Harris sets major league pace for dominant relief pitching
More than a quarter of the way through this season, Will Harris has been one of baseball’s best relief pitchers.
The Astros’ setup man’s 0.42 ERA and 0.69 WHIP are both best among relievers to have logged at least 20 innings. Among relievers, only Kelvin Herrera of the Kansas City Royals has been worth more wins above replacement than Harris, according to FanGraphs.
Harris, a 31-year-old righthander the Astros claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks in November 2014, was stout in his first season with the team last year, posting a 1.90 ERA in 71 regularseason innings.
So far this season, he has been even better. With his 20th consecutive scoreless appearance in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Orioles, Harris has the longest active streak in the majors and the longest for an Astros reliever since Wilton Lopez compiled 20 in a row in 2010.
“I don’t think I’ve really done anything different (compared to last season),” Harris said. “It’s a long year, so who knows how the rest of it’s going to turn out? But so far, I have a game plan of how I’m trying to approach hitters, and (I’m) trying to stay with it and trying to be consistent with that and my preparation every day.”
Harris started the season in more of a utility middle-relief role before supplanting Ken Giles as the Astros’ eighth-inning man. Going into Wednesday’s game, opponents were batting .146 in at-bats ending with Harris’ lowto-mid-90s fastball and .120 against his curveball.
The threat of Harris’ curveball can be just as effective as the pitch itself in disrupting a hitter’s comfort level, Astros manager A.J. Hinch noted.
“He’s got a calm heartbeat,” Hinch said. “He’s a really, really even-keeled competitor, and I trust him in every situation possible.”
Moran endures growing pains
Colin Moran’s transition to facing major league pitching has not been a smooth one. A week into his Astros tenure, the lefthanded-hitting third baseman remains in search of his first hit.
Moran, who was out of the lineup against Orioles righthander Tyler Wilson and did not play Wednesday night, is hitless in his first 12 major league at-bats and has struck out six times. The former sixth overall draft pick struck out four times in his third big league start on Tuesday.
“He’s going to get his first hit. I don’t think he’s going to go hitless,” manager A.J. Hinch quipped before Wednesday’s game. “His bat-to-ball skills are really good. It’s just elusive right now. I think as any younger player when they get up here and they don’t feel success, it’s growing pains a little bit.”
Moran, 23, batted .288 with a .747 OPS in 136 plate appearances with Class AAA Fresno to begin his season. He could soon find himself back there for more seasoning. Carlos Gomez, the player he replaced on the active roster last week, is eligible to return from the disabled list Tuesday.
The Orioles’ pitchers on Tuesday attacked Moran with fastballs on the inner half of the strike zone. Of the 23 pitches Moran saw, only two were breaking balls, and just one was a changeup.
“He’s not having the best start to his time here, but he’s a good hitter,” Hinch said. “He’s going to learn from this experience.”
Musgrove logs stellar start
Joe Musgrove continues on a trajectory that should result in his starting games for the Astros later this summer.
The organization’s closest-to-major-leagueready pitching prospect threw seven innings of onerun ball Wednesday for Class AAA Fresno against Oklahoma City. Starting opposite rehabbing Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu, Musgrove allowed five hits (all singles), struck out seven, and walked none.
Musgrove needed only 63 pitches (50 of which were strikes) to log his first six innings, each scoreless. Oklahoma City tagged him for a run on two singles in the seventh.
The start was Musgrove’s third in Class AAA since his recent promotion from Class AA Corpus Christi. In 18 innings with Fresno, the 23-year-old righthander has allowed only four earned runs.
Odds and ends
The Astros will face three more righthanders in this weekend’s series in Anaheim. Matt Shoemaker starts for the Angels on Friday, Jered Weaver on Saturday and ex-Astros pitcher Nick Tropeano on Sunday. Mike Fiers, Dallas Keuchel and Doug Fister are slated to start for the Astros. …
Carlos Correa has mystifyingly yet to record an extra-base hit against lefthanded pitching. The shortstop is just 5-for-33 with one RBI against lefties. He has seven home runs and eight doubles against righthanders. …
Carlos Gomez homered in the third at-bat of his rehab game with Class AA Corpus Christi on Wednesday, the struggling center fielder’s first home run of the season at any level. He also had three outfield assists, which included throwing two runners out at the plate. …
Alex Bregman made his fifth start at third base for Corpus Christi on Wednesday. The highly touted shortstop/third baseman came into the day leading the minor leagues in OPS (1.104) and, remarkably, had as many homers as strikeouts (12).