Blanco Optioned, Ullola Recalled — Houston's Rotation Is Running Out of Bodies

Ronel Blanco gave the Astros four innings in Saturday's loss to Seattle, then got sent to Triple-A Sugar Land the next morning. Miguel Ullola came up in his place. That is the transaction, and it is a small one. It is also a sign of where this rotation stands.

Burrows is on the 15-day IL. Arrighetti is on the 15-day IL. Brandon Walter has been on the 60-day since before the trade deadline, at which point the front office passed on adding a starter and watched Lance McCullers Jr. go to Milwaukee instead. Peter Lambert has been the one reliable arm — 9-7, 3.16 ERA over 24 starts — and the bullpen has leaned heavily on AJ Blubaugh, who is already past 82 innings in 50 appearances. Cristian Javier and Ryan Weiss have both seen their workloads spike sharply over the last five games, which is what happens when a staff gets thin and the manager has to improvise. The question now, per a report out Sunday, is whether prospect Ethan Pecko gets a start this week.

The pitching has been the one thing keeping Houston in this race. The offense is averaging around four runs a game and trending the wrong direction, and Yordan Alvarez can only do so much. Josh Hader has been nearly unhittable out of the closer's role, but a 0.5-game wild-card lead does not survive a rotation that is being held together with depth arms and farm recalls. Forty-five games left. The margin is gone.