Dana Brown might have been onto something when he likened Cam Smith to an “aircraft carrier” in Spring Training.
CAM SMOKES ONE!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/hI9YnN90Fg
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 19, 2025
In all seriousness, though, Smith had the best game of his young career, smacking two home runs to drive in four runs. While there have been growing pains to start his career, this game serves as a reminder of why he was the centerpiece of the Kyle Tucker trade. The talent is abundantly apparent, and the results will hopefully follow. It feels prudent to point out that Smith is now slugging .449 in his first 54 plate appearances, including Friday’s game against the Padres.
Ryan Gusto faced a tall task against the Padres on Friday, as San Diego was tied for the fourth-best offense in baseball by wRC+ entering the game. For the Astros, any success this season has thus far centered around run prevention, with a pitching staff ranking among the top ten in numerous statistical categories. Gusto has certainly shown flashes of his potential, but pitching against one of the top lineups in baseball is never easy. To his credit, the right-hander threw the ball well enough in his five innings of work. Yes, San Diego did rack up nine hits and struck out only twice. The only whiffs Gusto had were on his four-seam (seven whiffs from 25 swings). But he was able to maneuver around a lack of swing-and-miss stuff, with all but one hit being a single. Holding San Diego to only two earned runs on 68 pitches is a result you take every time.
Other than Smith’s home runs, the lineup successfully generated pressure on Kyle Hart and the Padres’ bullpen. Only Isaac Paredes and Yordan Alvarez went hitless, with Jake Meyers leading the team with three hits. Christian Walker delivered a much-needed double in the third, scoring when Yainer Díaz brought him home from third base two hitters later. The Astros recorded ten hits and six runs total, a positive sign for a lineup that has struggled at the start of the season.
Steven Okert replaced Gusto to start the sixth inning and continues to look like a quality addition to the bullpen, posting a 0.90 ERA and 1.80 FIP in his first ten innings of the season. Bryan King, unfortunately, struggled in this game, allowing two earned runs, including Luis Arraez’s two-run home run in the seventh inning, making it a 5-4 game. Thankfully, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader shut the door, retiring six of the final seven hitters for San Diego. It also helps that Meyers drove in Jeremy Peña to increase the lead to 6-4 in the bottom half of the eighth inning, giving the Astros a little more margin for error.
Overall, it was a terrific win for the Astros against a Padres team sporting a 15-4 record entering Friday. Game 2 of this three-game set will feature Hayden Wesneski on the mound with Michael King pitching for San Diego.