The Houston Astros had to scrap all the way through Game 162 of the regular season to win the American League West and finally secure a spot in the postseason, but even in doing so, they didn’t do too much damage exhausting their best starting pitching options for the playoffs.

The Astros were forced to go with a bullpen game for Tuesday’s opener of the wild-card series against the Chicago White Sox, but will have Hunter Brown on full rest for Wednesday’s Game 2 and Hayden Wesneski ready to go for a potential Game 3, if necessary.

Peter Lambert, the team’s most reliable starter throughout the season, pitched in Sunday’s regular season finale and could be available out of the bullpen as soon as Game 2, but he faded a bit down the stretch, while Brown and Wesneski proved to be the Astros’ best starting options.

“Having those (two) guys healthy with regular rest is super valuable for us,” Astros manager Joe Espada said before Game 1.

Brown (8-10, 3.82 ERA), who went 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his five September starts, is Houston’s undeniable ace and the only available starter with actual playoff experience. Although, he’s just 28 years old, that experience has left the right-hander playing the role of savvy vet, talking to some of the younger pitchers on the staff about what to expect in the playoffs, especially when the crowd at Daikin Park gets rolling in the postseason.

“Everybody’s excited about this game today and tomorrow, being here in Houston,” Brown said. “That’s kind of what’s going around (the clubhouse) is how loud the crowd gets and things like that. Just kind of trying to manage that and be prepared for that.”

Brown, who likely will oppose Chicago’s Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34 ERA) in Game 2, has started just one playoff game in his career, but he has plenty of postseason experience. 

He made his big-league debut in September 2022 and pitched well enough to earn a playoff roster spot, putting up three scoreless relief appearances en route to a World Series title. He came out of the bullpen again in the 2023 playoffs, allowing two runs in seven innings over four appearances for a team that took the eventual champion Texas Rangers to seven games in the American League Championship Series.

His lone playoff start came two years ago when he gave up just one run over 5 ⅔ innings in Game 2 of the wild-card series loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Since that outing, Brown has established himself as an ace, making the All-Star team last season while posting a career-best 2.43 ERA and coming back strong this season after a shoulder injury sidelined him for more than two months in the first half of the year.

“I feel like in ’24, I was still kind of trying to figure out my arsenal and things like that,” Brown said. “Now, I kind of know what I do and what I like to do, what I’m good at executing and what I’m not as good at. I think I’m just a little bit more confident and know myself a little bit more as a pitcher.”