Sure, the headline is tongue in cheek. But the point is that Cristian Javier and Ronel Blanco have been solid starters for the Astros, but the rest of rotation fell off a cliff last week. With a full five man rotation on the injured list, the Astros are in a tough spot, hoping for better results from the weaker links in the rotation.
But first let’s discuss the great work by Javier and Blanco. Javier leaves the Rangers’ series with a 1.54 ERA and 3.60 x-ERA. Blanco has a microscopic 0.86 ERA and 1.74 x-ERA.
Both Javier and Blanco re-worked their pitch repertoire during the spring, developing change ups which they use as a significant percentage of their pitch mix.