Before Saturday, the Astros had only two games in franchise history in which they exactly hit four solo home runs and scored only four runs: May 9, 1980, against the Braves, and July 19, 2019, against the Rangers. Now you can add Texas to this list a second time, making it the third time in Houston’s history. And, in case you’re curious, the Astros have had only one game (September 16, 2009, against the Reds) when they’ve hit five solo home runs for exactly five runs.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect in this game with Kai-Wei Teng starting opposite Jacob deGrom. It’s baseball, so crazy stuff can happen. Or something completely expected. Considering how the Astros’ lineup has struggled this month, I didn’t have high hopes for much success against deGrom. I mean, deGrom is still very good. But I felt like any chance to succeed would largely rest with the veteran hitters (Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes, Yordan Alvarez, and Christian Walker), and I was mostly right.
And, with his power, it isn’t surprising to see Zach Cole get one. While the swing-and-miss tendencies remain an issue, no one can deny the power when he gets a hold of one. Scoring four runs on deGrom feels like a win by itself, regardless of the game result. Obviously, the win or loss matters more, but it was nice to see this lineup produce, even if those four home runs only produced four runs. But with this pitching staff, a four-run lead has hardly felt secure.
If you ignore that fourth-inning decision in his last start against the Reds, Teng has generally impressed with an increased workload. His sweeper and curveball were particularly effective against the Rangers. I am still a bit doubtful that his decreased velocity as a starter won’t become problematic later, but you can’t argue with the results right now. Other than the walks, though.
The bullpen caused some unnecessary heartburn, however. Including Teng, this staff issued eight walks. They’re quite fortunate that Texas only scored one run (Joc Pederson’s RBI single in the seventh). But they did enough to walk away with a much-needed win.
Now 19-28, the Astros still have work to do. Jose Altuve is potentially injured following a swing. But winning this series against the Rangers, taking at least two out of three, certainly helps salvage what could’ve been a devastating home stand. Of course, another win on Sunday would be an actual winning streak and give this team a 4-3 home stand, somehow. One can dream, right?
Feature photo from Astros on X, Source Link
Beautiful game. I think it’s possible that Teng can develop into a Blanco-type starting pitcher who keeps the Astros in the game.
I’m not sure what to make of Bryan Abreu right now. Yes, it’s good see him close out a game with 1.1 innings of no run ball. But there were no Ks. He allowed a lot of hard contact. He got good defense behind him with two outs in the 9th on batted balls with a .490 and .540 x-BA. I would feel more comfortable if he could get his FB velocity back up to 97 or higher. He basically used a get me over slider to register strikes.
I’d rather have taken the loss than lose Altuve to injury…