Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown offered a public backing of Joe Espada on Sunday, telling The Athletic that the team is not considering a managerial change amid its slow start to the season.
The Astros are 11-18 after salvaging a three-game series against the New York Yankees with a 7-4 win Sunday in Houston.
Speaking to The Athletic before the game, Brown said Houston's problems don't fall on Espada, its third-year manager.
"No. Joe is managing through the injuries," Brown told the outlet. "We are all watching what's going on.
"The pitching hasn't been up to par. We're walking a ton of guys. I can't start pointing the finger at Joe because we're walking a ton of guys and we're banged up."
Those injuries have been plentiful.
Ace Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier have totaled only five starts because of shoulder strains and remain on the injured list. Tatsuya Imai, Houston's $54 million offseason signing, hasn't pitched since April 12 because of right arm fatigue. Reliever Cody Bolton also has been out because of middle-back tightness.
Houston's team ERA is an AL-worst 6.04; the Chicago White Sox have the next-worst mark in the AL at 4.83. The Astros also lead the majors in walks with 157; the Los Angeles Angels have the next-worst mark with 135.
"If this was a case of we were healthy and our pitching was throwing well and [Espada] was making mistakes, that would be a totally different ballgame," Brown told The Athletic. "That's not the case. The case is, we're banged up. We don't have three starters that were in our Opening Day rotation and we're walking a lot of players, which we have to get that together. You can't point to the manager for the injuries or the walks."