Rookies Cam Smith, Ryan Gusto shine to lead Astros past Padres in series opener

Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle

Boosted by two rookies, the Houston Astros took the opener of a series against baseball’s hottest team.

Cam Smith struck two home runs. Ryan Gusto held the streaking Padres to two runs in five innings in his second major-league start. And Houston claimed a 6-4 win Friday at Daikin Park against a San Diego club that had won 15 of 19 games to open its season.

“I think baseball’s all about momentum and I think we racked up a lot of hits as an offense and the pitchers kept the runners on base, so it’s good momentum for us,” Smith said.

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Smith authored the first multi-home run game by an Astros player this season. His first was a three-run homer in the second inning. His second gave Houston a 5-2 lead in the fourth. Gusto threw a scoreless fifth against the top of the Padres lineup to preserve it and depart in line for a win.

“That was pretty sick,” Gusto said of Smith’s night. “Especially the first one. Three-run bomb, bailed me out a little bit after I gave up a run. Gave the team some life. So that was a really clutch hit there.”

Steven Okert stranded Gavin Sheets after a leadoff double in the sixth. Luis Arraez lifted a two-run homer in the seventh off Bryan King to cut the lead to one. It was just the second extra-base hit by a left-handed hitter off King in 46 major-league at-bats. King had not allowed a run in his first nine outings this season.

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He retired right-handed Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts to end the seventh. Bryan Abreu negated a two-out single in the eighth by striking out Tyler Wade. Jeremy Peña scored from first base on a single by Jake Meyers in the bottom of the inning to hand closer Josh Hader a two-run lead in the ninth.

“Jeremy, we don’t talk about this very often, but he runs the bases hard,” manager Joe Espada said. “That’s a big run right there in the eighth to give Hader a little cushion.”

The bottom of Houston’s lineup did its damage. Yainer Diaz had two hits from the sixth spot, including an RBI single. Meyers had three hits from the eighth spot. Smith struck from the ninth spot in the order. The top four hitters in it combined to go 3-for-16. Jose Altuve had two of those hits, both singles.

Smith awoke with one home run in his first 45 major-league at-bats. He homered in both at-bats against Hart, the left-hander who pitched last season in South Korea. Hart had 11 major-league innings prior to starting this season in the Padres rotation; those came in 2020 with the Red Sox.

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Diaz struck a one-out single in the second inning. Meyers yanked a double into the corner in left field with two outs. Perezchica appeared to wave Diaz around third. But Diaz stopped and retreated to the bag, just ahead of Machado’s lunging tag.

It brought up Smith. He took a first-pitch sweeper for a strike, then pounced on a 92 mph fastball up in the zone. The baseball left his bat at 107.8 mph and flew 403 feet to left-center field. It marked just the fourth home run for the Astros this season with multiple runners on base.

Smith faced Hart again in the fourth. Hart threw him all sweepers and changeups. His full-count pitch was a sweeper. Smith skied it 361 feet into the Crawford Boxes. It would have been a home run in one major-league ballpark, per Statcast. His first blast would have left all 30.

At 22 years and 55 days, Smith is the youngest Astro with a multi-home run game since Yordan Alvarez on Aug. 17, 2019, at 22 years and 51 days. There have been 10 such games by an Astros hitter younger than Smith. Alvarez and Carlos Correa each own three, Joe Morgan two and John Mayberry and Rusty Staub one each. Staub was the youngest Astro to have one at 20 years and 81 days on June 21, 1964.

For his second major-league start, Gusto drew a San Diego lineup that entered with the majors’ highest batting average and lowest whiff rate.

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“This is going to be a lineup that is going to challenge his ability to put hitters away quickly,” Espada said pregame. “The more you allow these guys to stay in the batter’s box, the better they get. So he’s got to execute right away, he’s got to get contact right away. These guys put a ton of balls in play. We have to play good defense behind him for him to be efficient.”

Gusto is a heavy strike-thrower. He upheld that approach against the Padres, who were happy to swing. Gusto threw 68 total pitches. San Diego hitters swung at 40. They put 20 into play with an average 95.5 mph exit velocity. Nine fell for hits. Gusto, still, limited the damage to two runs over five innings.

“I would have liked to have executed especially some off-speed pitches further out of the zone a little bit more often,” Gusto said. “I think that could have helped me out a little bit, knowing that they’re attacking, they’re swinging and hitting everything … But at the end of the day, can’t be too upset about it.”

Gusto needed seven pitches to work the first. Three one-out singles prolonged his second. A run scored on Tyler Wade’s fielder’s choice groundout. The Astros thwarted a double-steal attempt to end the inning.

Bogaerts stung a curveball for a double in the fourth and scored when Oscar Gonzalez punched a single into right field. Wade singled with two outs. Okert began to warm in the Astros’ bullpen. But Gusto got Martín Maldonado to pop out and buy himself another inning.

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It brought the top of the Padres lineup for a third look. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Arraez struck singles. Okert rose again, but with two right-handed hitters due up, Gusto stayed in. He needed two pitches to escape. Machado struck a first-pitch ground ball into a double play and Bogaerts a first-pitch groundout.

“I think the comfort level was a little bit better” compared to his first start, Gusto said. “I definitely wasn’t as nervous, if you will. … And then I did feel a little better physically. I felt stronger, more conditioned.”

Said Espada: “That’s a tough lineup to navigate, and he did a really nice job.”

The Astros have struggled to combat the running game. The Padres present a threat to exploit that. San Diego entered this series with the highest success rate on stolen-base attempts and the fifth-most total steals in the majors with a 24-for-27 mark. Opponents were 24-for-25 in attempts against the Astros.

“They like to do things, some first and third, they like to create opportunities to steal home,” Espada said pregame. “We have to be aware. We have to be prepared. And we’re going to prepare our guys to play a team that they’ll push all the buttons.”

It took two innings for such a situation to arise. Wade’s run-scoring fielder’s choice left men on first and third with two outs in the second inning. With Maldonado at the plate, the Padres put Wade in motion.

Wade broke for second base and stopped halfway. Diaz threw through, leading Gonzalez to break from third. Brendan Rodgers’ return throw to the plate beat him easily and began a rundown. Diaz tagged Gonzalez to end the inning.

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Rookies Cam Smith, Ryan Gusto shine to lead Astros past Padres in series opener

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