Houston, meanwhile, is playing with some momentum. They've won 4 of their last 5, including both games so far in this series against the Angels, and they're doing it despite a rotation that's basically been running on fumes with Arrighetti and Burrows both hurt. That's exactly why Wesneski is being thrown into the fire — Dana Brown's front office needed innings, and the righty's rehab starts were sharp enough to earn the call.
The rest of the Astros' injury list is a reminder of how thin this roster has gotten — Carlos Correa is out for the year after ankle surgery, and Brice Matthews is on the shelf too, so Houston's been piecing things together in the field as well as on the mound. The Angels have their own long list, with Yoan Moncada, Yusei Kikuchi and Travis d'Arnaud all still a ways from returning, and this roster has felt the absences all season long.
Los Angeles has dropped 4 of its last 5, and the only win in that stretch came against a Giants team that had already taken the first two of that series. There's not much reason for optimism in Anaheim right now beyond hoping a fresh arm like Wesneski hits a speed bump in his first start back. For Houston, it's about stacking innings from anyone healthy and not letting a sub-.500 record slip any further out of the wild-card picture.
If Wesneski looks anything like he did in his rehab starts — missing bats, throwing strikes — this series sweep is very much in play. If not, this Angels lineup has shown it can scrape together enough offense to make a shaky start painful.