Latest news with #JoshHader
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hunter Brown first to 8 wins after allowing 1 hit in 6 innings as Astros beat Rays 1-0
HOUSTON (AP) — Hunter Brown allowed one hit in six innings to become the first eight-game winner in the majors, and the Houston Astros edged the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Sunday to split a four-game series. Josh Hader earned his 15th save for the Astros, who scored an unearned run in the first. Jeremy Peña reached on a fielding error by third baseman Junior Caminero and scored on Christian Walker's two-out single off Taj Bradley (4-5). Advertisement Houston reliever Bryan King retired two batters and permitted the only other Tampa Bay hit. Bryan Abreu got four outs to set up Hader. Brown (8-3) didn't give up a hit until Josh Lowe singled to left field leading off the sixth. The right-hander then struck Brandon Lowe before ending his outing with a double play. The Rays (30-29) outscored the Astros 29-6 in their two wins. Houston (32-27) outscored Tampa Bay 3-1 in its two wins. Tampa Bay's Taylor Walls was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Nic Lentz with one out in the ninth. Christopher Morel finished the at-bat and struck out. Hader fanned Caminero to end it and hasn't blown a save this season. Advertisement Jacob Melton made his big league debut for the Astros, beating out a grounder to second for his first hit after looking at a called third strike his first time up. He started in center field and finished 1 for 3. Key moment Already trailing, Bradley had runners at the corners with nobody out in the third. But he struck out Isaac Paredes swinging, got Jose Altuve to pop out and struck out Walker looking to escape unscathed. Key stat Brown has a 1.83 ERA in 13 starts — fifth-lowest in the majors. Up next Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (4-4, 2.33 ERA) starts Tuesday against Rangers RHP Tyler Mahle (5-2, 1.64) to begin a six-game homestand. Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (0-1, 5.89 ERA) pitches Tuesday against Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (4-5, 2.15) to begin a six-game trip. ___ AP MLB: The Associated Press
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
The Rays' Taylor Walls was ejected for tapping his helmet after blown call
During spring training, MLB made the decision to test an automated strike zone (ABS) with a ball-strike challenge system for a majority of Grapefruit and Cactus League games. And to signal a challenge, a batter would tap on his helmet after a pitch. Simple enough. It's safe to say that umpire Nic Lentz did *not* appreciate the callback to the ABS testing. Advertisement With Taylor Walls staying in the game to hit in the ninth on Sunday against the Astros, he watched a first-pitch slider from Josh Hader miss low and away. Yet, Lentz called the pitch a strike, and Walls couldn't believe it. Walls called time to try to collect himself after having his entire approach changed in the at-bat. He also had some words with Lentz about the call. But everything took a turn when Walls tapped his helmet. Lentz took exception to the gesture and casually walked in front of home plate to inform Walls that he was ejected. Like, I don't think I've ever seen an umpire eject someone so nonchalantly. Advertisement Walls, understandably, was livid. Umpires hate being shown up, and they have a quick trigger for arguing balls and strikes. But tapping on the helmet was an awfully tame way to express, "I disagree." Walls had to be restrained by his coaches before breaking out of those restraints and having more words for Lentz. All that over a helmet tap that Lentz really should have let slide. Walls was right, after all — the call was missed. Christopher Morel would have to hit in Walls' place, and he promptly struck out. The Astros held on to win, 1-0. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Rays' Taylor Walls was ejected for tapping helmet after blown call
Associated Press
12 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
Hunter Brown first to 8 wins after allowing 1 hit in 6 innings as Astros beat Rays 1-0
HOUSTON (AP) — Hunter Brown allowed one hit in six innings to become the first eight-game winner in the majors, and the Houston Astros edged the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Sunday to split a four-game series. Josh Hader earned his 15th save for the Astros, who scored an unearned run in the first. Jeremy Peña reached on a fielding error by third baseman Junior Caminero and scored on Christian Walker's two-out single off Taj Bradley (4-5). Houston reliever Bryan King retired two batters and permitted the only other Tampa Bay hit. Bryan Abreu got four outs to set up Hader. Brown (8-3) didn't give up a hit until Josh Lowe singled to left field leading off the sixth. The right-hander then struck Brandon Lowe before ending his outing with a double play. The Rays (30-29) outscored the Astros 29-6 in their two wins. Houston (32-27) outscored Tampa Bay 3-1 in its two wins. Tampa Bay's Taylor Walls was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Nic Lentz with one out in the ninth. Christopher Morel finished the at-bat and struck out. Hader fanned Caminero to end it and hasn't blown a save this season. Jacob Melton made his big league debut for the Astros, beating out a grounder to second for his first hit after looking at a called third strike his first time up. He started in center field and finished 1 for 3. Key moment Already trailing, Bradley had runners at the corners with nobody out in the third. But he struck out Isaac Paredes swinging, got Jose Altuve to pop out and struck out Walker looking to escape unscathed. Key stat Brown has a 1.83 ERA in 13 starts — fifth-lowest in the majors. Up next Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (4-4, 2.33 ERA) starts Tuesday against Rangers RHP Tyler Mahle (5-2, 1.64) to begin a six-game homestand. Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (0-1, 5.89 ERA) pitches Tuesday against Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (4-5, 2.15) to begin a six-game trip. ___ AP MLB:
Reuters
12 hours ago
- General
- Reuters
Hunter Brown pitches Astros past Rays
June 1 - Hunter Brown allowed one hit and recorded his fifth scoreless start of the season, and the Houston Astros earned a split of their four-game series with the visiting Tampa Bay Rays with a 1-0 victory on Sunday. The Astros scratched across an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning against Rays right-hander Taj Bradley (4-5) and made that tally stand. Houston recorded one-run victories in its two wins during the series while allowing 29 runs in losses on Thursday and Saturday. Brown (8-3) earned a measure of revenge against the Rays, who tagged Brown with his worst showing of the season by scoring five runs on seven hits, including three home runs, over five innings on May 21 in Tampa. Brown worked six innings in the rematch and issued four walks while recording five strikeouts. Brown threw 93 pitches, just 49 for strikes. Brown retired the first six batters he faced before he issued his first walk to Kameron Misner leading off the top of the third inning. Astros catcher Yainer Diaz erased Misner as he attempted to steal second base, mitigating a subsequent Brown walk to Matt Thaiss later in the inning. Brown worked around a leadoff walk to Junior Caminero in the fifth and another to Thaiss to open the sixth. Josh Lowe followed the walk to Thaiss with the lone hit off Brown, a single to left field, but Brown rallied by inducing Yandy Diaz to ground into an inning-ending double play. Bryan King, Bryan Abreu and closer Josh Hader completed the combined two-hit shutout. Hader notched his 15th save with a perfect ninth. Bradley was exceptional, but a fielding error by Caminero at third base allowed Jeremy Pena to reach second base to open the bottom of the first. Three batters later, Christian Walker delivered an RBI single that scored Pena. Bradley allowed just one additional baserunner to reach scoring position. Mauricio Dubon walked leading off the third and advanced to third when Pena added a single. But Bradley retired six consecutive batters following the Pena hit. When Pena walked with one out and Dubon on in the fifth, Bradley responded by retiring the final eight batters he faced. Bradley allowed three hits, issued two walks and had a season-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings. --Field Level Media
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Once their biggest question, the Astros' bullpen is now their bedrock
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros' bedrock is a bullpen of waiver claims and castoffs, an eight-man embodiment of the franchise's elite pitching infrastructure. Half of them throw left-handed, including the highest-paid reliever in the sport. A minor-league Rule 5 pick with a righteous mustache and meager velocity builds the bridge to him. Advertisement 'We don't have the traditional bullpen,' Josh Hader acknowledged on Sunday afternoon. The construction bucks convention, but is calming the biggest concern many harbored before this season began. Four more scoreless innings on Sunday lowered the Astros' bullpen ERA to 2.75. No American League relief corps has one lower. None allows a lower batting average, either. Only the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins entered Monday with a lower bullpen WHIP than the Astros, who salary-dumped their setup man this winter and signed no reliever to a major-league contract in response. 'I'd be lying if I said it didn't exceed my expectations, but we had high hopes,' pitching coach Josh Miller said. 'We knew we had talented guys, it was just (about) who was going to fill the last few spots.' Those that have are keeping the Astros afloat, allowing their tepid lineup ample runway to correct itself while the team remains above .500. Bullpens house the most volatile position group in baseball, so sustaining this level of success will be borderline impossible. That Houston is missing three starters from its season-opening rotation — and two who threw 312 1/3 innings last season — will only make the task harder. Workloads will grow, wear will wreak havoc and the same surprising unpredictability that Houston has witnessed with this group across 53 games could reverse course. Still, ballclubs are buoyed by different positions during prolonged stretches of every 162-game season. Houston just completed a run of 17 consecutive games without an off day, a span in which starters Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski suffered serious injuries. Across that 17-game span, Houston's bullpen posted a 2.66 ERA while stranding 82.8 percent of the runners it inherited. Of the 18 earned runs Astros relievers allowed, six came during a 13-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on May 10: a game in which starter Lance McCullers Jr. secured one out. The two pitchers who permitted six runs in relief are no longer on the active roster. Advertisement 'These guys are getting opportunities to throw important pitches, and when you have success in those situations, you can build that confidence,' Hader said. 'Pitching, in general, once you have solid confidence in your stuff, it's really hard to beat when you can know you're throwing a pitch that you have full confidence in — one that you can either throw in the zone or get swing-and-miss with it.' Hader is the lone household name, though new setup man Bryan Abreu has been among the sport's most unheralded relievers for the past two seasons. That Abreu has the highest WHIP in his own bullpen underscores the depth Houston has accrued around him. Twenty qualified relievers entered Monday with a WHIP lower than 0.90. Houston's bullpen houses three of them: Hader, Bryan King and Steven Okert. No other American League team has more than one. Houston's Kaleb Ort has a 0.84 WHIP, too, but hasn't thrown enough innings to qualify. No qualified reliever in the sport boasts a lower WHIP than Okert, a man who arrived in spring training on a minor-league deal and without any guarantees of a spot on Houston's active roster. Pitching coaches helped him improve the ride on his four-seam fastball to complement an already sublime slider. Okert has struck out 27 batters across his first 23 2/3 innings. The 16.7 percent swinging strike rate he is generating is the 14th highest of any reliever in baseball, but third inside his own bullpen. Both Hader and Bennett Sousa are inducing swinging strikes higher than 18 percent of the time. Sousa, Okert, King and Hader are all left-handed, a fact that would make former manager Dusty Baker faint, but now offers his successor so many options. Hader's role as a $19 million closer makes him platoon neutral by nature, but both Okert and King are faring better against right-handed hitters this season than lefties. Even Sousa is limiting right-handed hitters to a .630 OPS. Advertisement As a result, Houston's bullpen has faced the most left-on-right matchups in baseball. Righties have a .168/.220/.265 slash line against them. As a whole, Houston's bullpen — half of which is left-handed — is holding right-handed hitters to a .183 batting average and .261 on-base percentage. Both are the lowest in the major leagues. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen has more strikeouts against righties than the Astros. 'It makes the job easy for Josh and Joe to navigate through lineups and strategically put guys in certain spots,' Hader said. 'When you have guys being able to throw secondaries for strikes, expand and also command the zone with their heater, it makes it harder.' Take, for example, Sunday afternoon. Both Abreu and Hader had pitched on Friday and Saturday, thrusting that moustached minor-league Rule 5 pick into the biggest spot of the season. King saw five right-handed hitters. He retired four of them, flummoxing them with a sweeper below the barrel and the 'funky' four-seam fastball the Astros have implored him to throw. King likes to say that before arriving in the Astros' system, he'd never been told he had a good fastball. Now, according to Baseball Savant's run value metric, it is the best-performing four-seamer in the American League's best bullpen. Only the Chicago Cubs — King's previous organization — boast a bullpen that throws a higher percentage of fastballs than Houston's. Astros relievers average just 93.8 mph on their fastballs, the eighth-slowest mark in the sport. Still, only the Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen has allowed less contact and generated more swing-and-miss. As Hader said, it's not traditional. 'Pitching, in general, once you have solid confidence in your stuff, it's really hard to beat when you know you're throwing a pitch that you have full confidence in,' Hader said. Advertisement That fastball King throws averages just 91.9 mph. On Sunday, Randy Arozarena saw three that neared 94. He watched the last one halve home plate for strike three, keeping King unscored upon in 10 of his past 11 outings. 'The guy's got some,' Espada said, pausing before something unprintable came from his mouth. 'He's not afraid. He's not afraid. He's going to go after you. You're either going to hit me or I'm going to get you out. When you come in from the pen, you have to have that mindset. He has that mindset.' He's not alone. (Top photo of Bryan Abreu: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
