The Astros pitching staff stinks.
Stinks bad.
Their most recent loss in their 6 game slide came with the same familiar beats as the other ones. Yordan and friends hit really well, have 2-3 innings where they just lay it on, and score 6+ runs.
The issue comes in the other half of the innings.
The pitching hasn’t been bad, it’s been horrendous. A top 3 offense and a bottom 3 pitching staff have combined for torture in Houston.
Credit where credit is due, Lance McCullers did his job. After a Cal Raleigh homer gave Seattle a 2 run lead, he faced the minimum number of batters in the next 3 innings, including 4 strikeouts.
In fact, everyone not named Steve Okert and Bryan Abreu did a pretty solid job. However Okert allowing 5 runs, including a 3 run dinger, erasing the 7-2 the offense built up, and set Houston up for failure.
Abreu managed to strikeout Raley, but proceeded to walk 3 straight batters, and then allow a single to walk the game off.
Speaking of Alvarez, a rare failure by him sentenced the Astros to a loss. With bases loaded and a 2-0 count, all tied up in the top of the ninth, Alvarez just gave the outfielders a can of corn for the final out, and sent Abreu up.
Where do the Astros go from here?
The pitching staff has a lot of potential, but can’t stay consistent. From Tatsuya Imai not getting 2 outs on Friday, to Okert allowing 5 runs, this staff needs to pull it together. It’s still not even 3 weeks in, but without Hunter Brown this pitching staff is thinning quickly.
So what does the doctor order? Calmer pitches, and avoiding whirlpool innings.
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