Deng Kaiwei allowed only 1 run over 6 innings! Emerging from a slump, he earned his fourth win of the season, growing increasingly confident against left-handed batters.

Deng Kaiwei finally rediscovered his form. On Thursday (22nd), the Houston Astros faced the Cleveland Guardians at home. The starter pitched 6 innings, giving up only 4 hits and 1 run, helping the team to a 2-1 win. This ended his embarrassing run of four straight starts without finishing 5 innings, earned his fourth win, and dropped his ERA to 4.03.

Right from the start, Deng showed a much more aggressive approach than in his previous outings, consistently painting the corners with his fastball and changeup. He threw 83 pitches over 6 innings, 55 for strikes, recording 4 strikeouts and just 1 walk—his most efficient performance in recent memory. This also marked the first time since May 24 (Beijing time), when the Astros shut out the Cubs 3-0, that Deng completed 6 innings.

“I attacked the strike zone much better today compared to my last start. Most of my fastballs and changeups went exactly where I wanted them—that was the biggest difference from last time,” Deng said after the game.

This season, Deng had struggled significantly against left-handed hitters. Coming into the game, lefties posted a .944 OPS against him, nearly all of them causing trouble. But in this outing, he handled eight left-handed batters with ease, not allowing a single extra-base hit and frequently inducing swings and misses or weak grounders in key situations.

“In many of my starts this year, the opposing team would stack lefties to target me. But now, facing left-handers isn’t as tough as it was at the beginning of the season. I’m getting more used to it. Mentally, there’s not much difference between facing righties and lefties anymore,” Deng said in a postgame interview.

Astros manager Joe Espada specifically praised catcher Christian Vázquez’s game-calling: “Their chemistry was perfect tonight. They did their homework before the game. Vázquez controlled the tempo flawlessly, mixing Deng’s changeup with his other pitches just right, helping us secure those six solid innings.”

Vázquez also lauded his battery mate: “He was fantastic inside the strike zone today. He threw a ton of strikes, his slider was especially dangerous, and his fastball always came in at the right time, keeping hitters on the defensive. His overall performance was absolutely top-notch.”

Whether Deng can maintain this strong form and turn his breakthrough against lefties into a consistent pattern will be one of the most intriguing storylines for the Astros in the second half of the season.