As the Houston Astros’ three-game weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds began Friday, the probable pitcher for the road squad was Graham Ashcraft.
When Sunday arrived, it was righty Chase Petty getting the start.
It may not have worked out for the Reds as they hoped it would, but the decision behind it was sound, and it could be something that continues to haunt the Astros over the coming weeks.
The Astros’ lineup without Yordan Alvarez is incredibly heavy on the right side of the plate, and it is easy for opposing teams to combat that with their rotation. Just like the Reds did, more teams will alter their rotation to have all of their righty starters on the mound against Houston.
Houston Astros Struggle Against Right-Handed Pitchers
They have struggled against right-handed pitching this season, entering Monday with a .700 OPS against righties. That mark ranks 18th in MLB, even after the strong showing they had on Sunday.
One batter who has been able to overcome the right-handed pitcher onslaught has been Isaac Paredes. Despite his slow start to the year with his new team, he has found more success at the plate of late, and a lot of that success has come against righty pitchers.
Paredes enters Monday with a .264/.380/.407 line overall with four home runs and 17 RBI across 166 plate appearances in 38 games. However, all of his production has come against same-handed hurlers.
Against righties this year, the third baseman has batted .296/.409/.456 with four home runs and 16 RBI across 125 at-bats. Against lefties, he has yet to record a hit in 15 at-bats, but has walked twice and driven in one run.
Paredes has been one of the few bright spots this year against right-handed pitching, and it is a metric in need of team-wide improvement if they expect to continue their dynastic ways for another season.