One day after one of the most incredible comebacks of the season, the Astros fell flat. The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Astros 5-1 Thursday to take the series.
What Went Wrong?
Ryan O'Hearn did most of the damage. An RBI single in the first inning, a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 4-0, and he finished with 3 RBI.
Pittsburgh's Jared Jones allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks across 5 scoreless innings in just his second start back from UCL surgery.
Kai-Wei Teng took the mound for the final game of the series and struggled. He took the loss and dropped to 3-4 on the season. Teng has been a pleasant surprise in the rotation this year but Thursday was not his night. With Hunter Brown returning soon the rotation is about to look very different, but outings like this are a reminder that the Astros still have work to do.
All of the momentum from Wednesday was there, but the Astros didn’t use it.
Jones was making just his second start since returning from UCL surgery, and he shut them down completely. The fact that the Astros could not touch a pitcher still shaking off rust makes the loss even more frustrating. That is not the kind of performance you want to see from an offense that looked so alive just 24 hours earlier.
The One Bright Spot
Isaac Paredes hit a solo homer in the sixth, making it his 8th of the season, but it was not enough to make a dent in a 5-1 loss. At least it put them on the board.
The Bigger Picture
The Pirates came into this series on a four-game winning streak and left with the series win. Pittsburgh has been one of the more consistent teams in the NL this season, and the Astros could not match that consistency over three games. Winning game two the way they did only makes dropping the series sting more.
The Astros fell to 28-36 on the season. Consistency really seems to be the biggest struggle for the Astros in all aspects of the game. One night, they pull off the comeback of the season, and the next, they get shut down. This inconsistency has defined their season, and this far into 2026, they can't afford to keep going like this.
Wednesday showed what they are capable of. Thursday proved they still have work to do. Tonight they kick off their series against the Athletics at Daikin Park at 7:10 PM and it is a good place to start turning things around.
