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Bend don't break. The Houston Astros (70-58) have lived these words for much of the last month. They were swept on their home field versus the Athletics and dropped a three-game set to the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park before winning six of their next nine games. The club then wobbled again, losing twice to the visiting Baltimore Orioles and enduring a shellacking against the Detroit Tigers in Comerica Park. Can the Stros respond again, or will they incur more cracks? A returning Lance McCullers Jr. will try to do his part to prevent the latter outcome.
The veteran right-handed starting pitcher will take the mound for Houston in Friday's road game versus Baltimore, per MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. He missed the last month with a right finger blister, continuing his troubling run of injury problems.
McCullers embodied the bend don't break mentality himself after coming back from a two-and-a-half year layoff in May. He is 2-4 with a 6.90 ERA in 11 starts, recording 50 strikeouts and 29 walks through 44 1/3 innings pitched. While those overall numbers are frightful, the 2017 All-Star has shown flashes of his past form. He tossed six innings of one-run ball in a successful Fourth of July showing before faltering in his next two starts.
Who will step up for Astros?
The Astros are just trying to stay afloat until more arms come off the injured list. Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti recently rejoined the rotation, Luis Garcia and J.P. France are both logging rehab outings and 37-year-old reliever Craig Kimbrel is now entering the mix. Manager Joe Espada needs to squeeze out innings from wherever he can get them, especially with the Seattle Mariners only two games out of first place in the American League West.
While it is still a bit risky to look ahead to October, Houston has question marks in the middle and back end of its starting staff. Cy Young candidate Hunter Brown and two-time All-Star Framber Valdez are a tremendous duo that stack up nicely with the best the AL has to offer, but who would start behind them in a playoff series?
Undrafted righty Jason Alexander seems intent on securing that role for himself, posting a 2.72 ERA in 43 innings for Houston this season. The 32-year-old has logged five-plus innings while allowing two runs or less in his last four starts. Though, given his track record, which amounts to a 5.07 career ERA, there is always a chance the wheels fall off. Preparing for Alexander's potential decline is harsh, but also critical.
Houston must have enough viable hurlers it can turn to in a high-stakes environment. Although Lance McCullers Jr. boasts the necessary experience, he needs to prove he is still trustworthy. The two-time World Series champion can do just that by helping the Astros clinch another divisional title. He gets back to work in Camden Yards on Friday, as the team looks to earn consecutive wins for the first time since Aug. 10-11.
