HOUSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After the Houston Astros welcomed back Cristian Javier to their starting rotation on Monday following a 15-month absence due to Tommy John surgery, All-Star closer Josh Hader took his place on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder discomfort.
Astros manager Joe Espada was non-committal when asked who would replace Hader at the back end of the bullpen. Right-hander Bryan Abreu seems the logical choice given his role setting up Hader, but Espada remains open to utilizing multiple options.
It’s uncertain how that may shake out on Wednesday when the Astros host the Boston Red Sox in the rubber match of their three-game series.
“For me, and I was talking to the relievers about this, for Josh Hader to be how successful he’s been, he needs guys to give him the ball with the lead,” Espada said. “All these guys have set him up to be the closer that he is. Not to take anything away from Josh. Josh is probably the best. But you need guys to help him get to that point, and these guys are capable of doing that. What you guys saw (Monday) with us piecing it together, we’re going to have to do more of that.
“I told them to be ready to go, and they’ve been ready to go the whole entire season. We have the weapons to do it.”
Right-hander Hunter Brown (9-5, 2.51 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale for the Astros, one day after the team dropped a 14-1 decision.
Brown did not factor into the decision of a 5-3 road victory over the New York Yankees on Friday after allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. He remained winless over his last six starts and is 0-2 with a 4.73 ERA during that stretch.
Among American League pitchers, Brown ranks first in hits per nine innings (6.21), second in opponent OPS (.571), and third in ERA and strikeouts (160).
Brown is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox. He did not factor into the decision of a 2-1 road loss on Aug. 1 after surrendering one run on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts over seven innings.
Right-hander Walker Buehler (7-6, 5.40) has the starting assignment for Boston on Wednesday.
Buehler twirled six shutout innings in a 10-2 road win over the San Diego Padres on Friday, allowing four hits and two walks while recording four strikeouts.
He is 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA over his last six starts. Before that stretch. Buehler had dropped five of six decisions while recording a 9.29 ERA.
Buehler is 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA over four career starts against Houston. He did not factor into the decision of a 7-3 win over the Astros on Aug. 2 after allowing three runs on nine hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora started Abraham Toro at first base for the second time in the series on Tuesday, but is likely to start Romy Gonzalez at first in the series finale. Cora cited the balance the switch-hitting Toro and right-handed Gonzalez can offer his offensive attack.
“We’re going to mix and match,” Cora said. “Romy will probably play first (Wednesday). Try to keep the balance of the lineup. When teams have three lefties in the bullpen, it’s smart to keep Ref (Rob Refsnyder) and Romy on the bench if we’re going to be aggressive pinch-hitting. Having Abe swing the bat well is going to help us.”
–Field Level Media