Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch has backed himself into a corner. He has rode out the slumps of Josh Reddick, Marwin Gonzalez, George Springer, and Brian McCann. The entire lineup could have been mentioned. But the point is Hinch can’t change the lineup now.
It’s like a slot machine, Hinch will have to keep pulling the handle and hope his persistence pays off. The other option is insert Derek Fisher or Cameron Maybin in the most important game of the season with constant at-bats since the end of the major league season.