Some folks may not know that the worldwide famous acronym YIE was invented here at Chipalatta. It stands for Yes, It’s Early, and we roll it out when, well, it is early.
Like now.
This looked like it would be a very different post when the Astros were sitting at 0-2 and were halfway through what looked like another lethargic offensive and pitching effort in game three. Trailing 6-0 and looking quite dead, the remote control was bopping over to the NCAA tournament, even with the UH Cougars out for the rest of the season.
But as most folks know, the Astros went charging past the Angels and held on for dear life for an 11-9 win Saturday and then followed it up with a back-and-forth Sunday that ended up 9-7 to the good.
So, what do we think so far…
Negative – YIE
- The three pitchers directly behind Hunter Brown in the rotation all fell pretty hard over the weekend. Friday, Mike Burrows positively got through 5.2 innings with 6 Ks but gave up 9 hits including 2 homers and 5 runs. Cristian Javier limped through 4.2 innings, giving up 6 runs and 2 home runs. Tatsuya Imai couldn’t find the plate and only made it through 2.2 innings while blowing a 4 run lead giving up 4 walks and 4 runs.
- Bryan Abreu came into a non-save 5 run lead on Saturday, got two quick outs, walked 2 and then gave up a 3 run homer to raise the tensions for everyone before securing the third out. On Sunday, in a save situation with a 3 run lead, Abreu got one out, but again couldn’t find the plate walking two around the out and bringing the tying run to the plate. Bryan King came in to secure the save.
- A couple of the hitters the Astros were depending upon had low or very low BAs – Cam Smith – .077 BA/ Isaac Paredes – .188 BA. . But as you will see – that is not the whole story for these hitters. Cam scored 3 runs in the last two games of the series and more importantly he was flying to the far reaches of right field to snag a number of big outs. Paredes scored 3 runs and knocked in 4 runs and has showed up at 1B, 2B, 3B and DH in the four games series.
- The Angels out homered the Astros 9 to 1 during the series. But the dominance did not show up in the win column as they split the series. Another stat was important, team-to-team. The Angels had 7 errors and the Astros had none. This was especially critical in the game 3 comeback as the Angels committed two errors to help feed the 8 run inning by the Astros.
Positive – YIE
- Hunter Brown’s 4 walks helped to limit him to 4.2 innings, but he had 9 Ks and kept the Angels off the scoreboard in another of his hard-luck no-decision outings. He looked season-ready.
- Christian Walker has been hitting like someone who watched a lot of his 2025 at bats in the offseason and wanted to do something about it. After 4 games, he has 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, and 3 doubles, and seems to be catching up on fastballs he missed last season, posting a .308 BA and only 1 K to date.
- Joey Loperfido after a hot Spring Training is leading the team with a .333 BA even with a 1 for 5 on Sunday.
- Yordan Alvarez is matching Walker’s .308 BA and leads the team with a 1.141 OPS. The opponents have not wanted to pitch to him with people in scoring position, as his 5 walks to date attest.
- AJ Blubaugh has had two good outings to date. He lost the opener giving up a homer to Mike Trout (who hasn’t) but was awarded the win in game 4 with his nice two-inning stint.
- Newcomer Kai-Wei Teng earned the win on Saturday with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. He looked good and happened to be pitching when the team scored 11 straight runs behind him.
- Even with the multi shifts around the infield, the defense looked strong no matter who was playing where.
In the end, the Astros dug out of that 0-2 hole to end up 2-2 and a half game behind the team that shall not be named from Arlington in the AL West. The Red Sox face them tomorrow, and hopefully, Lance McCullers Jr. will channel his inner Hunter Brown and not his inner Imai, Burrows, or Javier.
There are concerns and other things that we can enjoy. But Yes, It’s Early.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
One response to “Astros’ 2026: The ultimate YIE”
Good morning!
First things first. Did the Huskies come all the way back, or did Duke give it all back? Unfortunately, for those like me that had Duke winning it all, they really had a terrible breakdown in those last ten seconds. They didn’t even need to get the ball across the mid court line. The Huskies would have been forced to foul. But give Connecticut credit for adding to the lore of March Madness. A finish like no other.
Dan, getting out homered 9-1 is not sustainable for the Astros. Nice to see some of the guys get some big hits, but let’s face it, the Angels should have left town with three wins. They were terrible defensively.
I think Rome noted the ERA of the Astro starters through 4 games is 7.94. And our 5th starter, Lance McCullers has a tough assignment tonight. I’m pretty sure our rotation will be less worse than it has looked so far though. But our pen is simply not sustainable. And heck, Bryan Abreu will now be sitting until Wednesday at least. What’s up with his fastball average of 93.2 yesterday? It’s obvious the mechanics are out of whack, because he can’t throw a strike. He was not throwing strikes against the Space Cowboys earlier in the week. If he’s throwing 93.2, there might be a reason for it that none of us want to consider.
Blubaugh is my first series MVP. But who is going to get all the pen outs this week?
I sure like the .444 OBP from Jose. Gosh, if he’s willing to commit, then he’ll start seeing pitches he can hit.
When the Astros win 11-9 and 9-7, they’ll lose as many of those games as they win. We’ll create enough runs to stay in games. But if Dana’s overhauled pitching staff does not come together, then we’re screwed and our GM will be out of a job before the season is over.
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