Diaz homers in first game back from injury
Aledmys Diaz returned to the Astros’ lineup Monday night for the first time since landing on the injured list with a strained left hamstring May 26. He started at third base and went 1-for4 with a home run in the Astros’ 11-1 victory in the opener of a three-game series against the Athletics at Minute Maid Park.
“It is good to get Diaz back,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s been a long stint for him on the injured list. He just makes our team better.”
Diaz is hitting .284 with six home runs, including his sixth of the season in the third inning Monday, and 25 RBIs. Hinch likely will move him around the infield until Carlos Correa (fractured rib) comes back to assume his starting position at shortstop.
“He was doing really well when he got hurt,” Hinch said of Diaz. “Then multiple injuries — he couldn’t quite get back to 100 percent.”
To clear a spot on the roster for Diaz, the Astros optioned righthander Rogelio Armenteros to Class AAA Round Rock. Armenteros won his first major league start on Sunday, allowing a run in five innings as the Astros beat the Rangers 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep.
Armenteros’ demotion means fellow rookie Jose Urquidy gets to stay. Urquidy allowed one run and struck out nine batters in seven innings on Saturday, beating the Rangers for his first major league win. He will start Friday against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
Barring an injury, four days off in the next three weeks will allow the Astros to carry a fourman rotation until a fifth starter is needed Aug. 2 against the Mariners at Minute Maid Park.
“Those are hard conversations in general,” Hinch said. “I don’t like disrupting guys’ careers. I thanked (Armenteros) for what he did for us. Came in on three days’ rest in Anaheim and had some big innings. Pitched tremendously well (Sunday). We needed innings out of a starter.”
James to give arm a few days of rest
In the wake of a glaring drop in his pitch velocity of late, Astros righthander Josh James is experiencing arm fatigue.
“I’ll probably stay away from him for a day or two,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said before Monday’s game against the A’s.
James usually averages close to 98 mph on his four-seam fastball. The second-year reliever averaged 93.6 mph on it Sunday.
After James got the second out of the sixth inning with a fastball around 93 mph, Hinch, pitching coach Brent Strom and assistant athletic trainer Lee Meyer came out for a mound visit.
James stayed in and gave up a home run. Then Hinch took him out.
“I’m working on it. I'll be fine,” James said Monday.
Neither James nor the team would identify publicly which part of his arm is bothered.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” James said.
“Not anything more specific,” Hinch said. “It’s just the rigors of a season in July and August, where guys don’t feel great every single day. He’ll be day-to-day.
“We didn’t like what we saw yesterday, with him trying to govern himself on the field and play less than 100 percent.”
James, who has totaled 511⁄3 innings this season, has a 5.40 ERA in nine July appearances.
“A couple days down, and I’ll be all right,” James said.
“I think he’s going to have those times when he comes out and doesn’t feel 100 percent and the (velocity) is not there,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “I don’t think it’s an injury, but I’m glad A.J. pulled him because he clearly didn’t have the same stuff as he had before.
“We know he’s got a strong arm. I’ve seen this before from him where he goes out and doesn’t throw quite as hard and doesn’t feel quite as good. We’ll have to manage it, but I’m not concerned about it right now.”
Whitley to end stay in West Palm Beach
Forrest Whitley’s time in West Palm Beach, Fla., is nearing an end.
The former first-round pick will make a start for advanced Class A Fayetteville (N.C.) later this month, general manager Jeff Luhnow said Monday, finishing nearly a two-month “season reset” for Whitley.
On May 29, after throwing to a 12.21 ERA in eight Class AAA games, Whitley was placed on the injured list with right shoulder fatigue and sent to the Astros’ spring training facility in West Palm Beach. Luhnow later termed the time a “season reset” for the lanky 21-year-old righthander once heralded as one of the sport’s best pitching prospects.
“All these guys when they’re struggling, it’s a combination of mental and physical,” Luhnow said. “It’s a tough game, and we’ve seen it before: (Being) a top prospect is tough physically and mentally. It’s a combination, but he’s got a good mindset and a good attitude. He certainly has the talent.”
Whitley appeared in two Gulf Coast League games this month. Box scores on the league’s official website say he struck out 10 and walked nine across 41⁄3 innings, but those statistics are normally unreliable.
Luhnow corrected Whitley’s latest line from a July 19 game. Online box scores say he walked six men in 22⁄3 innings. The general manager said Whitley walked only four.
Even if Whitley can find himself again with a full-season affiliate, time appears almost up for him to make a major league impact. Luhnow said Tuesday he hopes Whitley can “finish this year strong and put himself in a good position for next year.”