Baseball: It be Cwazy

What can you say about baseball? Whatever you think at any particular time, wait around a bit, and you will likely be thinking very differently.

Four days ago, the Astros had just lost a series to the below-average Minnesota Twins. And though their pitching had been looking up, their offense had hit the skids. They were 6 games back of the “This Spots for Rent” A’s and 5 games back of the Rangers for the last Wild Card spot.

Then they went to Chicago for a weekend series and rode strong pitching, including 11 shutout innings combined by Spencer Arrighetti and Kai-Wei Teng to take the first two games of the series. In the finale, they fell behind 3-1 to the Cubbies but came roaring back and held on for an 8-5 win and a sweep.

The only other sweep on the season was a first-week snot-knocking of the Red Sox, which seems like a decade ago.

The Astros had momentum coming out of Chicago but were staring at starting their version of a “Cooler” on Memorial Day. (Fans of William H. Macy will get that reference). And in this case Macy was replaced by another 4 letter name in Imai….Tatsuya Imai.

Astro fans were hoping for something like five innings, and three runs out of Imai, with maybe less than five walks based on his lack of control and poise to date in a handful of starts.

That hope was on the skids early as Imai walked the first two Rangers and three of the first four South Oklahomans who batted. But a double play helped him slide through the first without giving up a run. And this is where baseball be cwazy.

Imai settled down hard – stomping on the Rangers’ collective necks and leaving after 6 hitless innings and only one more walk.

Steven Okert came in for his umpteenth appearance of the season and though he gave up a walk, he too left after a hitless frame.

The Astros were meanwhile piling up the runs helped by poor fielding by the opponents and homers from the usual suspects, Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker. Even Nick Allen who hit his first homer in a year and a half against the Cubs continued to contribute like Dick Allen with a couple RBIs. (Well not actually hitting the ball as hard as Dick did.)

Then entering the bottom of the eighth, baseball be cwazy some more.

In a no-hit situation, the Astros sent a young 23 year old (his birthday 3 weeks ago) rookie named Alimber Santa out to the mound for his major league debut. Santa was signed as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic at 18 in 2021. After he had early success in the rookie league, he mostly had his ears boxed about by much older competitors as he climbed up the ranks (facing health issues along the way).

But in 2026, he was pitching brilliantly out of the bullpen at AAA and one thing Astros’ fans will tell you – we have not seen too much pitching brilliance this year.

Santa went out there and did so well in a 3-up-3-down eighth inning that he finished off the Rangers in the ninth inning on 24 pitches and 16 strikes total. His sweeper swept. His slider slid. And all he did was show a coolness and a sharpness that gave his teammates and his new set of fans only positive feelings. He had to wait for an ABS check on his last pitch, which became his first MLB strikeout, but that came almost as quickly as seeing him get mobbed at the mound.

Baseball be cwazy. The Astros are now 3.5 games out of first place and 2.5 games out of the Wild Card. Hunter Brown started his rehab and may be 2-3 weeks away from returning. Josh Hader is a couple of appearances away from a green light.

The team may come back from the near dead here. Baseball be cwazy and I swear I saw Tatsuya Imai smiling last night. I was, too.