September baseball does not hold the same looming implications for the Astros as it does for teams teetering on the brink of playoff contention and making a final push in the standings. Although Houston trails Tampa Bay by four-and-a-half games in the American League, Dusty Baker’s ballclub will likely clinch the division within the next 10 days.
At this juncture, however, the Astros are battling exhaustion in the midst of a streak of 17 consecutive games. Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks in a second straight 10-inning game added another straw to the camel’s back.
Back-to-back 10-inning games will drain any team, and the Astros pitching staff was already running on fumes.
The last time a Houston starter procured more than 18 outs was Aug. 28, when Framber Valdez tossed seven innings in a 5-2 win against the Rangers. None have pitched deeper than six innings in September. Injuries to Valdez and Jake Odorizzi coupled with Zack Greinke’s two-week COVID absence did not help matters.
The Astros bullpen has been asked to cover at least four innings in nine of 16 games played this month, including five games since Sept. 10.
“You don't want them to have this big workload that they've had, especially over the last few weeks,” starter Lance McCullers Jr. said. “So hopefully we can go a little deeper into games.”
Reliever Brandon Bielak made a spot start in Friday’s series opener against the Diamondbacks as the Astros used eight relievers to cover 10 innings in a 4-3 win. On Saturday, McCullers was able to work six innings before Baker was forced to deploy Brooks Raley, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Ryan Pressly for the second night in a row. Yimi Garcia, who took the loss after he gave up three runs in the 10th inning, had pitched 3 2/3 innings over the previous five days, including back-to-back outings Sept. 13 and 14 against Texas.
“They've been working a lot,” Baker said of his bullpen. “Tonight, I didn't have (Kendall) Graveman. I didn't have (Blake) Taylor, who's pitched four out of five days, I think. And I didn't have (Cristian) Javier, who went three innings last night. So our bullpen was big-time short tonight, and we pitched the guys that were available that we thought were going to do the job. And sometimes that happens where things go the other way for the other team.”
Garcia said he did not have his command against Arizona on Saturday, when he threw 19 pitches and gave up run-scoring hits to two of the five batters he faced. When asked whether he feels fatigued, the righthander answered, “I feel good. It’s part of the job, just be ready to pitch almost every day.”
The Astros do not have a day off until Sept. 27. They close out the three-game series against the Diamondbacks at home Sunday before hitting the road for four games against the Angels and three games against the A’s.
Baker said Valdez, who was scratched from his last start in Arlington after he cut a finger on his throwing hand, is scheduled to pitch Monday in Anaheim. His return should provide some relief.
Despite the schedule crunch and stretched out pitching, Houston is outscoring its opponents 90-59 in September. The bullpen has held up, too, posting an ERA of 3.85 in the past 15 days and 2.53 in the past week.
“I know I went six tonight, was really aiming for maybe closer to seven or eight -- but as it is, they've done a fantastic job,” McCullers said. “We don't have any off days down the stretch, but hopefully they don't have to be used as heavy (on) the back end of this long stretch and then they can rest up. If we take care of business and win the division, we'll get a couple days off before the playoffs.”
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September 19, 2021 at 12:21PM
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Astros insider: Bullpen carrying heavy workload - Houston Chronicle
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