First-inning woes becoming an 'Achilles heel' for Gomber

HOUSTON -- Austin Gomber’s first-inning struggles continued Tuesday night, but his final 4 1/3 innings gave an eye into how dominant the left-hander could be.

Gomber allowed hits to seven of the first 10 Astros he faced and was solid after that as the Rockies fell to Houston, 5-2, at Minute Maid Park.

He allowed five runs on six singles in the first.

“It seems like it’s been my Achilles heel this year, is the first inning,” Gomber said. “I’ve got to find a way to make an adjustment there. I’m pretty proud of being able to come back and settle in and get us deeper into the game.”

Of the 43 runs Gomber has allowed this season, 23 have been in the first inning. He has allowed 15 first-inning runs in his five June starts. He has been scored on in the first inning in nine of his 15 starts this season, and opponents are now batting .414 (29-for-70) in the first inning against the left-hander.

Gomber said part of the issue in the first inning, specifically on the road, is that he is trying to throw all four pitches like he does at home.

“I think my game plan, my attack in the first, specifically on the road, might be a little different,” Gomber said. “I’m not giving respect to my fastball and my curveball. … I think it might be a pitch sequencing thing or not executing. Whatever the case may be, just got to find a way to make an adjustment and come out of the gates a little better.”

After Jose Altuve singled to start the second, Gomber retired the next 13 batters before a Jake Meyers double ended his night.

Gomber surrendered five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He did not walk a batter for the fourth start this season.

“I thought I had really good stuff tonight,” Gomber said. “I thought from the second on I threw the ball really well. I think it’s just an approach, game plan type thing in the first. … It kind of takes me an inning to adjust to being on the road and having different shapes and having better stuff. I have to come out with a better game plan and make better pitches early.”

The left-hander relied heavily on his four-seam fastball, throwing it 46 times out of 89 total pitches (52% of the time).

“I thought I had a really good fastball,” Gomber said. “I was throwing a little bit harder than I typically do tonight. I had really good carry on the ball. I felt like it was just kind of beating them. When I went to the fastball, I started getting some weak, lazy fly balls, so we tried to stick with that.”

Rockies manager Bud Black said it looked like the Astros were sitting on Gomber’s offspeed pitches in the first inning, which is why the left-hander went fastball-heavy from the second onward.

“Just up instead of down, and then, shifted gears quickly and started throwing the fastball in good spots,” Black said. “He beat them with his fastball both in and down and away. He reeled it back in, which was what we needed. That game could have gotten ugly early, but [Gomber], to his credit, did a nice job.”

Black said he wanted to see Gomber rely more on his fastball throughout the game.

“For me, 90, 91, 92 [mph] with his angle, it has some carry to it, I think that’s the remedy,” Black said. “Just locate that fastball a little bit better throughout the game like he did innings two through six.”

Gomber has struggled in June, allowing 24 runs over 23 innings in five starts during the month.

The Rockies got a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Brendan Rodgers and had runners on the corners with one out, but Ryan Pressly induced a double play from Nolan Jones to end the threat.

Michael Toglia hit a solo home run to left off Josh Hader in the ninth.

“We just couldn’t get anything going against [Astros starter Hunter] Brown,” Black said. “We had some opportunities, but we just couldn’t get the big hits like the Astros did in the first inning.”