The Astros were already in a tough spot Tuesday afternoon, and Joe Espada made it harder.
Houston dropped Game 1 of the American League Wild-Card Series 6-3 to the Chicago White Sox, who scored first in the opening inning and never gave the lead back. With the Astros forced into a bullpen game after their push to win the A.L.
West, Espada opened with AJ Blubaugh, and that plan unraveled quickly. Blubaugh got two outs and walked three batters before his night was done.
The move that really put Houston in a bind came next. Espada turned to Bryan King, and that choice never settled in.
King had been steady early in the season, putting up a 2.93 ERA across 40 outings in the first half. Since the All-Star Break, though, the left-hander has had a rougher time, carrying a 10.70 ERA in 20 appearances while allowing 21 earned runs and five home runs.
That recent form showed up fast. King entered in the second inning and immediately loaded the bases with no outs after giving up a pair of singles and a hit by pitch.
Then, in a 0-2 count, he left a fastball over the plate, and Sam Antonacci drove it to the opposite field for a two-run hit that made it 3-0 White Sox. King gave up another single to Kyle Teel before he was lifted.
If the idea was to get King lined up for Tristan Peters, who struck out, there at least would have been a clearer logic. Instead, King was asked to handle the start of the second inning against switch-hitter Braden Montgomery and right-hander Chase Meidroth, and that was the part that didn’t add up.
Miguel Ullola followed King and gave Houston the kind of relief outing it needed from the jump. He threw three innings, allowed one hit and one run, and struck out four. He should have been Espada’s first call.
It’s easy to stare at the final score and say King’s runs didn’t change anything because the Astros lost by three. But playoff baseball doesn’t work that neatly.
Momentum swings fast, and every move gets magnified. King’s inning took the air out of Daikin Park, and Houston never got it back.
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