Astros Blast: Early Pitching Woes

Yes, the Astros lost the Opening Series in New York.

This series defeat was on the pitching staff, short and simple. A 16-6 trouncing and 8-5 heartbreaker at the hands of the New York Yankees definitely leaves a sour taste in your mouth. However, it is way too early to concerned about the Astros and their pitching staff as a whole. Bad games happen. That is just part of baseball.

Alas, the team now moves on to Milwaukee where they have an excellent opportunity to bounce back before heading home next week.

But for the Astros to take that next step forward the pitching staff not named Dallas Keuchel and Luke Gregerson will have to show improvement. That means the bullpen, which has seen hiccups from Ken Giles and Will Harris will have to shape up. And it’d be good for a starting pitcher not to give up five or more runs, unlike what we have seen from Collin McHugh or Mike Fiers. However, it is only two games, and there is still plenty of time to fix the issues.

Outside of certain pitchers imploding after Opening Day, the Astros did manage to have some impressive showings with the bat and the glove. Carlos Correa was probably the best of them all as he had three home runs and four RBI against the Yankees. And he also made a terrific catch on an Alex Rodriguez liner on Opening Day.

The other notable Astros offensive performance is from fan favorite Tyler White. The 25-year old slugger made the most of his major league debut with a home run and four RBI in just ten plate appearances. He just continues to prove he can hit at any level. The only question is how he will continue as pitchers in the majors adjust for holes in his swing. But with his track record in the minors, there is hope that he can adapt fairly quickly to any changes he sees at the plate.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

The Astros also made their first to change to the Major League roster as the team sent down Michael Feliz following his 107-ptich relief appearance Wednesday night. Chris Devenski will now take his spot on the active roster for the time being. CTH editor Eric Huysman details the move and the reasoning behind it. This appears to be a similar tactic that the Astros employed last year with Asher Wojciechowski and others in 2015. However, that will probably change once Lance McCullers is ready to go.

Next: Houston Astros: Is Jon Singleton Another J.D. Martinez?

Houston Astros News and Notes From Around FanSided

Astros’ Tyler White is OK After Being Hit By the Pitch [Climbing Tal’s Hill – Eric Huysman]

Astros in Fantasy: Fantasy Players of the Week- Week 1 [Climbing Tal’s Hill – Colin Gay]

Houston Astros: Takeaways From Opening Day Win [House of Houston – Yoni Pollak]

**Statistics provided by Fangraphs and MLB.com**