Bauer tips cap after setback in Houston

There’s no love lost between Trevor Bauer and the Astros.

When the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal was discovered, Bauer was one of many players who voiced their displeasure with the situation. He even got into a back-and-forth with Astros third baseman Alex Bregman on social media.

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Bauer called the Astros “hypocrites” and “cheaters” and vowed to never let them forget about the situation. Just last season as a member of the Reds, Bauer wore cleats with trash cans painted all over them, taking another shot at the Astros. When Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly was suspended last season after a benches-clearing incident with the Astros, Bauer wore another set of cleats with the message: “Free Joe Kelly.”

For the first time since the scandal, Bauer got his first crack at the Astros’ lineup on Wednesday. But it was the Astros that got the upper hand, as the Dodgers’ eight-game winning streak was snapped in a 5-2 loss at Minute Maid Park.

It was an uneven start for Bauer, who has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. Jose Altuve greeted Bauer with a leadoff homer on a fastball that caught too much of the plate. It took Bauer 37 pitches -- the most he’s needed in any inning since 2017 -- to get through the first, but he only gave up one run.

“I threw him four fastballs. He’s a good hitter,” Bauer said of the Altuve homer. “I’m fine with that one. I’m fine with the location on it. My fastball plays up in the zone well, and it was up in the zone, and he hit it. Good on him, he’s a good hitter.”

Bauer was able to lock it back in following the homer, delivering another quality start. But in the sixth, Carlos Correa got the best of Bauer, hitting an 0-2 cutter into the Crawford Boxes in left field, giving the Astros a 2-1 lead.

“He got fooled on it a little bit, but he’s a good hitter so he made an in-pitch adjustment and was able to get the ball in the air,” Bauer said. “It’s going to happen. I’m not upset about the pitches, they’re just good hitters.”

The Dodgers’ right-hander recorded a season-low three strikeouts, but he was able to get the Astros hitters early in the count. That allowed Bauer to get through six innings, and he believes he could’ve given the Dodgers even more ahead of their bullpen game on Thursday.

“I absolutely thought he could’ve kept going,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But I just don’t think it makes sense all the time to push any of our starters. It doesn’t make much sense for me. … But as far as Trevor, I have no question he could’ve kept going.”

Offensively, it was a rare quiet night during the current 13-3 stretch the Dodgers are on. Astros rookie right-hander Luis Garcia kept the Dodgers off balance through six innings. Max Muncy continued his tear at the plate and was the only one able to get to Garcia, driving in Yoshi Tsutsugo with an RBI single in the third. Sheldon Neuse added a solo homer in the eighth off Ryne Stanek.

But while Bauer and the Dodgers weren’t at their best on Wednesday, it was still a very successful five-game road trip. After beating up on three teams with records under .500 during the previous homestand, the Dodgers proved themselves against the Giants and Astros -- two of the best teams in the Majors through two months -- going 4-1 in the two series.

“Overall, a really good road trip,” Roberts said. “I thought throughout the entire road trip, we had really good pitching, timely hitting and for the most part, we played really good defense.”