Peter Lambert’s durability matters even more as questions surround the rest of the rotation after the Astros did not add pitching at the trade deadline.
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — No starting pitcher has proven more durable for the Houston Astros this season than Peter Lambert, an asset a depth-starved team must try to preserve. Hunter Brown and Lambert are the anchors of a rotation currently rounded out by two pitchers who recently returned from elbow surgeries and another who has started two games since coming back from a shoulder strain.
Lambert, the unlikely rotation savior signed to a minor-league deal last winter, has a 3.09 ERA over 113 ⅔ innings. The innings total leaves him just short of qualifying for rate stats, but just seven qualified American League starters sport a lower ERA. The innings are also nearing the most Lambert has thrown in a season since before the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Last season, Lambert threw 124 ⅓ innings in NPB in Japan. That was his highest total since 2019, when he logged 149 ⅔ innings between Triple-A and the majors with the Rockies. Lambert could surpass last year’s total soon. Nine of his 20 starts for Houston this season have lasted at least six innings. No Astros starter has delivered more quality starts.
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For a team that did not add pitching at the trade deadline, maintaining what sources of rotation stability it has is paramount. Astros manager Joe Espada said pregame Saturday he is staying mindful with “how many pitches I want to give him out there” and giving Lambert an extra day of rest when possible. Five of Lambert’s starts have occurred on four days’ rest; all other Astros have combined for 11.
“All those things we’re monitoring with him and all these guys,” Espada said. “But right now, the velo is still there, steady. He’s bouncing back well.”
After facing the Padres on Saturday, Lambert said he feels “great — physically, mentally, all of the above I feel good.” Even on a day he said he “wasn’t very sharp,” Lambert toiled through five innings, allowing three runs — one of them unearned — in a game Houston lost 3-2 to San Diego as its lineup was held to five hits and a defensive miscue proved costly.
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“Their approach was actually pretty good,” Espada said of the Padres postgame. “I think just the walks, and they fouled some pitches off and just drove the pitch count up. But I thought for the most part the stuff was there. I thought that was your typical Peter, competing, battling, making pitches.”
BATTERS
AVG
OBA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
CS
E
Team Totals
.246
.322
3985
548
981
179
10
160
521
402
964
38
16
51
Alvarez
.325
.439
422
79
137
24
0
35
86
82
89
1
0
2
Peña
.302
.362
275
54
83
12
1
13
37
21
58
8
1
6
Correa
.279
.369
122
22
34
8
0
3
16
18
26
1
0
1
Delgado
.273
.314
33
3
9
1
0
1
4
2
5
0
0
2
Allen
.260
.307
104
17
27
4
0
1
11
7
24
2
0
5
Diaz
.259
.286
220
25
57
9
0
8
28
8
37
0
1
2
Shewmake
.256
.272
78
10
20
4
0
3
9
2
13
0
0
2
Paredes
.253
.347
407
45
103
20
1
15
60
45
69
0
0
6
Altuve
.245
.308
364
54
89
15
1
13
34
33
81
2
2
4
Walker
.242
.321
422
59
102
24
1
22
67
41
112
0
0
0
Trammell
.236
.322
157
24
37
6
1
7
20
16
53
3
2
2
Harris
.226
.286
31
4
7
0
1
0
4
2
6
2
0
0
Wade
.225
.353
71
10
16
4
0
2
15
14
18
0
0
0
Smith
.220
.293
381
49
84
15
2
15
42
35
105
10
2
5
Vázquez
.216
.270
199
18
43
7
0
5
23
15
41
1
0
0
Loperfido
.216
.314
102
13
22
7
1
1
12
14
31
1
1
1
Meyers
.213
.268
141
15
30
7
0
3
11
10
31
1
2
0
Dezenzo
.213
.280
75
11
16
4
0
1
3
7
31
1
0
1
Matthews
.197
.250
208
23
41
5
1
7
22
15
71
4
4
1
Price
.167
.231
12
1
2
1
0
0
0
1
6
0
0
1
Spence
.162
.244
37
4
6
1
0
0
3
3
15
0
1
1
Cole
.157
.189
51
4
8
1
0
3
8
1
21
0
0
1
Johnson
.143
.294
14
1
2
0
0
0
0
2
3
0
0
0
Whitcomb
.130
.167
23
2
3
0
0
2
5
1
11
0
0
0
Varsho
.111
.273
18
1
2
0
0
0
0
4
4
1
0
0
Salazar
.056
.227
18
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
3
0
0
0
___
PITCHERS
W
L
ERA
G
GS
SV
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
Team Totals
60
58
4.57
118
118
37
1046.1
926
571
531
157
493
1032
Meyers
0
0
0.00
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
Hader
3
1
1.08
27
0
16
25
10
3
3
1
10
36
Santa
0
1
1.17
10
0
0
15.1
8
6
2
1
6
9
VanWey
1
0
1.50
5
0
0
6
5
2
1
0
0
5
Okert
5
1
2.20
57
1
0
57.1
38
15
14
6
12
59
Lambert
8
6
3.09
20
20
0
113.2
87
40
39
12
44
111
Sousa
0
1
3.38
14
0
0
10.2
8
6
4
1
7
10
Brown
3
1
3.53
11
11
0
58.2
41
25
23
7
32
63
King
2
3
3.54
46
0
6
48.1
48
21
19
6
17
37
Blubaugh
4
2
3.58
43
0
1
70.1
54
30
28
9
33
73
Pearson
1
0
3.60
16
0
1
20
16
10
8
1
12
16
Wesneski
2
0
3.86
2
2
0
11.2
11
5
5
0
4
8
De Los Santos
1
3
4.07
51
0
5
55.1
50
28
25
7
12
53
Abreu
4
3
4.29
45
0
7
42
29
22
20
7
30
55
Teng
5
6
4.35
25
10
0
68.1
62
37
33
10
30
67
Arrighetti
7
5
4.60
17
17
0
88
68
47
45
12
50
87
Roa
0
1
5.19
7
0
0
8.2
10
5
5
1
7
6
Bolton
0
1
5.40
8
3
1
20
21
12
12
3
14
22
Ullola
0
0
5.40
3
0
0
5
4
3
3
2
1
7
Imai
6
4
5.55
16
15
0
61.2
50
38
38
9
40
77
Burrows
4
9
5.99
18
17
0
94.2
112
69
63
21
35
75
Javier
1
2
6.59
9
5
0
27.1
31
20
20
4
15
23
McCullers
2
3
6.86
8
8
0
39.1
38
32
30
7
22
43
Blanco
0
1
6.98
4
4
0
19.1
15
15
15
6
11
17
Murray
0
0
7.43
8
0
0
13.1
19
11
11
1
7
8
Weiss
0
3
7.62
9
2
0
26
35
24
22
8
20
30
France
0
0
8.10
3
0
0
6.2
6
6
6
1
5
4
Salazar
0
0
9.00
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
Alexander
1
1
9.33
4
2
0
18.1
21
19
19
4
8
14
Gordon
0
0
11.57
4
1
0
9.1
21
12
12
6
3
11
Muñoz
0
0
15.75
3
0
0
4
7
7
7
3
6
6
Lambert worked in traffic in each of his five innings. He walked two of his first four batters in a 26-pitch first, when one run scored on a bases-loaded flare that fell in right field. Five hits against Lambert were all singles except for Jackson Merrill’s solo home run on a full-count fastball in the third. Just five of 17 balls put into play against him were hard-hit, per Statcast.
San Diego’s persistence spiked his pitch count, however. The Padres fouled off 21 pitches he threw and whiffed on just nine of 47 swings. Lambert finished the fifth at 97 pitches.
“Credit to them for putting together the at-bats,” Lambert said. “Personally, I just didn’t think I was very sharp, wasn’t able to locate as well as I have in the past. And some of the pitches that I’ve leaned on in the past I just wasn’t able to today. Overall, wasn’t very sharp.”
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Lambert needed 70 pitches to get his first nine outs. Relievers stretched and milled around in the Astros bullpen during the early innings, but none actually began to throw until the fifth. Houston had Tatsuya Imai available for long relief, Espada said pregame. But at no point in a game that remained close until the end did Imai warm up, even as Lambert labored.
Houston Astros’ Christian Walker (8) walks with trainers after getting hit by a pitch during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Taylor Trammell celebrates after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Taylor Trammell celebrates after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Taylor Trammell celebrates after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Taylor Trammell, left, celebrates with team members after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill, right, celebrates with third base coach Bob Henley after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill celebrates after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller adjusts his hat after hitting Houston Astros’ Christian Walker, left, with a pitch during the ninth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros starting pitcher Peter Lambert works against a San Diego Padres batter during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros starting pitcher Peter Lambert works against a San Diego Padres batter during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros starting pitcher Peter Lambert works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Houston Astros starting pitcher Peter Lambert works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
That perhaps spoke to both the leash Lambert has earned through his performance this season and the unsettled nature of the Astros’ rotation right now. Imai’s presence in the bullpen reflects the latter, and he has pitched in relief just once since the inconsistency of his first MLB season prompted the move.
Cristian Javier, who threw a quality start in his last outing but has made just two starts since a shoulder strain, will pitch Sunday. Ronel Blanco, who has exited in the fifth inning of three of four starts since returning from elbow surgery, would be on turn to pitch again Wednesday unless Houston shuffles its rotation for the upcoming series in San Francisco.
Such question marks enhance the importance of the Astros getting length from Brown and Lambert, as well as the balance they must strike to ensure the latter remain effective down the stretch. Espada did have reliever Enyel De Los Santos begin to warm as Lambert started his fifth inning. Lambert delayed De Los Santos’ entry until the sixth by finishing his outing with a clean frame.
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A two-run deficit for Houston at that point might have been one. With a runner on third and two out in the fourth inning, Lambert induced a slow chopper from Fernando Tatis Jr. that shortstop Jeremy Peña charged but could not field cleanly, producing an unearned run. Espada said he thought “that ball just stayed down on Jeremy” on a play the shortstop “makes nine out of 10 times.”
“I wouldn’t say it stayed down on me,” Peña said. “I would say my thought process was do-or-die. Tatis hit the ball, he was already running when he hit it, so you’ve got to go charge it. Then it’s two options, you either put your glove through the ball or kind of play it back, and I played it back and I should have played it through. But it’s stuff that happens and you learn from it and you go keep playing the game.”
Catcher Christian Vázquez threw Tatis out stealing at second to curtail the inning. After Lambert’s five innings, De Los Santos and Bryan King combined for three scoreless innings, preserving the rest of the Astros’ bullpen ahead of Sunday’s series finale. Espada credited Lambert with “grinding through it.”
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“He kept us in the game,” Espada said, “gave us a chance to win.”