The Astros have a badly needed day off Thursday after a successful but costly homestand, so the topic of the day, and perhaps days beyond, will be the aftermath of a young girl being struck by a foul ball that flew into the Minute Maid Park seats behind the third base line.
A bystander said the child, who was taken to an undisclosed hospital, was conscious and appeared alert as she was examined at the ballpark. Her injury, however, raises the question of whether more netting should be added down each foul line to protect fans from flying balls or bats.
The Astros added dugout-to-dugout netting for the 2017 season, and all Major League Baseball teams have had similar setups since 2018. Other stadiums such as Fenway Park, however, have additional netting that extends further down each foul line toward the outfield.
The team had no immediate comment on the possibility of additional netting at Minute Maid, and Collin McHugh, the team’s player representative, said that while the players favor the best possible protection for players and fans, such decisions are up to Major League Baseball.
“The adjustments they’ve made in the last couple of years obviously have helped a lot with respect to foul balls and balls flying into the stands,” McHugh said. “Tonight was hard to watch, hard to see. As a father myself, and we have a lot of parents in this room, our hearts are with the family and with the little girl.”
McHugh said MLB owes a safe atmosphere to its fans.
“Safety is a paramount for us, both for our safety and the safety of the fans and the families that are coming to watch us,” he said. “It’s obviously up to Major League Baseball to make those adjustments.
“We’ve seen the adjustments made in the last few years, and anything to protect our game and the people who have come out to watch our game and support us is huge.”
Hitting the road
With Carlos Correa added to the injured list, the road trip to Oakland and Seattle will represent a new normal for the Astros of Jack Mayfield, Derek Fisher, Myles Straw and Garrett Stubbs, not to mention the dawning of the age of second baseman Tony Kemp.
It’s a topic very much on manager A.J. Hinch’s mind, and if he needs any reminders, he can check the lineup card for his 500th career win Tuesday night.
“He’ll always have that lineup card, and he will look at it and see some names he didn’t think would be on his 500th win,” Kemp said. “Now it’s all about next many up and producing and putting your best foot forward.”
That goes not only for the new additions, Kemp said, but for veterans like himself as he settles in at second base for the time being.
“It’s like riding a bike — it’s good,” he said. “I’ve just got to keep taking ground balls and get more and more comfortable and every time I’m out there try to be like Jose Altuve.”
As for the new men, Mayfield acknowledged that going on the road will be tougher than their initial break-in period at Minute Maid Park but that the veterans have their backs.
“The guys when I got here really brought me in,” he said. “It definitely made me more relaxed and way more comfortable than I thought I would be. I give credit to all those guys, all those vets and players who took me in from day one. It helped a lot.
“I’ve got other guys going through this with me, and that helps a little bit. We’re all here to help the team win and trying to compete any way possible.”
Leaving home
The Astros wrapped up their longest road trip of the season with a 6-4 record and series wins over the Red Sox and Cubs, albeit it in games that produced their troublesome injury streak.
“We beat some good teams, and we continued to play pretty good baseball,” Hinch said. “We have been struggling with adversity, but our guys are staying upbeat, we’re staying positive and playing with energy.”
Kemp’s OK
Speaking of Tony Kemp, he had a brief scare when he was hit on the wrist in the seventh inning. He stayed in the game and said afterward he was fine except for some swelling.
“I don’t think that whatever happened that I was going to come out or go on the injured list,” he said. “This team has had too many injuries, and I’m going to do what I can to hang with the guys and be here with this team.”
Etc.
The Astros improved to 22-8 at home, which leads the American League, but are now 2-10 when they do not homer at least once. … Michael Brantley had his 26th multi-hit game and is hitting .311 this year in 12 games as the designated hitter. …
Hinch on Kyle Hendricks, who held the Astros to a run on four hits in seven innings in the Cubs’ 2-1 win Wednesday: “When we had an opportunity or two, he seemed to break out a new pitch or a new style of pitching, and it was more about him, not about any sort of batting order or our execution.”
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