Tatsuya Imai made his first rehab start since being placed on the injured list on April 13 with arm fatigue.
The Astros’ right-hander allowed five runs on six hits in two innings for Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday, throwing 59 pitches, 31 for strikes. He struck out two batters, walked three hitters and allowed a home run. Imai will likely need multiple outings before returning to the Majors, but he’s expected to return at some point in May.
Imai had a 7.27 ERA in his first three starts, while striking out 13 batters in 8 2/3 innings. Imai is in the first year of a three-year, $54 million deal after a decorated career in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization. He’s also one of many Astros starters currently on the injured list, including Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier.