HOUSTON — A day after starting pitcher José Urquidy left a game with a shoulder injury that landed him on the injured list, the Astros’ rotation suffered another blow when Luis Garcia departed in the 7 -3 win Monday against the Giants at Minute Maid Park after just eight pitches due to right elbow discomfort.
Garcia, who entered the game on a 13-inning scoreless streak, gave up a leadoff single to Lamonte Wade Jr. and made a 2-2 count to Thairo Estrada when catcher Martín Maldonado went to the mound and signaled to the dugout. After a brief meeting with a trainer and manager Dusty Baker, Garcia was removed from the game.
Garcia said he felt pain around the fifth pitch he threw. He said he will undergo an MRI on Tuesday. Urquidy’s MRI, performed Monday, showed inflammation in his shoulder, and he was stuck throwing.
“He will be out for a while; we don’t know how long it will take for him to recover,” Baker said of Urquidy. “I hope he can come back a little bit. We don’t know when. We just have to call who is best available.”
Brandon Bielak, who joined the Astros on Monday as a roster spot for Urquidy, went four innings in relief, allowing two runs with three walks and six strikeouts. He is the most likely candidate to replace Urquidy in the rotation.
The Astros’ pitching depth is being tested following the loss of Justin Verlander in free agency and Lance McCullers Jr. with the injury at the start of Spring Training. The other healthy starting pitchers on the 40-man roster at Triple-A Sugar Land are JP France and Forrest Whitley, the former first-round Draft pick with a 6.00 ERA in 21 innings.
“That’s been my main goal my whole career is to work in the starting rotation with the Astros, and if I get that opportunity I’m going to take it and run with it,” said Bielak, who flew in from Reno, Nev. , on Monday morning.
Both Urquidy (Mexico) and Garcia (Venezuela) pitched in the World Baseball Classic in March, as did fellow starter Cristian Javier (Dominican Republic). The Astros persuaded ace lefty Framber Valdez not to pitch in the WBC for the Dominican Republic, and instead he remained in camp.
“I hate to think that some of our guys, especially the Latin guys who went to the WBC, are coming in lame, and I hope that’s not the cause of the problem,” Baker said.
The Astros were remarkably healthy with their pitching staff last year, dominating their run to the World Series championship. Maldonado says it’s time for others to step up.
“We also understand that it’s part of the game,” he said. “On teams, you’re always going to need more than 26 guys. Look at Bielak. Come in now, fly now and step up big-time. We’re going to need what we’ve always been good at is someone stepping up. I don’t know how serious it is, but at the end of the day, it’s about picking up each other. That’s our philosophy.”
Urquidy and Garcia’s shortened outings didn’t stop the Astros from winning both games. Houston broke open a tied game in the seventh Monday by sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five runs. Mauricio Dubón, traded from the Giants a year ago, went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI against his former team and continues to lead the way while filling in for injured second baseman Jose Altuve.
Altuve, who broke his right thumb when he was hit by a pitch at the WBC, could be back by the end of the month, and outfielder Michael Brantley — out last June following a shoulder injury — could be back sooner. early The Astros may have their entire lineup intact for the first time this year at the end of May, but the health of the rotation is a growing concern.
“It was tough watching Luis go down like that in the first inning, and [when] Bielak got off the plane and pitched the way he pitched, that was a big help there,” Dubón said. “Winning is a big deal. It was a good day at the ballpark.”
