Astros Off To Rocky Start And Losing In Bizarre Ways

The Houston Astros' loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday was unexpected, is there a pattern emerging?

The Houston Astros lost only 56 games in the regular season last year.

They already have five losses in 2023.

And Friday’s 3-2, 10-inning defeat to the Minnesota Twins was as bizarre as it gets.

Shadows looming over Target Field made it difficult for the pitchers and catchers and ultimately sent the Astros to a 3-5 record.

“It was a tough day vision-wise, period,” manager Dusty Baker told reporters. “The only pitches they really hit were fastballs, and the pitches we hit were fastballs as well. When there are shadows out there at that time of day, it’s tough to see and pick up any kind of spin because the ball doesn’t look white; it looks brown. Tough way to lose a game.”

Catcher Martin Maldonado wasn’t able to handle two pitches from Ryne Stanek in the 10^th which helped the Twins rally for two runs and a come-from-behind victory.

They were scored as wild pitches, though Maldonado said that he had trouble seeing the ball because of shadows.

“It was hard to see all game, kind of anything up in the strike zone,” Maldonado told reporters. “I should have caught those pitches anyway. I was expecting fastballs and I missed both of them. I told Stanek ‘My bad,’ on those two balls. It was hard on the slider, too. You couldn’t see in the (Jose) Miranda at-bat. It looked like I got crossed up, but it was hard to see, especially with the shadows.”

Regardless of the conditions, the Astros are struggling through eight games.

Yes, it is only eight games.

The Astros could still easily win 100 or more games. They just haven’t been consistent in any area yet.

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