Brian McTaggart Says Espada's 'Hands Are Tied' When It Comes To Playing Jose Abreu

The Matt Thomas Show

Brian McTaggart, Astros beat reporter for MLB.com, joins The Astros On-Deck Show following a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday at Oracle Park. The Astros were able to get back on track after two consecutive walk-off losses. Ronel Blanco started on the mound and struck out eight batters, allowing only one run in six innings. The bullpen protected the lead with Tayler Scott, Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly each throwing a scoreless inning. Framber Valdez will start on Wednesday as the Astros attempt to earn three straight series wins. Jon Singleton returns to the lineup, batting in the cleanup spot as the designated hitter, while Jose Abreu will start at first base, batting eighth. "The lineup is changing on a daily basis," but even if he wanted Singleton to play more at first base, Joe Espada's "hands are tied" because "they have to keep giving Abreu a shot," McTaggart said. The Astros are without Kyle Tucker and Yainer Diaz for Wednesday's matchup. Tucker "hasn't even done any baseball activities yet," so "he's going to need a few more days," but no IL stint will be needed for Diaz because "he could actually play today if they needed him." McTaggart also discusses Ryan Pressly earning a save in his previous role as a closer, the reasoning behind Joey Loperfido being optioned back to Triple-A and more.