Ronel Blanco is quickly making a name for himself in the Houston Astros’ pitching rotation. That work continued on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.
Blanco, who threw a no-hitter back in April this season, was on point again. He tossed seven no-hit innings, being pulled from the game by Astros Manager Joe Espada. Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader came on in relief, securing a 4-1 victory over the Tigers.
Yordan Alvarez posted an RBI single in the first inning, scoring Jose Altuve. Then Altuve smashed a three-run homer off Detroit starting pitcher Kenta Maeda. Altuve’s homer, his 11th this season, cleared the fence in left-center field. It was eerily reminiscent of another dinger in his illustrious career.
Altuve hit a three-run homer, landing in the same place at Minute Maid Park, off Maeda back in the 2017 World Series. Maeda was on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching staff at the time.
Ronel Blanco’s Pitches Were Too Tricky for Tigers
But Blanco was the big story, keeping Tigers’ hitters off-balance with his mixture of pitches. The win put his overall record this season at 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA. He ran into some trouble in the fifth inning, walking three Tigers to load the bases with two outs. Blanco worked his way out of it, though, by getting Zach McKinstry out.
“I knew I had thrown a lot of pitches and I wasn’t going to be able to finish it, so I just accepted it,” Blanco said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com.
Espada gave Blanco his flowers in a postgame interview. “That fifth inning, those three walks there, taxed him a little bit,” Espada said. “But a no-hitter for seven innings? That’s pretty damn good.”
The Houston Astros’ pitching rotation has had their starts moved up a day due to Justin Verlander’s neck tightness. Spencer Arrighetti started in Verlander’s place on Saturday, coming up with disastrous results. Detroit slammed him around, beating the Astros 13-5.
Blanco was originally supposed to start Tuesday in Chicago. But he was moved up to Sunday, giving a Father’s Day crowd something to cheer about. Espada, once Blanco came back into the dugout after the seventh, reportedly gave his pitcher a hug.
“I told him how proud I am of what he’s doing,” Espada said. “This is a guy that came out of nowhere and he continues to perform at a high level. He has really picked this team up through injuries and he goes out there and does things where we need him to step up, and he does. I’m proud of the work he’s done, and I told him if the fifth inning wasn’t that long, I would have allowed him to go back out there.”
Houston Astros Bullpen Does its Dirty Work
Pressly surrendered Detroit’s first hit in the eighth inning, a clean single by Wenceel Perez. Hader also got nicked by the Tigers’ offense, giving up their lone run in the ninth. But he slammed the door on Detroit, sending the Tigers home with another loss.
“We obviously couldn’t get anything started against him,” Detroit Manager A.J. Hinch said. “The three walks, you have a chance with two outs, but he wiggled out of it. And then he just continued to hit spots and throw a lot of different pitches.”
Altuve spoke glowingly about his pitcher, even suggesting he should get some All-Star Game consideration. “I know the numbers are there [for All-Star consideration],” Altuve said. “I know he’s not thinking about that. He’s thinking about winning. That’s all he talks about. I really think he should be in there.”
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who has been on a tear, saw his 16-game hitting streak end. Bregman, who has had a habit of recording numerous pop-outs this season, tweaked his batting strategy. One of his focal points has been on getting the barrel of his bat squarely hitting the baseball. Bregman has been doing a better job of that over the past few weeks.
Sunday’s win also secured a series victory for the Astros, who now stand at 33-39 for the season. It’s been a haul for the Astros so far this season, getting off to a real bad start. Yet they have been able to piece together some victories in the past month to six weeks.
First baseman Jose Abreu, who saw his batting average continue to drop, was released on Friday. The team, though, is on the hook for Abreu’s three-year, $58.5 million contract. Bregman and outfielder Kyle Tucker, who has been out of the lineup with a shin injury, will be looking for potential big contracts in the off-season.
Right now, getting above .500 and healthier are the important goals for the Astros.
