Astros starting pitchers are on a roll

Scott Feldman outpitched Yu Darvish last night in Houston, leading the Astros to a seventh straight win over their in-state rivals. Feldman’s quality start was the seventh by an Astros’ starter in eight games during the month of August.

With the exception of Brad Peacock‘s horrendous outing in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Astros starters have been on quite a roll lately. The last time a Houston starter (not named Brad Peacock) lost a game was on July 27th. That’s nearly two weeks of outstanding starting pitching.

During that stretch the combination of Feldman, Brett Oberholtzer, Collin McHugh, Jake Buchanan, and today’s starter Dallas Keuchel has posted a 5-0 record in 11 starts covering 77 & 1/3 innings. Buchanan’s emergency start in place of the recently traded Jarred Cosart is the only one that didn’t fit into the quality start category. The quintet has combined for a 2.29 ERA, a 45/13 strikeout-to-walk-ratio, and two complete games during the hot streak.

With Peacock’s turn in the order due, the club has yet to name a starter for tomorrow night’s game against the Twins. My guess is that it will not be the struggling right-hander. Buchanan would be the likely choice — if he isn’t needed in relief today. It’s my opinion that giving Peacock another start would be a poor decision — especially with the rest of the starters doing so well.