NEW YORK -- The return of right-hander Hunter Brown to ace form on Friday night could be as big of a development in recent weeks for the Astros as any other in their push to win the American League West, especially if he’s able to keep it up in the final month of the regular season.
Brown, winless in his previous four starts in August, delivered one of his best outings of the season by striking out 10 batters and allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings to lead the Astros to a 3-1 win over the Mets at Citi Field.
“That was really, really good,” manager Joe Espada said. “The stuff was coming out pretty good. [He threw] a ton of strikes, [with] the four-seam, too. That’s the Hunter that we’re used to seeing, and the last two outings, he continues to get better. That’s huge, just to get him out there in the seventh and us being able to save some bullets for the next few days.”
The Astros (68-67) improved to 3-1 during their swing through the Big Apple, with two games against the Mets remaining, and have a two-game lead in the AL West over the Rangers (66-69), in addition to owning the tiebreaker. The Mariners (64-71) fell four games behind Houston.
Brown became the first Astros starting pitcher to complete six innings since Hayden Wesneski on Aug. 10, a span of 14 games between quality starts. Brown gave up five hits and one walk, which was a key development. His 13.7 walk rate entering the game was the highest in the Major Leagues by pitchers who had thrown at least 70 innings.
“I thought I had both fastballs working,” Brown said. “I thought actually both my breaking balls were pretty good and I was able to mix in some good changeups. [Catcher Yainer] Diaz called a heck of a game tonight. He was really good back there.”
Brown has struggled with command of his four-seam fastball, though he felt he had made a lot of progress in his prior outing Saturday against the A’s in which he gave up one run on seven hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings.
“He’s been working on just trying to tunnel his pitches and good delivery, and staying connected,” Espada said. “I know he’s working mechanically on his approach and game plan. It’s just a matter of time. It looks like everything is coming along right at the time.”
Brown (4-3) picked up his first win since July 31. He reached double-digit strikeouts for only the third time in his career. He struck out 10 batters on May 26, 2023, vs. the Athletics and a career-high 12 on June 14, 2025, vs. Minnesota.
The sinker, the pitch that unlocked the rest of Brown’s arsenal in 2024 and turned around his career, continues to be an elite pitch. He threw it 31 times on Friday, including 11 to left-handers.
“I don't know what the numbers say, but it's the pitch that I feel like I can command the best -- glove side and arm side,” he said. “It seems kind of natural when I throw it. Not that my other pitches don’t, [but] I've kind of thrown that one the longest. I took a little hiatus for a couple years, but it feels good and it's something that I rely on heavily now, too. You can build confidence from throwing it to some really good left-handed hitters and I’ve gotten some good results.”
Brown actually threw his sinker (96.5 mph) a tad bit harder on average on Friday than his four-seam fastball (96.3 mph).
“The pitch is better once he also has the four-seam working for him, because it’s north and south and now he’s working east to west,” Espada said. “When he gets that four-seam in the zone, the two-seam ... forget it, guys. They just can’t determine if it’s a four or a two, and it starts getting all those broken bats like you saw today.”
Mets rookie starter Christian Scott carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth before issuing three consecutive walks -- to Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes and Jose Altuve -- after one out. Daulton Varsho greeted lefty reliever Nate Lavender by hitting a soft single to score a pair and put the Astros ahead, and Diaz singled home Altuve one out later for a 3-1 lead.
“We’re scrapping around right now just trying to find a way to win some games,” Espada said. “Offensively, we’re just passing the baton.”