Enyel

De Los Santos

It took both Enyel De Los Santos and Bryan King to get though the seventh tonight. AJ Blubaugh opened the eighth with two consecutive outs, but he then walked two in a row to get Abreu into the game. Abreu got Justin Foscue to fly out to end the rally and then worked a scoreless ninth while giving up a walk and a single. In all, three of the four outs Abreu recorded came on hard-hit balls. He might earn another save or two before Josh Hader returns, but he hardly seems worth picking up in mixed leagues at this point.

King gave up a double and a single in the eighth to bring the Dodgers within one run, but the Astros stuck with him in the ninth and he allowed only a one-hit single before closing out the game. He’s now matched Enyel De Los Santos with his third save. Both guys might have a little value until Josh Hader returns.

Enyel De Los Santos, the Astros’ most frequent closer of late, came into this one to begin the sixth and was charged with one run in 1 2/3 innings of an inning (the one run came after he departed with in the seventh with two outs and a runner on first). That left Kai-Wei Teng in a setup role and King to close. The lefty needed just six pitches to put together a one-two-three inning.

De Los Santos hadn’t pitched in four days and the Astros are off tomorrow, so the idea was to get him some work today. Well, he got some, giving up four hits before José Caballero lined out to third to end the game. All seven batters he faced put the ball in play against him, and three of those balls topped 102 mph. De Los Santos and Bryan King, who pitched a scoreless eighth today, are the Astros’ preferred options in the final two innings right now, and this probably helps King’s stock a bit.

Hader progressed to facing hitters earlier this month and figures to be getting close to heading out on a minor league rehab assignment. The 32-year-old stopper has been on the shelf working his way back from a biceps issue and appears on track to make his season debut at some point in the second half of May. Enyel De Los Santos has stepped up as Houston’s closer of late in his absence.

Sousa’s return should provide an immediate lift for Houston’s bullpen, which has been an unmitigated disaster with a bloated 5.94 ERA this season, which is the second-worst in the entire majors. The 31-year-old lefty missed the first month of the season recovering from an oblique strain after posting a sparking 2.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 59/15 K/BB ratio across 50 2/3 innings last year. There’s a chance he gets a look in upcoming save situations until closer Josh Hader is back from the injured list, which gives him sneaky appeal in deeper fantasy leagues.

De Los Santos struck out Rhys Hoskins with one on to finish the eighth. The ninth should have been quick, but Jose Altuve couldn’t make a play on a grounder to his right. Bo Naylor walked to put the tying run on with two outs, but Brayan Rocchio then flew out to end the game. It’s the third save for De Los Santos, who has been competing with Bryan King for opportunities. As the righty of the two, he’s probably the better bet at the moment, though neither is a particularly appealing fantasy option.

After coming in with a 4-2 lead, De Los Santos gave up two hits and a walk while retiring one batter. King took over and gave up two more hits and two walks (one intentional) before finishing the six-run inning. De Los Santos was charged with the loss, while King got the blown save. The two have been the favorites for saves in the Houston pen of late, but it’s hard to justify rostering either right now. Kai-Wei Teng has been the team’s best reliever, but he’s thriving as a multi-inning guy, having pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings tonight. What the Astros really need is for Bryan Abreu to figure things out.

Enyel De Los Santos worked a scoreless eighth. He and King seem like the favorites for saves in Houston’s pen right now, so this is probably edge to De Los Santos. King, though, was victimized by a Brice Matthews error in the 10th, and things could have worked out quite a bit differently if that play had been made.

Bryan Abreu probably could have handled this one just fine, but he was instead utilized in getting four outs in the seventh and eighth. De Los Santos then retired Brett Sullivan, Edouard Julien and Brenton Doyle with a two-run lead in the ninth. With Josh Hader hopefully three weeks or so away, none of the Astros’ ninth-inning alternatives seem worth rostering in shallow leagues at this point.