Houston Astros' Dusty Baker Could Take Major Step with Struggling All-Star Slugger

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker could be getting ready to drop All-Star Kyle Tucker down in the order heading into Game 3 of the ALCS.

Heading into Game 3 of the ALCS, Houston Astros' manager Dusty Baker could take a big step by dropping All-Star slugger Kyle Tucker down in the order.

Per Astros' reporter Chandler Rome of 'The Athletic.'

Dusty Baker said today that he is considering moving Kyle Tucker down in the batting order as a “temporary” measure.

Dusty Baker said today that he is considering moving Kyle Tucker down in the batting order as a “temporary” measure. https://t.co/g5nuyIt0R7

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) October 17, 2023

At this point, Baker is grasping at anything to turn the Astros' fortunes around. They trail the Texas Rangers 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and are two losses away from elimination. Houston is the defending champion and is playing in its seventh straight ALCS.

Tucker is an incredible talent who hit .284 this regular season with 29 homers and 112 RBI. He also stole 30 bases while posting an OPS of .886. That said, he's been brutal this postseason, hitting .091 with no homers and one RBI. He's just 2-for-22 between the ALDS and the first two games of this series.

Per Rome's article on Tucker's struggles:

“They’re terrible,” Tucker said of his at-bats. “I feel fine, just my swing is not there. I haven’t done anything with any of the pitches. It’s been tough.”

The Astros - and Tucker - will have a chance to fix their struggles in Game 3 on Wednesday night.

First pitch from Arlington is set for 8:07 p.m. ET as Max Scherzer (TEX) pitches against Cristian Javier (HOU).

Scherzer hasn't pitched since early September after suffering an injury. Javier is 1-0 this postseason with a 0.00 ERA. He beat the Twins in the ALDS.

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