HOUSTON -- Who cares that the season is less than a week old? The Astros have turned in must-see baseball with the way they’re bashing the baseball all over Daikin Park en route to scoring at least eight runs in four games in a row for the first time since 2021.
The Astros got home runs from Yordan Alvarez and Cam Smith and rode six innings of one-run ball from ace Hunter Brown to bash the Red Sox, 9-2, on Tuesday for their fourth win in a row following an 0-2 start. Houston is 4-2 for the first time since 2022 -- the last time they won the World Series.
It’s too early for that kind of talk, but the Astros are right where they want to be with a chance to sweep the Red Sox and finish their season opening homestand in stellar fashion on Wednesday.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s win:
Patience is a virtue
The Astros brought in two new hitting coaches in the offseason in Victor Rodriguez and Anthony Iapoce and promoted Dan Hennigan to director of hitting and offensive coordinator in an effort to try to change their identity on offense. The goal was to get more patient at the plate and see more pitches, and through six games it’s paying off.
The Astros have scored 37 runs during their four-game winning streak, averaging 9.3 runs per game. They’ve drawn 30 walks in six games this season and are averaging 3.92 pitches per plate appearance, which is a marked improvement from last year’s 3.77 pitches per plate appearance that was the third-lowest in the Major Leagues. They’re close to league average now.
“We’ve been preaching that for all of Spring Training and we made an emphasis on controlling the strike zone, wait for your pitch,” manager Joe Espada said. “We have a really good offense when we’re all working together. That’s exactly what we’re doing. … It’s fun to watch and now it’s our identity. When we’re swinging the bat well, this is who we are. The Astros offense is known for doing this, and now we’ve just got to keep it going.”
No opposing starting pitcher has completed five innings against Houston since José Soriano of the Angels threw six innings on Opening Day.
“That’s something we’ve been working on collectively as a team in our hitters’ meetings, to try and get the starting pitcher out of there as soon as possible,” said Alvarez, who clubbed his third homer of the season in the fifth inning.
Brown in control
After watching Brown throw 102 pitches in 4 2/3 innings on Opening Day, the Astros wanted to dial back his pitch count in his second start of the season Tuesday. Brown needed only 78 pitches to complete six innings against the Red Sox, giving up one run and one hit while striking out eight batters.
“I feel like I just kind of came out attacking the zone,” Brown said. “You know, I felt like that was something I needed to do, given the way that my first start went.”
Brown, relying mostly on his four-seam fastball up in the zone and his sinker he threw inside to right-handers, had only 49 pitches through four innings before a 21-pitch fifth got his pitch count elevated. He was yanked after a 1-2-3 sixth, with the Astros leading, 6-1. He has a 0.84 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings to begin the season.
“He was really good,” Espada said. “He was efficient. I’m glad that our offense was able to score some early runs and we were able to keep that pitch count low since I extended him a little bit in that first outing of the season. He’ll get an extra day of rest [before his starts in Colorado] and will be ready to go. I thought he threw the ball really well.”
Next man up
Because their relievers had recorded more outs than their starting rotation through four games, the Astros had to dip into their reserves at Triple-A Sugar Land and bring up a fresh arm prior to the Red Sox series. That was Cody Bolton, who was signed to a Minor League deal last summer and was reassigned from Major League camp this spring after only one game.
Bolton, who had 34 big league games under his belt with Seattle, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, followed Brown on Tuesday with three scoreless innings for his first career save. He struck out five batters, walked one and gave up a homer to Ceddanne Rafaela.
“Those three innings of work, five punchies, saves our bullpen,” Espada said. “An opportunity tomorrow to go back in there and sweep the Red Sox with a fresh bullpen and Mike Burrows on the mound. That's great stuff."
The Astros have stacked their bullpen with long relief options, headlined by AJ Blubaugh and Kai-Wei Teng. Christian Roa made the Opening Day roster and was optioned to make room for Bolton after pitching twice in the Angels series. Houston’s improved pitching depth is paying off.