HOUSTON -- Astros manager Joe Espada spoke with optimism Saturday afternoon about getting veteran left-handed reliever Bennett Sousa off the injured list for the game against the Yankees. He was the first one of Houston’s 16 players to come off the IL this season, with hopes he’d provide a boost to a beleaguered pitching staff.
Sousa, who suffered a strained left oblique in Spring Training, was thrust into the heat of competition in the seventh inning of a one-run game at Daikin Park and allowed all five batters he faced to reach base, walking four. Two of those batters came around to score as part of a three-run seventh for the Yankees, who cruised to an 8-3 win over the Astros.
Sousa’s trouble finding the strike zone (only 10 of his 27 pitches were in the zone) underscores a season-long issue for the Astros, who entered Saturday with 18 more walks (147) than any other pitching staff in Major League Baseball. They added 10 more to that total Saturday, tying their season high for walks in a game.
“That lineup is just going to force you to throw strikes,” Espada said. “They did it throughout the entire game, you know? Just those 10 walks, man. They are tough to defend when you put yourself in that spot, and then you’re forced to throw strikes, and then they’re going to put some good swings on you. We just have to be better.”
Austin Wells led off the seventh with a homer off Astros reliever Kai-Wei Teng, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Sousa came in to face the top of the order with one out and a runner at first, and he walked Trent Grisham and allowed a single to Ben Rice, though he got a break when José Caballero was thrown out trying to steal third during Rice’s at-bat.
Then came Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who fell behind, 0-2, on a pair of sliders. Judge worked the count full on a steady diet of sliders before drawing a walk on the ninth pitch of the plate appearance on a fastball. Sousa then issued consecutive bases-loaded walks to Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr., ending his outing.
“It was hard to get that slider in the zone,” catcher Christian Vázquez said. “I was trying to stay in the middle of home plate with my body to get a better target. His first outing, it was a tough one.”
Astros pitchers are averaging 5.78 walks per nine innings this year, which is a marked increase from 3.17 walks per nine innings last season. Houston starter Mike Burrows allowed three walks in five innings, along with solo homers to Grisham in the third inning and Caballero in the fifth.
“I thought [Burrows] threw the ball really well,” Espada said. “He punched out eight. Those five innings, only those two solo home runs. Like I mentioned earlier today, I think he’s turning the corner. I think his stuff is good, and he’s starting to settle down and give us some really good quality innings.”
Sousa was a key member of Houston’s bullpen last year. He appeared in 44 games in 2025 and posted a 2.84 ERA, holding left-handers to a .145 average and a .433 OPS. He was placed on the IL on Aug. 22 with left elbow inflammation and didn’t return. He then suffered an oblique strain in the spring -- a sign of things to come for the Astros.
Houston has nine pitchers on the IL, including three who began the year in the starting rotation -- Hunter Brown (grade 2 right shoulder strain), Cristian Javier (grade 2 right shoulder strain) and Tatsuya Imai (arm fatigue), who will throw in the bullpen Sunday at Daikin Park. He could begin a Minor League rehab assignment shortly after that.
The injuries have turned Houston’s rotation upside down and created havoc in the bullpen. What’s more, Espada said the ABS system has worked to the advantage of the hitters, who can be more patient knowing they can challenge close pitches.
“The ABS system has created a lifeline for these hitters, where they know, ‘I have that in my back pocket,’ and where you need to throw the ball in the box,” Espada said. “There’s been signs we’re turning the corner, but that’s an area we just need to continue to improve and encourage the guys to trust their stuff and we have to force those teams to swing the bat.”