Let's pray on this, Brother Nook. Gritty performance by Blanco. Too many ******* walks and pitches. But gave 5 at least. Good on him.
With the days off no reason Espada should have forced that with Blanco grinding, but good job making his pitches to get out clean.
We're using 6 starters right now so we're a man down in the bullpen where a Dubin or Martinez would normally be. I would still trust him over any guy currently not on the roster unless Whitley has a K-Rod like run in him.
He was trying get Blanco qualified for the win -- not necessarily smart, but that's why Espada did it. Official scorers can be lenient about "hits" during a no-no. Once Yordan hit the HR, it was probably changed.
They mentioned yesterday that they have the opposite mindset… more off-days means more time for rest in between outings (or skipping guys) means you can push? I would think the only main concern would be injury… but Blanco built like a tank and he’s not technically young.
With the way the starters have gone for more than a month now (unprecedented in the golden era), it’s allowed for every version of bullpen management/flexibility known to man.
You know he’s from South Africa? (Sorry… that’s still stuck in my head from earlier this season… it was the Astros 2024 version of “did you know Soto is only 19?”)