Mariners sweep may have broken the Houston Astros clubhouse
By Mark Powell
The Houston Astros were swept by the Seattle Mariners over the weekend thanks to a red-hot Julio Rodriguez. Houston’s clubhouse did not respond well to that.
The Astros aren’t used to getting swept. If anything, opposing teams are typically on the receiving end of their wrath, especially at Minute Maid Park. Yet, over the weekend, Houston got a taste of their own medicine thanks to the red-hot Seattle Mariners.
The AL West, previously a two-team race between the Astros and Texas Rangers, is now a three-team mishmash as the Mariners are only three games back. Both Houston and Texas were swept over the weekend, giving the M’s new life in the division.
Houston catcher Martin Maldonado, a leader in the Astros clubhouse, did not mince words after Sunday’s game. They need to retool.
Martín Maldonado said several Astros addressed the team after today’s loss, including himself. He termed the sweep “a slap in the face.”
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) August 20, 2023
How concerned should Astros be after sweep at hands of Seattle Mariners?
The Houston Astros were swept at home in a weekend series against Seattle. It happens. The Mariners are among the hottest teams in all of baseball, as Kevin Henry noted in this week’s MLB Power Rankings:
"“While all eyes are on what Julio Rodriguez is doing at the plate, Teoscar Hernandez is also on fire. On Saturday, he went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and RBI, recording his fifth game with three or more hits in the month of August. Through his first 16 games in August, Hernandez was batting .371 with eight doubles, two home runs and seven RBI, while reaching base at a .394 clip and slugging .597 with a .991 OPS.”"
Seattle made a major jump week-over-week, which is a testament to how they’ve been playing. As for Maldonado, he knows these kinds of slip-ups happen, but the mood in the clubhouse needs to change.
“The key will be better energy in the dugout, not being satisfied after you lose,” Maldonado said, via ESPN. “Everybody who comes here wants to beat us and we don’t make them earn it. We just feel like we’re just giving it away.”
One team meeting ought to be enough for an organization like Houston to right the ship, but we’ll see.
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