The Astros tried using a four-man outfield and it worked

In an Opening Day battle of the the two Texas major league teams, the Houston Astros employed a rather unorthodox strategy. And it worked.

In their Opening Day matchup with the Texas Rangers, the Houston Astros tried something you don’t see very often. They used a four-man outfield. The defending World Series champions tested this strategy against Rangers first baseman Joey Gallo.

Gallo, 24, has a ton of potential, but so far he’s proven to be somewhat of a home run-or-bust type of hitter. He rarely hits ground balls. And so the Astros made a rather astute move when he came to the plate today. They moved third baseman Alex Bregman into left field and used him as a fourth outfielder, joining George Springer, Josh Reddick and Jake Marisnick. This means there was a gaping hole on the left side of the infield, but it’s a spot Gallo almost never seems to find.

The best part? It worked. Gallo flew out to left field twice.

Since their rebuild began, the Astros have been a team focused more on advanced analytics. This is something we might see more of. Teams willing to contravene the unwritten, traditional rules of baseball to do something unconventional.

Houston played with this game plan at different points during spring training, and according to The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan, they might continue doing it in the regular season if they feel the situation calls for it.

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This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this done, but it’s not something we see regularly. The infield shift is used league-wide more than it ever has been before. Every team adopted it when they realized it worked. If the four-man outfield strategy continues to pay off for the Astros, don’t be surprised if other teams start following suit.