The Houston Astros waited the bulk of this season for three members of their starting rotation to rejoin their ranks.
The third member of that trio — right-hander Luis Garcia — did so on Monday in the finale of a four-game wraparound series against the Los Angeles Angels.
Spencer Arrighetti and Cristian Javier had combined to allow one run on one hit over 12 1/3 innings in the first two games of the Angels series. Garcia then excelled in the finale and surrendered three runs on three hits with six strikeouts over six innings in an 8-3 victory.
Javier is scheduled to start the opener of a three-game series against the New York Yankees (76-61) that begins on Tuesday. Left-hander Framber Valdez (12-7, 3.18 ERA) is receiving the starting assignment for Houston (76-62).
The primary concern moving forward for Garcia, who missed 28 months following Tommy John surgery in May 2023, is his lagging velocity. Garcia averaged 93-94 mph with his four-seam fastball pre-surgery, but averaged 91.4 mph on 38 four-seamers on Monday. The Astros are hopeful that Garcia can fully rebound and aren’t leaning too deeply into concerns over his velocity.
“He pitched to his strength, which is the cutter. The fastball command, he threw some good sweepers, and that’s who he is,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “If we go swimming in those waters and waiting for the velo, we’re going to have to wait and see what the future might bring.
“But I think the execution of the game plan and the fact that after two years of not pitching, he went out there against a really good lineup and he throws six innings, I tip my hat to him.”
Valdez snapped a five-start winless streak by tossing seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, allowing three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Valdez was 0-3 with a 6.14 ERA during his skid, which followed a 13-start stretch where he went 10-0 with a 1.86 ERA.
He is 0-1 with a 6.46 ERA in 23 2/3 innings over five career starts against the Yankees. He did not factor into the decision of a 5-4 road loss to the Yankees on Aug. 9 after yielding four runs on eight hits and four walks with one strikeout over 5 2/3 innings.
Left-hander Max Fried (14-5, 3.06) is scheduled to start the series opener for the Yankees. He allowed one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over seven innings in an 11-2 home win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. It marked the first time since June 25 that Fried worked seven innings, a span of nine starts during which Fried was 3-3 with a 5.94 ERA.
Fried is 0-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 16 2/3 innings over three career starts against the Astros. He allowed four runs on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts in five innings in a 7-1 home loss to Houston on Aug. 10.
The Yankees, idle on Monday, watched the American League East-leading Toronto Blue Jays fall 5-4 to the Cincinnati Reds while the Boston Red Sox topped the Cleveland Guardians 6-4 to forge a tie with the Yankees for second place in the division, 2 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays.
Aaron Judge recorded his first three-hit game since July 12 in the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, perhaps portending a hot stretch at the plate. Before homering in back-to-back games, Judge slashed .176/.378/.324 in his previous 10 games.
“He’ll get there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Judge. “He’s going to find his way through there, and you know, at some point, get really hot.”
–Field Level Media
