HOUSTON -- It began on Opening Day with left-hander Framber Valdez throwing seven scoreless innings and ended Tuesday night at Daikin Park with Hayden Wesneski allowing three runs and two hits in five innings against the Giants in his first start in an Astros uniform.
While the Astros¡¯ offense has been held in check in the first five games of the season -- Houston has a .487 OPS -- the team¡¯s first time through the starting pitching rotation has provided hope for things to come. Astros starters have posted a 2.79 ERA in the team¡¯s first five games, though Houston sits at 2-3 after a 3-1 loss to the Giants.
¡°I think if we get quality starts the way we¡¯ve been getting the first time around, I think we¡¯re going to be just fine,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°I¡¯ll take that.¡±
The Astros got quality starts from Valdez, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti against the Mets, while Ronel Blanco and Wesneski each gave up three earned runs in five innings in the first two games against San Francisco. Valdez will get the ball in Wednesday¡¯s series finale.
¡°Our staff is going to be really good,¡± said Wesneski, who was one of three players acquired by the Astros in the Kyle Tucker trade with the Cubs in December. ¡°I think it¡¯s an underrated part of our team. It¡¯s the first week, so it¡¯s a long season. We¡¯ll see how it goes.¡±
Wesneski, who grew up in Houston, admitted his first professional start at Daikin Park was a bit nerve-wracking. He pitched at the ballpark once before while he was in college at Sam Houston, so he wasn¡¯t completely in foreign territory. Still, a Major League lineup presents a much different challenge.
¡°It was a good time, though,¡± he said. ¡°I enjoyed it. The ball was coming out of my hand a little bit better than I thought it was. Controlling it wasn¡¯t what I wanted, but it was a good time. It was good to get my feet underneath me and get the first one out of the way.¡±
Wesneski threw 88 pitches, relying heavily on a four-seam fastball that he threw 48 times and hit 97.1 mph. He threw 54 strikes, including 23 foul balls. He struck out six batters.
¡°I thought he came out throwing the ball really well,¡± Espada said. ¡°Aside from getting in trouble there when he walked a few guys, I thought it was pretty quality for his first outing. Again, our bullpen was tremendous keeping us in the game.¡±
Wesneski got himself in trouble in the third by walking the eight- and nine-hole hitters, Patrick Bailey and Christian Koss, who was making his Major League debut. The walk to Bailey was on four pitches, with Wesneski thinking he had thrown a strike on a close pitch that was ball four. He stood with both hands in the air hoping to get the call from home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.
Willy Adames made him pay for the walks moments later when he drove them in with a two-run double to put the Giants ahead, 2-0.
¡°I shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± Wesneski said of his strike protest. ¡°I should have kept it in. A little lack of focus. I got to get it right. I think he missed one, but that happens when you see 200, 300 pitches in a game. I lost my cool for a second and that was a product of the two walks, [but] that shouldn¡¯t happen.¡±
Heliot Ramos led off the fourth inning with a homer to left on a 1-2 sweeper when catcher Yainer Diaz wanted him to throw a four-seam fastball.
¡°The one time I shook him off, it went into the bleachers,¡± he said. ¡°Probably won¡¯t shake him off too much again.¡±
In 29 innings, the Astros¡¯ rotation has allowed only 14 hits and 13 walks with 28 strikeouts. Wesneski fell three outs shy of a quality start and wound up suffering his first loss with his hometown Astros.
¡°I didn¡¯t feel like I did my part today,¡± he said. ¡°I could have gotten a win.¡±