Houston Astros Find New Ways To Embarrass Themselves

Losing 7-0 with just one out in the bottom of the first inning against a division rival has to be embarrassing. While that’s the situation the Houston Astros found themselves in against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night, it’s not even close to the most embarrassing moment of the night for the continual cellar dweller. 

This is.

Oakland shortstop Jed Lowrie, taking what the defense was giving him in terms of a shift in the infield, laid down a bunt with two outs in the bottom of the first inning with the A’s up by seven. It is an unwritten rule in baseball that you don’t attempt to bunt for a hit when the game is out of hand.

In this specific situation, Houston’s pitching staff had tallied a total of two outs for the game. Its offense had just been up to bat one time. Despite the score being 7-0, Oakland wasn’t guaranteed a victory when Lowrie laid the bunt down. This is evidenced by the fact that just a few innings later Houston cut the lead to 8-3.

This didn’t seem to matter to Astros manager Bo Porter, who seemed to take exception to the tactic. Sensing that somehow Oakland was showing up his team in the FIRST inning, Porter took to the field to confront Lowrie his next time up at the plate in the third inning.

This came after Astros pitcher Paul Clemens seemingly threw at Lowrie twice in the at-bat.

For his part, Lowrie came to his own defense following Oakland’s 11-3 whitewashing of the Astros.

It’s the first inning and they’re playing the shift,” Lowrie said about his bunt attempt. “Apparently they didn’t like that, but I’ve seen crazier things happen than a team come back from seven runs. We’re trying to win the game, and I felt they were giving me that by playing the shift.

Lowrie would later go on to indicate that Porter didn’t have confidence in his team…

Listen, the Astros are one of the worst teams in baseball and have been for a few years now. Oakland had no intention of showing up a group or professionals that it still has to play 17 more times on the season. That would make little sense.

About that unwritten rule. Sure it exists when the game is considered out of reach. A seven-run lead in the bottom half of the first inning isn’t considered out of reach. Houston’s infield shifted in a way that left the third-base line open for Lowrie to lay a bunt down. While he was thrown out at the end, it was a heads-up baseball move for the shortstop.

If Porter has a problem here, it’s that he doesn’t possess anywhere near the necessary confidence in his team to come back from an early-game deficit. To indicate that the opposing team is showing you up when they’ve only recorded three outs against your offense is utterly ridiculous.

Opinions aren’t really split on this either. While those calling the game for the local television affiliate in Houston also seemed to take exception with Lowrie’s bunt, others were squarely on the A’s side here.

This comes from a Houston Chronicle writer.

It was a bush league antic by Porter, plain and simple. Maybe the second-year manager should worry more about how his team gave up seven runs before recording a second out in the game. That’s embarrassing in of itself. Your team might not be major league caliber, but there is something to be said about sportsmanship. In this, it’s not Lowrie who failed to show that. It’s the Astros manager. Great job leading by example and showing confidence in your young team, Bo.

Photo: Troy Taormina, USA Today