The Houston Astros turned to Peter Lambert on Saturday against Kumar Rocker and the Texas Rangers, hoping a different starter could keep a July slide from becoming a bigger problem. After dropping Friday’s opener 7-3, Houston went into the night three games under.500 and 1.5 games back in the Wild Card race.
The setup was unusual in another way. Yordan Alvarez started in left field instead of his usual designated hitter role because the Astros wanted both catchers in the lineup, a move that gave the batting order more depth while keeping Alvarez on the field. Jeremy Pena, back from the injured list, had already set the tone in the opener by leading off with a hit, a reminder that Houston still had parts of its lineup returning even as the results stayed uneven.
Saturday mattered because the Astros had lost five of their eight games in July and were already on a two-game skid. Friday’s loss at Globe Life Field began with Hunter Brown on the mound, and Houston never fully escaped it. Brown gave up three runs, the Astros still trailed by only two when he left, and they still ended up losing by four. That kind of game has been too familiar for a club trying to keep pace in the AL Wild Card race.
Lambert’s start carried its own question. In May, he gave up three hits in six innings against the Rangers on the Astros’ turf, but those hits turned into five earned runs. He has a 2.72 ERA in his last seven starts, which gives Houston a reason to believe he can handle this matchup better than he did the first time. The Astros do not need a perfect outing; they need one that keeps the game close long enough for a lineup that can finally cash in on a chance.
That is the test now. Houston has the pitching matchup it wanted, Alvarez is in the field to keep the bats moving, and Pena is back at the top of the order. What the Astros still have to prove is whether those pieces can turn a Saturday start into something more than another night of chasing the standings.
