Astros' four-man outfield stymies Joey Gallo — but don't expect him to bunt
The Astros employed a four-man outfield each time Joey Gallo was at the plate.
And it worked to perfection on Opening Day.
Gallo flew out to left twice, once to right, and struck out in the Rangers' 4-1 loss at Globe Life Park.
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman was positioned in straight away left field while left fielder Josh Reddick and center fielder Jake Marisnick flanked either side of center field and right fielder George Springer.
"That's the first time I’ve ever seen that," 21-year veteran Adrian Beltre said. "Baseball is getting weird. And it worked."
"I still go out and do what I do. I’m not going to completely switch my approach I’ve had my whole life," Gallo said. "I’m trying to do damage and if I hit the ball the right way like I plan on doing the shift won’t matter anyway."
Gallo said laying down a bunt with most of the left side of the infield wide open has occurred to him. But Opening Day wasn't the time.
"I think about it, but I try to save it for a time when I need it or I don’t feel good at the plate," he said. "I felt pretty good today, I was seeing the ball pretty well so I wanted to give myself a chance to swing the bat and see what happens. Today, for me, it wasn’t the right time to do it."
Gallo, who improved last year at hitting more to left field, said he could keep defenses honest by doing it more.
"If I could get a few cheap knocks over there that would be nice, too," he said. "We still have a few games to figure it out."
Elvis Andrus thinks Gallo should make bunting towards third base part of his game if defenses play him that way.
"They’re trying to get his power out of him, but he needs to make an adjustment," Andrus said. "I think if he bunts two or three times, by the fourth time, they’re going to move, or you’re going to get four hits every single day."
This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Astros' four-man outfield stymies Joey Gallo — but don't expect him to bunt."