HOUSTON -- Astros pitcher Hunter Brown has perhaps already established himself as Houston¡¯s ace, but his performance through his first five starts of the season is putting him on a level with some of the best pitchers currently in the game.
Brown extended his scoreless streak to 24 innings by striking out a season-high nine batters and holding the Blue Jays to two singles in seven dominant frames to lead the Astros to their third win in four games, 7-0 on Monday night at Daikin Park.
¡°He¡¯s on a roll,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°He¡¯s confident, dominant and he goes after these guys. He¡¯s got the stuff, got the demeanor. How quickly he¡¯s turned around from last year and how it started and where he is now -- it¡¯s been incredible to watch.¡±
Indeed. Since the start of last May, only Pittsburgh¡¯s Paul Skenes (2.14) has a lower ERA than Brown (2.28) across the Major Leagues (minimum 125 innings). In his last 26 starts (since June 8 of last year), Brown is 13-5 with a 1.98 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
The scoreless streak is the longest in the Major Leagues this year and the longest by an Astros pitcher since reliever Bryan Abreu had a 27 2/3-inning streak from July 18-Sept. 30, 2023. It¡¯s the longest streak by an Astros starter since Cristian Javier¡¯s 25 1/3-inning streak from Sept. 7-Oct. 1, 2022.
¡°I¡¯m just going out there and trying to do the best that I can with my abilities, game-planning and things like that and working with both catchers and the coaching staff and just trying to be as prepared as I can be,¡± Brown said. ¡°With the defense we have and the guys behind the plate, they make it a nice transition going from what you want to put on paper and what you can do in a game.¡±
Brown needed 96 pitches to complete seven innings for the first time this season and relied mostly on his four-seam fastball, which hit 99.2 mph, and his sinker, which topped out at 97.9. Even his changeup (91.2 mph top speed) and slider (91.9 mph) came in hard.
¡°He¡¯s got good stuff, man,¡± said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. ¡°When it¡¯s 24 straight scoreless innings ¡ you know, it¡¯s a really big fastball with a lot of extension that gets on you. He had all of his stuff working. With a guy like that, you have to capitalize on the mistakes that he does make, and tonight he didn¡¯t make a lot.¡±
Brown retired 20 of the 23 batters he faced while allowing only four balls to be hit out of the infield, including singles by George Springer in the second and Bo Bichette in the sixth. He lowered his ERA to 1.16 ERA in 31 innings pitched this season.
¡°We needed him to come out here after a loss yesterday and set the tone, and Hunter¡¯s that guy,¡± Espada said.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman matched Brown through four innings before the Astros broke through in the fifth, sparked by singles by Cam Smith and Brendan Rodgers. Zach Dezenzo¡¯s RBI double broke the scoreless tie, and Jose Altuve followed with a two-run double to make it 3-0.
¡°In the beginning, Gausman had everything working for him,¡± Espada said. ¡°He had us chasing stuff, quick at-bats, but then we settled down. The bottom of our order got going and we got some big hits by some of these guys.¡±
Espada singled out a key defensive play in the sixth inning, and for good reason. With a runner at first and one out, Brown got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to bounce into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play, beginning with a nice smother of the ball by third baseman Isaac Paredes.
¡°If that ball gets through, maybe we¡¯ll see [setup man Bryan] Abreu in the game at some point,¡± Espada said. ¡°The fact we turned that double play, we were able to protect some of those guys for [Tuesday].¡±
Astros reliever Forrest Whitley, in his first big league appearance of the season, followed Brown with two scoreless innings -- striking out a pair -- to polish off the two-hit shutout. The two combined to strike out 11 batters and walk just one, retiring 27 of 30 Blue Jays hitters. Houston has allowed the second-fewest runs per game in the American League at 3.59, trailing only Detroit (3.48).