Adam Smith, the 18th-century British economist and historian, once said, “Be assured, my young friend, there is a great deal of ruin in a nation.” He was speaking about the United Kingdom after its loss to the Americans at the Battle of Saratoga (1777); however, I think the spirit of the quote can be applied to the Houston Astros in 2025. Luckily for the Astros, the great deal of ruin started well!
The first out of the season was from an outstanding play by J. Pena. Hopefully, this is the kind of defense we can expect going forward.
Framber Valdez guided the Astros to victory, pitching seven innings of shutout baseball. He started the game a bit wild, giving up two walks and hitting a batter, but he locked back in and gave Houston an outstanding chance to win.
Smith’s first career hit helped the Astros to score their first run of the season.
After Smith’s first hit, with runners on first and third with one out, Meyers grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice, putting Houston up 1-0 in the bottom of the second.
Immediately after a key shutdown inning in the top of the third, the Astros went up 3-0 via an RBI single by Diaz and then a costly throwing error from the Mets. The Astros would not need to score again.
The game flew by until the 8th inning when the Mets were able to load the bases against Abreu courtesy of three walks. Brandon Nimmo came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, but he flew out to center on the first pitch.
Hader had a rough start to the ninth, loading the bases on two singles and a walk through his first three batters. At this point, it felt like the Mets were on the verge of breaking through and at least tying the game; however, Hader proved why he is one of the best pitchers in the game.
The Mets put in rookie catcher Hayden Senger as a pinch hitter. This was Senger’s first MLB at-bat, and Hader made quick work of him, striking him out on a swing and miss. Francisco Lindor broke the shutout with a sac-fly to center.
This brought up a match-up between some of the league’s best players, as Juan Soto came up to the plate as the go-ahead runner. Hader fell behind in the count 3-0, and it looked like he would give him the free pass to take on Pete Alonso. However, Josh Hader managed to sneak in a 3-0 slider that caught a lot of the plate to keep the PA going. At the time, it looked like Hader got away with one, but Soto was probably sitting on a fastball. Soto fouled off the next pitch, bringing the count to full. Hader went back to the slider, but this time, it was way outside, and Soto could not lay off. THE ASTROS WIN 3-1!
Observations:
-It is nice to see Framber start strong. Houston will not have much depth in the starting rotation, so they need Valdez and Brown to carry the boats.
-The infield defense was great all night. Paredes may be a defensive upgrade over the aging Bregman.
-Altuve looked a bit shaky in LF. He did not commit an error, but there were a few fly balls that made him look uncomfortable handling.
Final thoughts:
The Astros are unlikely to be an elite team this year, but there is a great deal of ruin in a dynasty. The fruits of the Luhnow-Click era are still plentiful, and today’s game can give Houston fans hope that this will be another competitive season. With that said, do not overreact to the first few weeks, or even months, of the season. They do not handout pennants in May, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
What did you all think of today’s game? comment below!