HOUSTON — After every game at Daikin Park, Houston Astros manager Joe Espada walks into a news conference room across from his office, thanks the stadium worker who opens the door and delivers a dose of hope. Espada repeats the routine whether he has just witnessed a stirring win or a sobering setback.Not even surrendering 18 runs can disrupt the drill, so there sat Espada atop the dais after a disastrous Thursday night. His club had authored an affront to fundamental baseball against one of the worst teams it will play all season. He tried to force a smile, start his remarks with a joke and maintain the measured tone that has defined his three-year tenure.“Our guys are very much aware (of) what we need to do,” Espada said after an 18-3 loss to a Los Angeles Angels team with the American League’s second-worst record.“They know we control our own destiny,” the coach continued. “When teams play us, we have that target on our back. Teams are playing a first-place team. We just did not play well today.”Finding the rarest and most valuable cards at The NationalEspada is even-keeled, even in embarrassment. His next public outburst will be his first, and he can find positives when there are none to promote. The baseball calendar will chew up and spit out those who dwell on one outcome out of 162, so little about Espada’s demeanor should be a surprise.Anything more drastic is asking for disaster or a disconnect from the clubhouse Espada must keep intact. Teams take on the personality of their leaders, sometimes to the chagrin of those seeking something more strident. Houston’s clubhouse is guided by players with a similar public disposition to their skipper. Thursday’s misery did not alter it.“To me, it’s just another loss,” designated hitter Yordan Alvarez said through an interpreter. “I know the amount of runs they scored is kind of eye-opening, but for us, it’s just another loss. Tomorrow we have another important series coming up.”A certain benefit of the doubt is given to an Astros team that has reached postseason play in eight of the past nine years. Two years ago, they rebounded from a 12-24 start to win the American League West. Houston last surrendered 18 runs in 2019, the same season it won a franchise-record 107 games. Those scars, perhaps, promote this stoicism.“For us,” Alvarez said, “it’s a slap in the face to come out here tomorrow and get a victory.”In a best-case scenario, that is what Thursday will one day represent: a wake-up call for a flawed team trying to find its way. A post-All-Star break sweep by the Baltimore Orioles had the same effect. Houston won 11 of its next 12 games to storm atop and seize control of the division.Espada scoffed at any notion of needing to call a team meeting. So did first baseman Christian Walker.“The length of the season is something that you can be good at or struggle with,” Walker said. “I think we’re just in a little bit of a patch. I think we’re confident. I like where we’re at. Really good spot moving forward for the rest of the season. Generally, the vibe is high.”It is reasonable to wonder how that is the case. Remaining atop the AL West is one reason. Retaining a 56.2 percent chance to reach the postseason is another. Only four other American League teams have higher odds, according to FanGraphs.This homestand against three teams below .500 offered a chance to increase them. Houston has squandered it in stunning fashion. Before doing so Thursday, the Angels had not won a road series since May 26-28. The Athletics, who arrive for a three-game set Friday, have lost 41 of their past 52 games.“That’s baseball,” starter Peter Lambert said. “We just have a little bad stretch. Regroup tomorrow and take on the A’s.”Lambert is one of the lone reasons Houston is still relevant. He has saved an injury-ravaged starting rotation his bosses have twice failed to address: once during the offseason and again at the Aug. 3 trade deadline.The Astros have lost four of their five series since that date. Their lone series win — against the 52-75 San Francisco Giants — featured an opener Houston salvaged after being one strike away from defeat. The team’s only deadline acquisition, Daulton Varsho, is 7-for-52.Thursday demonstrated the danger in not acquiring another starter. Lambert looked like a pitcher pushed to his physical limit, even if he will not acknowledge it publicly. The 3 2/3 innings he threw increased his season total (including his minor-league appearances) to 137. Lambert hasn’t thrown more than 125 frames in eight years.“I feel great. I felt great tonight,” Lambert said.There are methods to monitor workloads, whether by shortening starts or skipping them altogether. The Astros cannot afford either avenue. They have exhausted all of their alternatives, few of which inspired any confidence anyway. Houston received fewer than five innings from its starter in all three games against the Angels.Tatsuya Imai has morphed into an $18 million mop-up man who wore the final three innings of Thursday’s farce. Imai had pitched twice in the previous 19 days, occupying a roster spot while leaving his fellow relievers overexposed. Only six bullpens entered Thursday with a higher second-half workload than Houston’s.Lambert is the Astros’ most consistent starter, even if Thursday’s excruciating outing did not suggest as much. For Houston to go anywhere, Lambert must more resemble the pitcher who entered Thursday with a 3.11 ERA in 118 2/3 innings.The Angels attacked him for nine earned runs, more than Lambert had ever permitted in his previous 56 major-league starts. The carnage inflated Lambert’s ERA to 3.68.Lambasting Lambert for the performance is illogical, but so is placing so much importance on one player. Such is the story of Houston’s season, one that hinges almost entirely on heroics from Alvarez, budding superstar shortstop Jeremy Peña or patient third baseman Isaac Paredes.According to Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, that trio has accumulated more than half of Houston’s offensive WAR. Alvarez has one home run in his past 18 games. Paredes has four extra-base hits in 17 August games. Peña is in a 5-for-52 funk and, after being hit by a 100 mph sinker Wednesday night, did not play Thursday.Whether Peña will return Friday is a mystery. The team is now 20-29 when missing him, underscoring the top-heavy construction of this teetering club.“The good teams find a way to hit the gas pedal, and some teams kind of sputter,” Walker said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to hit the gas pedal with these guys and finish out strong.”