Houston's offense is missing its best on-base guy in Dexter Fowler and its best all-around hitter in George Springer. For an offense predicated on three above-average bats, this is not a good thing.
It means someone like Collin McHugh, fresh of a disabled list stint, has very little margin of error. He's got Jose Altuve hitting baseballs and (maybe) Chris Carter, but the rest of the offense is pretty awful right now.
So, when McHugh gives up three runs in the top of the first, Houston is put into a hole it ultimately couldn't climb out of. It doesn't matter that McHugh was pretty great in the other 5 1/3 innings he threw, striking out nine and walking just one. Those first inning runs haunted him for the rest of the game.
Altuve continued to be amazing, picking up three hits and slamming a home run of his own in the bottom of the first. The rest of Houston's hitters? A collective 4-for-29 that pretty much defines awfulness.
How bad is Houston's lineup right now? An ailing Marwin Gonzalez hit second and was the best choice to do so. Jason Castro, he of the .226 batting average, hit cleanup and was probably the best option. Jon Singleton, hitting under .180 right now, proved Houston's best chance for a savior in the bottom of the ninth, clubbing his seventh home run.
Thus, a few promising scraps can be found amid the turmoil of a three-game home sweep by the Marlins. At least Giancarlo Stanton went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Made the rest of the series sting a little less.