HOUSTON — A day after starting pitcher José Urquidy left a game with a shoulder injury that put him on the injured list, the Astros’ rotation suffered another blow when Luis Garcia broke Monday in Monday’s 7-3 win over the Giants at Minute Maid Park only after that left eight pitches due to discomfort in the right elbow.
Garcia, coming into the game on a scoreless 13-inning streak, gave Lamonte Wade Jr. a leadoff single and counted out Thairo Estrada for 2-2 when catcher Martín Maldonado went to the mound and signaled to the dugout. After a brief meeting with a coach and manager Dusty Baker, Garcia was pulled from the game.
Garcia said he felt the pain around the fifth pitch he threw. He said he will have an MRI on Tuesday. Urquidy’s MRI, performed on Monday, showed inflammation in his shoulder and he is no longer allowed to throw.
“He’ll be gone for a while; we don’t know how long it will be before he gets better,” Baker said of Urquidy. “Hopefully he comes back relatively soon. We don’t know when. We only have to turn to the best.”
Brandon Bielak, who joined the Astros early Monday as Urquidy’s replacement, worked four innings to relief, allowing two runs with three walks and six strikeouts. He is the most likely candidate to take over from Urquidy in the rotation.
The Astros’ pitching depth will be tested after losing freehand Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr. to injury early in spring training. The only other healthy starting pitchers on the 40-man roster at Triple-A Sugar Land are JP France and Forrest Whitley, the former first-round draft pick who has a 6.00 ERA in 21 innings.
“It’s been my main goal throughout my career to work with the Astros on the starting rotation, and if I get this opportunity I’ll take it and run,” said Bielak, who flew in from Reno, Nevada. on Monday morning.
Both Urquidy (Mexico) and Garcia (Venezuela) competed in the World Baseball Classic in March, as did Cristian Javier (Dominican Republic). The Astros requested left winger Framber Valdez not to play for the Dominican Republic at the WBC, and he stayed in camp instead.
“I hate to think that some of our guys, especially the Latinos that went to the WBC, come out lame, and I hope that wasn’t the cause of the problem,” Baker said.
The Astros were remarkably healthy last year with their pitching staff dominant in their run to the World Series Championship. Maldonado said it’s time others stepped up.
“We also understand that it’s part of the game,” he said. “You always need more than 26 people in teams. Check out Bielak. Arrived today, flew today and made it big. We’re going to need what we’ve always been good at, someone to step up. I don’t know how serious it is, but at the end of the day, it’s all about cheering each other up. That is our philosophy.”
Urquidy’s and Garcia’s cut-back stakes didn’t stop the Astros from winning both games. Houston broke up a tie game on Monday seventh by sending 10 batters on the plate and scoring five runs. Mauricio Dubón, traded from the Giants a year ago, went 3-on-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs against his former team and continues to excel while filling in for injured second baseman Jose Altuve.
Altuve, who broke his right thumb when he was hit by a pitch at the WBC, could be back by the end of the month, and outfielder Michael Brantley – who has been out since June last year with a shoulder injury – could be back earlier. The Astros could have their full roster intact by the end of May for the first time this year, but the health of the rotation is a growing concern.
“It’s tough to see Luis go down like that in the first inning, and [when] Bielak got off the plane and pitched the way he pitched, that’s a big help,” said Dubón. “To come up with the win was great. It was a good day at the ballpark.”