Major League Baseball 2024
Losing that series is all on Joe Espada. He did a horrible job of managing his bullpen over these two games.
I was angry yesterday when he sent out Hader when the team is down 3-0. That was a complete waste of resources.
Had he been fresh today, he could have mowed them down like he did yesterday, but he's not a guy you can use day after day. If Espada had saved him, this game likely would have been a win.
Also, sending out Pressley with a 1 run lead is just asking to give up that lead. He's given up 1 run very nearly every time he's pitched this season. With a 1 run lead, send Abreu. You have a much better shot of holding that lead.
And something has to be done as far as the hitting coach because here in crunch time, the Astros didn't hit. Not yesterday, not today. It's okay that they had trouble against the obvious Cy Young winner for the year, but there's no excuse for today and there's no excuse for not finishing the game yesterday against the Tigers' bullpen.
There's a lot needs to be fixed this offseason.