Rick Ankiel, like the Astros as a whole, hasn’t been the same since Opening Night.
Ankiel delivered a pinch-hit homer off Derek Lowe in the Astros’ season-opening win over the Rangers, but since then he’s come to the plate 13 times and here are the results:
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Line Out
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
That would be 0-for-13 with 12 strikeouts and a line out, which makes the Opening Day excitement seem like it was a million years ago.
(Complicated handshake to David Cameron of Fan Graphs for taking notice of Ankiel’s stretch.)