9 hours Ago By Matt Kawahara | Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON — After a day off came signs of an awakening. On Monday, Christian Walker was held out of the Houston Astros lineup for the first time this season. Manager Joe Espada deemed it a "breather" for the first baseman amid a difficult start, one Walker did not desire but understood.
"I always would rather be in the lineup, for sure," Walker said. "But I get it. Just a reset, come in and get some work without maybe the pressure of figuring out how to get a couple hits tonight.
" Walker watched a 7-0 win on Monday from the bench. He then returned to the lineup and struck five hits over the next two nights, helping the Astros to a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in which stirrings from their offense mirrored his own. Houston entered its series against the Blue Jays having scored two or fewer runs in 10 of 21 games.
It totaled 15 runs and 33 hits over three wins against Toronto, backing a pitching staff that allowed two runs in the Astros' most complete series of the young season. "We're pitching really, really well," Espada said afterward. "Our offense is starting to come around.
" Walker epitomizes hope for an upturn. He entered the series with a .156 batting average and .
513 OPS. He slugged his second home run of the season Saturday against the Padres, then struck out three times the next night. The day off followed.
Walker said a key adjustment came Tuesday. "Just getting back to what I do," Walker said. "Not trying to do too much, not trying to tinker too much.
I'm my best when I'm confident and in the moment in the batter's box, trying to make good decisions and not worry too much about mechanics. "I think the routine's dialed in right now. I think it's from a confidence standpoint reminding myself that my swing's not broken.
Things are going to ebb and flow. You're going to tinker, you're going to move your hands, you're going to play with direction, all that. But at the end of the day, I'm good enough to step into the box at any time and get a hit — or at least hit a ball hard.
So just trying to trust that." Walker had three hits, two singles and a double, in a 5-1 win Tuesday night. It included an RBI single in a three-run first inning that equaled the number of first-inning runs Houston had scored in its previous 22 games.
He struck two more Wednesday, including a home run on a hanging curveball from right-hander Bowden Francis that opened a three-run second inning. "The results speak for themselves, but I think he's in a much better position," Espada said. "His takes are pitches that are close to the zone.
He's not chasing them. The home run, it was a slow breaking ball, but he stayed behind it and he put a really good swing on it. Really, really happy where he's at right now.
" The two games raised Walker's batting average by nearly 50 points, underscoring how early it remains in the season. Walker agreed his at-bats the last two days were "much better." "Much more competitive, good decisions, timing's been a little better," Walker said.
"The energy is contagious, I think, that the offense is putting out right now." Their sweep of Toronto featured the kind of complementary offense the Astros rarely showed for the season's first three weeks. They totaled double-digit hits in all three games.
They were 10-for-32 as a team with runners in scoring position. They hit just two home runs, both solo, and instead strung hits together across the lineup. Five different players drove in runs for Houston in each of the first two games.
All nine starters had at least one hit in the finale. Houston stranded 10 baserunners in its 3-1 win, but creating the volume of opportunities bodes well. "I guess the cliché word is contagious, but you want to figure out a way to help the team," Walker said of the offense.
"You come up and there's two guys on, you want to figure out a way to get them over or put a good at-bat together and draw a walk, make the guy work a little bit, be the guy that knocks the starter out of the game." That the offense is still not functioning fully is evident. Yordan Alvarez owns a .
221 average and .661 OPS. He narrowly missed a grand slam Wednesday, settling for a 399-foot sacrifice fly to center field.
Yainer Diaz's two hits in the finale inched his average up to .173. Walker, now hitting .
202, was shifted out of the cleanup spot during the homestand, with Jeremy Peña moved up into that spot. Espada also flipped Alvarez and Isaac Paredes into the 2-3 spots, respectively. Alvarez reached base five times in the Toronto series.
Having Jose Altuve and Alvarez atop the order could create more chances for Paredes to hit with runners in scoring position, where he is 7-for-20. But the series showed the impact of others coming through in those at-bats. The 5-to-9 lineup spots for the Astros drove in 8 of 15 runs in it.
Zach Dezenzo delivered a spark in his two starts, totaling five hits and perhaps building a case for the Astros to find more playing time for the rookie. Brendan Rodgers drove in three runs in two starts at second base. Perhaps no hitter had a more encouraging series than Walker, the everyday first baseman who is projected to help anchor a lineup showing life.
"It's great when you come up with guys on base," Walker said. "Pitchers are forced to really execute. I think that's when mistakes start showing up.
So it's nice to fit into a good rolling offense at the moment.".
