The Astros’ recent skid has put a spotlight on a bullpen that is suddenly being asked to carry more weight than it can comfortably handle. Houston has lost three straight, and the relief corps has taken the loss in each of those defeats while also allowing runs in four consecutive games.
That strain starts with the rotation. Astros starters simply aren’t lasting long enough to keep the pressure off the late innings.
No Houston pitcher has worked 6.0 innings since Hayden Wesneski went 7.0 on August 10, and the club’s starters have logged 644.0 innings this season, good for 24th in MLB. That total has dropped sharply over the past month.
The extremes tell the story. When Astros pitchers get through the seventh inning, Houston is 9-1.
When the starter can’t even finish the first, the team has somehow gone 3-2 in those games. But once the outing ends before the fifth, things get much tougher: the Astros are 8-16 when the starter doesn’t make it through four innings.
That’s where the bullpen has been exposed, and Bennett Sousa has been at the center of it. He’s been charged with two of Houston’s last three losses, and his season line now sits at a 6.27 ERA, even though his 3.83 FIP suggests a little bad luck has been involved.
Still, the results have been brutal. Against the A’s on Saturday, Sousa entered with a two-run lead and let three runs score.
On Wednesday against the Yankees, he came in with the game tied and gave up four runs while recording just one out.
The question now is who absorbs those innings if Sousa keeps sliding out of the mix.
Enyel De Los Santos was a dependable option earlier in the year, but August has been rough. He has a 6.55 ERA across 11.0 innings this month, and on Wednesday he retired the final two batters of the seventh before allowing two runs of his own in the eighth.
Steven Okert should still have a role in September and beyond with his 2.20 ERA, though he has given up a run in each of his last two appearances and took the loss against the A’s. Kai Wei Teng has been called up recently and has looked good, but he still doesn’t project as a pitcher Houston trusts in a one-run game in the seventh or eighth.
There are still some reliable arms in the mix. Josh Hader has been as good as ever, and he’s a perfect 19-for-19 in save chances.
AJ Blubaugh has handled the most innings among Astros relievers and owns a solid 3.25 ERA. Bryan Abreu gave up a run in his last outing, but he has been excellent since an early-season rough stretch.
Tatsuya Imai is also working out of the bullpen after struggling as a starter in his first major league season.
For the season, Houston’s bullpen has been about league average, with a 4.13 ERA that ranks 17th in baseball. But the recent trend is what matters now: the list of dependable arms is shrinking, and with starters covering less ground, the Astros are leaning harder on a relief group that has already been stretched thin.
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