Peter Lambert blanks Rays into sixth to get win

Lambert gave up five hits, walked three and struck out four. He fell to 6-5 with the loss. All four of the runs Lambert allowed came on home runs. Royce Lewis and Victor Caratini hit solo shots in the fourth inning before Josh Bell hit a two-run shot in the sixth inning. Lambert has a 3.51 ERA, but can struggle at times given the amount of fastballs he throws. He’s lined up to face the Nationals on the road next week.

Lambert allowed two runs on a Daulton Varsho double and a Luis Urías homer in the fourth. In the fifth, he retired two out of three batters, but the Astros wouldn’t let him face Varsho again. Varsho doubled off Steven Okert anyway, but it didn’t score the runner from first and Urías then struck out. As it turned out, Lambert probably wouldn’t have gotten the win even if he had finished the fifth, as the Jays came back to tie things up off Enyel De Los Santos in the seventh and took the lead in the eighth. It’s just the second time this season that Lambert hasn’t completed five innings, and he’s still 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA in his last six starts. He’s in line to make his next start Sunday in Detroit, but he could be pushed back to Monday against the Twins if Cristian Javier is activated.

Lambert only gave up two hits on the afternoon, lowering his ERA to 3.23. The righty has been sensational for the Astros as he’s one of two pitchers to make more than three starts for them with an ERA under 5.75. The other is Spencer Arrighetti. Lambert’s ERA estimators suggest he has pitched a bit over his head so far, but he’ll remain in strong fantasy consideration next time out in Toronto.

Lambert left in the seventh after taking a comebacker off his pitching wrist, but he said afterwards that he was fine. The only runs he allowed tonight came on homers off the bat of Mike Trout and Logan O’Hoppe. It went as his first no decision after he opened the year 5-4 with a 3.55 ERA in nine starts. That he’s been so tough to homer against has been the biggest key to his nice run, but two tonight brings his total to five homers allowed in 57 innings, and he should be pretty average there going forward. He’ll face the Tigers next week.

Lambert stranded the bases loaded in the second and kept the A’s scoreless until the sixth, when he gave up a Brent Rooker homer, a walk and then a double with one out. Enyel De Los Santos entered and retired Zack Gelof and Jeff McNeil to strand both inherited runners. It went as Lambert’s third straight win, even though he’s walked 11 over 15 1/3 innings during the span. He’s 5-4 with a 3.55 ERA in nine starts overall. The big thing that he has in his corner is that he’s allowed just three homers in 50 2/3 innings, but he’s not a strong groundball pitcher and his walk rate is an increasing concern. Those relying on him in mixed leagues can feel free to use him against the Angels next week, but it’s still not rather likely that he’ll be a long-term solution.

Lambert allowed five hits, walked three and struck out three with his velocity down a tad today. He has a 5.63 ERA and a 14/9 K/BB over 16 innings in his last three starts, though he’s won two of those anyway. He’s still securely in Houston’s rotation, and he’ll likely make his next start Friday at home against the A’s.

Lambert allowed five hits, walked four and struck out five in an erratic outing. He also hit a batter. This makes him 3-4 with a 3.79 ERA through seven starts. That he’s allowed only one homer in 40 1/3 innings has made him a viable fantasy starter to date, but his luck figures to change some there. He’s due to pitch at home against the Brewers next weekend.

Lambert’s latest quality start featured six strikeouts and one walk, but it’s a little concerning that his velocity was down; he averaged 93.5 mph with his fastball, 1.2 mph off his season average. He’d already gone from 95.3 and 95.1 mph in his first two starts to 94.3 and 94.4 mph in his previous two starts, so this is looking like a trend. He’s not a bad play this weekend against the Rangers, but this doesn’t really seem like the time to go pick him up.

Lambert gave up 10 hard-hit balls and had just a 17 percent CSW tonight, but these aren’t the 2025 Dodgers, at least not right now. Lambert moved to 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA. He’s gone 22 1/3 innings without allowing a homer this year, which is pretty good for someone who gave up one every 5.4 innings in 35 starts and 39 relief appearances with the Rockies. He’ll probably make his next start Monday against the Mariners, though the Astros do have the option of moving him up to Sunday in Cincinnati.

Lambert had been solid through four innings, but his pitch count was at 91 and Joe Espada showed a quick hook in the top of the fifth after a one-out double. Steven Okert came on and allowed a single and a walk before Adley Rutschman hit a grand slam to break the game open, charging one additional run to Lambert’s ledger. Lambert’s only pitch that generated more than two whiffs was his changeup, and while this has been a fun ride so far, this wasn’t up to the standard of his first couple of starts. Fantasy managers will want to avoid Lambert against the Dodgers next week.