Astros demote former closer Giles to Triple-A

The Houston Astros optioned right-hander Ken Giles to Triple-A Fresno on Wednesday, the day after he suffered a ninth-inning meltdown and appeared to mutter an expletive in the direction of manager A.J. Hinch as he was removed from the game.

Left-hander Cionel Perez was recalled from Double-A Corpus Christi to take Giles' spot on the roster.

Giles came on in a 4-0 game against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday and promptly allowed three straight singles to begin his outing. Hinch had seen enough, removing the 27-year-old and replacing him with Hector Rondon, who has handled the majority of the save opportunities since Giles was demoted from the closer role. As Giles walked off the mound, cameras appeared to catch him uttering an expletive in the direction of Hinch.

Rondon went on to blow the save, and the Astros wound up winning 6-5 in the 11th inning.

Last season, Giles posted a 1-3 record but had 34 saves and a 2.30 ERA in helping the Astros to their first-ever world championship. He struggled in the World Series, however, allowing five runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings between two appearances.

Those issues have continued into this season, as Giles has a 4.99 ERA and just 12 saves. He has given up 17 earned runs and 36 hits in 30 2/3 innings.

Since June 17, he has just one save in nine appearances.

--Field Level Media