HOUSTON -- Spencer Arrighetti struck out 10 batters in six innings, allowing one run and two hits in his first start of the season, and Yordan Alvarez clubbed his seventh homer to lead the Astros to a 3-1 win over the Rockies on Wednesday night at Daikin Park.
The Astros extended their home winning streak to seven games.
Arrighetti, called up from Triple-A Sugar Land to help bolster a rotation that has lost four starters to the injured list in the last two weeks, hit two batters and walked four, one of which came around to score. He threw 100 pitches -- second most by an Astros starter this year -- and got 20 whiffs on 44 swings.
The 16 whiffs on Arrighetti’s curveball are the most in the Major Leagues since Framber Valdez had 17 on July 28 last year. It’s the second-highest whiff total in a single pitch type in a game this year behind Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who had 19 whiffs on his four-seamer on Opening Day.
Rockies starter Jose Quintana walked the first three batters he faced in the first before giving up sac flies to Christian Walker and Cam Smith. Alvarez led off the third with a laser home run to right field that was 107.2 mph off the bat and traveled a Statcast-estimated 375 feet. He added his American League-leading 13th extra-base hit on a double in the seventh.
The Astros got solid relief work from lefty Steven Okert and Bryan Abreu, who’s been moved out of the closer’s role. He retired four of the five batters he faced with two strikeouts in the eighth.