Astros Biggest Concern Grows Larger After Brutal Week

There are stretches in a baseball season that can wear down a team. The Houston Astros are in the midst of a grueling 10-game road stretch and are now on a six-game losing streak heading into Sunday. The latest loss was a gut punch in the fashion of an 8-7 walk-off loss to the Seattle Mariners.

The Astros overcame an early 2-0 deficit in the first inning with seven runs of their own. Lance McCullers Jr. ran into trouble in the fifth inning, and Seattle tied the game at seven. In the ninth inning, Bryan Abreu walked the bases loaded and allowed a walk-off single to J.P. Crawford.

While the week isn't over yet for Houston, it's been one to forget. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Astros are 0-6 this week despite scoring six or more runs in four of the games. The problem is the pitching staff has surrendered eight or more runs five times this week.

The Short-Handed Pitching Staff is a Massive Issue

Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. delivers a pitch. | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Houston's pitching staff has been decimated by injuries. The Astros suffered a major setback when Hunter Brown hit the injured list with a right shoulder strain. Since then, Cristian Javier also suffered a right shoulder strain, and Tatsuya Imai exited his last start in the first inning with right arm fatigue.

Even when they are healthy, the results have been underwhelming. Entering Sunday, Houston has a team ERA of 6.47, which is the highest in baseball. According to CodifyBaseball, the Astros are just the seventh team to have that ERA or higher in the first 15 games.

The last team to do it was the 2023 Oakland Athletics. All seven teams failed to win 70 games that season. It's an obvious concern with no answer at the moment. The Astros will likely have to turn to free agency to address the issue, but there is no guarantee that it will fix it.

On top of the injuries, Houston doesn't have a day off until April 23rd. They'll play 13 games in a row before a day off. The bullpen has been taxed, and there aren't enough healthy arms to keep the Astros competitive. The offense hasn't been the issue. The 92 runs scored lead the league.

Yordan Alvarez is off to a scorching start to his 2026 campaign, posting a .360 batting average with six home runs and 14 RBIs. Houston has five guys with a batting average of .300 or higher.

However, if the pitching staff can't get healthy and sort through its issues, it will be a wasted opportunity for Joe Espada's team.