The injury bug bites again. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
The Houston Astros have already dealt with their fair share of injuries in 2025, particularly among their starting pitching staff.
Spencer Arrighetti is currently sidelined with a fractured thumb, and Hayden Wesneski is out for the season, needing Tommy John surgery.
The Astros were hoping to receive good news when they asked for a second opinion on Ronel Blanco's elbow injury.
RHP Ronel Blanco will undergo right elbow surgery next week, which will sideline him for the remainder of the 2025 season.
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) May 28, 2025
Unfortunately for Blanco, it appears that the second opinion confirmed a similar diagnosis to the first one.
The Astros have revealed that Blanco will be out for the season, requiring Tommy John surgery. Add Blanco to the list with Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, and Wesneski, who are working their way back from season-ending elbow surgery.
JP France is also trying to recover from shoulder surgery that he had last season. Tough luck for Houston, having three-fifths of the starting rotation unavailable before getting out of May.
At least Arrighetti is expected to return, possibly in July. He began playing catch on Tuesday, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
Astros did get some good news: Spencer Arrighetti began playing catch yesterday.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 28, 2025
And GM Dana Brown told the Astros flagship on Wednesday that the club hopes to get Garcia back in July or August. Brown also gave an update on Yordan Alvarez. They're basically waiting on Yordan to let them know when he's ready.
Arms race
For the time being, it appears the team will roll with Ryan Gusto, Colton Gordon, and whomever else they can call up from Sugar Land to fill the fourth and fifth starter roles. The trade market is always an option too.
Luis Robert Jr. homered, Shane Smith pitched six effective innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Edgar Quero had two RBIs as last-place Chicago won for the fourth time in five games.
Robert hit a run-scoring double in the second and his sixth homer in the fourth, a solo drive to left-center off Lance McCullers Jr. (1-2). He also made a sliding catch on Jake Meyers' liner to center in the eighth, stranding runners on the corners.
Smith (3-3) allowed one run and seven hits in his second straight win.
Grant Taylor, one of Chicago's top prospects, worked a 1-2-3 seventh in his major league debut. He hit 101.5 mph on his first pitch, a ball to Victor Caratini.
Brandon Eisert handled the ninth for his second save.
Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz each hit a sacrifice fly for Houston in the opener of a six-game homestand. McCullers permitted four runs and four hits in five innings.
Chicago scored two runs in the third to open a 3-0 lead. With two out and the bases loaded, Quero hit a two-run single to left.
Key moment
Meyers and Caratini hit back-to-back singles in the fourth, but Shane Smith got Cam Smith to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Key stat
Smith has won back-to-back starts for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old right-hander went into the game leading all MLB rookies with a 2.45 ERA.
Up next
Sean Burke (3-6, 4.03 ERA) is expected to pitch Wednesday for the White Sox against Ryan Gusto (3-3, 4.78 ERA) in the second of a three-game series.
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