The Houston Astros can see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding their season-long battle with poor injury luck, with right-handers Spencer Arrighetti, Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. having recently returned from stints on the injured list.
When the Astros open a three-game interleague series against the visiting Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, they might welcome back slugger Yordan Alvarez (fractured right hand) from his 100-game stay on the IL.
While the return of familiar names and past stalwarts could bode well for Houston, the Astros remain in need of contributions from the depths of their active roster.
Despite dropping the finale of a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, the Astros received positive contributions from two recent additions: John Rooney and Craig Kimbrel. Rooney, recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land, made his big-league debut in the Astros’ 3-2 loss and handed the ball to Kimbrel, who was signed last week and worked a scoreless eighth inning.
Rooney replaced AJ Blubaugh on the roster after Blubaugh provided a stopgap effort for a short-handed bullpen on Saturday. The Astros have at times held their roster together with tape and bubble gum, and their resilience has become a hallmark of their pursuit of a playoff berth.
“That’s who we are,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We’re picking each other up.
“Our team and how we stay together (is key). We grind. That’s what good teams do.”
Right-hander Hunter Brown (10-5, 2.36 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener for the Astros on Tuesday. Just 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA in his last eight starts, Brown has fallen off the pace for the American League Cy Young award, but he has produced three quality starts in four appearances this month. Brown has allowed only four earned runs across 25 innings in those four starts, with the Astros winning two of those games.
Brown is 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies. He was the pitcher of record in a 5-3 road win over Colorado on July 2 after he allowed two runs on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over six innings.
Rookie right-hander Tanner Gordon (4-5, 7.11 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Rockies. After allowing season highs of 10 runs and 12 hits over 4 2/3 innings in a 13-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 10, Gordon has won consecutive decisions against the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, surrendering four runs on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 11 innings. He made his third quality start on Wednesday against Los Angeles.
Gordon will make his first career appearance against the Astros. He is 1-5 with a 10.08 ERA in six career interleague starts.
The Rockies lost 4-0 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday to conclude a three-game series sweep during which the Rockies were outscored 18-1. That capped a stretch of 17 consecutive days with a game, their longest of the season. Colorado went 7-10 during that span.
“I thought we had a good stretch the past couple of weeks,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “We won the homestand, took 3 of 4 from the D-backs, and split with the Dodgers.
“You don’t want to end it like this in Pittsburgh. We’ll regroup on the off day and get back after it in Houston.”