Houston — Major League Baseball has recognized two Astros pitchers for their exceptional performances in August. Right-handed rookie Spencer Arrighetti has been honored as the American League’s Rookie of the Month, while left-handed closer Josh Hader has earned the title of Reliever of the Month.
Arrighetti, a 24-year-old who played high school baseball at Cinco Ranch, posted a 3-2 record with a 1.95 ERA (7 earned runs in 32.1 innings) and held opponents to a .168 batting average. Notably, he became just the second rookie since 1901 to strike out 47 batters while allowing fewer than 20 hits.
Highlights from Arrighetti’s August include:
Aug. 4: Recorded 12 strikeouts against Tampa Bay.
Aug. 10:Achieved a career-high 13 strikeouts at Boston, the second most in a single game by an Astros rookie, just behind J.R. Richard’s 15 strikeouts in his MLB debut on September 5, 1971. Arrighetti also became the first rookie in AL history to record 12 or more strikeouts in back-to-back games.
Aug. 18: Allowed no hits until the eighth inning, finishing with 10 strikeouts.
This marks Hader’s sixth career Reliever of the Month award. In August, he went 3-1 with eight saves, boasting a 0.68 ERA, a .071 opponent batting average, and a 0.60 WHIP, along with 17 strikeouts. Among AL relievers this season, Hader ranks second in strikeouts with 90 and is tied for second in saves with 29.
This is the first instance since August 2019 that two Astros players have received monthly awards in the same month; that year, Alex Bregman was named Player of the Month and Yordan Alvarez was named Rookie of the Month. Bregman and Alvarez were also recently honored as AL co-Players of the Week.
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