Image 1-2: Erik Williams-Imagn Images, Image 3-6: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Astros have proven time and time again that momentum doesn't really do much. Building off momentum is a meaningless phrase for this team at this point. They can blow a team out of the water and get demolished the next night. So relying on momentum is not going to work. A little momentum has nothing on their thinning pitching staff. The Astros haven't used this many starters since 1965, which happened to be their first season in the Astros' dome, per si [https://www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi/ethan-pecko-debut-astros-tie-franchise-high-starting-pitching-use]. This season they have now used 17 starters, and their 17th was 23-year-old Ethan Pecko on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels. The Astros were coming off a loss to the worst team in baseball, and Ethan Pecko led the way to a win that tied the three-game series 1-1. Pecko pitched 3.2 innings, walking away with four strikeouts and a 4.91 ERA in his big league debut. It wasn't clean, he walked three, but it was enough to hand off to the bullpen, and Houston pulled out the win, per MLB [https://www.mlb.com/player/ethan-pecko-814490]. That win didn't last long as any kind of turning point, and the Astros were crushed in the series finale. Even Peter Lambert, who has been the Astros' most consistent starter, had his worst start of the season and his career, giving up a career-high of nine runs on eight hits over 3.2 innings. From there, Bryan King came in and managed to make things worse. Tatsuya Imai gave things a shot as well and contributed to the damage right before the Astros threw in the towel and put LaMonte Wade Jr. on the hill, and even LaMonte Wade Jr gave up a home run. This team is being held together by Hunter Brown, Hayden Wesneski, and Peter Lambert, but they can't rely on just those three for the next six weeks. The hope is Ronel Blanco will find his rhythm and Cristian Javier will step up. Now that Spencer Arrighetti is gone, once their best pitcher this season, the staff is even thinner. They can't afford wear and tear on their few guys they actually have because another injury for the pitching staff would most likely lead to their demise. While Pecko had a decent debut, it is unknown whether or not he will become a regular for Houston as a starter. Given how things went for Lambert just one night later, they could sure use the help.
