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Tatsuya Imai worked three shutout innings for the Astros in Wednesday's bullpen game against the Giants, but things teetered early on in his outing. (Jed Jacobsohn/AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
SAN FRANCISCO - Two starting pitchers were available Wednesday afternoon, but instead the Houston Astros trotted out an opener for their series finale at Oracle Park. Bryan King took the ball for his first start at any professional level, underscoring the tenuous rotation of a team with playoff aspirations.
The plan produced a win, ultimately. Three pitchers kept a precarious first two innings from spiraling. A Giants team playing out the season gifted the Astros the game-tying run in a seventh-inning meltdown, and two sacrifice flies rewarded five scoreless innings from Houston's top leverage relievers.
"We put that together yesterday, just based on where we're at as a club," manager Joe Espada said of the pitching plan after his team's 2-1 win. "And those guys stepped up and did a nice job."
Where the Astros were at, as of Wednesday afternoon, was one game up in the American League West with 40 games left in the regular season and apparent reservations about half of the six starters on the active roster making a start in a meaningful scenario.
Passing on asking prices for pitching at the trade deadline left the Astros reliant on rotation options in place. The dilemma that could create down the stretch is evident. Two of their starters just returned from elbow surgeries. Two others have joined the bullpen this season amid struggles.
Wednesday, the Astros played a rubber game against a Giants club with the second-worst record in the National League. Both Tatsuya Imai and Ronel Blanco were available, Espada declared before the game.
The Astros opted not to start Blanco, who has a 6.98 ERA in his first four starts back from elbow surgery, on four days' rest. Imai had pitched once in 15 days since a derailment in Anaheim that spurred his shift to the bullpen. Neither started against a Giants offense averaging the fifth-fewest runs in the majors.
Imai did appear as a bulk reliever, and his three scoreless innings bridged the game to Houston's higher-leverage relievers. Blanco never warmed. He has yet to pitch on four days' rest since his return, perhaps making the Astros cautious. But their projected rotation for this weekend is also revealing.
Peter Lambert, Hayden Wesneski and Hunter Brown will start in a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners that begins Friday at Daikin Park, Espada said. Wesneski, also recently back from surgery, and Brown will both pitch on four days' rest, following a team off day Thursday.
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Houston Astros' Jeremy Peña (3) is tagged out by San Francisco Giants' Christian Koss, left, on a double play hit by Jeremy Peña during the sixth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn) (Jed Jacobsohn/AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Houston will skip not only Blanco, then, but Cristian Javier in a series with weighty division implications. The Astros ended Wednesday with a 5 ½-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West. They are 1-7 this season against Seattle, their offense averaging 3.3 runs in eight games against its pitching staff.
Javier had rejoined the rotation for two turns after being stowed in the bullpen upon his return from a shoulder injury. He has a 6.68 ERA over 32 ⅓ innings this season. Imai has a 5.29 ERA over his 64 ⅔ innings, including a 5.83 mark in 15 starts, five of which have lasted fewer than three innings.
Finding some stability in the rotation outside of Brown, Lambert and Wesneski over the next 40 games feels paramount. Houston's top-heavy offense is scuffling, but its bullpen owns the third-lowest ERA in the majors since June 1, an asset if the starters are able to hand off a lead.
Running a bullpen game Wednesday raises the question of whether the Astros could consider doing so occasionally down the stretch to mitigate some starters' struggles. But that would risk taxing a bullpen already ranked seventh in the majors in innings pitched, ahead of a possible playoff run.
"Obviously, their decision," said Okert. "But I think it all comes to - we got some innings covered before today. Both starters (in the first two games) went deep, so it was fine for today. But hopefully if we have to do it again it lines up that way, where we're all able to go in and contribute the best way we can."
Wesneski, in his third start back from elbow surgery, worked seven innings in Monday's opener against the Giants. Brown lasted five innings Tuesday, but Houston used just three relievers in a loss, with only Bennett Sousa covering more than three outs. That left virtually the full bullpen available Wednesday.
2026 ASTROS STATS
| BATTERS | AVG | OBA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | .243 | .319 | 4108 | 559 | 1000 | 182 | 11 | 162 | 532 | 411 | 987 | 38 | 16 | 53 |
| Alvarez | .322 | .436 | 435 | 80 | 140 | 25 | 0 | 35 | 87 | 84 | 91 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Peña | .290 | .348 | 293 | 55 | 85 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 38 | 21 | 66 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Correa | .279 | .369 | 122 | 22 | 34 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 18 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Delgado | .273 | .314 | 33 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Shewmake | .256 | .272 | 78 | 10 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Allen | .255 | .298 | 110 | 18 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Paredes | .254 | .346 | 422 | 46 | 107 | 21 | 1 | 15 | 62 | 46 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Diaz | .252 | .282 | 226 | 25 | 57 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 9 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Altuve | .240 | .304 | 371 | 54 | 89 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 35 | 33 | 82 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Walker | .236 | .316 | 432 | 59 | 102 | 24 | 1 | 22 | 67 | 42 | 112 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trammell | .235 | .324 | 166 | 26 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 18 | 56 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Harris | .226 | .286 | 31 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Smith | .224 | .295 | 392 | 52 | 88 | 15 | 2 | 16 | 44 | 35 | 107 | 10 | 2 | 5 |
| Wade | .221 | .348 | 77 | 11 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Loperfido | .216 | .314 | 102 | 13 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 14 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Meyers | .213 | .268 | 141 | 15 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Dezenzo | .213 | .280 | 75 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Vázquez | .211 | .264 | 204 | 18 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 15 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Matthews | .197 | .250 | 208 | 23 | 41 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 15 | 71 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Price | .167 | .231 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Spence | .162 | .244 | 37 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cole | .157 | .189 | 51 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Johnson | .143 | .294 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Whitcomb | .130 | .167 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Varsho | .125 | .243 | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Salazar | .056 | .227 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Velázquez | .000 | .000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
___
| PITCHERS | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 62 | 60 | 4.54 | 122 | 122 | 38 | 1081.1 | 958 | 586 | 546 | 164 | 504 | 1061 |
| Meyers | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hader | 4 | 1 | 0.96 | 29 | 0 | 17 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 38 |
| Santa | 0 | 1 | 1.17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 15.1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| VanWey | 1 | 0 | 1.50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Okert | 6 | 1 | 2.11 | 59 | 1 | 0 | 59.2 | 39 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 60 |
| Sousa | 0 | 1 | 3.00 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| Lambert | 8 | 6 | 3.09 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 113.2 | 87 | 40 | 39 | 12 | 44 | 111 |
| Blubaugh | 4 | 2 | 3.48 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 58 | 31 | 29 | 10 | 33 | 77 |
| Pearson | 1 | 0 | 3.60 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 16 |
| Brown | 3 | 2 | 3.68 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 63.2 | 46 | 28 | 26 | 8 | 35 | 67 |
| Wesneski | 2 | 0 | 3.86 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 18.2 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| King | 2 | 3 | 3.96 | 48 | 1 | 6 | 50 | 50 | 24 | 22 | 7 | 19 | 41 |
| De Los Santos | 1 | 3 | 4.15 | 53 | 0 | 5 | 56.1 | 53 | 29 | 26 | 7 | 13 | 53 |
| Abreu | 4 | 3 | 4.19 | 46 | 0 | 7 | 43 | 29 | 22 | 20 | 7 | 30 | 57 |
| Teng | 5 | 6 | 4.35 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 68.1 | 62 | 37 | 33 | 10 | 30 | 67 |
| Arrighetti | 7 | 5 | 4.60 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 88 | 68 | 47 | 45 | 12 | 50 | 87 |
| Roa | 0 | 1 | 5.19 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Imai | 6 | 4 | 5.29 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 64.2 | 53 | 38 | 38 | 9 | 42 | 80 |
| Bolton | 0 | 1 | 5.40 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 22 |
| Ullola | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Burrows | 4 | 9 | 5.99 | 18 | 17 | 0 | 94.2 | 112 | 69 | 63 | 21 | 35 | 75 |
| Javier | 1 | 3 | 6.68 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 32.1 | 39 | 24 | 24 | 6 | 16 | 25 |
| McCullers | 2 | 3 | 6.86 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 39.1 | 38 | 32 | 30 | 7 | 22 | 43 |
| Blanco | 0 | 1 | 6.98 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 19.1 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| Murray | 0 | 0 | 7.43 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 | 19 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Weiss | 0 | 3 | 7.62 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 35 | 24 | 22 | 8 | 20 | 30 |
| France | 0 | 0 | 8.10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Salazar | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alexander | 1 | 1 | 9.33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 18.1 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
| Gordon | 0 | 0 | 11.57 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9.1 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| Muñoz | 0 | 0 | 15.75 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
King, the left-hander, drew the opener task with three left-handed hitters in the first four spots of the Giants' lineup. King retired two of them, but he walked right-handed Willy Adames and Rafael Devers, spurring Espada to make a first-inning pitching change. Both Imai and Enyel De Los Santos had started warming, the latter in case King did not make it through the first.
De Los Santos drew right-handed Victor Bericoto, who lined an RBI single. Drew Gilbert walked to load the bases. De Los Santos kept the game on the rails by inducing a pop-up from Osleivis Basabe.
"Getting out with one (run) and being able to hold it down was huge," Okert said. "Each guy did his part. We went out there and filled up the zone, defense was great. … The offense will score, so as long as we can keep us in the game I feel like we have a chance every day."
That has proven difficult at times for Imai in a tumultuous first MLB season. Command problems, when there, seem to manifest early. Imai walked his first batter in the second inning. His next singled, turning the lineup over. Imai induced pop-ups from Jung Hoo Lee and Adames, walked Bryce Eldrige to load the bases and escaped when Devers pulled a 109 mph one-hopper at second baseman Nick Allen.
"I think going in my first inning I had a little less game feeling than I usually have and I think I wasn't able to control as much as I'm able to," Imai said, through interpreter Shio Enomoto. "But I didn't give up any runs, so I think that's a good part. After that, I was able to attack the zone better."
Imai worked two more scoreless innings. He again threw only fastballs and sliders, allowing some sharp contact, but only three hits. Espada said three innings was "exactly what we needed from him," after an eight-day layoff, a reflection of currently reduced expectations.
"I never really threw as a bullpen guy before," Imai said. "It's been a new thing and it's been hard to adjust, but I think I've been able to adjust. Whenever I have those start days where I (leave) in the first inning, now I know how the bullpen guys feel. So if there's another game that I start, I'm going to put that in my mind and try to contribute to the team and try to perform well."
In this game, Imai contributed enough to let Espada start using his back-end relievers. AJ Blubaugh, pitching for a second straight day, recorded five outs. A two-out single by Christian Koss turned the lineup over in the sixth. Okert entered for the left-handed top and recorded four outs, allowing one batted ball out of the infield. Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader followed with clean innings.
The Giants managed one baserunner over the final five innings. The Astros salvaged a series win as a result ahead of an off day Thursday that will allow the full bullpen to rest. Another looms Monday after the Seattle series. How the rotation will set up from there remains to be seen.
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Bullpen game works but highlights questions about Houston Astros' rotation. Do they have enough?.
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