HOUSTON -- The Astros entered Friday night coming off a three-game road sweep of the Rangers in which they scored 39 runs. Things went differently, however, against Padres left-hander Blake Snell, who showed why he’s the National League Cy Young frontrunner during San Diego’s emphatic 11-2 win to open a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.
Snell (13-9, 2.52 ERA) threw six innings of two-run ball, surrendering five hits while striking out eight. He did issue three walks and 44 balls among 103 pitches, but that’s perhaps fitting in a season where Snell currently leads the Major Leagues in both ERA and walks.
Should Snell finish atop both categories, he’d be the first pitcher in AL/NL history to do so since earned runs became an official stat in both leagues in 1913.
“I pitched really well,” said Snell, who had a 6.11 ERA in seven previous career appearances against Houston. “Walks happen. I’m happy with it, because I know how good they are. I know how I’ve [struggled] against them in the past, and I hadn’t seen them since 2021.”
The Astros (80-62) remained in first place in the AL West, while the Padres (67-75) are still seven games behind Arizona (74-68) for the third NL Wild Card spot. San Diego is playing better of late, however, having won five of its past seven.
“He was throwing 96, 97 [miles per hour] with his fastball, and then he would get two strikes and he was throwing hard enough where you had to commit on that breaking ball,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Snell.
“He’s tough.”
Snell’s dominant result wasn’t initially evident, since Houston’s first four batters -- Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena, Yordan Alvarez, and Alex Bregman – opened by lining four balls in play with exit velocities of 95 mph or greater, according to Statcast.
Pena’s double (105.3 mph) and an Alvarez single put the Astros in front, 1-0, before Snell escaped further trouble in the opening frame by inducing a long Bregman flyout and striking out Kyle Tucker.
As it turned out, the Astros whiffed on perhaps their best offensive opportunity. Snell adjusted between innings, and in the second and third frames, he struck out five straight batters.
“It’s a chess match,” Snell said. “You figure out what they can do and how they’re going to attack you, and what their game plan is … you feel that out. You adjust your plan. They’re going to get their hits, but if you’re aware of that, you can keep pushing forward.”
It helped that Snell was able to pitch aggressively with a lead. After Manny Machado singled to start the second, Luis Campusano and Trent Grisham delivered RBI hits off Astros starter Hunter Brown. Leadoff hitter Ha-Seong Kim lined a two-out, two-run single to break things open in a four-run second.
Xander Bogaerts crushed a towering third-inning home run to left field to provide Snell with a significant 5-1 cushion. Juan Soto pushed it to 6-1 with an RBI double in the fifth.
“We have the ability to score some runs, and we’ve done it,” manager Bob Melvin said. “When you look at our run differential (+73) and all that, sometimes it doesn’t make sense. It’s just about putting together longer stretches.”
Snell did run into trouble in his sixth and final inning, when Alvarez and Bregman led off with a walk and a single, respectively. But after Jose Abreu’s RBI double brought the potential tying run to the on-deck circle, Snell avoided further damage by striking out Chas McCormick and inducing a lineout to short by Yainer Diaz.
“The only thing I was frustrated with was the Alvarez walk,” Snell said. “I can’t be doing that. The double, a 2-0 fastball to Abreu, he did a good job. They’re a good-hitting team. But they’re still human.
“If you make your pitches and understand the sequences you’re doing to attack them, and you remember it the next time… I like my chances.”
Machado’s seventh-inning RBI double and Grisham’s three-run homer in the eighth made it a rout against long reliever José Urquidy.
“It felt good,” said Grisham, who logged a season-high four RBIs. “Hopefully, we can catch a hot streak here. Things have just been rolling our way, and we’re getting a few lucky bounces.”
This was just the sixth of Snell’s past 20 starts in which he’s allowed more than one run. Yet, considering the opposition, it was among his most impressive games -- and the corresponding run support was a reminder of why San Diego’s expectations were so high entering 2023.
“The goal is not to give up runs, but when we score 11, it’s OK to give up two, and especially to that lineup,” Snell said. “It’s really talented. I’m happy with this.”