Astros turn to Hunter Brown in rematch vs. Pirates

The Astros' 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game interleague series on Monday took a back seat to the four-player trade that landed Houston veteran left-hander Yusei Kikuchi from Toronto.

The cost of doing business was high for the Astros, who currently have five starting pitchers on the injured list: Justin Verlander, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia. Houston shipped out rookie right-hander Jake Bloss, rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido and minor league infielder Will Wagner to Toronto.

Kikuchi (4-9, 4.75 ERA with 130 strikeouts in 115 2/3 innings) could join the Astros as early as Tuesday. He was scheduled to start for the Blue Jays on Wednesday, an outing that might instead come for Houston in the series finale against the Pirates. The Astros hope to unlock superior results from Kikuchi once he confers with their coaching staff. Kikuchi is 0-4 with a 7.75 ERA over his last eight starts.

"In order to get a major league starter with that type of arm, you're going to have to give up some pretty good players that hurt," Astros general manager Dana Brown said. "It's pretty difficult to give up young talent, but at the end of the day, we're trying to really stabilize our rotation so that we can get back to the postseason and potentially get deep into the postseason."

Right-hander Hunter Brown (9-6, 4.00 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros on Tuesday.

Brown recorded his team-leading 12th quality start on Wednesday after allowing one run on eight hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over six innings in an 8-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics. He has logged six-plus innings in 12 consecutive starts, the second-longest streak in the majors this season. He is 8-2 with a 2.10 ERA and .590 OPS allowed during that stretch.

Brown will make his first career start against the Pirates. He is 4-6 with a 4.45 ERA in 15 career appearances (11 starts) against the National League.

Left-hander Bailey Falter (4-7, 4.08) has the starting assignment for the Pirates.

Falter was reinstated from the injured list on Monday after missing 17 games with left triceps tendonitis. Falter worked only two innings in his last start before his IL stint, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts in a 5-2 loss to the New York Mets on July 6. That marked his fifth loss in six decisions after Falter went 1-4 with a 5.63 ERA in June.

Falter is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two career starts against the Astros. He allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in a 4-3 loss to Houston on April 30, 2023, while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Pirates' comeback win on Monday came with a measure of concern as both right fielder Joshua Palacios (left hamstring) and center fielder Ji Hwan Bae (left knee) departed due to injury.

Palacios was removed in the bottom of the fifth inning and replaced in the lineup by Michael A. Taylor, who clubbed the game-winning, three-run home run in the top of the ninth.

Bae initially shifted from center to right to replace Palacios, but he sustained an injury trying to avoid the tag of Astros first baseman Jon Singleton following his leadoff bunt in the sixth inning.

"I think we'll do a better job of getting evaluated," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "Ji just landed funny and it scared him as much as anything because of the way he dove away to get away from Singleton. Overall, we'll know more (Tuesday morning)."

--Field Level Media