Blanco stays solid while navigating career-high workload

HOUSTON -- After providing a much-needed reinforcement to the Astros’ starting rotation in the first half, Ronel Blanco is still searching for his first win since the All-Star break.

Blanco struck out seven batters in five innings, while allowing six hits and issuing two walks in Saturday night’s 6-1 loss to the Rays at Minute Maid Park. Josh Lowe, who logged his first four-hit game of his career, got to Blanco with a two-run blast in the fifth. Blanco retired the next batter before being replaced in the sixth.

“I think it was a really good outing, you know -- one bad pitch ruined the game,” Blanco said through a translator.

It’s worth mentioning that Blanco is pitching more this season than he ever has in his Major League career. He’s already up to 124 innings this season. He threw 125 1/3 innings between the Minors and Majors during the entirety of his 2023 season.

Blanco has not thrown six innings since July 14 against the Rangers, and has logged seven frames just once in his past seven outings.

“I think [these are] uncharted waters for him and we’re keeping a close eye on him,” manager Joe Espada said. “So you know, we’ve got to see how he bounces back and how he feels. But [when] we look at his stuff, it still looks the same. I just wish that he could get through innings a bit quicker, but hey, that’s what happens when you start playing deep into the season.”

Blanco could catch a bit of a break soon, once Justin Verlander works his way back. Verlander is set to throw a simulated game on Sunday before being sent out on a Minor League rehab assignment. The Astros would most likely move to a six-man rotation once Verlander is ready to rejoin the team, which would allow Blanco to get an extra day of rest.

Houston’s offense also wasn’t much help to Blanco on Saturday. Jon Singleton hit his ninth homer of the season in the second inning, but that was all for the Astros. Houston was outhit 13-5, setting up a rubber match Sunday.

León makes Major League debut
Right fielder Pedro León made his Major League debut Saturday, batting ninth. He logged his first Major League hit in his first at-bat, hitting a single off Zack Littell, but was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double.

“I was thinking two [bases] right out of the gate, but unfortunately it wasn’t able to happen,” León said through a translator. “But you know, I’m here to learn from a lot of the mistakes that I’ve made in the past.”

Even though he wasn’t able to advance to second base, Espada liked the aggressiveness that he saw from León.

“We talked about what he could’ve done differently, but hey, he’s excited -- Major League debut,” Espada said. “It comes with the territory, you know, mistakes that happen to young players. But I love that. Be aggressive because we can always help you turn it down a little bit.”

As for the ball that was his first Major League hit, León plans to keep it as a memory of this career milestone.

“I’m going to keep it as a memory. It’s probably the biggest moment that’s happened so far in my career,” León said. “It’s one of the biggest moments that’s going to happen in my professional baseball career.”

León, who is the Astros’ No. 24 prospect per MLB Pipeline, logged 110 hits and 19 homers in 370 at-bats for Triple-A Sugar Land this year before being called up.

León had multiple family members in attendance at Saturday’s game, including his parents, brother, girlfriend and two close friends. He was also thinking about his supporters back home in Cuba.

“Those guys are probably my biggest supporters, my biggest fan base there,” León said. “And then you know, all the people and the trainers that supported me along the way that don’t know me as Pedro León, they probably know me as Pedrito. They’re the ones that I’ve also reached out to and have always supported me.”