SEATTLE -- Drama at the end of the night may have kept Hayden Wesneski from earning his first win as an Astro. But on a cold Monday night in Seattle, the righty showed off exactly what Houston was looking for when it got him in the return package in the trade that sent Kyle Tucker to the Cubs.
In his second start of the season, Wesneski went toe-to-toe with Seattle ace Logan Gilbert and outlasted the Mariners¡¯ Cy Young candidate with seven stellar innings, allowing just two runs on three hits with no walks and five strikeouts to leave in line for his first win with the Astros -- though Houston ended up losing 4-3 after a drama-filled eighth inning.
¡°I thought my guy was better than their guy,¡± manager Joe Espada said. ¡°He was really, really good. Seven strong innings, no walks, that was a strong performance by Wesneski, really good.¡±
It¡¯s the third time Wesneski has worked through the seventh in his career, and the first since April 17, 2023. He finished his night on 82 pitches, fewer than he threw in his season debut against San Francisco, though Espada said he didn¡¯t give any thought to sending the right-hander out for the first eighth-inning action of his career.
And he ended the night the way he got through it: efficiently.
After ending a six-pitch battle against Cal Raleigh with a strikeout on a sweeper to get the first out of the seventh, Wesneski needed just two more offerings to get out of the frame, getting Luke Raley to pop out on one cutter and Rowdy Tellez to fly out on a second, with Jake Meyers helping out with a diving catch.
¡°I got ahead,¡± Wesneski said. ¡°I think that was the biggest thing. I mixed it up with them. Then they started swinging, later in the game, so I got into a rhythm. For the most part the heater was good there, and then the cutter took over [for] the fastball. I would say just getting ahead was the biggest difference.¡±
For much of his night, Wesneski didn¡¯t even have to work in favorable counts, because at-bats ended as soon as they began. Six of his 21 outs -- including his last two -- came on the first pitch, setting a new career high for first-pitch outs for him and matching the league lead this season.
When he did get ahead, though, he was deadly; all 15 at-bats that lasted more than one pitch ended in outs.
¡°He was in the zone early, and once he was ahead, he missed where he needed to miss,¡± Espada said. ¡°Got some swings-and-miss. Had the sweeper, fastball, good changeup. He had everything working for him.¡±
The only damage the Mariners were able to put on the run column came on a pair of first-pitch swings in the bottom of the fifth, when Dylan Moore knocked a two-out single and Ryan Bliss put Wesneski¡¯s next offering -- another fastball -- into the bullpen in left-center field.
¡°It leaked over the middle,¡± Wesneski said. ¡°I wanted the ball away, and it leaked middle. It happens. I think if I put it where I wanted to, I get an out, flyout to center or something.¡±
That two-pitch sequence ended a spell of 12 straight retired batters. After it, he needed just 17 pitches to retire seven more, and a third of those pitches came in the one at-bat against Raleigh.
The solid start was exactly the sort of thing the Astros needed to see out of Wesneski on a day where little else went right with regards to their starting staff.
The day began with Luis Garcia -- who¡¯s been shut down since the end of Spring Training with right elbow inflammation -- being transferred to the 60-day IL, extending the timeline on his recovery. From there, it turned downright bizarre, when Spencer Arrighetti was drilled by a line drive in batting practice that left him with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.
¡°I didn¡¯t hear about it until after the game,¡± Wesneski said. ¡°I saw he was moving around, and he looked upset. To hear the news, that¡¯s really bad luck. That never happens.¡±
Meanwhile, Framber Valdez still hasn¡¯t completely recovered from the illness he¡¯s been fighting, with Espada not able to confirm if he¡¯d be able to make his scheduled start Tuesday.
That leaves the Astros with three healthy starters, four on the IL, one bound that way, one more in limbo and transactions almost certainly on the way.
But for seven innings, Wesneski provided some much-needed stability.
¡°He did his job,¡± Espada said. ¡°That was a really good job.¡±