Carlos Correa delivers blunt message after Astros' brutal sweep

Carlos Correa keeps it real after the Astros got swept by the Tigers.

Houston Astros third baseman Carlos Correa (1) talks with Houston Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez (44) in the dugout against the Baltimore Orioles during the seventh inning at Daikin Park.

Carlos Correa delivers blunt message after Astros' brutal sweep originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Houston Astros lost the series finale to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon 7-2, getting swept in the three-game series. The Tigers held to the Astros to just three runs in the series, and outscored Houston by 15 runs.

The Astros have now lost four straight games and five of their last six. Following Houston's 1-0 extra-innings loss on Tuesday night, third baseman Carlos Correa gave an encouraging message in a team meeting to keep faith and move forward.

However, the Astros couldn't avoid the sweep on Wednesday afternoon, and Correa kept it blunt after the loss.

The Astros got 'Out Played'

The Astros fell behind early on Wednesday as six batters reached base and five runs scored before Astros' starter Framber Valdez could even record an out. Houston was down 6-0 at the end of the first inning, and could never rally its way back.

“We got outplayed,” Correa said (h/t MLB.com). “It’s as simple as that. They played better baseball. They played a really good brand of baseball and we didn’t. When you are facing one of the best teams in the league and we don’t show up, that’s going to happen.”

The Tigers hold the best record in the American League, and they showed why against the Astros. Detroit's offense showed up in the first and third games of the series, scoring a combined 17 runs.

Then, Tigers' ace Tarik Skubal led a shutout, extra-inning win in the middle game to help compete the sweep. Luckily for the Astros, the Mariners lost again on Wednesday and Houston remains on top of the AL West.

"We’re in a great spot besides the terrible play in the last week. We’ve got to acknowledge that, and we’ve got to recognize the things we are not doing very well right now in order for us to move forward, be better and be the team we know we can be," Correa said (h/t MLB.com). "We want to look at the bigger picture, but also we want to have a fix for what’s been happening the last week. We got a good opportunity to do that in a four-game set in Baltimore.

"That’s where my head is at right now. I want to flush this series away. I want to start fresh tomorrow and go out there with a positive mind and go out there to win."

Although the Astros pitching didn't perform in two of the three games against Detroit, the offense has been in a major slump.

The Astros have scored just seven runs in their last six games combined, and are hitting .168 with five total extra-base hits. Houston's been shutout in four of those games, including two against the Orioles who they'll face next.

"We had a really good collective approach, but in baseball there’s some days that you pick up the bat and look at the pitcher and you don’t even know where to put your hands," Correa said (h/t MLB.com). "You don’t even know what the hell you’re doing at the plate. It seems like it’s happening to a lot of us at the same time. We’ve got to put in a little more work and go out there and try to have those at-bats again."

The Astros have been in the middle of a rut right now, but have been aided by the struggles of other teams within their division. Houston still leads the AL West by 1.5 games over the Mariners, but it needs to get things going in the right direction soon.

The Astros now travel to Baltimore to begin a four-game weekend series with the Orioles on Thursday.

"We’ve got to continue to grind and this is what happens in August," Astros manager Joe Espada said (h/t MLB.com). "You fight through these tough stretches."

Category: Baseball