The original focus of today’s preview was centered around the pitching staff’s continued woes. Not a surprise there, as several losses this season can be mainly attributed to the lack of quality run prevention. And I still had that section later in the post for you to read. But the news of Phil Garner’s passing broke in the meantime, and it only feels appropriate that we lead off this preview with our respects for the former Astro player and manager. A sad day not only for Houston fans but also for baseball fans in general, as Garner’s connections ran deep across the sport.
Appropriately nicknamed “Scrap Iron” courtesy of legendary broadcaster Milo Hamilton when both he and Garner were with the Pirates, he was already a proven veteran player by the time he arrived in Houston, with his Major League debut occurring as a member of the Oakland A’s in 1973. Ultimately, he would suit up for five teams total across his playing career through 1988 (A’s, Pirates, Astros, Dodgers, and Giants). He would be named an All-Star three times (1976, 1980, 1981) and won a World Series with Pittsburgh in 1979. Garner would also manage three clubs (Brewers, Tigers, and Astros), leading Houston to the organization’s first World Series appearance in 2005.
The Launch Angle extends our deepest condolences to Garner’s family, friends, and everyone impacted by him throughout his life.
Back to the pitching staff…
No matter how you analyze the numbers, the Astros’ pitching staff is a dumpster fire. Depending on your metric of choice for the first 15 games (and I’ll only share a handful), it isn’t encouraging.
- 5.36 FIP (2nd-highest in baseball)
- 6.47 ERA (highest in baseball)
- 14.7% BB% (highest in baseball)
- 15.5% HR/FB (2nd-highest in baseball)
Even when you look at this staff from a Stuff+ (97) and Location+ (97) angle, there’s not a lot to like. For context, only four teams have a worse Stuff+ rating than Houston. Only three teams for Location+. Even strikeouts, which this staff was still accumulating at a decent rate prior to the recent wave of injuries, have noticeably declined (17.8% since April 5). Only three teams have a lower strikeout rate from their pitching staff. Without reinforcements and better health, it is difficult to envision any significant improvement in the near future.
Astros @ Mariners Game Information and Gamethread Details
Now on a seven-game losing streak, the Astros turn to Cody Bolton as today’s starter, with Logan Gilbert starting for the Mariners. Christian Walker is back in the lineup at first base following an off day on Saturday. Isaac Paredes will handle third base, with Carlos Correa getting the day off. Jeremy Peña, who tweaked his right knee yesterday, will also have the day off as Nick Allen is playing shortstop and hitting ninth.
The game will be broadcast at 3:10 p.m. CT on SCHN with radio coverage on KBME 790 AM.
We hope you will join us and the rest of the Launch Angle community for the game! The turnout has been fantastic on the TLA Discord Server for the game threads.
Join us again for today’s game. Just join the Discord server using this link: https://launch-angle.com/discord .
If you’ve participated in game threads on other Astros sites in the past, you will probably see a lot of familiar names. Chat, lurk, do whatever! (But please say “hi”, so we know you’re not a bot.)
Feature photo from @astros on X, Source Link
The only pitching metric that is somewhat better is x-ERA. Astros are ranked 19th in x-ERA (4.15). The Astros are also pretty close to average on EV90 (exit velocity on 90th percentile batted balls) ranked 17th (104.8). So, the dead last metrics probably reflect some bad luck, defensive failures, and walks. The Astros need to throw more strikes because the walks are killing them. The Astros aren’t really being killed by opposing hitters’ exit velocity.
RIP Phil