SEATTLE -- If losing their second starting pitcher to a shoulder strain and a stint on the injured list in the span of five days wasn’t enough to push the Astros’ staff into disarray, Tatsuya Imai failing to escape the first inning Friday night at T-Mobile Field may have done the job.
After an offseason that saw the Astros’ focus on adding pitching depth to guard against the rash of injuries they suffered a year ago, Imai -- the Japanese superstar who was their biggest offseason acquisition -- had trouble throwing strikes and recorded just one out in a 9-6 loss to the Mariners that dropped Houston to 1-6 on its 10-game road trip.
Earlier in the day, the Astros placed right-handed starter Cristian Javier on the 15-day injured list with a grade 2 shoulder strain and center fielder Jake Meyers on the 10-day injured list with a grade 2 oblique strain. They suffered those injuries in Wednesday’s 9-1 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field.
To make matters worse, Friday began a stretch of 13 consecutive games without a day off for the Astros, so Houston desperately needs its undermanned rotation to eat more innings. Houston pitchers have a 6.32 ERA, with their relievers (7.08 ERA in 61 innings) having thrown one more inning than their starters (5.55 ERA in 60 innings).
“We’re having a tough time as a unit throwing strikes,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We’re working trying to make our adjustments, but it takes a toll on our staff and offense keeps grinding. The at-bats kept coming.”
The Astros got a three-run homer in the eighth inning from Yordan Alvarez and had the tying run at the plate in the ninth for Jeremy Peña, who grounded out against Andres Muñoz to end the game.
Imai, making his third start of his career, faced only eight hitters, walking four of them, hitting one, allowing one hit -- an infield single -- and three runs. He has a 54 percent strike percentage through three starts, which is a stark difference from the strike-thrower we saw in the spring.
“As we know more about him, we’ll continue to make adjustments with him,” Espada said
Imai, who spoke earlier this season about the different balls and mounds in the Major Leagues than those used in Japan, said the mound at T-Mobile was “really hard.”
“It’s not usual to throw in this kind of weather in Japan and the change of environment, I wasn't able to adjust to that, as well,” said Imai, who threw more balls (20) than strikes (17).
The injury to Javier came just days after ace Hunter Brown was placed on the IL, also with a grade 2 shoulder sprain. Both Javier and Brown will be shut down for two weeks, punching two huge holes in Houston’s thinning rotation.
The Astros selected the contracts of right-hander J.P. France and outfielder Taylor Trammell to take the place of Javier and Meyers, while transferring right-hander Ronel Blanco to the 60-day IL. France threw 2 2/3 innings in relief Friday, allowing four runs, four walks and three hits.
Another one of the Astros’ long relief options, Ryan Weiss, threw 64 pitches in 2 1/3 innings Friday, giving up two runs and four hits. Houston may have to summon another arm from Triple-A to help them navigate Saturday’s game.
“We’ve got to keep grinding,” Espada said. “We’ll figure it out. We’ll start getting the ball in the zone, we’ll start getting some people out, we’ll have quick innings, we’ll do that. Give credit to our offense, man. We were one swing away from getting back in that game.”
With two starting pitchers landing on the injured list and the team expected to go to a six-man rotation in the coming days, the Astros have yet to announce their rotation beyond Lance McCullers Jr. on Saturday. Spencer Arrighetti, who threw six innings Thursday for Triple-A Sugar Land and struck out seven while allowing two runs and four hits, will almost certainly make his next start for Houston next week.
A candidate to start later in the series is Jason Alexander, who threw seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk against Tacoma -- the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate -- on Tuesday. The Astros won nine consecutive Alexander starts at one point last summer, and he was 4-0 with a 3.27 ERA on the road last year. Seattle did rock him for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings on Sept. 21 in Houston, though.