TAMPA -- The Astros were saved by their outstanding bullpen once again on Monday night.
The trio of Bryan King, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings to secure a 4-3 win over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Coupled with Sunday’s victory in Texas over the Rangers, Monday marked the first time this season that the Astros won back-to-back road games.
While Houston’s rotation has been wracked by injuries this season, and its lineup has seen star players such as Jose Altuve and Christian Walker not live up to expectations, the Astros’ bullpen has come to the rescue time and time again. It entered the series opener tied for 1st in opponents’ batting average (.194), second in ERA (2.71), third in opponents’ OPS (.583) and fourth in strikeout-minus walk rate (18.1%).
“We've been blessed with not only them three, but we’ve got some guys there that are really good,” manager Joe Espada said. “That bullpen, it’s really, really good. So when you have that many guys you know that can do that, it makes my job easier.”
Espada is right. It's not just about King, Abreu and Hader, none of whom has an ERA above 1.71. Stephen Okert has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.55 WHIP over 22 innings. Fellow lefty Bennett Sousa didn’t give up a run through his first seven appearances this season and owns a 2.84 ERA over 12 2/3 frames.
But on this night, Espada turned to his high-leverage triumvirate. Each of them pitched with traffic on the bases. And each of them showed why this relief corps has been elite through the season’s first six weeks.
“I think on any team, you want to try to raise the bar for the next guy,” King said. “That is that friendly competition. You want to set the bar high so the next guy's like, ‘All right, I want to come in and beat that,’ and so on and so on. “I think we're doing a great job of that and it's fun to be a part of.”
King entered in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 3-3 ballgame with one out and a runner on second. He got a groundout from Brandon Lowe and a flyout out from Junior Caminero to keep the game knotted up.
But the game wouldn’t stay tied for long as center fielder Jake Meyers opened the top of the seventh inning with his third homer of the season. After the game, he called the bullpen’s performance “awesome” and “amazing.”
Abreu was called upon with two outs in the seventh and stranded two runners in scoring position. He put up another zero in the eighth to drive his ERA down to a scant 1.27 and extend his scoreless streak to 16 innings. He has not been scored upon in 21 of his past 22 appearances.
In the ninth, Hader had to protect the one-run lead with the Rays’ Chandler Simpson -- perhaps the fastest player in the Majors -- dancing off of third base and with only one out.
Shortstop Taylor Walls squared around to bunt, but Hader threw a 96 mph sinker above the zone, and Walls could not get on top of it. He popped the two-seamer up into the air, and Jose Altuve rushed forward to make a sliding grab on the infield grass for the second out.
Hader then got catcher Ben Rortvedt to foul out to Isaac Paredes, who made the grab just in front of the netting along the third-base line. The save was Hader’s 12th in as many opportunities. The Astros are 19-0 when the left-hander makes his way into a game this year.
“He’s our guy in the bullpen,” Abreu said of Hader. “Everybody has looked up to him.”
Another superb night from Houston’s bullpen followed a solid outing from left-hander and No. 14 prospect Colton Gordon in his second big league start. It was an outing that carried extra significance for the 26-year-old, who was born in St. Petersburg, Fla., grew up as a Rays fan, and pitched in 2019 for Hillsborough Community College, which sits about 30 miles east of George M. Steinbrenner Field.
A group of between 40-50 friends and family cheered Gordon on as he struck out seven batters, allowed three runs and issued no walks over 5 1/3 innings.
“I appreciate the support so much,” Gordon said. “Just really cool to share the day with them. It’s as close as I’ll get to pitching at home. It's awesome.”