The Launch Angle

For only the third time this season, the Astros have shut out an opponent. Would you believe that last year’s team didn’t have its third shutout until May 9?

Mike Burrows has arguably been one of the unluckiest pitchers in baseball to start the season. Depending on your metric of choice, it is clear that the right-hander has had some misfortune to start the season. A .373 BABIP, for example, didn’t appear sustainable. Both his xERA and xFIP were noticeably lower than his actual ERA and FIP. A different sequence here or there, perhaps, changes the outcomes of a couple of starts. To be clear, it wasn’t like his peripherals indicated that he was a top-of-the-rotation ace or anything like that. But those numbers point to him being serviceable as a mid-rotation starter. For this team, that would be huge.

A strong start by Burrows against the Reds this evening is a positive development for a rotation fraught with issues. While Spencer Arrighetti and Peter Lambert have helped stabilize the starting staff to some degree, the Astros will need Burrows to produce for any hope of a rebound effort to actually stick. 62 strikes on 98 pitches is a good place to start. Six strikeouts, but, more importantly, only one walk. Walks haven’t been a primary issue for Burrows; that said, it is reassuring to see this staff limit the number of free passes. But the right-hander did well to finish off opposing hitters, not giving any Red much of a chance to ruin his evening.

Losing Carlos Correa for the rest of the season will undoubtedly hurt the Astros, on and off the field, for a variety of reasons. But his absence likely won’t torpedo this lineup. It was another strong game overall for an offense that remains among the best in baseball through early May.

Four home runs on the day for the Astros, with Yordan Alvarez, Zach Dezenzo, Zach Cole, and Christian Vàzquez all going long.

With Jeremy Peña possibly returning in the nearish future, Houston’s lineup should remain dynamic with the main hitters and the depth behind them. While Vázquez won’t continue with a 132 wRC+ from here on out, Brice Matthews has continued his impressive stretch in recent games, adding two more hits today. If Cole’s plate discipline takes a meaningful step forward, he’ll see more playing time. Dezenzo’s lack of a home defensively matters, but his bat might help him stick around.

Despite the final score being lopsided, this game was relatively close through the first five innings. Dezenzo’s two-run home run in the second inning was the only scoring until Alvarez’s two-run shot in the sixth. Another run in the eighth made it a 5-0 lead. But the Astros wouldn’t truly break this game open until the ninth, when five runs scored to double the lead. AJ Blubaugh and Logan VanWey each threw a scoreless inning, striking out three and walking none. This bullpen ought to be well-rested at the moment, which could possibly bode well for the remainder of the series.

Overall, it was a much-needed win for the Astros, especially coming off a disappointing series at home against the Dodgers. They will need to take advantage of any situation, though, with the upcoming schedule likely determining how the season will unfold. That seven-game homestand against the Mariners and Rangers coming up after this series in Cincinnati looms large, so starting off this three-game set on the right note feels paramount.

Feature photo from Astros on X