Hader, Javier make spring debuts with ease

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The first outing of Grapefruit League play for closer Josh Hader couldn’t have gone any smoother for him or the Astros. In his team debut, Hader threw a scoreless fifth inning in Houston’s 7-1 win over St. Louis on Saturday afternoon at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

Hader, who signed a five-year, $95-million deal in late January, gave up one hit and threw nine of his 15 pitches for strikes. The left-hander’s fastball sat at 94 mph and he touched 95, but Hader said velocity isn’t as important to him at this point in the spring as his command in the zone. He threw only one changeup while focusing on his sinker and slider.

“I definitely need to just try to get the changeup going to be able to have confidence in that and be able to have a third pitch I can throw over the plate,” he said. “Right now, obviously, it’s the first [outing], so it’s kind of hard to really throw in all my changeups at once. Just trying to add that in but try and still at least have that game intent down the mound and just try to be aggressive.”

Hader threw to backup catcher Victor Caratini, who had caught him previously when both were in Milwaukee. Hader plans to once again use the PitchCom to call pitches occasionally and has spoken to Caratini, fellow backup catcher César Salazar and starter Yainer Diaz about his setup and how he likes his targets. He prefers to let the catchers call pitches for now.

“Overall, game plan-wise, I definitely go with the catcher and see where their mindset is,” Hader said. “Especially in the spring, I like to see what they like to call in certain situations and kind of get their feel and go from there.”

Trimmer Javier in sync in his spring debut
Astros starter Cristian Javier lost 15 pounds in the winter to help him be more fluid in his delivery, which looked like it paid some dividends on Saturday. Javier threw free and easy in three hitless innings, striking out three batters and walking two. He threw 51 pitches (26 strikes).

“I know it’s early in camp, but just how good his body was working -- the lower half synchronized with his upper body -- and how he was working down the hill and how he was hitting his spots, that was good to see,” manager Joe Espada said.

The key for Javier is movement on his fastball as it sails up in the zone, and the right-hander said he liked what he saw. He also mixed in some sliders in the low-to-mid 80s, though he didn’t seem to have a good feel for the pitch yet. Overall, he was pleased.

“I felt more comfortable to be able to release the ball better,” Javier said.

Coming off a stellar 2022 season, Javier began last year by going 7-1 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in his first 14 starts, which covered 80 2/3 innings. The rest of the summer was a grind. Javier had a 7.27 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in 13 starts from June 21 to Sept. 9 before finishing with four solid outings, including an 11-strikeout game Sept. 20 against Baltimore.

Tucker cranks his first homer of the spring
Saying he felt his swing was behind early in the spring, All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker timed up one perfectly in the sixth inning Saturday when he cranked a solo homer off Cardinals right-hander Sem Robberse, one of St. Louis’ top pitching prospects.

“I’ve been late,” Tucker said. “I feel comfortable in the box and feel like I’m swinging at strikes and taking balls and stuff, but I’ve just been hitting the ball out of the catcher’s mitt lately and just being late. It kind of happened in my first at-bat [Saturday] and my next one, I just kept thinking to hit the ball out in front somewhere, and I ended up popping up. My next at-bat, I basically just moved my point of contact up more than from behind me. I was trying to do that, and I ended up barreling the ball and it went out.”

Tucker, who hit 29 homers last year, said being behind in your swing is nothing new early in the spring, but the fact he was able to adjust and hit a homer this early in the Grapefruit League schedule is encouraging.

“That’s kind of where I’m at, just getting my timing, and I’m hitting the ball out in front more instead of way behind me,” he said.