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Astros third baseman literally plays in the dirt, gives up easy stolen base, which you hate to see

We haven't clowned on the Houston Astros in quite some time, but that doesn't mean we haven't been paying attention. It's impossible not to thanks to the 2020 Astros Shame Tour, aka @AsteriskTour, who has been one of the best follows of the 2020 baseball season. 

For those who haven't followed, Jose Altuve stinks without his trusty trash can (.207 batting average, .589 OPS), as does George Springer (.193 batting average) and Alex Bregman is out for another three weeks with a hamstring injury (which sucks). That said, Houston did just go on an eight-game winning streak, and have won 10 of its last 14 games, including Monday's game against the L.A. Angels. 

That stretch run makes what you're about to see a little less fun to make fun of, but we are going to do it anyway. During the 'Stros 11-4 drubbing of the Angels on Monday, backup third baseman Jack Mayfield was caught literally playing with the dirt. The tee-ball antics led to an easy stolen base for the Angels: 

I mean, you learn to stop playing in the dirt at around 10 years old. Mayfield is still doing it in the big leagues. Was he inspired by that caddie at the U.S. Amateur? Question has to be asked. 

Again, they won, which is a shame because this would have been a lot tastier with a big red L next to their name on ESPN.com. But they still took other Ls that we can enjoy:

Really tough to watch a former AL MVP* struggle like this. Hope he snaps out of it.