Playing in a minor league ballpark or not, the series against the Rays further exposed one of the Astros’ most glaring weaknesses thus far in 2025: They can’t control the run game. Like, at all.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a new development for Houston. There were shades of this issue last season, although Yainer Díaz and Victor Caratini were among the better tandems in catching would-be basestealers. According to Statcast, they caught five more base stealers than the expectation for an average catcher. However, the pitching staff struggled to keep opposing baserunners in check at various times.
However, this season has become more of a significant issue for the Astros.