The Astros stand at 5-11, tied for the worst record in the American League. At the same point in 2015, the Astros owned a 9-7 record and led the AL West. A big reason for the slide is the poor performance of the starting pitchers.
Through 16 games in 2015, Astros starters pitched 96 innings with a 3.28 ERA. They owned a low walk rate, a decent K rate, and a home run rate of 0.84 per nine innings. This season, the walk rate is a hair higher, the strikeout rate is higher, but the home run rate is much higher, 1.43 per nine innings. The starters have not lasted as long either, pitching just 88 innings.
The home run rate is a bit amplified by a high BABIP of .333, compared tp .272 through the first 16 starts of 2015. Is it the defense? The Astros as staff (including relievers) allow the highest line drive percentage in the league, and the highest ratio of home runs to fly balls. It seems batters are meeting the ball solidly against Houston pitchers. We’ll see if thing improve one Lance Mcullers returns to the rotation.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1MNV8de
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