Astros ace Hunter Brown to 15-day IL with shoulder strain

The Houston Astros positioned ace Hunter Brown on the 15-day injured record Sunday with a strain in his pitching shoulder, dropping considered one of baseball’s greatest beginning pitchers to damage.

Brown final pitched on Tuesday, when he had eight strikeouts over six innings in Houston’s victory over the Boston Red Sox.

The Astros didn’t disclose whether or not Brown could be sidelined longer than the minimal 15-day IL stint, which is retroactive to April 2. Right-hander Christian Roa was recalled from Triple-A Sugarland in a corresponding roster transfer.

After some preliminary struggles early in his profession, Brown broke by means of in the course of the 2024 season. Last season, the right-hander generated a 2.43 ERA in 31 begins, main the Astros’ employees with 6.1 WAR and ending third within the AL Cy Young Award voting.

With Framber Valdez‘s departure as a free agent, Brown got here into the season because the clear ace of the employees for Houston, which missed the playoffs final season for the primary time since 2016.

Brown, 27, has a 0.84 ERA over his first two begins this season, with 17 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.