Spencer Arrighetti has been outstanding on the mound for the Houston Astros since June. Outfielder Ben Gamel paid immediate dividends, too. Both players, along with Shay Whitcomb and Jake Meyers, were clutch when they needed to be as the Astros shut out the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 on Thursday night.
Arrighetti, whose ERA had been somewhere in the stratosphere earlier this season, has been knocking that number down. In keeping a powerful Orioles lineup unable to score any runs, he shrunk it down a little more. Arrighetti (6-11) allowed just three hits in six innings of work. He struck out one and walked one.
Houston Astros Get Help From Gamel
Gamel may not be the player of the game in fans’ eyes, but he certainly provided a spark. He was picked up by the Houston Astros after being designated for assignment by the New York Mets. His numbers at the plate weren’t anything to write home about this season. Well, Gamel had RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings. He picked up his first RBIs of the season as the Astros secured their ninth straight road victory. That’s the longest road win streak for Houston since an 11-game one back in 2018.
No one knew what to expect out of the outfielder, yet he tossed a surprise party against the Orioles.
Keep it rollin’. #Relentless pic.twitter.com/fCL0qjtcYe
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 23, 2024
Baltimore ace Corbin Burnes (12-6) got knocked around for eight hits and five earned runs as he took the loss. Burnes has been in a rough patch, coming off allowing a career-high eight runs in his previous start. He was facing the Boston Red Sox in that one, the team that just won two out of three from the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Gamel, Whitcomb, and Meyers posted key two-out hits in the fourth inning, according to MLB.com.
Take a look at the Houston Astros record for a minute. With the win, they go to 69-58. The Astros started this season at a 7-19 clip, leaving some longtime fans to question first-year manager Joe Espada’s decisions. Well, look at where the team and, yes, Espada are right now.
They’ve gone 62-39 since the low ebb mark of their record. When the Astros lost to the lowly Chicago White Sox on June 18, they were 10 games behind the Seattle Mariners. It did not look good at all. Fans were grumpy and close observers of the ballclub wondered if the long postseason run for the Astros was over.
Astros Up, Seattle Down
Not so fast with the doom-and-gloom prophecies. The Astros also have been helped by a horrible stretch that the Mariners have been going through. Seattle just finished a 1-8 road trip. On Thursday, the team fired manager Scott Servais and replaced him with former team catcher and current team employee Dan Wilson.
Instead of the Astros making a change up top, it happened in the Pacific Northwest.
With Thursday’s loss, the Orioles slip 1 1/2 games behind American League East Division leader New York.
In the fourth inning, Yordan Alvarez and Gamel had RBI singles. Gamel had another RBI single in the sixth, then Meyers’ bunt single made it 4-0. Burnes’ wild throw to first base allowed runners to go to second and third. Whitcomb followed that with a two-run single, ending Burnes’ night. It was 6-0 and that was game, set, match.
For Friday night’s matchup, Hunter Brown (11-7) will go up against Baltimore rookie Cade Povich (1-6), The Associated Press reports. Don’t look past Brown here. He’s gone 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA since the beginning of June. The work that Brown and Arrighetti have done while the Astros’ starting rotation has been hurt by injuries is solid.
Speaking of pitching, the Astros brought right-hander Hector Neris home. Neris, who was released by the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, was signed to a contract by the Astros. He’ll probably join the team this weekend in Baltimore. Neris is not only a fan favorite due to his emotionally-charged outings. But he provides a veteran presence, too. Neris played key roles in the Houston Astros run to winning the 2022 World Series. He also had a role in last season’s postseason run, which ended in the American League Championship Series against the Texas Rangers.
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