HOUSTON -- The road back from Tommy John surgery doesn’t always travel a straight line, and it doesn’t end after a pitcher makes his first start following the long layoff. Challenges persist with mechanics, the quality of the stuff and confidence, especially if the results don’t come right away.
Welcome to the world of Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski, whose return from having his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow replaced early last season has gone relatively smoothly. In his fifth start since his return, he threw five scoreless innings and allowed one single to lead the Astros to a 4-0 win over the A’s on Friday night at Daikin Park, after dropping series against the Mariners and Angels on the homestand.
“He was cruising the whole entire [start],” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He threw a ton of strikes. His stuff looked really good. The sweeper was really good against righties and the changeup against lefties -- he just mixed all his pitches really well. It was a really solid performance.”
The Astros (65-64), who remain one game ahead of the second-place Rangers in the American League West and own the tiebreaker, got a pair of RBI doubles by Yordan Alvarez, who continues to lead the AL in all Triple Crown categories -- batting average (.321), homers (36) and RBIs (90).
The Astros know all too well how Tommy John surgery can derail a career. José Urquidy and Luis Garcia, two key starters on their 2022 World Series championship club, underwent the procedure in early 2023 and never regained their form in Houston. Ronel Blanco, who underwent the surgery about the same time as Wesneski, made five outings (four starts) in his return this season and was recently sent to Triple-A with a 7.71 ERA.
Wesneski (3-1) has a 4.23 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 27 2/3 innings this year, striking out 22 batters and walking 10. He admits he doesn’t feel like quite the same pitcher he was pre-surgery.
“If you look back [to] last year, I had a little bit more firepower, a little bit more go-get-it in my windup, a little more trunk tilt,” he said. “I don’t know how much that’s going to change. Maybe I just don’t have the juice. I feel like I look a little more stiff than usual, more than I have in years past.”
Wesneski and Blanco were on pretty much the same schedule this summer while rehabbing in Florida and pushed each other to get back. Wesneski also reached out to some other pitchers who had Tommy John surgery previously and heard the same thing -- you won’t feel like yourself for a while.
“I feel a little bit off, but I think I’m throwing strikes,” he said. “I really wish the walks could go away and I could finish guys a little bit more. I feel like there’s a lot of foul balls, the last two outings in particular. For the most part, I’m throwing strikes, throwing the ball in the general direction and I’m getting outs and giving my team a chance.”
Wesneski walked three batters and struck out four Friday while tossing 91 pitches (59 strikes). He got 14 whiffs, including eight on his slider/sweeper. Wesneski averaged 93.8 mph with his fastball, which is exactly his season average, and touched 95.4 mph.
“We’re keeping an eye on the velo,” Espada said. “We’re just going to keep a close eye on those guys and be mindful of injuries, mindful of workload. We’re entering that time of the season where it’s going to be asking these guys to push themselves a little bit. We have to keep in mind their health.”
Wesneski threw seven innings, allowing three runs and five hits, on Aug. 10 in San Francisco, and then gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings Saturday against the Mariners. He was able to rebound Friday to give Houston’s beleaguered rotation a boost.
“To be honest with you, the last outing I didn't feel like my stuff was that bad,” he said. “I did get hit around, but just putting [pitches] in better spots and throwing the right pitch at the right time. We were working on some mechanical stuff -- we have been since the last month coming off rehab -- and I look different than I did last year. But that’s part of it. You’re going to look different every year.”