Astros' Imai Heads Home for Arm Testing After Rough Outing at T-Mobile Park
Houston's got trouble in the rotation. Astros rookie pitcher Tatsuya Imai packed his bags and headed back to Houston after his third start to get his right arm checked out by the team doctors. The 27-year-old right-hander complained of arm fatigue, and once manager Espada heard that, the decision was made: get him examined, and fast.
A Brutal Night in Seattle
Imai's outing against the Mariners on Friday was rough. Real rough. He managed to get just one out before things fell apart, allowing three runs on one hit, three walks, and a hit batter while throwing 37 pitches in a 9-6 loss to Seattle. That's not the performance you expect from a guy who inked a $54 million, three-year deal in the offseason.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at Kalshi"He expressed some arm fatigue, so once we heard that we decided to just send him home to be seen by our doctors," Espada said Saturday. "Hopefully there is nothing wrong. Just not good news."
Imai did mention something interesting after the game: the mound at T-Mobile Park was really hard and he wasn't able to adjust his mechanics. He didn't bring up any injury concerns when talking to reporters Friday, but he told trainers about the fatigue after that media session.
The Rotation Takes More Hits
This is the last thing Houston needed. The Astros are already dealing with injuries in the rotation. Right-hander Hunter Brown landed on the 15-day injured list last Sunday with a right shoulder strain, and right-hander Cristian Javier was placed on the IL Friday with a similar issue. That's a lot of shoulder and arm trouble for one staff.
To manage the workload, Houston optioned right-hander J.P. France to Triple-A Sugar Land after he pitched 2 2/3 innings Friday. The team brought up right-hander Jayden Murray from the Space Cowboys to help fill the gap. The 29-year-old is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in six innings at Sugar Land.
For now, Imai sits at 1-0 with a 7.27 ERA across 8 2/3 innings, with 11 walks and 13 strikeouts. The hope is his doctors in Houston find nothing serious and he can get back on the mound soon. The Astros' rotation can't afford to lose another arm.
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