SEATTLE -- Just when the Astros thought things couldn’t get any worse regarding the state of their starting pitching rotation, Cody Bolton was removed from Sunday’s game against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park after throwing 42 pitches and recording only three outs.
Bolton, making his second start, allowed a run in the first inning and walked the first three batters he faced in the second. Astros manager Joe Espada and an athletic trainer came to the mound during Bolton’s at-bat with Brendan Donovan, and Bolton was removed from the game with mid-back tightness, per the team.
Simply put, Houston’s starting rotation is in tatters, having already sent three starting pitchers back to Houston because of injuries in the last week. Tatsuya Imai flew back to Houston on Saturday after complaining of right arm fatigue in Friday’s loss in which he recorded just one out and struggled to throw strikes.
Astros ace Hunter Brown and fellow starter Cristian Javier flew to Houston earlier in the week, and each was diagnosed with a grade 2 shoulder strain. They were placed on the 15-day injured list and have been shut down from throwing for two weeks. There was no update on Imai’s prognosis Sunday.
Friday began a stretch of 13 consecutive games without a day off for the Astros, whose bullpen had thrown more innings (65) than the starting rotation (64 1/3) through 15 games. The Astros are expected to add Spencer Arrighetti to their rotation from Triple-A Sugar Land later this week, but the rash of injuries will force them to reach even deeper into their starting pitching depth.
“This is why we went out and signed a lot of pitchers this offseason,” Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday on the team’s pregame radio show on KBME-AM in Houston. “We feel like we have some depth now that’s currently in our bullpen. We’re going to have to potentially stretch out [Ryan] Weiss and potentially stretch out [Kai-Wei] Teng.”
Brown said Nate Pearson -- who along with Imai, Weiss, Teng and Monday starter Mike Burrows was acquired in the offseason -- is rehabbing from an injury and will be stretched out as a starter, Brown said. He also mentioned Triple-A starters Peter Lambert, Colton Gordon and Jason Alexander as rotation options for the Astros.
“We feel like right now that we’re going to be able to sustain these injuries because of the depth we have,” Brown said. “We just need to get these guys back as soon as we can. It’s very difficult if you’re going to try to go too many weeks without Hunter Brown. That’s your ace, he’s the big guy, he’s the guy that stops the bleeding, he’s the guy that ends the losing streaks. And when you don’t have your big horse, it makes it real difficult.
“Of course, he would have had two starts on his road trip. This is a temporary turbulent time for us, and we’ll fight our way out of it like we’ve done in the past.”
Alexander threw seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk against Tacoma -- the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate -- on Tuesday, then he allowed one run in six innings against the Rainiers on Sunday. 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.