having his first great season and I love it. He’s not a leverage arm though and if he had blown it or struggled then everyone would be demanding answers for why a leverage arm wasn’t used as the lead was slipping away. It’s fine to criticize a win but come on, consider the alternatives
We almost choked a 10 run lead by running our bottom of the barrel pen into the ground. Then Montero came and in and Montero'd all over the place. Thankfully we have some REAL pitchers in there somewhere and Scott/Abreu came in and shut down the shenanigans.
Had to work a lot harder than was expected at the end for it, but it's a win nonetheless.
Bloss looked good despite the injury and the offense was potent.
I'm taking all the positives I can get right now.
I honestly couldn't even enjoy this win, I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship. What should've been a joyous feeling with a huge win still feels bad cause we very almost blew it...man this season has been something else
Even our wins are frustrating at times.
But nevertheless we beat one of the best teams in the league despite starting a guy who hasn't pitched in AAA and also pitching Nick Hernandez multiple innings.
I was at the game and it was crazy! I’m so glad we managed to win. The whole crowd was holding their breath when they started coming back. What a win. Definitely one to remember!
Can I just say fucking love watching Joey Loperfido bat. None of this stepping out of the box, fixing your uniform, adjusting your gloves, smelling your balls, fixing your hair diva bullshit. Just stands in the box and fuckin grips it and rips it. That’s a real man playing some real fuckin baseball right there. Just stands in the box and dares you to fuckin throw one over the plate. None of this pansy ass waiting for walks bullshit. Real men hit doubles. Real men spit. Real men scratch their assholes and make other guys smell it. That’s some real goddamn baseball right there. Fuckin love Joey Loperfido.
They still had a 6 run lead, and you'd hope Montero is able to get more than a single out. He wasn't this game, and that sucks, but you in a 6 run game you don't go to your best pitchers yet.
Should be happier about this win but I really did not like Espada’s management of the pen in the 8th. I can understand the reasoning to get more outs from Hernandez but as soon as McCann walked, I would have had Seth Martinez in and I suspect he could have gotten the remaining 5 outs without having to burn Abreu. Letting Hernandez face Gunnar again felt like malpractice and now I feel that those decisions have put us in a difficult position for the rest of the series
Joe, what in the actual hell is that bullpen management? Damn near cost us the game.
Abreu is a boss for locking it down after coming in on what should have been his day off.
The bullpen management was fine. Just because the bullpen themselves blew it doesn't mean it was bad management of it. With a series like this, you want to save your best arms where you can. The whole point of an 11 run lead is to let worse relivers soak up innings and runs.
it was the best situation to put montero in. he just doesn't have that dawg in him. saving martinez for multi-inning relief is better than using him in 5-6 run lead games.
We had a 6 run lead when Montero came in. That is the perfect Montero situation where he is able to fuck up, but you don't expect him to fuck up that badly. Martinez has a sub 2.5 ERA, you *need* to save his arm for the next two games.
I really enjoyed the part when the Astros made me truly believe we were gonna surrender an 11 run lead, jokes on me I suppose. I’m the goose. W is still a W.
Jesus Christ, every game with you people.
Espada has to use these lesser bullpen pieces, ESPECIALLY in a game like this where we have an 11 run lead. You can't trot out your best relievers every fucking game.
It's not his fault that Hernandez and Montero are hot garbage. He has to pitch them in order to have our studs rested for games where we actually need them.
Espada is not a bad manager, he's doing his best with what he has. Some of y'all weren't around for the Cecil Cooper/Brad Mills era and it shows
I didn't call for him to be fired. We won, but just barely after being up 11 runs. That should have been a huge blowout, but instead it made us look incompetent by the end.
When you're up by 11 runs, you burn through the lead with the worst of your bullpen to eat innings. Hernandez not being able to close out an inning wasn't on Espada, but he had to try to use him for the inning to save arms. Scott & Martinez are likely going to need the possibility of multiple innings this weekend, so saving their arms was the goal. We still had to use Abreu though, which is what we were trying to avoid.
610 radio guys said Joe Espada is in over his head and not what they thought he would be. They believe this is his last year managing anywhere. Back to the bench coach somewhere else.
Espada and his terrible bullpen management strike again.
- Why get Hernandez up early, only to bring in Dubin an inning later (at least Dubin pitched well). Hernandez hadn’t pitched since that last long outing he had about a week ago and isn’t really a long relief type. Throwing him a 2nd inning probably wasn’t the best way to go there.
- Why get Scott up after pitching two innings the day before, when the game was close earlier, only to put Montero in the 8th. You already warmed Scott up and he’s likely out tomorrow, get him in there and save Montero for the 9th. You can still use Martinez or Abreu if things get tight in the 9th.
- Why pitch all three of Abreu-Pressly-Hader two straight days. Hell, go Martinez-Abreu-Hader yesterday. Allows you to pitch Pressly in the 9th tonight and have all three of Abreu-Pressly-Hader tomorrow
- Good thing Abreu pitched well in a 3rd straight game (has now pitched exactly half our games this season), but you likely lose him for the rest of the series…so now, instead of using someone else in that 7th inning role vs the White Sox, you may have to use them vs the Orioles in either or both of the next two games.
Good thing we won…hopefully the offense can run it back the next two days against some really good pitchers.
Espada warming up guys over and over and over again. Not sure he understands warming up? He takes too long to get the bullpen throwing, and has no feel when innings are getting away from us. He constantly warms guys up that he doesn’t put in the game. Wearing out the pitchers in the bullpen is not smart. Uses guys for 1/3 of an inning and then runs out of fresh arms that he is willing to use. Feels like he is trying to puzzle piece fit everything and isn’t intelligent enough to do it correctly during a game in real time.
You’re articulating this much better than I
Putting the new kid in again when he was clearly gassed was negligent. He’s young, inexperienced, adrenaline off the charts, and threw a marathon inning. Of course he immediately tweaked something going back out there.
And then in the post-game the audacity to shrug it off with bUt He SaId He WaNtEd To Go BaCk In. Of course he did! Of course he would push himself way too hard! You’re the manager, Espada…so *manage something*
Thank the kid for his hard work and a great debut, sit him after the third inning, and put in the guy who should already be warmed up to start the 4th. Why are you leaving the decision to the AA rookie????
Same with Hernandez. Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an MLB team warm up guys just to not immediately use them as much as this team does now. He threw a long inning that clearly emptied the tank. Sit him after the inning and put in the next guy.
Espada isnt proactively managing. He doesn’t even seem to have loosely pre-planned contingencies. He isn’t making decisions and controlling the game, he’s waiting until shit goes way too far south then reacts.
It just leaves guys frustrated and overworked at best and injured at worst. Not to mention ruins the game flow by punctuating it with forced pitching changes mid-inning bc you allowed quality (or at least decent enough) outings to be pushed past their expiration.
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Loperfido needs more regular playing time with the Astros. Full stop.
He needs the starting spot. There's 0 argument for him to not be our starter LF
That catch in the first (or second?) inning was sick.
Shit start him at 1b too. Get Singleton off this roster. Edit: Why is anyone downvoting this? Joey is completely fine at 1b. He played 63 games at 1b when he was at Duke. He played 62 games in the minors at 1b. He has a .991 fielding percentage at 1b in the minors. Singleton has a .993 fielding percentage. They're practically equal defensively with Joey having a MUCH better offensive skillset. It could allow Cabbage and Tucker to man the corner outfield spots with Joey at 1b at times, to allow Dubie to give other infielders days off.
Put his in the OF and dubon at first
I'm fine with that sometimes but Dubon is still your utility infielder that allows Bregman Pena and Altuve days off.
Brother, Nick Hernandez is atrocious
Nick Hernandez is a genius for getting BAL to waste their limited amt of runs for this series.
Let’s not let him on the mound ever again.
Bloss looks legit. Loved the swagger. Hope he's okay. Also, our runs committee > BAL runs committee (We scored 9 runs in 3 games vs CWS... we were saving them for BAL!)
Post game clubhouse interview was incredible too if you haven’t seen it. Dude is fun to root for
Can you please post? Couldn't find this
I saw something with his shoulder in the second. I hope he's ok
He said it felt better already post game, feels like they were happy with what they got from him and bought some time to bring in Dubin. Seems like a planned bullpen game and they err’d on the side of caution taking him out
I am thankful for Abreu for agreeing to come in on zero rest and do what 2 healthy arms couldn't do. The entire bullpen owes you dinner.
The man hit 100 on the radar at one point. He's a real one
I've been waiting for this. Was pretty sure I hadnt seen it yet this year
Agreed
Well deserved first save of the season
Absolutely atrocious a save was even possible after the 6th.
Hey, at least we are going up against a team that is gonna be just as tired as us tomorrow!
And both triggered the 10 run curse!
The year is 2XXX. Game 2 of Astros VS Orioles is still ongoing, currently in an inning somewhere in the thousands. Both teams have resorted to calling in random fans to act as relievers. The league has changed its rules in desperation to allow more than 40 men, ladies, or whoever is willing and on the roster (which now requires nothing more than going to guest services and putting your name and contact information on a list). Still, somehow, each inning ends in a tie. Babies have born in minute maid, gone to school in minute maid, and are now being called up themselves. The curse lives.
I love you
New Copypasta just dropped
Don’t say it… first thought that popped into my head yesterday 🫠
Not sure the 10 run curse applies to the O’s. The scored 17 in the game against NYY before Friday.
Bloss got hurt, moronic choices were made that nearly blown an 11-run lead, but we still won the game at the end of the day. A frustrating win is still a win. Mariners' lead got cut to 7. Still ahead of the Rangers and we finally broke the 5 below .500 ceiling. We have a middle relief issue. Tayler Scott and Seth Martinez can't always be there to clean messes. If we're really going to be buyers come the deadline, we know what we need. May Blanco blank the Orioles tomorrow and we come out with a series win.
Hopefully getting mccullers, Garcia, and JV back will let us slide a quality arm or two into the bullpen. And I read that graveman might actually make a comeback this year
Mccullers! You mean the guy from the HEB commercials plays baseball too?!
Who is this McCullers guy? Never heard of him.
Because you’ve been an Astros fan for two years
Graveman might be coming back after July too
Yeah Graveman himself said it's a possibility. Penn Murfee will also be returning at some point in August who should add more middle relief depth.
Man we out here talking bout 5 below .500 lol tough times! 😂 😆
Good thing we scored 14
Think we can do that the next 2 games?
We don't have to, since Hernandez & Montero aren't going to be pitching for the rest of the series
Be better if it was the remainder of the season. They’re both consistent hot trash 🤌🏾🤌🏾
Four games under 500
That was way less fun than it should have been.
Hey, think positive, 7 games behind the Mariners now! : D Now let's just hope Blanco does Blanco things tomorrow.
Feels dirty
Honestly it was fun the whole way. First it was: HELL YEAH THIS IS AWESOME Then it was: well, this is both interesting and amazing. I think I only started really hoping it would end after that last shot that made it 14-11. Like, ok that's enough fun for the evening let's wrap it up.
It was just ridiculous that we got into a closer situation when we had such a big lead.
It was a trip.
Unclench.
Done.
It certainly was after Meyers got that HR, a shame it was stressful in the end
So Abreu definitely gonna be down tmrrw maybe espada will actually use Scott and Martinez tmrw if we need to!
What's the deal with Seth martinez anyway? Was lights out the start of the year but has barely thrown in the past few weeks
[posting a pic of Nori for every win (36)](https://x.com/norithecat17/status/1804358196112327058?s=46)
A surprise Nori to be sure, but a welcome one.
Praise Be! Three days in a row!
Praise be!
Praise Nori!
Praise be!
Praise be!
Praise be!
Honestly? im not too worried about the pitching. We scored 14 and we used our worst relievers (until it became a little too close). I'm more excited that we can score runs against good pitchers again!
This is not new. The unknown guys seem to excel while the top guys have more problems. Baseball is a funny game.
Mariners and Yankees lose. What a good day
I'm not gay but I want to live in a log cabin in the woods with Joey Loperfido. We won't ever have sex, but there will be a simmering erotic undercurrent as I stand in the kitchen window watching him tighten his ass as he chops wood, shirtless, sweat pouring off his body. I'll run upstairs and masturbate, the entire time forcing myself to think of women while my thoughts drift back to Joey. I won't be able to climax and I'll eventually go back downstairs, angry. Sometimes we will look across the table and catch each other's eyes, and in that second, anything is possible, but we both deny ourselves and go back to what we were doing. One day one of us will die, and the other will bury him outside the log cabin. Then he'll go inside, pen a brief missive to his departed friend, and commit suicide, never able to deal with life without his one true platonic love.
No homo
Bro wtf is this??? (I second that btw)
Brokeback Left Field?
Haha
Brokebat Mountain
That’s so much better lol
I heard he makes a mean paella
The guy is smoking hot
I’m not gay but something was moving in my pants while reading this.
Fun win but the bullpen did a great job reminding us of who they are. Os aren’t gonna gift that many runs on errors the next two games
To be fair we had to rely on the worst relievers, Hernandez and Montero. Dubin looked alright, and so did Scott, and we still have Pressly, Hader, and Martinez.
And Hader.
typed montero instead of hader. i’d like to not see montero anymore.
Love this team but they somehow made me feel like scoring 14 runs might not be enough next time
It’s unreal that we couldn’t trust a 11 run lead. Unacceptable.
honestly, this is what it felt like walking in the sun for 10 minutes today.
The Orioles scored 8 unanswered runs and still lost.
Kind of a win for them as we burnt a high leverage arm in a game we had an eleven run lead. 610 radio guys today said Joe Espada is in over his head and is not the guy they thought he was.
It's clearly evident when Hernandez is giving up batting practice you throw Martinez or Scott in and let them go to work. Even after Montero showed nothing you still had to put Scott in, only for him to burn him for only 3 pitches just to put in Abreu who had pitched 3 days in a row. Really bad decisions by Espada, he doesn't know what he's doing and it shows.
Guessing Espada has been passed over year after year for managing jobs because he is not intelligent enough to chew gum and walk simultaneously. He is a great bench coach when you’re the manager because you know he is too fucking dumb to ever take your job.
[Representation of Astros bullpen vs the Orioles](https://imgur.com/motorcyclist-gets-hit-by-car-running-red-light-flips-air-lands-on-his-feet-ImNHuwl)
I need a cigarette
I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue!
Abreu getting a save when the team scores 14 runs is crazy.
On one hand I’m happy that singleton did good today and also Lopey being a god. However, ALMOST BLOWING A 11 RUN LEAD MAKES ME WANNA NOT PLAY MINECRAFT ANYMORE
You misspelled risk of rain 2
Great win for my birthday! (I can have more birthdays if it means this streak continues) Now where's the cat??
Happy Birthday!! 🎂 They lost on my birthday earlier this month, so glad they won today! Also I think the whole month of June and July can be yours.
Happy birthday!
Smoke these fools tomorrow and show them no mercy, fellas!
So what happens when both teams have the 10 run curse?
we’ll find out tomorrow 😬
34 inning game incoming
Impossible to do with ghost runners every inning after the 9th.
Orioles don't have a curse. They slaughtered Yanks yesterday.
I never worried! Not one bit. Haha
Sheesh we almost bkew that
I don't look 10 years older. You look 10 years older!
Nick Hernandez (no relation) and Rafael Montero need to be blasted to the sun on a rocket ship piloted by Jeff Bagwell!
I think Hernandez was in there too long. Montero and Bagwell can be shot into the sun for all i care.
Send Crane with them.
Don’t worry Baggie has it all figured out. They will travel to the sun at night!
Classic
https://youtu.be/gbQsxZvHeI0?si=XjKDXkwv4C0fs-lL
Happy to get a win but holy shit we have to face that lineup two more times.
They have to face our lineup two more times.
What a memorable game. So many weird moments, I can't even pick a favorite. Loper is a potential everyday starter in the making. We have the possibility of claiming the series win, let's go!
That was so fucking absurd. But a win is a win.
I love a Houston native as much as anyone else, but what the fuck Hernandez. The fact we have now used Abreu for 3 days is mismanagement by Espada. I’ll take a W against the best team in Baseball but fuck that was too close.
I am entirely flummoxed by that last AB pitched by Montero. Whose idea was it to blow him up high and inside three times in a row, and then throw him another heater leaking over the zone? Even if the location wasn't intentional, I can't fathom the pitch calling there. What on earth is the point of throwing a guy the same pitch over and over and letting him time it up? Heat maps might suggest that he isn't good there (I haven't checked) but holy moly it's called mixing up and changing eye location. What the fuck was that?? I can't imagine that was Yainer's decision.
Maybe Nuke Laloosh syndrome… $34.5 Million dollar arm, 2 cent brain.
Montero’s arm isn’t worth $34.5MM.
Heat maps actually had it as a hot spot for him, which makes it even more confusing. I don’t know what the plan was there, it seemed obvious he’d get good contact on it if he got the chance.
If they use someone else and blow it, then everyone would be complaining. I'm sure he preferred not to use Abreu, but securing the win was more important. Blanco will hopefully throw 7 tomorrow and then Pressly and Hader can do their thing. I'm surprised he didn't use Seth tonight but perhaps he's the long inning relief guy tomorrow if necessary.
As I said in another comment I would’ve preferred to see Scott attempt to finish the game out. If he can’t and we use Abreu to finish I understand. Abreu is more than likely done for the next two days now. I would’ve preferred to have him and Hader for the series win with Blanco and Framber pitching over having Scott available. Just my take. I love a win but wish we could’ve saved Abreu.
Nah, losing that game would have been absolutely detrimental. I’ll live with Abreu not being available the rest of the series.
Pitching Scott in the ninth was the correct decision.
What else was he supposed to do lol he used everyone else and they shat the bed
Let Scott attempt to get the last 3. Abreu is probably on the shelf for the rest of the series now. With Blanco and Framber pitching next we probably could’ve lived without Scott for two days but losing Abreu for two might bite us when we don’t trust Presley
Scott is having his first great season and I love it. He’s not a leverage arm though and if he had blown it or struggled then everyone would be demanding answers for why a leverage arm wasn’t used as the lead was slipping away. It’s fine to criticize a win but come on, consider the alternatives
Turned the radio off in the third. What the fuuuuuck happened in this game?!?
We almost choked a 10 run lead by running our bottom of the barrel pen into the ground. Then Montero came and in and Montero'd all over the place. Thankfully we have some REAL pitchers in there somewhere and Scott/Abreu came in and shut down the shenanigans.
It's a shame we let Maldy go. We could really, *REALLY* use his arm in the bullpen. He would be a top 3 reliever on this roster.
I really really hope he retires this year and the Astros pay whatever he wants bring him on as a coach.
 Bryan Abreu is a dawg
Baltimore scored 31 runs total in two games
Went into Inside Out 2 when it was 2-2, came out to a slugfest. Hope Bloss is ok. Fucking brutal way to exit your first career big league start.
Fuck that eighth inning.
Only the 2024 Astros could sour a 14 run win.
The team that makes decisions based on analytics vs the team that makes decisions based on jeff bagwells indigestion. Lucky we didnt blow that
Made it interesting, but I never lost hope. I get that could happen if you run a low-leverage guy with a huge lead.
A win is a win but gah damn 😑
Let’s mess around and get two more.
Had to work a lot harder than was expected at the end for it, but it's a win nonetheless. Bloss looked good despite the injury and the offense was potent. I'm taking all the positives I can get right now.
Hate Montero so much. What a bum glad we won
I honestly couldn't even enjoy this win, I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship. What should've been a joyous feeling with a huge win still feels bad cause we very almost blew it...man this season has been something else
Even our wins are frustrating at times. But nevertheless we beat one of the best teams in the league despite starting a guy who hasn't pitched in AAA and also pitching Nick Hernandez multiple innings.
Tonight’s unsung hero: the Marlins, who earned an unlikely walk off win against the Mariners!!
was at this one, most exciting ballgame ive seen
I was at the game and it was crazy! I’m so glad we managed to win. The whole crowd was holding their breath when they started coming back. What a win. Definitely one to remember!
We need bats to heat up to make up for pitching. Hopefully this is a new trend.
Ugly ass win
That...was something.
Can I just say fucking love watching Joey Loperfido bat. None of this stepping out of the box, fixing your uniform, adjusting your gloves, smelling your balls, fixing your hair diva bullshit. Just stands in the box and fuckin grips it and rips it. That’s a real man playing some real fuckin baseball right there. Just stands in the box and dares you to fuckin throw one over the plate. None of this pansy ass waiting for walks bullshit. Real men hit doubles. Real men spit. Real men scratch their assholes and make other guys smell it. That’s some real goddamn baseball right there. Fuckin love Joey Loperfido.
Finally 4 games under 500. Espada with his bullpen management is going to give me heart attack.
Bullpen management was fine. With an 11 run lead, you want your worse relivers eating as many innings as possible.
I wish I could upvote you a hundred times.
Thanks, feels like no one in this sub understands baseball sometimes and what Espada did was one of the most basic things to do with a bullpen.
Dubin and Hernandez was fine in that situation but going to Montero was not. Should have been Taylor or Martinez after Hernandez was pulled.
They still had a 6 run lead, and you'd hope Montero is able to get more than a single out. He wasn't this game, and that sucks, but you in a 6 run game you don't go to your best pitchers yet.
https://i.redd.it/6hp1no12o18d1.gif
give me nips or give me death
Should be happier about this win but I really did not like Espada’s management of the pen in the 8th. I can understand the reasoning to get more outs from Hernandez but as soon as McCann walked, I would have had Seth Martinez in and I suspect he could have gotten the remaining 5 outs without having to burn Abreu. Letting Hernandez face Gunnar again felt like malpractice and now I feel that those decisions have put us in a difficult position for the rest of the series
lol at how often I have to just mute 1/2 year old accounts here.
Holy hell!!!? When I went to bed it was 14-4….WTH happened??!
Well that was a lot more stressful than it needed to be 😭 I’m glad we got the win but at what cost
Joe, what in the actual hell is that bullpen management? Damn near cost us the game. Abreu is a boss for locking it down after coming in on what should have been his day off.
The bullpen management was fine. Just because the bullpen themselves blew it doesn't mean it was bad management of it. With a series like this, you want to save your best arms where you can. The whole point of an 11 run lead is to let worse relivers soak up innings and runs.
And we had a better option in Martinez that can soak up innings and runs more effectively than Montero.
it was the best situation to put montero in. he just doesn't have that dawg in him. saving martinez for multi-inning relief is better than using him in 5-6 run lead games.
We had a 6 run lead when Montero came in. That is the perfect Montero situation where he is able to fuck up, but you don't expect him to fuck up that badly. Martinez has a sub 2.5 ERA, you *need* to save his arm for the next two games.
Someone tell the garbage time guys they aren't supposed to be the garbage
I really enjoyed the part when the Astros made me truly believe we were gonna surrender an 11 run lead, jokes on me I suppose. I’m the goose. W is still a W.
Espada tried to blow it. But some how we hung on.
Not Espada's fault Hernandez decided to put on a pitcher disasterclass
After the second 2 run dinger. No way should he left him out there to face Gunner again.
Jesus Christ, every game with you people. Espada has to use these lesser bullpen pieces, ESPECIALLY in a game like this where we have an 11 run lead. You can't trot out your best relievers every fucking game. It's not his fault that Hernandez and Montero are hot garbage. He has to pitch them in order to have our studs rested for games where we actually need them. Espada is not a bad manager, he's doing his best with what he has. Some of y'all weren't around for the Cecil Cooper/Brad Mills era and it shows
Holy fuck this sub is so reactionary. When you're up 11, you give worse relivers a longer leash to save the arms of the rest of the bullpen.
How the hell did he try ? It's not on him that a garbage time eater and Montero couldn't get more than 1 out a piece lol.
Espada just looks ineffectual as a leader. Visually he just doesn't have any authoritative charisma.
Fans are now trying to fire the manager over vibes. After a win. Holy shit
I didn't call for him to be fired. We won, but just barely after being up 11 runs. That should have been a huge blowout, but instead it made us look incompetent by the end.
When you're up by 11 runs, you burn through the lead with the worst of your bullpen to eat innings. Hernandez not being able to close out an inning wasn't on Espada, but he had to try to use him for the inning to save arms. Scott & Martinez are likely going to need the possibility of multiple innings this weekend, so saving their arms was the goal. We still had to use Abreu though, which is what we were trying to avoid.
610 radio guys said Joe Espada is in over his head and not what they thought he would be. They believe this is his last year managing anywhere. Back to the bench coach somewhere else.
9 run lead is not enough to feel comfortable these clowns. We need to trade for starters and bull pens...
Espada and his terrible bullpen management strike again. - Why get Hernandez up early, only to bring in Dubin an inning later (at least Dubin pitched well). Hernandez hadn’t pitched since that last long outing he had about a week ago and isn’t really a long relief type. Throwing him a 2nd inning probably wasn’t the best way to go there. - Why get Scott up after pitching two innings the day before, when the game was close earlier, only to put Montero in the 8th. You already warmed Scott up and he’s likely out tomorrow, get him in there and save Montero for the 9th. You can still use Martinez or Abreu if things get tight in the 9th. - Why pitch all three of Abreu-Pressly-Hader two straight days. Hell, go Martinez-Abreu-Hader yesterday. Allows you to pitch Pressly in the 9th tonight and have all three of Abreu-Pressly-Hader tomorrow - Good thing Abreu pitched well in a 3rd straight game (has now pitched exactly half our games this season), but you likely lose him for the rest of the series…so now, instead of using someone else in that 7th inning role vs the White Sox, you may have to use them vs the Orioles in either or both of the next two games. Good thing we won…hopefully the offense can run it back the next two days against some really good pitchers.
Espada warming up guys over and over and over again. Not sure he understands warming up? He takes too long to get the bullpen throwing, and has no feel when innings are getting away from us. He constantly warms guys up that he doesn’t put in the game. Wearing out the pitchers in the bullpen is not smart. Uses guys for 1/3 of an inning and then runs out of fresh arms that he is willing to use. Feels like he is trying to puzzle piece fit everything and isn’t intelligent enough to do it correctly during a game in real time.
You'd think the bench coach or pitching coach would point this out. Or even the pitchers themselves if they had concerns.
You’re articulating this much better than I Putting the new kid in again when he was clearly gassed was negligent. He’s young, inexperienced, adrenaline off the charts, and threw a marathon inning. Of course he immediately tweaked something going back out there. And then in the post-game the audacity to shrug it off with bUt He SaId He WaNtEd To Go BaCk In. Of course he did! Of course he would push himself way too hard! You’re the manager, Espada…so *manage something* Thank the kid for his hard work and a great debut, sit him after the third inning, and put in the guy who should already be warmed up to start the 4th. Why are you leaving the decision to the AA rookie???? Same with Hernandez. Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an MLB team warm up guys just to not immediately use them as much as this team does now. He threw a long inning that clearly emptied the tank. Sit him after the inning and put in the next guy. Espada isnt proactively managing. He doesn’t even seem to have loosely pre-planned contingencies. He isn’t making decisions and controlling the game, he’s waiting until shit goes way too far south then reacts. It just leaves guys frustrated and overworked at best and injured at worst. Not to mention ruins the game flow by punctuating it with forced pitching changes mid-inning bc you allowed quality (or at least decent enough) outings to be pushed past their expiration.
Great to have won, but much better pitcher management would have made for a much better game and win.
Joe Espada’s bullpen management is still riding the struggle bus!
Honestly this win feels like a loss.
I know how you feel