Spencer Arrighetti strikes out six in no-decision

The 29-year-old right-hander had a terrific first half for the Astros, compiling a 3.14 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and an 81/33 K/BB ratio across 86 innings through his first 15 starts. At this stage, he should be considered a viable weekly option in all mixed leagues. Spencer Arrighetti will follow him on Saturday with Hunter Brown getting the ball in Sunday’s series finale in Houston.

Arrighetti walked six, struck out two, and allowed two homers in the ugly performance. It isn’t a surprise given it came on the road against one of the highest-scoring lineups in MLB, but he has scuffled badly lately. He now has an 8.74 ERA over his past seven starts. This was his final outing of the first half. The Astros host the Orioles coming out of the All-Star break.

This was the fourth time in Arrighetti’s last five starts where he wasn’t super curveball dependent. It was also just the fifth time in 14 starts this season where he threw more fastballs than curves. That usage pattern wasn’t consistent here though. After throwing it sparingly the first time around the order – and almost exclusively trying to land it in the zone early for strikes – he went to it more heavily the second time around and was more hunting for whiffs. It helped him be more efficient, but he missed fewer bats and was pulled after just 73 pitches before he had to see Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda for a third time. Funny enough, Caminero homered in the seventh off a reliever. Still, Arrighetti pitched well and left this outing with a 3.81 ERA, 79 strikeouts, and 38 walks through 78 innings this season. He’ll close out his first half with a start against the Nationals next week.

Yikes. Arrighetti did manage to punch out seven batters in the contest, but he was completely ineffective against left-handers and that was his undoing. He served up a two-run homer to Kerry Carpenter in the third inning, then a solo shot to Colt Keith and a three-run blast to James Outman in the fourth before he was mercifully pulled. It’s the third straight rough outing for Arrighetti who has seen his ERA spike from 2.21 to 4.00 during that stretch. He’ll try to turn things around when he takes on the Rays at home next Friday.

Arrighetti gave up six hits, walked none and struck out eight. He fell to 7-3 with the loss. Arrighetti was done in by the long ball as all six of the runs he allowed scored on the three home runs he allowed. The 26-year-old right-hander allowed a three-run home run to Travis Bazzana in the fifth inning, giving the Astros a 6-1 lead. Arrighetti’s ERA is now 3.13. He’s lined up to face the Tigers on the road next weekend.

Arrighetti managed to strike out seven in the defeat, and he’s now been tagged for 11 runs over his past three starts. He had begun this season by allowing two earned runs or fewer in each of his first eight outings, so much of this is natural regression. He’ll carry a 2.57 ERA into a home start versus the Guardians next time out.

The runs all came in the second inning, when Arrighetti hit a batter and issued two of his four walks. It’s the sixth time in 10 starts this season that he’s walked four batters. He’s an incredible 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA anyway, but there isn’t much reason to think he’ll be a top starter going forward, given that he’s always been wild and that he’s just average in terms or recording strikeouts. He’ll face the Royals next.

Arrighetti got through 3 2/3 scoreless, but then with one more out to go in the fourth, he gave up a single, hit a batter, walked another and gave up a grand slam to Henry Davis. It proved to be a 33-pitch inning, so he didn’t come back out for the fifth afterwards. Arrighetti was named AL Pitcher of the Month for May earlier in the day, but there’s never been much in his underlying numbers to suggest he’s going to keep it up. The 1.94 ERA he’ll take into his next start against the Angels is two-to-three runs lower than his xERA, SIERA and FIP.

Arrighetti walked one and struck out three in the ballgame. The only blemish on his night came on a solo shot off the bat of Josh Jung in the second inning. Aside from that, he was in complete command throughout the night. The 26-year-old righty got just three whiffs on 94 pitches on the night — all of them on his curveball — while posting a minuscule CSW of 20 percent. Now 7-1 on the season, he’ll bring a sparkling 1.34 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 43/26 K/BB ratio (47 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Pirates.

Arrighetti walked four and hit two batters, but that only shortened his day. He struck out five and allowed just two hits. Technically, he allowed two hard-hit balls, but they were 95.7 and 95.3 mph. None of the other 10 balls in play checked in at over 89 mph. Arrighetti’s ERA is down to 1.32, even though he has a 40/25 K/BB in 41 innings. He’s allowed only one homer, even though he’s sporting a 35 percent groundball rate. This run of great luck should come to an end at some point, but it probably won’t be next week in a very favorable road matchup against the Rangers.