The baseball flew past his left shoulder and seemed a sure base hit. Jake Odorizzi offered a halfhearted attempt to nab it. His bounce-back outing hung in the balance, but he could not save it himself. The starter spun and became a spectator while Connor Joe’s ground ball crept into shallow center field.
Houston clung to a three-run lead. Odorizzi inspired little confidence that he could protect it. He embodied the Astros’ sputtering starting rotation. In four starts since the All-Star break, Odorizzi had an 8.82 ERA. Opponents struck eight home runs against him during the previous 16 ⅓ innings he threw.
Tenuous does not begin to describe Odorizzi’s place in a potential playoff rotation. Tuesday started his self-described “two critical months” to turn it around. Five scoreless frames are a start.
Odorizzi and four relievers teamed to shut out the Colorado Rockies 5-0, giving Houston a sorely needed win after an abysmal weekend against Minnesota. It was just their third win in the past nine games. Oakland’s extra-inning win against Cleveland kept the Astros from gaining any ground in the American League West, but they still maintain a two-game advantage.
ASTROS INSIDER: After rough stretch, Jake Odorizzi stops the bleeding
Odorizzi did not dominate like his line may suggest. Imprecise fastball command led to inefficiency. He threw 49 of his 81 pitches for strikes and walked two batters. The Rockies had a baserunner against him in every frame but one.
He allowed just one of them to advance, stopping innings that he previously allowed to spiral out of control. For the first time in three starts, he did not allow a home run. The Rockies struck only one ball harder than 94.4 mph against him. Odorizzi’s four-seam fastball seemed to regain its carry and hop after four starts where it went flat. Eight of his nine swings and misses arrived against it.
After throwing to Jason Castro or Garrett Stubbs for his first 14 starts, Odorizzi paired with MartÃn Maldonado. Manager Dusty Baker made a similar choice with Luis Garcia last week, using Castro instead of Maldonado in hopes the shakeup would yield a different result. Both decisions proved fruitful.
Odorizzi engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth for three innings. Rockies starter Jon Gray struck out six of the first 10 Astros he faced. He paired a mid-90s four-seam fastball with a sublime slider to stymie one of baseball’s most patient lineups. Michael Brantley’s first-inning walk and Chas McCormick’s second-inning double delivered the Astros’ only damage through three frames.
Gray is among the few reasons to watch the Rockies. The franchise lives in a constant state of disturbance. Their general manager abruptly resigned in April. Their lopsided trade of Nolan Arenado this winter remains a league-wide laughingstock. Star shortstop Trevor Story somehow did not get moved during last month’s deadline, either, ensuring two final frustrating months with this wayward team before he hits free agency. The Rockies held onto him despite sitting 20 games back in the brutal National League West.
Perhaps nothing better represents the Rockies season than this. They played their 64th road game of the season Tuesday. They’ve lost 41 of them. The latest brought some buffoonish ways to add to the brutality.
After three frustrating innings against Gray, Aledmys Diaz started the fourth inning with a single. Carlos Correa crushed another ground ball toward the mound. Gray kicked it with his left foot. The baseball ricocheted to the vacant left side of the infield. Correa cruised to first and Diaz to third, giving Gray his first true dilemma.
A strikeout of Kyle Tucker brought Gray within an out of escape. He fell behind 2-0 to McCormick, who struck a first-pitch slider for a double during the second inning. Gray tried the breaking pitch again. McCormick deposited it into shallow center field for a single to score Diaz. Taylor Jones loomed.
Gray threw him two fastballs. Jones struck the second down the right field line. Charlie Blackmon rushed to retrieve it. He attempted a throw in. It slipped from his hand and traveled maybe four feet. Correa and McCormick both scored after the gaffe, giving Odorizzi a three-run lead he seemed suited to protect.
Joe put the plan in peril. Odorizzi yielded a two-out single to nine-hole hitter Garrett Hampson in his final frame. Colorado’s lineup turned over for a third look at him. Opponents are 10-for-22 against Odorizzi during their third at-bat in a game. Joe, the leadoff hitter, evened the count at one.
Odorizzi fired a four-seam fastball at the top of the strike zone. Joe sent it past Odorizzi and into center field. Out of nowhere, Jose Altuve appeared. He slid to stop the baseball, knelt on the grass and delivered a strong throw. It beat Joe by two steps. Odorizzi pumped his fist, clapped hands and left the mound with more confidence than he took it.
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