Astros Manager Joe Espada Will Drop Alex Bregman To 5th In Batting Lineup

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada joins The Matt Thomas Show following a 3-2 loss in the first of a four-game series on the road against the Seattle Mariners.

Framber Valdez gave up three runs on four hits in the first inning, but recovered, allowing two hits and no runs the rest of the game. Valdez "actually settled down" and "his tempo was much better," Espada said.

Despite getting a quality start from Valdez, the Astros starting rotation took another hit as Cristian Javier, who was scheduled to start Tuesday, was placed on the 15-day injured list, and Jose Urquidy aggravated a forearm strain in a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday. Both pitchers are "getting some imaging done" and are "not feeling great about the news," Espada said. "We need them back in our rotation."

First baseman Jose Abreu returned to the lineup in Monday's 3-2 loss, recording an RBI single. We're "really excited to have him back" and "his swing looks different" so "he's going to get some playing time." The Astros demoted Abreu to the Florida Complex League on May 1 after batting .099 in 22 games. Abreu was sent to Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday and went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts in two games.

With Abreu brought back up, the corresponding move saw Joey Loperfido sent down to Triple-A. It would be "very difficult to get [Loprefido] some playing time" and "he needs everyday at bats."

Alex Bregman went 2-for-4 with a walk Sunday against the Athletics, earning his first multi-hit game in his last eight starts, but went 0-for-4 Monday against the Mariners. "I'm going to drop him to fifth today" in the batting lineup because "we haven't seen the consistency in Alex Bregman that we've seen in the past."