In his 11th year in the majors, at 31 years old, Martín Pérez is authoring his best...
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez reacts after Houston Astros Yuli Gurriel lined out to end an MLB game at Minute Maid Park on Friday, May 20, 2022 in Houston. Perez had a complete game shutout, Rangers won 3-0.
If opponents should want to pick apart the Astros — and they do — they need look no further than Martín Pérez. The Rangers’ veteran starting pitcher has solved the Astros. He’s solved most teams, really.complete game shutoutSince April 23, Pérez has pitched six consecutive quality starts and only allowed three runs in 32 1/3 innings for a 0.84 ERA that is the best in the majors in that timeframe. Unfortunately for the Astros, they crossed paths with him twice. In two starts against the Astros this season, Pérez has yielded one earned run across 16 innings. He threw a perfect game for six innings in the Astros’ 3-2 win at Globe Life Field on April 28, barely outdueled by Justin Verlander. On Friday, Pérez tossed 108 pitches for seven hits, one walk and five strikeouts. “He’s found the formula against us — well, against everybody,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “I guess what really helped him was he threw three double plays. He got six outs on three pitches and that keeps your pitch count low. And so he threw a good game against us. He was keeping the ball down. He’s cutting some and sinking others, which creates a double play. And also he had a really good changeup and he didn’t use his breaking ball much but he was splitting the plate. He can pitch.” Houston has long enjoyed an advantage in the Lone Star rivalry series, especially at Minute Maid Park. Since the start of the 2019 season, the Astros are 23-2 in their 25 home games opposite the Rangers. But Friday’s loss ended the Astros’ streak of 11 straight home wins against the Rangers, dating back to Sept. 17, 2020. Pérez used every pitch in his repertoire against the Astros, relying primarily on his changeup and sinker. He consistently induced soft contact and fired 73 of his pitches for strikes while working his way efficiently through the lineup. Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who grounded into two double plays and hit two singles, said Pérez has mastered keeping hitters off-balance by not pitching to them the same way every time. “Oh, he's unbelievable,” Bregman said. “He's, I think, one of the best pitchers in baseball. I think he's super tough. He throws five pitches to a bunch of different quadrants and he just knows how to pitch. He's really, really good. He's always been super tough on us and you know, you gotta tip your hat to him. He pitched extremely well today.”
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