Fastball

Houston Astros Rookie Makes American League History as AL West Race Tightens

The Houston Astros got a great pitching performance on Saturday from rookie Spencer Arrighetti as they beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4.

Brady Farkas

Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti (41) reacts after a strikeout against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning at Minute Maid Park on July 28.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti (41) reacts after a strikeout against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning at Minute Maid Park on July 28. / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
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The Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon, 5-4, to take the first two games of the series at Fenway Park.

With the wins, the Astros are now 61-55 on the year. They remain in a virtual tie for first place in the American League West with the Seattle Mariners. Seattle is 62-56, having played two more games. The two teams have three more games against each other the rest of the way.

Offensively, the Astros did damage late for the second consecutive game, getting four runs in the sixth inning on. On the mound, they got an outstanding start from rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who struck out 13 over 7.0 innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. He's now 5-10 on the year with a 5.14 ERA.

Though the overall numbers are poor, Arrighetti has turned it around lately, making history in his last two outings.

Per @OptaSTATS on social media:

Spencer Arrighetti of the @Astros is the first rookie in American League history to have 12+ strikeouts in back-to-back starts.

Arrighetti has struck out 129 batters in 105.0 innings this year, so he's had the ability to generate swings-and-misses all year. He's been pressed into action because of the Astros injury situation on the mound. Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy and JP France are all out for the year while Luis Garcia hasn't made a start yet, either. Justin Verlander is currently on the injured list.

The Astros will play the Red Sox again on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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