The Houston Astros placed top starting pitcher Hunter Brown on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder sprain. The team announced the move on Sunday.
Brown, 27, allowed only one run in his first two starts this season. He notched 17 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings with five hits and six walks.
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Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters that Brown felt something wrong during his between-starts throwing routine on Friday. He underwent imaging exams and was then sent back to Houston to be evaluated by team doctors.
The Astros finish a three-game series in Sacramento with the Athletics before continuing their road trip with three games in Colorado and four in Seattle.
“He’s never been injured and this is new for all of us,” Espada said, via MLB.com. “He didn’t sound concerned, which is good, but it’s new. We’re going to let the doctors evaluate him and we’ll see where we go from there.”
Brown last pitched on Tuesday, allowing one run and one hit with eight strikeouts in six innings versus the Boston Red Sox. He was scheduled to face the Colorado Rockies on Monday.
On Opening Day, Brown threw 102 pitches in 4 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels, arguably a heavy workload for the first start of a season. Espada pulled him after 78 pitches facing Boston.
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Brown finished third in voting for the American League Cy Young Award last season, finishing with a 2.43 ERA and 206 strikeouts in a career-high 185 1/3 innings.
To replace Brown on the big-league roster, Christian Roa was called up from Triple-A. He had just been sent to the minors last week. In two appearances with Houston, the right-hander allowed one run, one hit and two walks with two strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings. Roa threw one scoreless inning with Sugar Land.
The Astros have not yet announced who will start in Brown’s place on Monday. Relievers AJ Blubaugh (1.69 ERA, three appearances) or Ryan Weiss (1.50 ERA in three games) could make a spot start out of the bullpen.
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Spencer Arrighetti (two starts, 8 1/3 scoreless innings) could be called up from Triple-A, but wouldn’t be able to start until Wednesday after pitching on Friday. Jason Alexander (8.53 ERA in two starts) is another minor-league candidate who could get the nod.
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