NEW YORK - The Astros are running into the kind of problem that can snowball fast: too many short starts, too much pressure on the bullpen, and not enough breathing room to fix either one.
That strain showed up again Wednesday night in a 9-3 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, when Peter Lambert got through 5 2/3 innings but still couldn’t quite give Houston the six-inning outing the club has been chasing. It was the 13th straight game without an Astros starter finishing six innings, and that stretch is piling extra work onto a bullpen that already looks taxed in August.
Lambert’s night was messy early - he threw 30 of his 102 pitches in the first inning - but he settled in and allowed three runs, two earned. Even so, the Astros never got the length they needed.
The bullpen then took the brunt of the damage once the game was tied in the seventh. Left-hander Bennett Sousa, who had entered Wednesday with a .807 OPS allowed against lefties this year, faced seven batters and let six of them reach base, all of them left-handed hitters.
Cody Bellinger delivered the big blow with a two-run double that broke a 3-3 tie, and the Yankees added four runs in the inning. Enyel De Los Santos then gave up two more in the eighth as New York pulled away.
Houston’s relievers have now posted an 8.76 ERA over the past six games, though that run includes four scoreless innings in Friday’s 4-0 win over the A’s. The bigger picture has been better than that rough patch suggests - Astros relievers had a 2.89 ERA from May 1-Aug. 19 after an April in which they were asked to shoulder a heavy load because of injuries in the rotation.
“I expect our starters to start getting us deep in the game, but right now taking your starter out in the fourth inning could wear down on you,” Espada said. “We’re trying to navigate those waters, but we’ll find a way.”
The bullpen situation is made even trickier by the fact that Houston is essentially operating short-handed there. Tatsuya Imai, moved out of the rotation at the end of July, has been used sparingly in relief and has pitched only three times out of the bullpen this month. He had a 5.83 ERA as a starter.
The rotation itself hasn’t exactly solved the problem. No. 9 prospect Ethan Pecko was brought up last week and has already allowed seven runs while walking seven batters in eight innings over two starts.
Cristian Javier has gone only four innings in each of his last two outings. Even Hunter Brown, the ace, hasn’t been giving Houston the kind of deep starts it needs; he has worked 21 2/3 innings across four August starts, and the Astros lost all four of those games despite his 3.74 ERA.
Help may be coming when rosters expand in a week. The likeliest addition is starter Mike Burrows, who made his third rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Wednesday. Burrows had a 5.99 ERA in 94 2/3 innings for the Astros before landing on the injured list July 7 with right elbow neuritis.
Espada said Burrows’ recent work has been encouraging.
“The at-bats have been better, the outcome and the results have been better,” Espada said. “He’s hitting the ball hard, he’s hitting the ball the other way.
He’s more comfortable. He’s kind of embracing the big spot more and he looks more comfortable swinging at better pitchers.
If we can get him hot right now, which it looks like he's headed that way, we can really use that bat in the middle of our lineup."
There is also a chance Carlos Correa could rejoin the Astros in September, a development that seemed unlikely after he had peroneus brevis tendon repair surgery on his left ankle on May 11. Espada said Wednesday that Correa is making enough progress in rehab that a return next month is possible.
Correa was cleared to start swinging a bat three weeks ago. During the last homestand, he was on the field every day before games running in the outfield. Espada said he has another doctor’s appointment next week, and that could lead to more activity.
If Correa does come back, the Astros will have a good problem to sort out. Isaac Paredes has been one of their best hitters at third base, and Jeremy Peña has been one of their best hitters at shortstop - the two spots Correa can handle. Paredes could move to second base, which would push Jose Altuve into at-bats at DH or left field.
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