Gordon leads quintet of lefties -- a franchise first -- in Astros' shutout of Phils

HOUSTON -- The left-handed relievers in the Astros’ bullpen -- all four of them -- have prided themselves this year on having the same number of options as their right-handed counterparts. Equal representation, if you will, in a world where right-handers rule.

That hasn’t always been the case in recent years in Houston, where former manager Dusty Baker lamented for years the lack of southpaw arms at his disposal. Astros manager Joe Espada, who replaced Baker after the 2023 season, has enough left-handed punch to make Philadelphia’s own Rocky Balboa -- a lefty himself -- envious.

Astros rookie left-handed starter Colton Gordon combined with four lefty relievers -- the first time in Astros franchise history they used five lefties in a game -- to shut out the Phillies for the second game in a row. Houston’s southpaws held Philadelphia to seven singles and no walks in a 2-0 win Wednesday night at Daikin Park.

“We always joke around about how many lefties we got,” Steven Okert said. “It’s kind of funny when it works out that way.”

The Astros (47-33) moved to a season-high 14 games over .500 and increased their lead atop the American League West to 5 1/2 games over second-place Seattle, which lost to Minnesota. Houston will turn to ace right-hander Hunter Brown, who leads the Major Leagues in ERA at 1.88, to try for the sweep in Thursday’s series finale.

Gordon held the Phillies to four singles and didn’t walk a batter while throwing 80 pitches and not allowing a runner to reach third base. He was followed by four southpaw relievers -- Okert, Bennett Sousa, Bryan King and Josh Hader -- each of whom threw one inning.

“In today’s game, with the three-batter rule, you have to get righties and lefties out, and those guys have been really good for us the whole entire year,” Espada said. “Bryan King pitching out of that jam in the eighth, punching out [Alec] Bohm and [retiring] Castellanos to finish the inning, that was huge. I rely on those guys. They’ve been really good, and we’re going to trust them, and I’m going to continue to give them the ball.”

Right-hander Kaleb Ort was warming up to perhaps take over for Gordon in the sixth, but Okert got the call and needed only 14 pitches to strike out Kyle Schwarber, Bohm and Castellanos in order. The Astros were clinging to a 1-0 lead they had since Isaac Paredes’ RBI single in the first inning.

“Facing two, three, four there [in the batting order], and obviously had some tough ones, so just going in and trying to be confident and knowing my stuff is good enough,” Okert said. “We were playing a great game and just kept it going. That was huge.”

After Sousa threw a 1-2-3 seventh on nine pitches, King took over in the eighth in place of right-handed setup man Bryan Abreu, who was given the day off. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out on three singles before King struck out Bohm and retired Castellos on a grounder.

“Just trusting the guys behind me and trust in my stuff, trust in [catcher] Vic [Caratini],” King said. “We got a good squad and I think it’s important in those difficult moments, [remembering] it’s not just you. You’ve got everybody else around you.”

After Caratini cranked a solo homer in the eighth for a 2-0 lead, Hader worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 21st save in 21 chances, tying him with Dave Smith (1989) for the longest such streak to start a season in club history. After the game, Houston’s lefty relievers were reveling in their accomplishment in the clubhouse.

“It was awesome,” King said. “We got a whole stable of them and we finally got to use them all in the game. It was pretty cool.”

The Astros have eight shutouts in 80 games and extended their streak of consecutive scoreless innings against the Phillies to 28, dating to last season. Houston blanked the Phillies, 10-0, in their final meeting of 2024. But doing it with all lefties, that’s all right.

“All lefties?” Gordon said. “That doesn’t happen, never. Pretty sick. And defense, and Vic behind the plate. It’s just fun competing with all those guys and the lefty thing is just cool on top of it.”