For better or worse, Dana Brown is no longer the general manager of the Astros. Whether the exact level of Jim Crane’s involvement forced matters out of his hands on a variety of occasions is up for debate, but Brown still made his own throughout his tenure. Take Kyle Tucker as an example. Despite his bold proclamation in August 2023 that Tucker would remain an Astro for the remainder of his career, that ship had sailed. Plain and simple, Crane wasn’t going to authorize the kind of contract that Tucker desired. The decision to trade Tucker was already set in motion, regardless of Brown’s involvement. The real concern was the type of return that Brown could obtain for one year of Tucker’s services.
Acquiring Cam Smith, Isaac Paredes, and Hayden Wesneski might prove to be the best move of Brown’s Houston tenure. It is already a win when you consider the contributions from Paredes and, to a lesser extent, Smith. But Wesneski might prove the most consequential player from that return for the rest of this season, mostly due to circumstances outside of his control.
It isn’t a secret that the Astros’ starting rotation is basically Hunter Brown, Peter Lambert, Wesneski, and a cast of unknowns that cause heartburn. Hardly a staff that warrants much optimism. Dana Brown’s biggest misstep for this season was arguably not acquiring another starting pitcher at some point by the trade deadline. But what is done is done. Houston will have to rely upon the arms already within the organization. Wesneski figures to have a notable role in how September and possibly October unfold for the Astros. He proved that point against the White Sox on Wednesday evening.
Seven shoutout innings against a top-ten offense by wRC+? Yeah, I’ll gladly take that result.
While I wouldn’t bank on Wesneski throwing shutouts on a regular basis, I’d argue that his presence at least raises the floor of a rotation. There’s value to that, and it could prove invaluable for the rest of September. Seven starts with a 3.18 ERA and 3.29 FIP. For this rotation, that is a much-needed boost.
Fortunately, Wesneski was on top of his game this evening because the lineup still has issues, too. For the second game in a row, Houston’s offense had issues against a Chicago starting pitcher. This time, Davis Martin held the Astros scoreless in 5.2 innings. Squandering a first- and third-with-zero-outs situation in the fourth inning was particularly disappointing. It took Nelson Velázquez’s two-run RBI single in the eighth inning to finally break the scoreless tie, driving in Paredes and Jose Altuve.
AJ Blubaugh and Josh Hader would finish the shutout, securing a 2-0 Astros victory.
Houston (71-69) now holds the tiebreaker over the White Sox (73-66), which may be of significance for bye purposes in the postseason if both teams qualify with the same record. Elsewhere in the AL West, the Rangers lost and the Mariners won, which means that the Astros hold a two-game lead on the former and a five-game lead on the latter.
Feature photo from Astros on X
That fourth-inning situation is the movie we watch every night. Runners on third and first, no outs, game tied, Altuve at the plate. Popout, K, popout. As a manager, I want to avoid a DP and get the ball in play. I sacrifice Altuve and bet on my two lefties coming up next.
Speaking of altuve up with runners on, that was a bizarre challenge by the white sox on altuve’s HBP. The white sox should have preferred altuve be HBP to load the bases, keep the double play in play, and put a forceout at home. If that call were overturned, it would have been a wild pitch instead of HBP, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, and altuve still up to bat.
Good point. Similar situation, but not as obvious. 8 inning, game tied, runners on first and second, one out, Altuve at bat. Here, we are looking for one run to turn the game to Hader. We are not looking for a rally. You sacrifice Altuve, avoid the DP, move the runners and hope for the best with Varsho or a pinch hitter.
In the end, the less likely hero (Velazquez) came through.