Houston Astros Have Been Abysmal Slowing Down Opponents on Basepaths

Entering Sunday Night Baseball against the San Diego Padres, the Houston Astros were in a position to get over the .500 mark for the first time since the first few days of the season.

The last time the Astros were over .500 was March 29. Their victories over the Padres in the first two games of their three-game series were the first time they won back-to-back games all season.

Finding consistency in every facet of the game has been a struggle for Houston out of the gate. Their offense has been underwhelming, already losing five games in 2025 in which they gave up four or fewer runs.

When they have managed to score more than the league average of 4.3 runs per game, they are a perfect 5-0.

Building some positive momentum and consistency is important for the Astros to put their latest early-season swoon behind them and turn into the playoff contender they are capable of.

There are several players on the team not yet performing up to expectations. If they can get on track, it will help the team immensely.

One of the areas where they need to figure things out is defensively.

The Astros knew there would be some issues with Jose Altuve taking over in left field and prospect Cam Smith taking over in right field. Both moved into the outfield from the infield in spring training and are learning on the fly.

Another area defensively that needs to be improved is behind the plate, combating opponents on the basepaths.

“Houston can’t control the running game, a problem that plagued its pitching staff last season and has perturbed manager Joe Espada at the beginning of this one,” wrote Chandler Rome of The Athletic (subscription required).

At the time that piece was written, Houston had allowed 18 of 19 attempted steals to be converted. They haven’t improved much since, as opponents have now stolen 25 bases and been caught only twice

It isn’t speedsters taking advantage of the Astros' inability to control the run game, either. Against the St. Louis Cardinals, first baseman Willson Contreras, third baseman Nolan Arenado and first baseman Alec Burleson all successfully swiped bags. None of them have recorded double-digit steals in a single season of their careers.

“Astros pitchers struggle to vary their times to home plate, putting both Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini in an almost impossible position. Caratini and Diaz aren’t blameless, either — it’s an all-encompassing problem that the Astros must address before the teeth of their season begins,” Rome added.

The coaching staff needs to devise a game plan to help the pitchers vary their timing so that opponents cannot get a ready on them as easily as they have been.

That would certainly help, but Diaz has worsened each year of his career throwing out base runners, nabbing 30% as a rookie, 22.9% last year and only 11.1% thus far this year.

It hasn’t been a strength for Caratini either in his career. He has caught 20.1% of attempted base stealers, with the league average being 23.6%.

If this isn’t something Houston can get under control, opponents will take full advantage, creating scoring opportunities and stealing runs.

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