The 2018 season likely hasn't been a fun one for Ken Giles. He opened the season as the closer for the World Series champion Astros. He's since suffered a few high-profile, late-inning meltdowns, such as when he was seen punching himself as he walked off the field.
Tuesday, Giles was tasked with closing down a 4-0 Astros lead in the ninth. He gave up three singles and was pulled by Astros manager A.J. Hinch. He wasn't pleased, to say the least, and appeared to say something derogatory in the direction of Hinch as he gave away the ball and walked off.
All of Giles' three runners would score, so he was charged with three earned runs, and his ERA went all the way to 4.99 on the season. This after a 2.30 ERA last season.
The shuffling in the bullpen isn't likely much of a problem for Hinch. We saw how comfortable he became in the playoffs without a set closer and he's already gotten seven saves from Hector Rondon and two each from Chris Devenski and Brad Peacock. Collin McHugh has a 1.02 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 44 innings, too.
Plus, the Astros have been humming along without a good version of Giles for much of the season. Entering Wednesday, the Astros ranked third in the majors with a 2.78 bullpen ERA.
Simply, the story here is more about Giles than the Astros' fallout. They'd obviously love to have the good version of him back come October, but for now, he needs to sort through whatever issues he's having -- both physically and mentally -- in the minors.
