Astros bullpen knows how to frustrate Cubs' all-or-nothing offense

Houston — The Cubs hit five home runs Tuesday night. But that was offset by the offense going hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Five of those failed at-bats were strikeouts, and four occurred against an Astros bullpen that thrives on power pitching that presents a contrast to a Cubs bullpen that relies on ground balls and air-tight defense.

“They built their pitching around swing-and-miss guys,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, factoring in the hitter-friendly dimensions of Minute Maid Park. “If they were to have more contact guys, they’d have a difficult time. They need swing-and-miss guys. They don’t even need ground ball guys. They need guys who miss bats. And they recognize that early.”

The Astros’ bullpen, which includes former Cubs reliever Hector Rondon and his 2.37 ERA, had a 2.91 ERA with 190 strikeouts in 173 innings and 17 saves in 21 chances entering Wednesday’s series finale.

“These guys are premier,” said veteran sidearm specialist Joe Smith, who pitched briefly for the Cubs in 2016. “They got excellent stuff. The culture they’ve set up here, and the philosophy and the guys they talk to with the stuff they have and what they can do, you buy into it because you see Gerrit Cole buy into it, and they take off.

“They got a great setup and try to get you better.”

The most impressive aspect of the Astros’ bullpen is that they’ve developed or gathered hard throwers who increase their velocity while sharpening their secondary pitches.

Ryan Pressly, who had a 3.75 ERA through 5½ seasons with the Twins, was dealt to the Astros for two minor-league players last July and has an 0.55 ERA with 24 hits allowed and 61 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings.

Chris Devenski, the player to be named later in a mid-2012 deal that sent reliever Brett Myers to the White Sox, has a 2.92 ERA over 3½ seasons with the Astros with 275 strikeouts in 256 innings.

Smith and Rondon credit the data provided by the Astros’ analytics department and the mentoring of 70-year-old pitching coach Brent Strom.

“Usually with all the new technology, you would think they’d be pushing the old guys out,” Smith said. “But Strom understands all of it and is able to not overload you with certain stuff. He gets both sides of the fence, he’s been through everything. I love him, he’s unbelievable.”

Extra innings

Maddon reported that reliever Pedro Strop said his left hamstring felt fine after pitching Tuesday on a minor-league rehab assignment for Triple-A Iowa. Strop is expected to be activated from the injured list on Saturday if he remains injury-free in his next appearance Thursday night at Round Rock. … Maddon said he “didn’t have a whole lot of conversation” with team officials two years ago regarding the possibility of acquiring former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander from the Tigers. Verlander was eventually dealt to the Astros. Sources from the Cubs and Tigers confirmed that the Cubs didn’t possess enough prospects to satisfy the Tigers’ demands.

mgonzales@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @MDGonzales

[ Fox pairing Len Kasper and A.J. Pierzynski to call Cubs games against the Cardinals and White Sox ]

[ Joe Maddon isn't 'a conspiracy theorist,' but he's mystified by Minute Maid Park after another loss to the Astros ]

[ What channel is the Cubs game on? Time and TV for upcoming games ]