Astros throw a combined no-hitter
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 9-0 win
Aug 3, 2019, 9:12 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
With a showcase of home run power the night before that resulted in a lopsided win to start the series, Houston looked to secure the series win with a victory on Saturday night. The game also marked the debut of Aaron Sanchez with his new team. Here is a quick rundown of the game:
Final Score: Astros 9, Mariners 0.
Record: 72-40, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Aaron Sanchez (4-14, 5.76 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Marco Gonzalez (12-9, 4.32 ERA).
1) New team, new Aaron Sanchez
After joining the Astros with a 3-14 record and 6.07 ERA, Houston probably just wanted to see what their new pitcher could offer to start the process to workshop his skillset. Instead, Aaron Sanchez gave his team a great start on the mound for his first start in an Astros uniform.
Not only was it great, but it was also near perfect. Sanchez allowed just three baserunners, two via walks and one on a hit batter over his six innings, no-hitting the Mariners for a fantastic start. With his pitch count in the 90s through those six innings, he would not test his endurance to go more.
The start must have been a welcome surprise for Houston, who was thought to have considered Sanchez a project they would try and work on down the stretch of the season. Instead, he showed them his upside right away. His final line: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 HR.
2) Another hot start for the bats
After their display of offensive strength the night before, the Astros started hot again on Saturday night in the bottom of the first inning. They put runners on the corners with no outs after a leadoff walk by George Springer and double by Jose Altuve, setting up an RBI-double by Michael Brantley to take a 1-0 lead.
They went on to triple that score, getting an RBI-groundout by Alex Bregman and an RBI-single by Yordan Alvarez in the next at-bats to extend the early lead to 3-0. That score held for a while, with neither team getting back on the scoreboard until Altuve made it back-to-back games with a home run with a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 4-0 Houston lead.
Michael Brantley would notch two more RBIs in the bottom of the sixth, coming to the plate with two on base to put him in position for a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 6-0.
3) Houston completes the no-hitter
With Sanchez's night over after six no-hit innings, it was up to the bullpen to try and complete the no-hitter through the final three innings. Will Harris was first out of the bullpen, and with some defensive help behind him, he was able to work around a one-out walk, getting a double play to end the inning and keep the Mariners hitless.
In the bottom of the seventh, Carlos Correa drilled a one-out double, moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on an RBI-double by Yuli Gurriel to extend the lead to 7-0. In the top of the eighth, the other pitcher acquired from Toronto, Joe Biagini, made his first appearance with the Astros.
He worked around a one-out walk to keep the no-hitter going to the ninth inning, but the Astros' scoring was not over. In the bottom of the eighth, Michael Brantley recorded his fourth RBI of the night with an RBI-single, then scored on an RBI-triple by Alex Bregman, extending the lead to 9-0.
The ninth inning belonged to Chris Devenski. He was able to get a 1-2-3 inning, completing the four-pitcher combined no-hitter and securing the series win.
Up Next: The Astros and Mariners will conclude this series tomorrow with a 1:10 PM afternoon start. Houston will send Justin Verlander (12-4, 2.73 ERA) to the mound as they try to complete the sweep. Seattle was slated to start Matt Wisler (2-2, 5.09 ERA) as an opener, but his appearance in Saturday night's game may change those plans.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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