Javier’s gem, better 'pen push Astros to .500

HOUSTON -- Maybe the Astros should petition to play the Mariners every night.

The Astros are at 10-10 at the one-third mark of the condensed 60-game season, with half of those wins coming against Seattle -- a team Houston has now defeated 23 times in 25 games since the start of 2019.

On Saturday night at Minute Maid Park, Cristian Javier allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, Yuli Gurriel homered for the second game in a row and Ryan Pressly swiftly shut the door on eight pitches in the ninth inning for his second save to lead the Astros to their third consecutive win, 2-1.

• Box score

Here are three key developments from Saturday’s win:

Javier scoreless despite lack of best stuff
Javier, who gave up five runs in three innings in his previous start in Sunday’s loss in Oakland, didn’t have great control on Saturday, walking three, but he had two double plays behind him and a key caught-stealing by catcher Martín Maldonado. He struck out the first three hitters he faced but threw only 48 of his 88 pitches for strikes.

Despite some control problems, Javier’s pitch velocity was noticeably higher Saturday. According to Statcast, he averaged 92.6 mph on his fastball, up from 91.9 mph in his previous start, and 79.3 mph on his slider, up from 77.3 mph last time. Overall, Javier was averaging nearly 3 mph faster on all his pitches than his previous start.

“Tonight, he had life on his fastball from the opening pitch,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I always look at Maldy, and so he gives me the sign. The last time he pitched, he looked over and gave me the sign the ball is not jumping out of his hand and into the glove. Tonight, he gave me a positive sign. It’s just a matter of him finding the strike zone.”

The reputation for Javier coming through the Minor Leagues was that he was unflappable. He rarely showed emotion on the mound, which certainly helps when you’re not getting some of the balls like he wanted Saturday.

“I just have to keep believing in myself and keeping calm on the mound,” Javier said. “I got a lot of help from Maldonado as well, to keep attacking the strike zone.”

In five big league outings (four starts), Javier has a 2.91 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. He’s allowing 4.57 hits per nine innings.

Altuve asks to be moved down in order
Baker granted struggling second baseman Jose Altuve his request Saturday by moving him down in the batting order. Altuve was originally slotted in his usual third spot in the order, but he went into Baker’s office shortly before first pitch and asked to be moved. He batted seventh in the order for the first time since his rookie season in 2011 and went 1-for-3 with an RBI groundout. He’s slashing .181/.253/.313 in 19 games.

“Jose came into my office and told me, ‘Hey man, I’m not helping the club right now at the top of the lineup, and I appreciate the respect you’re giving me,’ on what he’s done in his career,” Baker said. “He said, ‘The guys ahead of me are swinging the bat better and playing better,’ and he just wants to win and get us into the playoffs. ... He’s a consummate team man.”

Baker said only one other player had ever asked to be moved down the lineup in his 23-year managerial career, though he declined to say which player.

“I’ve been in thousands of lineups and made out thousands of lineups, and guys usually don’t say, ‘Put me down in the order,’” Baker said. “It’s a pride thing, especially if you've been hitting first, second or third most of your life. That was big for him to tell me that, and he hit the ball hard tonight. He looked good, and it relieved a little pressure.”

Pressly said Altuve is one of the best teammates he’s had in his career and is as honest as they come.

“He’s putting a lot of pressure on himself right now, and for him to go in there and ask Dusty to bump him down the order, that shows a lot about how he can swallow his pride and try to get some good, quality at-bats,” he said.

Bullpen stabilizing
Slowly but surely, the Astros’ bullpen -- which featured nine rookies only a few weeks ago because of injuries -- is rounding into form. Pressly was dazzling in closing out the win, needing only eight pitches in the ninth. Josh James got back on track, too, with a scoreless seventh.

“These guys have stepped into some big roles and helped this team out a lot. Some of them haven't even pitched above Double-A,” Pressly said of the young pitchers. “They’ve definitely stepped in and done their role. I’m awfully proud of them. As long as we can keep this going and keep it moving and learn as we go, it’s going to be a really good bullpen and a really good pitching staff.”

The Astros’ bullpen, which is down to only five rookies following the activation of Joe Biagini and trade for Brooks Raley, has allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings in the past three games. That came on a solo homer in the eighth on Saturday by Mariners rookie Evan White off Raley.

“We've got a little more stability in the bullpen than we had two weeks ago,” Baker said.