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Houston Astros Rookie on Wrong Side of Lopsided History on Wednesday

The Houston Astros were rocked by the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night and unfortunately, rookie pitcher Spencer Arrighetti bore the brunt of some tough history.

Brady Farkas

Spencer Arrighetti (41) delivers the pitch in the first inning of the MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.
Spencer Arrighetti (41) delivers the pitch in the first inning of the MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Houston Astros dropped a lopsided affair to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night in Cincinnati. The 12-5 decision put the Astros at 75-64 this season. They still lead the American League West, but did drop a game off that lead. They now lead the Seattle Mariners by 5.5 games with three-plus weeks to go.

The Astros were doomed from the start in this one, as rookie starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti allowed nine runs in the first inning. Arrighetti had been on a nice run of late, but the Reds got to him right away thanks to a leadoff home run from Jonathan India.

All in all, Arrighetti went 0.2 innings. He surrendered the nine runs, all earned. He walked three and struck out one. His outing was on the wrong side of some unique baseball history.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Starts of fewer than 1 IP while allowing 3+ BB, 6+ hits and 9+ ER - Modern era of MLB (1900-present):
#Astros Spencer Arrighetti (Tonight vs CIN)
Carlos Martinez (6/2/2021)
Jeremy Guthrie (4/8/2017)
Jason Jennings (7/29/2007)
Luke Hudson (8/13/2006)
Orlando Hernandez (6/18/2000)

Suffering the loss, Arrighetti is now 7-12 this season with a 5.26 ERA. The 24-year-old has thrown 125.0 innings in the wake of pitching injuries to Lance McCullers Jr., Justin Verlander, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy.

The Astros will take on the Reds again on Thursday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:10 p.m. ET. Young right-hander Hunter Brown will pitch for Houston while top prospect Rhett Lowder goes for the Reds.

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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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