HOUSTON -- As the Astros rebounded from a disastrous start to the season, Peter Lambert was one of the reasons for the comeback, allowing three runs or fewer in six straight starts and carrying a four-game winning streak over that span (May 24-June 23). But that streak came to an end on Monday night as the home run ball proved to be his undoing in a 5-4 loss to the Twins at Daikin Park.
Lambert yielded four runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
The right-hander had given up seven home runs over his first 12 starts, with five coming in the previous four games. He surrendered a season-high three home runs to the Twins.
“I think that the frustrating part is that I felt pretty good,” Lambert said. “I think there is a lot of good to take from it, but also a lot of bad.
“Obviously, giving up three homers is not a winning recipe, but in those specific at-bats -- two of them at least -- I thought I had the hitters on their heels and didn’t execute, didn’t put them away quick enough, let them back in the at-bat. And they made me pay for that.”
Royce Lewis and Victor Caratini hit back-to-back solo home runs in the fourth, and Josh Bell hit a two-run homer to right in the sixth. Both Lewis and Caratini’s homers came on two-strike pitches.
“It’s real frustrating,” Lambert said. “That’s the name of the game. You have to keep the ball in the ballpark.”
The right-hander threw 30 changeups, 29 four-seam fastballs, 18 sliders and 12 cutters out of his 100 pitches. He got five whiffs and two strikeouts on the changeup; two whiffs and one strikeout on the four-seamer and three whiffs and one strikeout on the slider. In total, Lambert got 11 whiffs on 52 swings.
“He competed. He gave us a shot to win there,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “He threw a lot of strikes like always. Just a couple pitches that stayed in the middle of the plate, a few home runs, but for the most part, typical Lambert. He competes, used all of his pitches. He keeps you in the game.”
Ullola impresses in debut
After Nate Pearson threw 1 1/3 innings, Espada called on Miguel Ullola, Houston’s No. 11 overall prospect, to make his Major League debut in the eighth. The rookie threw two scoreless innings, scattering two hits with four strikeouts.
“I liked his second inning better than his first one actually because he got traffic, continued to pound the zone,” Espada said. “He held the ball well. There were some baserunners with traffic, he continued to attack. He threw the fastball, threw some really good sliders.”
Ullola said he felt “great.” He struck out Lewis for his first career strikeout and credited catcher Christian Vázquez for helping him get through the outing.
“I’m very proud of myself for getting the strikeout,” Ullola said through an interpreter. “I just trusted Vázquez with his experience back there and his mentality back there and the fact that he’s a veteran. I just trusted Vázquez to help me.”
Offense comes alive late
The Astros have made a habit of late inning heroics over the last week, and they nearly did it again on Monday.
Cam Smith hit a Statcast estimated 408-foot solo home run onto the railroad tracks above the Crawford Boxes in left in the fifth. Smith added a solo home run in the ninth to cut the lead to 5-4, but it was what happened two batters before the at-bat that loomed large.
With one out and a runner on first, Christian Walker was called out on strikes on a full-count pitch. Walker left the batters box to head to first base thinking it was ball four and appeared to look toward the dugout before patting his helmet to call for an ABS challenge. Home-plate umpire Brennan Miller denied Walker’s challenge.
“It was the look to the dugout,” Espada said. “The umpire just thought he kind of looked in to ask for help on that pitch.”
Taylor Trammell followed with a two-run homer inside the right-field foul pole before Smith’s homer, but Joey Loperfido grounded out to end the game.
“We hit a ton of balls hard today, and we made that push there at the end,” Espada said. “I love watching that fight there at the end.”