HOUSTON -- The pitching depth the Astros added in the offseason not only allowed them to stash some experienced arms in Triple-A who have experience starting in the Major Leagues, including Spencer Arrighetti, Colton Gordon and Jason Alexander, but it also gave them the luxury of having three relief pitchers capable of pitching two-plus innings.
The thought process was that multiple long relievers would give the Astros some insurance when one of their starting pitchers didn’t work deep into a game. They didn’t expect that to happen in Thursday afternoon's 3-0 loss to the Angels on Opening Day at Daikin Park, where ace Hunter Brown needed 102 pitches to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Enter right-hander AJ Blubaugh, who followed Brown with 2 1/3 innings in relief to get the game to the eighth inning without burning a couple more arms. Blubaugh stranded a pair of runners in the fifth, but he gave up a solo homer to Mike Trout in the seventh that was all the Angels needed to beat the Astros. Still, Blubaugh’s innings provided a blueprint of how Houston may have to use its bullpen at times this season.
“In my eyes, I just need to be ready for any and all situations, whether that’s coming for one out or 2 1/3 innings,” Blubaugh said. “That’s kind of the role I have in my head and what they expect out of me.”
Blubaugh, Ryan Weiss and Kai-Wei Teng can all throw two-plus innings in relief out of Houston’s bullpen. Weiss, who signed a one-year deal with an option in December, was adamant that he preferred to be a starter, but there was no room in the five-man rotation to begin the season. He spent the past two seasons pitching in Korea as a starter.
Teng, acquired from the Giants in January, posted a 7.30 ERA over 12 big league games (seven starts) with San Francisco over the past two seasons. He struck out 46 batters and issued 25 walks in 40 2/3 innings. Astros manager Joe Espada will have Weiss and Teng ready later in this series if a starter doesn’t go deep.
“That’s the whole idea of carrying those guys,” Espada said. “Blubaugh, obviously, will be down for a couple of days. We do have a couple of guys who can do what Blubaugh just did. Moving forward, that’s the whole idea of having some guys that can give you multiple innings. Blubaugh was really good -- up to 98 [mph]. Just really good stuff. He just continues to get better and better.”
Blubaugh made his Major League debut in 2025, and he made three starts and eight appearances out of the bullpen, where his stuff played up. He had a 1.27 WHIP in 11 innings as a starter and 0.68 WHIP in relief with 20 strikeouts.
In his first appearance of the ‘26 season on Thursday, Blubaugh entered the game with two outs in the fifth and runners at first and second base, and he blew away Yoan Moncada on three pitches -- striking him out on a 98.8 mph fastball.
“That was huge,” said Blubaugh, who was a closer in college. “I think it’s been a focus of mine to come out of the gates firing and to get out of that jam with runners on, and to do my job. That’s big.”
In 2025, Blubaugh' s average fastball velocity was 93.6 mph as a starter and 95.0 mph as a reliever.
“If you remember, I feel like I kind of work up to a velo [as a starter],” he said. “I feel like it should be a big focus of mine if I’m coming out of the bullpen, to come out with my best stuff and don’t start at the low-90s, and work up to the high-90s. Come out of the gates with my best stuff and do my job.”
Espada’s long relief strategy worked well on Thursday, the homer to Trout notwithstanding. He has the ability to deploy it again later this series.
“We at least have three guys who we feel good going two-plus innings, but we don’t want to get into a habit of doing that all the time,” Espada said. “Those guys now would need a couple of days to get back on the mound and we need all those guys healthy. We would like to have Blubaugh back sooner than later, but that’s the whole idea of having all those guys available for you.”