Astros find starting pitcher, avoid series sweep
A 4-1 win over the Yankees to avoid a series sweep July 27 is simply what the Astros needed. And it wasn’t about dodging a three-game skid; it was about reaffirming what Astros fans believe — they have a team that’s worth following and has the ingredients to get into the playoffs.
Reid and his dad Nolan Ryan have been building this organization from the ground up. When Reid Ryan took over as the president of business operations in May 2013, people in Major League Baseball said the Astros needed to gut the franchise beginning with the farm system.
Meanwhile, Nolan Ryan’s time with the Rangers had come to an end. So Reid made a smart front-office decision by hiring his dad as an executive adviser a few months later. Many believe Nolan Ryan was the architect of the Texas Rangers teams that advanced to the World Series in 2010 and 2011.
The two went to work immediately beginning with the pitching.
Now fans are starting to see the Ryans’ work pay off.
In the 4-1 win against New York, Houston started Lance McCullers Jr., a 22-year-old many are calling the staff’s ace pitcher. McCuller struck out 10 batters by making them chase his curveball. Observers counted around 50 curveballs thrown to the Yankees. Batters swung at 24, missed 13 and put five in play.
Of the 10 strikeouts, nine batters swung at the curveball. Batters struggled with hitting his curveball because it comes to the strikezone and drops at the last second, not allowing batters to take a wait-and-see approach. That’s unlike his fastball that averaged 94 mph.
The Astros are now 2 1/2 games behind the Rangers in the AL West. Houston is a team that clearly put a bad April in the rearview mirror.
And since June 1, the five starting pitchers have ERAs of under 5.00. McCullers has an ERA of 2.59, the lowest on the team. But two others aren’t far behind: Collin McHugh at 3.44 and Dallas Keuchel at 3.48. Doug Fister is at 3.61, and Mike Fiers is at 4.10.
It’s worth noting that while Houston has figured out its starting pitchers, Texas has not. Sure Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels are solid as the top two. But teams must have more than two if they want to succeed.
And because the Astros have their rotation figured out, Houston fans have every reason to believe the Astros will catch the Rangers and advance to the playoffs.
Houston will hit the road for another three-game series that starts July 29. They’ll travel to Detroit to take on the Tigers. And it looks like Houston is getting some more help. First baseman Tyler White is rejoining the team in Detroit, according to reports, after spending the last couple of weeks in Fresno with the triple-A affiliate. He was hitting .288 with 11 homers in 34 games.
His promotion comes at a good time. Fister is expected to go on paternity leave, which allows players three days away from their teams, so that gave officials a roster spot to give to another player.
White also has played in left field, third base and shortstop.
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