Following in the Marlins’ footsteps, the Astros have decided to go to a six-man rotation for the remainder of the season.
Houston made the change in order to get rookie Dallas Keuchel regular starts down the stretch alongside Jordan Lyles, Fernando Abad, Lucas Harrell, Bud Norris, and Edgar Gonzalez.
Interim manager Tony DeFrancesco told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that the six-man rotation is a way to limit the workloads of young pitchers and also gives the Astros a chance to evaluate more starters for a potential role in 2013 and beyond.
Houston starters rank second-worst in the NL with a 4.70 ERA, ahead of only Colorado, and that mark includes some good pitching from Wandy Rodriguez before he was traded.
