SEATTLE -- Astros rookie right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who struggled to find the strike zone while recording just one out in Friday’s 9-6 loss to the Mariners, traveled back to Houston on Saturday, a source told MLB.com, presumably to be examined by team doctors.
The Astros have not confirmed the report.
There was no indication during or after Friday’s game that Imai may have been dealing with any sort of injury. Imai did complain postgame that the mound at T-Mobile Park was hard and it was “not usual” to pitch in cooler weather when he was in Japan. Earlier this year, Imai said he was still adjusting to the ball and the mound in the Major Leagues.
Imai, making the third start of his career, faced only eight hitters Friday, walking four of them, hitting one, allowing one hit and three runs. He has a 54 percent strike percentage through three starts and on Friday threw only 17 of 37 pitches for strikes. He had one whiff on 13 swings.
The Astros signed Imai to a three-year, $54 million contract out of Japan in January as their biggest offseason acquisition as part of a bigger effort to improve their pitching depth. That depth is being tested early.
This is the third time in a week the Astros have sent a starting pitcher back to Houston, with both Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier landing on the injured list with grade 2 shoulder strains. That means three-fifths of Houston’s rotation has dealt with some kind of injury concern within the first 14 games of the season.
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).
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.