Astros call up Ethan Pecko to start versus Angels

Betts singled in the second run of the 10th after Freddie Freeman singled to knock in the automatic runner. The three-hit game was Betts’ 10th of the year. He’s batting .237/.291/.412 through 91 games.

It’s the fourth straight outing in which he’s allowed exactly two runs, and he has a 2.31 ERA over his last six starts. Sasaki left with a two-run led tonight, but since it didn’t hold up, he remains 5-5 through 22 starts. He’ll likely pitch in Atlanta next week, making him a mediocre play in mixed leagues.

The Dodgers gave Scott two runs to work with, but he didn’t need the margin for error, retiring the side on just eight pitches. Since the All-Star break, he’s allowed just two runs in 12 2/3 innings while collecting five saves and six holds.

Moniak, who came into the night 5-for-36 with one extra-base hit over the previous two weeks, hit a game-tying homer off Alex Vesia in the seventh. It was his third homer off a lefty this year and 20th overall.

Hernández hasn’t started against a righty this month and has been on the bench against some lefties, but he’s made good use of his limited playing time by going 8-for-32 with two homers and two doubles. He still probably won’t get any starts this weekend against the Pirates.

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.