Houston’s Hitting Woes

After being one of the best hitting teams in the regular season, the Houston Astros have fallen on hard times in the ALCS. Let’s check in and see where the Astros are struggling…

Houston Hitting Woes

• They are 9-for-56 (.161) vs. breaking pitching this series. They led the league with a .248 average against curves and sliders in the regular season.
• They are not doing damage when the pitcher is behind in the count:

Pitcher Behind in Count (1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1 counts)

• Besides the 3-4 hitters, the offense has scuffled. One spot (the 8 hole) has a batting average above .125:

• The 1-2 hitters in the lineup have a combined .081 average and .171 OBP. In the regular season, those same hitters combined for a .369 OBP, best in the AL. The Astros hitters hitting 1-2 have only reached base in the same inning one time in the ALCS.
• Groundballs aren’t getting through for hits. The Astros are hitting .121 (7-for-58) on groundballs with no extra-base hits. During the regular season, they led the league with a .277 average on groundballs and 55 doubles (the next closest team was Milwaukee with 44 doubles).
• Josh Reddick is missing fastballs. During the regular season, Reddick only missed 9.5 percent of fastballs, 12th best in MLB (League Avg: 18.1 percent). He’s missed 44 percent (4-of-9) of fastballs this series. In the ALDS, he only missed one fastball on 21 swings.
• The Yankees are working both sides of the plate against George Springer this series. They are showing the fastball inside, often off the plate, to set him up for the fastball away. The results have been outstanding. So far, Springer is 0-for-12 in at-bats ending on an outside fastball.