Arrighetti, Alvarez Help Houston Astros Top Red Sox

Spencer Arrighetti may not have a great record this season for the Houston Astros, but he’s been lights out in his past two starts. Arrighetti, who joined the Astros’ starting rotation just this season, posted 13 strikeouts in helping Houston beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Saturday.

Arrighetti had a 12-strikeout effort in his previous start. Saturday’s effort put him in rarified air in Astros history. He is the third rookie pitcher in team history to have back-to-back, double-digit strikeout games. Arrighetti joins Tom Griffin and Don Wilson in this elite club.

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Houston Astros Offense Gets Boost

While Arrighetti was handling his business on the mound, Yordan Alvarez was cooking at the plate. Alvarez must be finding his home run swing again, hitting two dingers off Red Sox pitching. He hit a solo homer in the first, putting the Astros up early 1-0. Alvarez later added another one for his 19th career multi-homer game.

He obviously loves hitting at cozy Fenway Park. Alvarez has a .463 career average in Boston, piling up seven homers and 19 RBIs. “You can kind of tell just by the game, the results,” Alvarez told The Associated Press through a team translator when asked if he enjoys hitting in Fenway.

Third baseman Alex Bregman and rookie Zach Dezenzo also homered for the Houston Astros, giving them four in Saturday’s victory. Danny Jansen and Masataka Yoshida hit home runs for the Red Sox, the only two runs Arrighetti gave up. Wilyer Abreu added a two-run single in the eighth off Astros reliever Bryan Abreu.

Josh Hader, though, came on in the ninth and nailed down his 25th straight save for the Astros. Hader has been fantastic nearly all season long but has been touched up by home run balls at times. That was not the case, though, on Saturday.

Spencer Arrighetti Was Lights Out

All eyes were focused on Arrighetti and his effort after the game. “He’s starting to turn the corner and understand how big these games are, and knowing and understanding that every time he takes the mound, it represents an opportunity for us to get closer to our goal. And he’s stepping up,” Astros manager Joe Espada told MLB.com after the game. “That performance today? … That’s exactly what this team needs.”

Arrighetti only walked one batter in seven innings of work, avoiding what has been problematic for starters at times. Houston pitchers have been giving up a lot of walks in starts. That’s set them up for failure at times, giving up timely hits to opponents.

For Arrighetti (5-10 record, 5.14 ERA), a lot of his problems have come in the first three innings. When he’s been able to navigate through them relatively harmless, then he’s found a second gear in the middle innings. Arrighetti has a lively fastball that he’s learning more and more about controlling from a delivery standpoint.

“Just mixing really well,” Arrighetti said after the game. “If you look at it, my four-seam gets hit. That’s one of the reasons I’ve tried to change the pitch mix a little bit in terms of usage percentages. But I think I just did a better job of picking my spots and throwing it somewhere good, and just believing that it’s the right pitch right there.”

He also tipped his cap to his fellow Houston Astros teammates and their support in his first big-league season. “I think a lot of it comes from the support system I have here and the support system I have at home as well, just reminders that being me is good, and that’s all I got to do when I’m here,” Arrighetti said.

If Astros fans were looking for some good news in the pitching department beyond Arrighetti, then they got a couple of notes on Saturday. Reliever Kendall Graveman, who has been out since the season started, had a bullpen session off a mound at Fenway Park. Starting pitcher Justin Verlander had a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday night. The Houston Astros hope to get Verlander back in the rotation soon. Graveman’s progress will be monitored to see if he can help down the stretch.

Now, Astros fans are also holding out hope for news regarding outfielder Kyle Tucker. When will he be back to give the Astros offense an even bigger bang?

With the Astros securing a series win over the Red Sox on Saturday, Hunter Brown gets the start on Sunday. James Paxton, who recently joined Boston’s starting rotation after a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, goes for the Red Sox in the Sunday afternoon contest.

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This article was written by Joe Rutland