Raise your hand if you had Bryan Abreu third in innings pitched by an Astros reliever at 19 1⁄3 frames on May 26. Now, put it down, you liar. Or, perhaps, you’re a time traveler. If the latter, could we travel back to Game 7 of the World Series back in 2019? Please and thank you.
Seriously, though, one of the more exciting developments this season is Abreu’s ascent up the bullpen pecking order for the Astros. That ascent was made possible partially by a combination of Ryan Pressly’s recent IL stint, Pedro Báez’s velocity dropping like the NASDAQ, and Phil Maton losing the password to access his 2021 postseason form.