On April 26, the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Houston Astros for the second game of the series. The teams sent Cristian Javier and Drew Rasmussen as starting pitchers, respectively. In the previous game, the Rays defeated the Astros 8-3, but in the fifth inning of this game, the Astros rallied for five runs. Combined with Javier’s six scoreless innings, they secured a 5-0 victory, breaking the Rays’ undefeated streak at home.

A key highlight of this game was the performance of Astros’ starting pitcher Cristian Javier. He threw for 6 1/3 innings without allowing a run, striking out seven and issuing only two walks, effectively suppressing the Rays’ lineup, which leads the Major League in OPS.

Interestingly, Javier’s pitch types, including cutter, slider, four-seam fastball, curveball, and changeup, were generally below his average spin rates for the season. However, his curveball was an exception, being 1.1 mph faster than usual. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions of his pitches, the Rays’ hitters struggled overall, unable to convert baserunner opportunities into scores. The Rays’ swing-and-miss rate against Javier was exceptionally high at 30.61% (15/49), which was crucial to his success.

On the other side, Rays’ starter Drew Rasmussen also had a challenging outing. Like Javier, Rasmussen’s pitches showed lower spin rates, particularly in the pivotal fifth inning when his pitches tended to end up in the middle of the plate, leading to the Astros’ five-run outburst. The timing of the Rays’ pitching change could also be questioned, as Rasmussen appeared unstable and was nearing his pitch count limit when he was finally pulled after allowing six hits in that inning.

Although the Astros had already built a significant lead by the middle of the game and their starting pitcher was effectively holding down the Rays, they decided to deploy their top relievers from the seventh inning onward. This decision likely stemmed from the Rays’ potent hitting capabilities, as evidenced by their strong comeback tendencies in previous games, including an 8-3 victory the day before.

Unfortunately for the Rays, they couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities throughout the game. They managed only five hits, and none were impactful enough to challenge the Astros’ lead. A critical moment that could have changed the momentum was in the bottom of the sixth inning when Isaac Paredes hit a deep fly ball to left field, which was caught at the wall. Had this ball gone over for a home run, it could have potentially chased Javier from the game early and ignited a rally for the Rays.

In contrast, the Astros’ lineup has been heating up lately. In their last 10 games, they have won seven, showing robust offensive output and excellent pitching, managing to score an average of 5.3 runs per game while limiting opponents to 3.5 runs. This resurgence is a positive sign for the defending champions, indicating their capability to adjust and perform well both offensively and defensively.