Houston, We have a Problem

This was a tough loss because this was a game we should have won.

This was a good game though.  It had almost a playoff atmosphere.  The pitchers were making every pitch important and for me, that is always fun to watch because I call almost every pitch.  The pitchers were sharp and while the announcers were claiming Verlander didn't have it, he had very good command of his fastball, his curve was as good as I have seen it and his change was used effectively.  His slider was not as good as normal and he hung a few of those, but he was tough.  That being said,  Tanaka was better than Verlander and Boone's early pull was a mistake.  The concern one has is that our bullpen should be so strong that we can pull our starters after 5 or 6 innings and then dominate.  This is true and should be fairly accurate, but when the starter is fresh and pitching well why take him out unless matchups are really bad the 3rd or 4th time through the lineup?   Tanaka definitely holds back some with his fastball as he tends to throw harder as the game goes on.  This happens frequently and when he needs to reach back he has another 2 MPH in him.   In the 6th inning, he did that and just missed a strikeout when he threw a fastball at 95 mph by Springer that was a tiny bit off the plate and could easily have been called a strike 3; especially when the 4 strikes were called that were farther out of the strike zone and all were against the Yankees (the Sanchez one in the 7th inning when he complained was a good example).  Overall, the ump did a good job on very close pitches by both pitchers, but all 4 bad calls went against us (we didn't get any gifts).

Back to Tanaka, he pitched out of trouble in the 6th, but had allowed only one run and that was on a hanging splitter inside that Altuve crushed for a HR.  He did allow a double on another hanging cutter inside, but he was pinpoint with his control and his slider was very good.  He had only 78 pitches after 6 innings and just because we have a good and what should be great bullpen, Tanaka had at least one more inning in him.  Remember, he used to throw complete games all the time.

Also, while we have great arms in the pen, do we really have full faith in any of them?  I mean, they get the job done and will have low ERA's, but it is usually a nail biter.  Britton has still not been as sharp as he was in 2016 and while his stuff can be deadly, he is not controlling it well;  Ottavino has control issues, as does Chapman and Betances when he is back.  Green doesn't have the stuff the others have but is a good arm and Holder is a level below IMO.  My point is that they are great arms with great stuff, but they are no lock like we used to have with Rivera.  This is why the Genius Maker name was born as he bailed out managers decisions (usually Torre) most every time and for a long period of time.

As for the game, I like when we work pitchers and while you can't always take strike one, I like getting deep counts and getting into the bullpen early.  The 3rd inning could have set the tone better and was a key part of the game to me.  After a full count strikeout by Frazier, Urshela walked, Gardner singled on a 3-2 count, Judge walked on a 3-2 count and we had bases loaded 1 out and a lot of pitches by Verlander.  On an 0-1 count Voit ripped a line drive to RF that held up Gardner enough where he had to make sure the line drive dropped in and was not able to score.  But now we had a run in and bases loaded one out!  TWO pitches later Verlander was on the bench out of the inning.  Sanchez popped up on the 1st pitch and Torres grounded out on the first pitch.  You have the pitcher on the ropes and we let him out of it very easy.  That drove me crazy and was a pivotal part of the game (along with taking Tanaka out)

Houston got their runs on a single, a walk and a double that we had a perfect relay on had a very close play at the plate, but they were safe; the same happened twice on DP tries where we just missed turning them.  Just tough breaks there.  We also had a tough break when Houston scored their winning run.  Ottavino jammed Correa and it ended up being a perfectly placed swinging bunt that got Bird and Ottavino crossed up.

Torres and Bird were 0-8 with Torres leaving 5 men on base and Bird looking terrible by striking out all 4 times.  His head is up his rear.  He was taking fastballs for strikes and swinging at breaking balls in the dirt.

Urshela continues to play very well in the field and has been contributing at the plate.  If he could give us an OPS of .720 or above it would be good (right now at .830).  Gardner, Voit and Bird need to hit better.

This was a game that our very banged up team should have won.  This one was on our manager and a little bad luck.