Kolek (4-1) earned the win Sunday against the Astros, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out four over 7.1 scoreless innings.
Kolek was impressive Sunday, throwing 63 of his 97 pitches for strikes while generating 12 whiffs. The right-hander retired 11 of 12 batters during the middle innings and worked out of a seventh-inning jam by inducing a double play with runners on first and second. He ran into trouble again in the eighth, exiting with two aboard, but reliever Steven Cruz stranded both runners to preserve the shutout. Kolek has now held opponents to two or fewer runs in five of his last six starts, lowering his season ERA to 2.68 to go along with a 1.03 WHIP and 34:10 K:BB across 50.1 innings. He's slated to face the Cardinals in his next start.