Inside the Astros

Houston Astros Ace Joins Elite Franchise Company As Scoreless Streak Ends

The Houston Astros ace has joined some great company of former stars after his scoreless streak reached it's end.
Dylan Sanders|
Apr 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown (58) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Apr 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown (58) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

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Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have a burgeoning superstar on their pitching staff, and he just established himself with some great company in the franchise's history books after his latest feat.

Starting pitcher Hunter Brown pitched 28 consecutive scoreless innings, which is the fifth-longest streak in team history. That was broken on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals after a double from Bobby Witt Jr. drove in a run.

Brown has become a serious AL Cy Young candidate and looks like the Astros' next true ace, which comes at a great time since Framber Valdez will become a free agent after the year.

Roy Oswalt holds the Houston record with 32.1 consecutive scoreless innings.

The other pitchers who are ahead of him on the list are J.R. Richard, Don Wilson and Darryl Kile.

This is about as good of company as the youngster could hope to be in.

Oswalt was a 10-year Astros pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and also a consistent Cy Young candidate. He was one of the key pieces of the 2005 team that made it to the World Series.

Richard also spent a decade as an ace for Houston. He had a career ERA of just 3.15. While he never brought home a Cy Young Award, he was a consistent candidate during the later seasons of his career.

Wilson spent nine years the Astros and had a career 3.15 ERA. His No. 40 jersey is retired and he is a member of the team's Hall of Fame, along with Oswalt.

Wilson also threw two no-hitters during his career.

Kile wasn't with the team as long as the others, but he still spent seven solid seasons with the team. He pitched a no-hitter and was a three-time All-Star.

Houston fans would love for Brown to follow this path and be with the team for a while.

The Astros have become prone to allowing their star players to leave in free agency, but the ace is beginning to look too good to let walk.

The 26-year-old has a 1.22 ERA through six starts and didn't allow a run in the last three before Sunday's matchup with the Royals.

His stuff looks incredible and his control is better than ever.

Brown will give up another run at some point, but his ascension looks like the real deal.

He has consistently gotten better with each passing campaign, but he was already a very solid starter last year.

The fact that he was able to go up another notch is a great sign for what's to come.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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