Astros gain big momentum in Big Apple with two crucial series wins

NEW YORK -- When the Astros boarded their flight to New York a week ago, they were reeling from a 3-6 homestand against three teams with losing records and were about to part ways with general manager Dana Brown. They weren’t exactly a team in turmoil, but they were close.

The noise and lights that dominate the Big Apple typically don’t provide the kind of setting that’s conducive to anybody finding stability, but it worked out well for the Astros, who rallied to beat the Mets, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. LaMonte Wade Jr. slammed a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning to send rookie right-hander Ethan Pecko to his first career win.

Houston (69-68) took two of three games from the Mets after taking two of three from the Yankees. The 4-2 road New York swing keeps the Astros in first place in the American League West heading into a four-game series against the AL Central-leading White Sox beginning Monday in Houston.

“I thought we needed to come out after our homestand, get back up and play good baseball, and I thought we did,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Now my message to them is not to get complacent. We have two really good teams coming to Houston and we have to continue to play well. But I’m really proud of our effort. We took care of business on the mound, [had] big hits and [were] just picking each other up. I’m proud of our effort. It’s been fun to watch.”

Here’s five observations about the week that was:

Pecko gets off the mat
The Astros didn’t exactly provide a soft landing spot for their No. 9 prospect, whose second and third big league starts came in New York. After allowing five runs, five hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings Tuesday against the Yankees, Pecko allowed three runs (two earned), three hits and two walks in five innings Sunday.

Pecko rebounded from allowing back-to-back homers to Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto to begin the game and a single to Bo Bichette before recording an out. He responded by sending down the next 12 batters and did a much better job pounding the strike zone, throwing 47 of 83 pitches for strikes. He had 13 whiffs.

“He did not get rattled,” Espada said. “He gave up those two homers and settled in. I ended up getting [AJ] Blubaugh up [in the bullpen] in that inning just in case. He did not let things get out of hand. He settled down and gave us five innings and gave us a chance to win.”

Blubaugh emerging as late-inning weapon
The rookie, who leads the Majors with 84 1/3 innings as a reliever, pitched twice in New York, throwing two scoreless innings Thursday against the Yankees and two more Sunday against the Mets. With a 98 mph fastball and ability to pitch multiple innings [he leads the Majors with 26 multi-inning outings in relief], Blubaugh is being used as a late-game weapon.

“He’s been pretty good the whole entire season,” Espada said. “We’re looking for guys who can pitch some leverage innings and he showed that he can do that.”

Burrows’ impending return
The Astros can expand rosters by two players on Tuesday, which is also the day they haven’t listed a starter for the game against the White Sox. Expect that to be right-hander Mike Burrows, who’s been out for more than a month with right elbow neuritis.

Burrows threw 4 1/3 innings on Wednesday in a Minor League rehab outing for Triple-A Sugar Land in Las Vegas, allowing seven hits, two walks and three runs while striking out seven. That came on the heels of two rehab outings where he didn’t allow a run in nine innings. Burrows, who had a 5.99 ERA in 94 2/3 innings, is a prime candidate to benefit from the return of Brent Strom as pitching consultant.

More openers
Espada said the Astros could use a reliever as a starter -- the opener -- more in the final weeks of the season as a way to piece together their pitching in some games not started by Hunter Brown, Peter Lambert or Hayden Wesneski.

Houston used reliever Bennett Sousa as an opener Saturday (with Cristian Javier following in a bulk role) and reliever Bryan King as the opener Aug. 12 in San Francisco (with Tatsuya Imai in bulk). Ideally, the opener will help the bulk pitcher get to the fifth or sixth inning, allowing Houston to then deploy its back-end weapons in Steven Okert, Bryan Abreu and closer Josh Hader.

Tuesday a big day for Correa
Espada said third baseman Carlos Correa has a four-month checkup with a doctor Tuesday in Houston and could be cleared to start running the bases, or even sliding if things go well. Correa, who was expected to miss the season after undergoing peroneus brevis tendon repair surgery on his left ankle on May 11, was cleared to swing the bat Aug. 4 and is eyeing a September return.