Zac Gallen gives up four runs in loss to Padres

Vázquez opened up the scoring in this game with a solo home run in the third inning. The Angels then pulled ahead in the top of the fourth before the Astros stormed ahead in the bottom of the frame and didn’t look back. Vázquez has pushed his way into a part-time role as the Astros’ catcher starting six of their last 10 games due to the continued struggles from Yainer Diaz.

Entering in a one run game, Hader did not make things easy on himself by walking Travis d’Arnaud to start the ninth inning. Then, Adam Frazier came on to pinch-run and stole second base to make it even more tense. Yet, Hader slammed the door after and converted his 18th straight save without blowing a chance so far this season.

All things considered, Pecko showed tremendous mettle in his debut despite working very hard in it. Practically nothing came easy as he was pulled with 89 pitches before getting through four innings – 58 of which came in the second and fourth – but had his swing-and-miss stuff working. His sinker bailed him out on numerous occasions as a true bat-missing pitch running in on the hands of right-handed batters. He also showed off the depth of his repertoire by forcing a whiff with five different pitches. Still, bear in mind that he only threw 31% of his pitches in the strike and really relied on those whiffs. He’s currently scheduled for a two-start week coming up against both the Yankees and Mets on the road.

Back in a nearly everyday role, Lowe is heating up just enough to get some deep league attention. He reached base three times in this game before being lifted for a pinch-hitter against Josh Hader in the ninth inning. He was also caught stealing, but we’re happy to see him attempting one, and has two homers since last Friday.

Ureña breezed through the early part of this game retiring the first eight batters he faced until Christian Vázquez took him deep for a solo shot. That seemed to knock him off his spot a little bit because he ran into trouble in the following inning. Yordan Alvarez hit a lead-off single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then, he walked Isaac Paredes after an eight-pitch battle before Jose Altuve yanked a double down the line. Cam Smith later hit a sacrifice fly to put the Astros up. Ureña can struggle against right-handed batters – as he did during that Astros’ rally – as a changeup-first righty pitcher without a reliable sweeper. That’s what did him in during that inning, but this was still a fine start as Ureña has done well to elevate his floor as this season’s wore on. In total, he has a 2.80 ERA, 109 strikeouts, and 59 walks through 112 2/3 innings in what’s become a great breakout year. Next up, he’s scheduled for a two-start week against the Guardians and Phillies with both starts at home.

Cavalli just keeps getting better. He set the tone by striking out four of the first five batters he faced and never looked back. His 11 punch-outs were the second-most in a start this season and the fifth time he’s reached double digits. A key to his in-season breakout, his improving sweeper was strong against right-handed batters with a nearly 70% strike rate while working as his primary pitch against them. Otherwise, the trio of that pitch, his fastball, and knuckle-curve stymied the Rangers’ lefties and combined to force 12 of his 14 swings-and-misses. He’s completed at least six innings in eight straight starts without allowing more than three runs in any and picked up six wins over that span. That looks something like a league-winner. Next up, he has a two-start week against the Rockies and Marlins, both at home.

In a rare start against a right-handed pitcher, Chaparro showed why he may deserve to play more often. He had three batted balls of at least 104 mph and was a thorn in the side of the Rangers’ pitchers all night. His three-run home run broke this game open in the seventh inning and he could be an intriguing deep league option should he get a bit more playing time.

Seager for exactly half of the Rangers hits as they were shutout by Cade Cavalli and the Nationals’ bullpen in this one. While it’s been mostly a lost season to this point, Seager now has two hits in each of his last three games as he tries to finish strong.

Rocker pitched well overall here despite nibbling far too much early on. He threw 80 pitches through four innings and had to work hard for every out because he was reluctant to throw it in the zone with a barely 40% zone rate and only 11 first-pitch strikes out of the 22 batters he faced. Still, his slider was nasty forcing six whiffs and helped him out of a few jams. On the season, he has a 4.46 ERA, 109 strikeouts, and 48 walks through 121 innings. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against both the Brewers and White Sox on the road.

Despite being given a seven-run lead after the second inning, Gilbert struggled with his efficiency in this one. Nothing came easy as his fastball didn’t force a single swing-and-miss and he didn’t have a single clean inning. This was the second time in his last three starts where he’s walked four batters after not walking more than two since March. Hopefully he can get himself back ahead of a two-start week against the Phillies and Blue Jays.