Astros rookie Spencer Arrighetti ends Luis Arraez's 141-plate appearance streak

The Houston Astros’ series opener against the San Diego Padres on Monday didn’t go the way they wanted, dropping the game 3-1 at Petco Park. But there was a moment in the middle of it all that stood out; a moment that made people sit up and pay attention, even if it didn’t change the final score.

Houston’s rookie right-hander, Spencer Arrighetti, took the mound, hoping to give his team a shot at another win. His opponent at the plate in the second inning was Luis Arraez, a name that’s been hard to miss. Arraez, the Padres’ recently acquired designated hitter, isn’t just any hitter. He’s a two-time batting champ and has been nearly impossible to strike out, riding a streak that spanned 141 plate appearances without going down on strikes; the longest such streak in the majors in the past 20 years.

But that streak came to a sudden end. On a 3-2 count, Arrighetti dropped in a curveball, and Arraez swung through it. The ball smacked into the catcher’s glove, and just like that, Arraez’s historic run was over. “I respect that guy a lot and what he does is absolutely crazy in the game that we play today. It meant a lot to me, for sure,” Arrighetti said. “Hats off to him, too. It was a really cool moment for me, for sure. I was very aware of it.”

It wasn’t the only strikeout Arrighetti recorded, but it was certainly the most memorable. He worked five innings total, giving up two earned runs on eight hits, striking out three, and walking one. It wasn’t his best performance of the season, but he battled, throwing 102 pitches - his second-highest count this year - and wringing out 11 whiffs for a 21% called strikes and whiffs rate (CSW).

As for Arraez, this was only his third strikeout since mid-July, a testament to his sheer skill at the plate. It’s hard to get one by him, but the young Astros pitcher managed to do it on one of baseball’s biggest stages.

The Astros are now sitting at 81-69, with just 12 games left in the regular season. They’ve got a four-game cushion over the Seattle Mariners in the race for the American League West, but they can’t afford to slip up. Losing to the Padres put a halt to their three-game winning streak, and they’ll need to regroup fast. Arrighetti, meanwhile, has two more starts penciled in before the season ends. Whether he’ll see the postseason mound is uncertain, but no one can take away the fact that, on Monday night, he stopped history in its tracks.

As for the Padres, the win puts them one step closer to the Wild Card, but with a record of 74-76, they’ve still got a long road ahead to secure a spot in the postseason. Both teams are hungry for October, and every game matters now.