The Astros optioned Blanco to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday.
Houston activated right-hander Phil Maton (elbow) from the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. Blanco has now been optioned five times this season, so if he's called up again by Houston, he would have to be exposed to waivers if the Astros end up demoting him.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Recalled from Sugar Land
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Houston recalled Blanco from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.
Blanco had an extended run in the Astros' starting rotation earlier this summer, but he will work in long relief in his return to the major-league roster. Brandon Bielak was optioned out in a corresponding move.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Optioned back to Triple-A
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Blanco was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land following the Astros' 3-2 victory over the Guardians on Wednesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Blanco made a spot start in Wednesday afternoon's series finale versus Cleveland and scattered two earned runs on five hits and four walks over four innings while tallying three strikeouts. Phil Maton picked up the official win in relief.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Recalled for start Wednesday
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Houston recalled Blanco from Triple-A Sugar Land ahead of his start Wednesday against the Guardians, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Blanco has posted an underwhelming 4.70 ERA and 1.44 WHIP through 46 major-league innings this season and he had allowed 16 runs -- 15 earned -- in 15 frames (three starts) since being optioned back to Triple-A in early July. The 29-year-old right-hander makes for a risky fantasy streaming option, even versus Cleveland's lackluster offense.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Sent to Triple-A
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Blanco was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Blanco was called up for a spot start against the Mariners on Thursday, giving up three runs in six innings. He wasn't going to get into another game before the All-Star break, so he'll return to the minors to await his next chance. Joel Kuhnel was recalled to give the team another option in the bullpen.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Officially promoted
Rotowire
The Astros recalled Blanco from Triple-A Sugar Land ahead of his start Thursday against Seattle.
Blanco was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday, but he'll come right back to the majors to make another start after Framber Valdez's (ankle) start was pushed back to Saturday and Cristian Javier's turn was skipped. Blanco holds a 4.70 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through 23 innings across his last four starts. Jose Altuve (oblique) was placed on the injured list in a corresponding move.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Solid in spot start
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Blanco (2-1) took the loss Thursday versus the Mariners, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out nine over six innings.
It was a quality start for Blanco, his third such effort in six starts this season. Unfortunately for the right-hander, two of the hits he surrendered were home runs to Eugenio Suarez and J.P. Crawford, and the Astros' offense didn't offer much support. Blanco is now at a 4.70 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 48:24 K:BB over 46 innings through 15 appearances this season. It's unclear at this time if he'll be in the rotation -- or even on the big-league roster -- following the All-Star break.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Likely to rejoin rotation Thursday
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The Astros are expected to recall Blanco from Triple-A Sugar Land to have him start Thursday against the Mariners, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 News Houston reports.
Since Blanco had been optioned to Sugar Land on Sunday, the Astros will need to place a player on the injured list to facilitate his return to the big club, with Jose Altuve (oblique) standing out as the most obvious candidate to be deactivated in a corresponding move. The Astros sent Blanco back to the minors with the expectation that he wouldn't be needed to make another start before the All-Star break, but those plans changed when Framber Valdez needed more time to recover from an ankle injury and with manager Dusty Baker opting to skip the struggling Cristian Javier's next turn through the rotation. Over his prior 14 appearances (five starts) with Houston this season, Blanco pitched to a 4.73 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 39:22 K:BB in 40 innings.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Heads to minors
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The Astros optioned Blanco to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.
Since Blanco wasn't scheduled to make another start during the final week before the All-Star break, the Astros opted to swap him off the 26-man active roster in favor of a fresh bullpen arm in Parker Mushinski, who was recalled from Sugar Land in a corresponding move. While serving as a starter in each of his last five appearances for Houston, Blanco went 2-0 with a 4.82 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 23:15 K:BB across 28 innings. Unless Jose Urquidy (shoulder) is ready to return from the 60-day injured list coming out of the All-Star break, Blanco will likely rejoin the Astros once the team requires a fifth starter for the first time in the second half.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Picks up second win
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Blanco (2-0) yielded three runs on four hits and four walks over five innings Friday, striking out two and earning a win against Texas.
Most of the damage against Blanco came in the fourth inning when he served up back-to-back solo homers to Josh Jung and Jonah Heim. Despite the lackluster outing, Blanco picked up his second career win and first since June 1. Since moving from the bullpen to the rotation, he's registered a 4.82 ERA and a 23:15 K:BB through five starts. He's currently projected for a home matchup with the Rockies next week.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Records quality start Saturday
Rotowire
Blanco allowed three runs on two hits and two walks while striking out six batters over six innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers on Saturday.
It looked like Blanco could be in for a rough outing when Los Angeles hit two homers and put up three runs in the first inning, but the right-hander didn't allow any runs or hits over the remainder of his start. He finished with the second quality start of his career, both of which have come over his past three appearances. Blanco got the start Saturday as a result of Brandon Bielak being demoted to the minors, and the former likely showed enough in recovering from the rough first frame to remain in the rotation. He's tentatively scheduled for a difficult matchup on the road against Texas his next time out.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Next start coming Saturday
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Blanco is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
After a brief move to the bullpen, Blanco shifted back into the Houston rotation last weekend against the Reds when the Astros opted to build in an extra day of rest between starts for rookie Hunter Brown. Blanco had been expected to return to the bullpen this week, but the Astros' recent decision to demote Brandon Bielak to Triple-A Sugar Land now opens up a more permanent starting role. Given that he's turned in a 4.76 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 15:9 K:BB in 17 innings through his first three starts with Houston, Blanco hasn't yet established himself as a trustworthy streaming option.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Allows five runs in spot start
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Blanco did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against Cincinnati. He struck out five.
Blanco recently shifted back to the bullpen when Houston condensed its rotation from six to five, but he got a spot start Sunday because manager Dusty Baker wanted to give Hunter Brown an extra day of rest. Blanco struggled versus the Reds and surrendered a season-high five runs, and over his last three appearances (all starts), the right-hander has given up five home runs and nine earned runs while posting a questionable 15:9 K:BB through 17 innings.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Making spot start Sunday
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Blanco is scheduled to start Sunday's game against the Reds at Minute Maid Park, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
After the Astros' recent stretch of 17 games in 17 days came to an end Monday, Blanco was moved to the bullpen while Houston condensed its rotation from six men to five. The Astros still plan on running a five-man rotation for the most part, but Blanco will make a spot start this weekend since manager Dusty Baker wants to give rookie Hunter Brown an extra day to recover from the seven-inning, 99-pitch workload he handled in Tuesday's win over the Nationals. Blanco will presumably transition back to a relief role following Sunday's start.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Shifting to bullpen
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Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Blanco will be available out of the bullpen as a long reliever moving forward with Houston transitioning back to a five-man rotation, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The Astros are completing a string of 17 games in 17 days Sunday, and Blanco had been called up from Triple-A Sugar Land early in that stretch to help give Houston's other five starting pitchers an extra day of rest amid the busy schedule. Though Blanco acquitted himself well in his first two big-league starts -- he turned in a 3.18 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 10:7 K:BB in 11.1 innings -- his results weren't spectacular enough to supplant either J.P. France or Brandon Bielak as a back-end option in the rotation.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Gives up two runs in no-decision
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Blanco did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits and four walks over six innings against Toronto. He struck out five.
Blanco allowed two solo home runs but completed a season-high six innings en route to his first career quality start. After operating as a reliever over his first 16 appearances at the big-league level, the right-hander has made back-to-back starts since being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land last Thursday. He's been solid in his new role, giving up four runs over 11.1 innings while striking out 10, but he's walked seven batters and surrendered three home runs. So far, the walks and long balls haven't been detrimental to his overall line, but those issues could certainly become worrisome in the future. It's unclear if Blanco will get another start, as the Astros may opt to move back to a five-man rotation with an off day Monday which ends a stretch of 17 games in 17 days.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Getting second start Wednesday
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Blanco is scheduled to make his second MLB start Wednesday in Toronto.
After working as a reliever in his first 16 career big-league appearances, Blanco was summoned from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday to join the Houston rotation. The 29-year-old right-hander came away with a win in his start against the Angels, striking out five while giving up two earned runs on seven hits and three walks over 5.1 innings. While the Astros are in the midst of a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, Blanco will be part of a six-man rotation, but he could be headed back to Sugar Land after Wednesday's outing since Houston is likely to transition back to a five-man rotation the following week.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Nabs win in first big-league start
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Blanco (1-0) garnered the win against the Angels on Thursday, allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five batters over 5.1 innings.
It wasn't a breezy outing for the right-hander -- he threw just 59 of 94 pitches for a strike and dealt with plenty of traffic on the bases -- but he mostly got out of trouble when he needed to (including an inning-ending strikeout of Shohei Ohtani with the bases loaded in the second.) Blanco had come out of the bullpen for each of his first 16 major-league appearances but will pitch as a starter for the time being with the Astros not getting their next day off until June 12. It remains to be seen how he will adjust to the role, as it's relatively foreign to him -- over eight minor-league campaigns, only 23 of his 191 appearances came as a starter.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Recalled to start Thursday
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Blanco was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Blanco will make his first major-league start Thursday against the Angels. The 29-year-old has posted a 0.56 ERA and 21:13 K:BB over 16 innings covering two starts and two relief appearances at Sugar Land this season and a 4.50 ERA in nine relief outings with Houston. He would figure to be on a relatively limited pitch count Thursday.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Sent to Triple-A
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Blanco was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
He logged a 4.50 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 12 innings while working in a low-leverage role. The move clears a roster spot for Saturday's starter J.P. France.
