The Houston Astros placed ace right-hander Hunter Brown on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a right shoulder strain.

The move was retroactive to Thursday.

Brown finished third in American League Cy Young Award balloting last season. He is 1-0 with an 0.84 ERA in two starts this season, striking out 17 in just 10 1/3 innings.

Brown, 27, last pitched Tuesday when he defeated the Boston Red Sox. He gave up one run and one hit and struck out eight against two walks in six innings.

Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters that Brown’s shoulder “didn’t feel right” during a throwing session on Friday. He said Brown underwent an MRI exam in Sacramento and then returned to Houston.

“Hopefully, this doesn’t keep him out for a long time,” Espada said prior to Sunday’s game against the Athletics.

This is the first IL stint in the majors for Brown, who had been slated to start Monday’s road game against the Colorado Rockies.

“He’s disappointed,” Espada said. “Never been injured and this is new for all of us, so we’ll see. He didn’t sound concerned, which is good. But also, it’s new, right? So we’re going to let the doctors evaluate him and then we’ll see where we go from there.”

Houston doesn’t have a starter listed for any of the three upcoming games with the Rockies.

Brown made the AL All-Star team for the first time last season when he went 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 31 starts. He struck out a career-high 206 and posted a stellar 1.03 WHIP.

He is 37-31 with a 3.44 ERA in 102 appearances (94 starts) since reaching the majors in 2022.

The Astros promoted right-hander Christian Roa from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. He had a 6.75 ERA in two relief appearances for Houston earlier this season.

The 27-year-old pitched one scoreless inning of relief in his lone outing for Sugar Land this season.

–Field Level Media