The Astros took a 4-0 lead into the seventh inning of ALCS Game 4 on Tuesday night, appearing to be on their way to a 3-1 series lead over the Yankees. Instead, they ended up losing 6-4 and the series is even at two games apiece.
The bullpen gave up five of the six runs in the seventh and eighth innings, continuing a trend of unreliable pitching this postseason. Here’s a look at each individual pitching performance for Astros relievers since the start of the ALDS.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
| Chris Devenski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Will Harris | 2/3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Francisco Liriano | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Musgrove | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Devenski | 1 1/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Luke Gregerson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ken Giles | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Francisco Liriano | 1/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lance McCullers | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Chris Devenski | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Musgrove | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Luke Gregerson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Justin Verlander | 2 2/3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Ken Giles | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chris Devenski | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Giles | 1 2/3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Will Harris | 1/3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Collin McHugh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Chris Devenski | 1/3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Musgrove | 2/3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Giles | 1/3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Gregerson | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 24 2/3 | 25 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 20 | 6 |
For those keeping score at home, that’s a 6.20 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.65 BB/9, 2.19 HR/9, and an even two-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio.
It’s not that the Astros’ bullpen isn’t talented. Though the club posted only the 10th-best ERA (4.27) in the American League during the regular season at 4.27, the staff was second-best in strikeout rate (28.6%) and K-BB% (19.4%). By ERA retrodictors, the bullpen actually pitched much better than ERA indicated. xFIP, for example, put the Yankees’ bullpen at 3.69, nearly three-fifths of a full run better.
The back of the bullpen is particularly hard to handle, as Ken Giles (2.30), Chris Devenski (2.68), Will Harris (2.98), and Joe Musgrove (1.44) each posted superb ERA’s. The bullpen has the ability to be dominant, but they have not been up to the task thus far. It has exposed the Astros, who have looked strong otherwise in the playoffs after winning 101 games in the regular season. If the ‘pen doesn’t shape up quickly, the Astros may miss their chance to get to the World Series for the first time since 2005.
