With Ronel Blanco en fuego, here’s who could be on thin ice for Houston Astros
WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT
08 April 2024
Will Blanco stay in the starting rotation moving forward? Composite Getty Image.
Coming off two tough losses against the Texas Rangers, the Astros were able to respond with a win on Sunday as Ronel Blanco was flirting with a second consecutive no-hitter.
Editor's note: This article and video were published before the Astros announced Framber Valdez's elbow injury.
Blanco has clearly been a bright spot in Houston's rotation, but overall the starting pitching has been good. One big concern in the rotation though has to be Hunter Brown. And while JP France hasn't been great, he's at least pitched well enough to keep his team in the game. Unlike Brown, who gave up an early five spot on Friday night that led to a blowout win for Texas.
With Justin Verlander hopefully ready to return in the coming weeks, who will be the odd man out in the rotation? If we had to decide today, the answer appears to be Hunter Brown.
Speaking of pitching issues, Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly, and Bryan Abreu have all struggled this season. But we're not too concerned with only ten games in the books. These guys are proven high-leverage pitchers. And Hader did record his first save of the season on Sunday, but even that didn't come easy. Hader gave up a run in the ninth inning before securing the win for Houston.
Rafael Montero and Seth Martinez are both pitching better than expected, so the bullpen could be a real force to be reckoned with once they're firing on all cylinders.
What about the offense?
We're still waiting for Alex Bregman and Jose Abreu to get things going, but the Astros offense is hitting better than they're getting credit for. They currently have the 7th-best OPS in MLB, they just need to be a little more consistent.
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Cal Raleigh hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off the right field foul pole and the Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-3 on Friday night.
Raleigh's 17th homer followed Julio Rodríguez's tying RBI double in the seventh inning. Leody Taveras homered among his three hits, and Miles Mastrobuoni also hit a solo home run.
Emerson Hancock (2-2) gave up three runs and nine hits in six innings, striking out three and walking none. Hancock won for the first time in six starts, and Andrés Muñoz got the last three outs for 17th save while maintaining his 0.00 ERA.
Isaac Paredes hit his 11th homer of the season and seventh in the past 10 games for Houston.
Jose Altuve had three hits after hitting two homers Thursday. The former second-baseman easily threw out Raleigh when the Mariners' catcher tried to score from second on Taveras' line-drive single to left in the sixth.
Cam Smith also had three hits for the Astros.
Altuve played his 1,870th career game, tying Jośe Cruz for third-most in Astros history behind Craig Biggio (2,850) and Jeff Bagwell (2,150).
Bryan Abreau (1-2) allowed two runs and three hits in 1 1/3 innings, giving up runs for just the second time in 21 appearances. He surrendered three to the Mariners on April 9 for his other loss.
Key moment
Rodríguez, back in the lineup after missing Thursday's game with back tightness, hit Abreu's first pitch for a down the right-field line to score Crawford from first. On the next pitch, Raleigh hit his homer to right.
Key stat
Mastrobuoni’s homer was his first with Seattle, and first in his four-year major league career since 2023 with the Chicago Cubs.
Up next
Seattle's Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.65) pitches against Houston's Framber Valdez (3-4, 3.57) on Saturday.
