Thomas Campbell – USA TODAY Sports
Jake Elmore has had some fielding troubles this year for the Houston Astros, so when he took over to catch when Carlos Corporan was hurt, a lot of things started flashing before my eyes … mainly his side-armed Frisbee-like way of throwing the ball. Of course, by then it was 13-1 in the third, so there wasn’t many more terrible things that could happen.
Sure enough Elmore committed no errors in the new position.
Related: Texas Rangers Crush Houston Astros And One-Man Show Jake Elmore
Even more entertaining is that Elmore switched to the other battery position in the eighth inning. What’s worse? He was the most effective Astros pitcher on the day.
No, that’s not a joke. The fielding-liability-turned-pitcher Jake Elmore played four innings of catcher, committed no errors, and pitched a perfect inning.
I see no reason why he should not be anointed the Astros closing pitcher on the spot. At least, he should be a set-up guy.
It’s nice that Bo Porter sees the plight of the bullpen. When none of your pitchers are succeeding, give the utility man a shot. It can’t be any worse, and it wasn’t.
It was a typical performance out of the rest of the Astros hapless bullpen. Philip Humber fell back into his run-surrendering ways, allowing two runs in two innings. Again, it must be asked how long Humber’s leash is. He has to be released soon, and when you get out-pitched by the back-up second baseman, it may be about time to move on to other career options.
Wade LeBlanc was given another shot, and he surprised no one with his lackluster performance either.
Initially I was joking about Elmore becoming the closer, but the more I think about it, the more desirable it seems.
Follow Josh Sippie on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
