Houston Astros: Cy Sneed is making his case to be a regular in bullpen

Houston Astros pitcher Cy Sneed pitch a solid game against the Royals in the first exhibition game last night. What could be ahead for the reliever? Look.

The Houston Astros appeared on live television with sound and commentating for the first time in four months last night. Let me tell you, it was a refreshing feeling to see our guys back in action once again. Not everybody is in uniform just yet — designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and hurler Jose Urquidy are still on the injured list — but for the most part, our guys are ready to play.

And we’ve welcomed them back with open arms as this team tries to get something going in what will likely be the most serious pandemic in our lifetime. It’s an intense situation for players to follow safety protocols yet enjoy the game that they love and get paid very well to carry out their tasks.

I do like the fake crowd noise being pumped in and it’s not as awkward as one thinks once you see it in production. It’s not over-the-top but just the right amount of moderation, amid the empty seats and cardboard cutouts to accentuate the background that the players are partaking in.

The Houston Astros are looking like they’re ready to get back to work against a Kansas City Royals team that still appears to be rebuilding from their 2015 championship season.

An Alex Bregman double, a Josh Reddick and Martin Maldonado homer and Myles Straw scoring off a wild pitch by Greg Holland — he’s still playing? — all led to a 6-3 win over the Royals at the Kaufmann Stadium, one of the most beautiful stadiums you’d ever want to visit. Cue the fountains!

Lance McCullers Jr. looked quite solid out on the bump, with six punch-outs, allowing one earned run (Salvador Perez) and four hits through 5.0 innings of work.

I think he’s ready to rock and another surprising guy on the rise is reliever Cy Sneed who pitched a

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solid game through 3.0 innings of relief. Up until a homer by Bubba Starling at the bottom of the 8th that allowed the Royals to close within three runs of the team, Sneed took care of business.

His stuff isn’t anything to write home about — except his four-seamer that sits in the low 90s, his primary pitch — but the man was bringing home the bacon with the strikes, throwing 36 of those out of 46 pitches.

To say Sneed, a 2014 draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers that was acquired by the Houston Astros for Jonathan Villar back in 2015, has been challenged in his career has been an understatement, the moment he starts an upward trend, he experiences a setback and gets sent back down to the minors. Since that’s not an option in the current COVID-19 world, he’s making a strong case to be utilized out of the bullpen.

It will be interesting to see how he progresses through this week and well as through the season because he knows he has a unique opportunity to meet the moment that’s in front of him.

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You can’t help but root for this guy and certainly hoping for the best in regard to his success.

Sneed also had two strikeouts along with two hits in relief last night as well.

The Houston Astros will take on the Royals again today at 1:05 p.m. and let’s hope they keep their rhythm up in their winning ways.

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