HOUSTON -- The pitching depth the Astros added in the offseason not only allowed them to stash some experienced arms in Triple-A who have experience starting in the Major Leagues, including Spencer Arrighetti, Colton Gordon and Jason Alexander, but it also gave them the luxury of having three relief pitchers capable of pitching two-plus innings.

The thought process was that multiple long relievers would give the Astros some insurance when one of their starting pitchers didn’t work deep into a game. They didn’t expect that to happen in Thursday afternoon's 3-0 loss to the Angels on Opening Day at Daikin Park, where ace Hunter Brown needed 102 pitches to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

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