Astros will use a bullpen game in Game 1

There was little doubt Blubaugh would pitch tomorrow, but it’s a little surprising to see him get the ball first, just because that never happened all year. He led the majors with 96 relief innings, finishing with a 3.66 ERA in his 64 appearances. He’s been used in shorter stints lately than he was early on, so the Astros would be pushing it if they asked for more than two innings from him. The only two times he completed three innings both took place in May.

Lambert gave up two singles in the first and then retired the side in order in the second. That proved sufficient for the Astros, who went on to win 9-0 to clinch their postseason berth. Lambert might start one of the three Wild Card games against the White Sox after closing out the regular season 8-10 with a 3.82 ERA in 155 2/3 innings.

That’s an interesting choice, what with Lambert seemingly running on fumes at the moment. He gave up four in 2 2/3 innings against the A’s on Thursday, and he’s thrown 44 more innings this season that he has in any of the last five years. Most likely, he’ll throw only an inning or two.

Brown had some control issues, as he walked four and threw just 60-of-100 pitches for strikes. He was able to whiff four, and he would have allowed just a single run if not for some poor defense behind the 28-year-old. The Astros remain in first place despite being two games under .500, and if they clinch the division, Brown will likely start Game 2 of the Wild Card. If not, his season ends with a 3.18 ERA, 6-4 record and 124/55 K/BB over 107 1/3 innings.

It just wasn’t Lambert’s night. He allowed only two hard-hit balls, but both of those were homers, and four of the other five balls in play against him turned into hits. None of those non-homers were hit harder than 83 mph, and the back-to-back homers in the third would have been gone in nine and 17 ballparks, respectively. Lambert’s regular season concludes with an 8-10 record and a 3.87 ERA in 28 starts. He almost certainly has to start in the Wild Card series if the Astros advance, but it doesn’t seem like he has a great deal left in the tank at this point. Before throwing 166 innings this year, he came in at 22, seven, 109, 90 and 124 the last five seasons.

Brown gave up three hits, walked two and struck out 10. He’s had 10 strikeouts in three of his last five starts. Brown left the game with a 1-0 lead, but the bullpen allowed four runs as soon as he left the ballgame. He has a 3.26 ERA this year. Brown is lined up to face the Athletics on the road next Saturday.

Lambert gave up six hits, including a two-run homer to Michael Harris II in the fourth inning, which accounted for all of the damage against him. He struck out six and only issued one walk. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in five consecutive starts since being lit up for nine runs by the Angels back on August 20. He’ll wrap up the regular season with a tough road matchup against the Athletics at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park on Thursday.

Brown was outstanding on Tuesday against the Royals. He had stranded three baserunners over four scoreless innings before giving up one run on a walk and a double in the fifth. He’d end his day after five frames at 91 pitches, tying a season-high 10 strikeouts on 15 whiffs. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 3.43 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 110/49 K/BB ratio across 97 innings into a start against the Braves in Houston on Sunday.

Lambert gave up six hits, walked none and struck out four. He fell to 8-9 with the loss. Lambert has posted quality starts in his last two starts and still taken the loss both times. He has a 3.71 ERA in 26 starts, which no one saw coming before the season. Lambert is lined up to face the Braves at home next week.

This was a frustrating start by Brown. As far as the first three earned runs he gave up, they all came in the third inning and it was a lot of timely hitting and well-placed knocks by the Phillies with an error mixed in by right fielder Cam Smith. Then, Trea Turner took him deep in the fifth. That was his last frame and reliever Bryan King immediately blew the game in the sixth after Brown left with a lead. Regardless, he struggled to command his breaking balls consistently as has been a trend lately. Turner’s home run came on a hanging slider as did an RBI single from Luis Arraez. That’s been a huge hindrance in Brown trying to find his groove over the last month and will likely keep less reliable than we’d hope start-by-start to close the season. Next up, he’s scheduled for a two-start week against the Royals and Braves with both coming at home.