Colton Gordon may not dazzle in most of his starts, but he has assisted in bridging the gap in the starting rotation since his debut on May 14. All with a four-seam fastball averaging around 91 mph, which accounts for nearly 38% of his pitch usage. Only 23 qualified pitchers in baseball have a lower average four-seam velocity. While velocity remains supreme for pitchers, Gordon’s approach is a pleasant reminder that there are other ways to succeed on the mound. The question for him and the Astros is whether any success is sustainable.

Against the Guardians on Friday evening, Gordon certainly made the case that it could, as much as we can evaluate a one-game performance. Securing his first career win as a Major League pitcher, the left-hander struck out seven over five innings of one-run ball. Supported by some excellent outfield defense, Gordon encountered few issues in his first four innings against the Guardians. However, that fifth inning proved a bit tricky, with Cleveland having two runners on base and only one out. That’s when the lone run of Gordon’s night occurred, as Will Wilson drove in Daniel Schneemann on a RBI single to make it a 3-1 score. But credit to Gordon and, again, the defense as they got out of the jam without further issue. My heart rate had a different opinion, though.

Advertisement

Was the lineup spectacular on this night? Not necessarily, but those guys did enough to generate four runs. Jeremy Peña had another multi-hit performance, this time with three, all singles. Jose Altuve also had two singles. Isaac Paredes drew three walks. Christian Walker drove in two. Brendan Rodgers appeared and hit his second home run of the season. They kept pressure on the Guardians’ pitching staff all game long, with at least one baserunner in each inning and some aggressive baserunning.

Overall, ten hits, six walks, and a hit-by-pitch marked Houston’s performance against Logan Allen, Matt Festa, Tim Herrin, and Nic Enright. However, with that much traffic, four runs seemed a bit on the low side. The only extra-base hit was Rodgers’ solo home run in the sixth inning, with all other hits being singles. Despite having a roughly league-average on-base percentage (.317) entering this game, the Astros ranked 22nd in runs scored and isolated power. To compensate, they will likely need to be aggressive on the basepaths in most games, similar to their approach on Friday with Peña and Altuve.

But a win is a win, especially on the road after a three-plus hour delay in Pittsburgh the night before. Houston is now two and a half games ahead of the Mariners for the AL West lead, as Seattle lost 5-4 to the Angels. Hunter Brown will get the starting nod on Saturday, with Gavin Williams taking the mound for Cleveland.

BOX SCORE HERE

Advertisement

More from crawfishboxes.com: