HOUSTON -- The timing couldn’t be better for the Astros to welcome back ace Hunter Brown to their rotation Tuesday against the Tigers, considering Houston starters have an unsightly 7.12 ERA in June after posting a 3.93 ERA in May. Mike Burrows continues to struggle, Tatsuya Imai couldn’t escape the first inning in his last start and the shine may have worn off Kai-Wei Teng as a starter.
Teng, making his eighth start of the season in Monday’s 9-3 loss to the Tigers at Daikin Park, struck out nine batters in 3 1/3 innings with an effective sweeper, but he walked two batters, hit two batters and gave up six hits and five earned runs, including three homers.
Spencer Arrighetti hasn’t pitched as well in his last three starts as he did in his first seven, but has been their best starter by going 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 11 starts. Then there’s Peter Lambert, who has held his own with a 3.47 ERA in 10 starts. Brown will pitch Tuesday for the first time since March 31, just before he came down with a shoulder sprain that cost him about 12 starts, and will provide a shot in the arm to the rotation that sorely needs it.
Brown taking the ball every five or six days won’t be enough to turn the season around, but it will help. The Astros know what they’re getting in Brown, who emerged as an elite, frontline starter last year and has assumed the role of ace for the Astros following the departure of Framber Valdez in free agency.
And wouldn’t you know it? Valdez will start opposite Brown on Tuesday in his first game at Daikin Park in a visiting uniform.
“It’s exciting,” Brown said. “I’m sure he’s excited to pitch in this park again. He did a lot of really great things for this team. I wish him well -- not too well, of course. Maybe we can tag up more than I give up for us. That would be the most ideal.”
Valdez is the latest in a string of former players from the golden area -- when the Astros made the postseason eight seasons in a row from 2017-23 and won four pennants and two World Series titles -- who have returned in a different uniform. Like George Springer, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly and others before him, Valdez got a tribute video Monday.
The Astros are expected to move to a six-man rotation during a run of 13 consecutive games without an off day later in the month, but Thursday’s off-day and Brown’s return would have everyone pitching on a full week of rest for the next turn through the rotation. That’s not ideal.
There are a few ways Astros manager Joe Espada can go.
The Astros could skip either Imai or Burrows, giving them a chance to catch their breath and work on some things. Houston is 4-10 in games started by Burrows this year, and he has a 7.80 ERA and 2.13 WHIP in his last three starts. Imai retired only two batters in his previous start Friday in Kansas City and has a 6.43 ERA in nine starts this season.
Perhaps they could move Teng back to the bullpen, which is where he began the season. Teng had a 1.80 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 13 relief appearances (20 innings) this year, but has a 5.77 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in eight games (34 1/3 innings) as a starter, including a 10.22 ERA and 2.19 WHIP in his last three starts.
“I really feel comfortable being a starter,” Teng said. “It’s the big leagues, so if you want a spot in the rotation you have to earn it. I will still do my work and flush this one and hopefully I can be in this spot.”
Teng’s average fastball velocity Monday was 92.5 mph, down 1.4 mph from his season average entering the game, and his sinker and changeup were down more than 1 mph, as well. That caught the attention of Espada.
“We’re going to reassess tomorrow and see if there’s some fatigue in there,” he said. “That could be a reason why the stuff is down and he’s falling behind and probably some mechanical things and trying to find his rhythm during the game. That might be a reason, and we’ll talk to him tomorrow.”