The Astros opened the 2024 season against conference rivals the New York Yankees on Thursday, dropping the home opener 5-4. It was a tale of two halves of baseball with the Astros dominating early then falling behind despite a late surge.

It was manager Joe Espada's first game as skipper and not without some measure of controversy, but, ultimately, the uneven performance from some of his marquee players cost them their first game of 2024. Here are some thoughts.

Fast start not enough to overcome nine walks.

The 'Stros rocketed out to a fast start with three runs in the first and another in the second courtesy of a solo shot from Jake Meyers, all off of lefty starter Nestor Cortez, Jr. The second half of the lineup did most of the damage with RBI from Chaz McCormick, Yainer Diaz and Meyers.

Unfortunately, the early burst of offense wasn't enough to save them from the lack of pitching control. Framber Valdez tied his career high with six walks (and had one hit batter) over four-and-two-thirds innings, giving up three runs and striking out five. Three of his first four walks came on four pitches. After Rafael Montero gave up a solo homer, Ryan Pressly gave up a run on two hits and a walk. Pitchers scattered nine total walks over the game. They did that only once in 2023. It could have been worse for Valdez who managed to coax three double plays to get out of trouble, before he wasn't able to any longer.

Offense wasn't the problem, exactly.

Of the Astros one through five hitters, only Yordan Alvarez had two hits. The other four were 3-17 with a pair of walks. Conversely, the bottom of the order was 7-14. Diaz had three hits and Jeremy Peña had two. As mentioned, Meyers had a 415-foot blast onto the train tracks in left field on his first at bat.

The problem was timely hitting. They left nine on base and were unable to score a single run after the second inning despite 13 hits and a pair of walks. It was a frustrating game at the plate in some respects, but also provided some hope that this team will be able to rake on most nights.

Joe Espada made his mark for better and worse.

The new manager promised to be more aggressive and that was evident in his first game. In the ninth, third base coach Gary Pettis waved Mauricio Dubon on a single from Kyle Tucker with one out. Right fielder Juan Soto fired a BB to the plate that just got Dubon. Replays were inconclusive, but it looked like he was tagged out at home.

But, the most curious move was substituting Jon Singleton for Meyers in the bottom of the sixth inning with two on and two out. Espada said that it was a calculated move as righty reliever Jonathan Loáisiga is one of the best pitchers against right handers in the big leagues while being only mediocre against lefties. Singleton hit a weak ground ball to end the inning. While Loáisiga may be less-than-perfect against lefties, one does wonder why the Astros would think Singleton, who has never hit for average and is less than a year removed from being put on waivers after being out of baseball, was the right choice.

Josh Hader was electric (and the South African kid wasn't bad either).

One thing went right and that was the first appearance of newly-signed closer Josh Hader. He entered the game in the ninth and struck out all three batters on 13 pitches. It looked almost easy. If there was any question about whether Hader is the Astros closer, this one outing should end that speculation entirely. His outing came on the heels of Tayler Scott, a South Africa native who just learned he made the 26-man roster on Thursday. He was fantastic in the eighth with one walk and one K.