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Astros' Cristian Javier: Excels in second spring start
Rotowire
Javier struck out five and allowed two hits and one walk over four scoreless innings Sunday in the Astros' 1-0 win over the Marlins in Grapefruit League play.
Taking the hill for his second start of spring training, Javier built up to 56 pitches, spotting 38 of them for strikes while generating 11 whiffs. The right-hander's fastball averaged 92.3 miles per hour on the afternoon, a half tick behind his average from the 2025 season and about a half tick up from the 91.7 mph he averaged during his first start back on March 9, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Javier is expected to make one final Grapefruit League start during the upcoming week before making his first turn of the regular season in the Astros' four-game home series versus the Angels at the end of the month.
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Astros' Cristian Javier: Returning to team Saturday
Rotowire
Manager Joe Espada said Friday that Javier (personal) will return to the Astros on Saturday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Javier left the team Wednesday to tend to a personal matter. The right-hander will turn 29 years old on Opening Day, and this will be his first fully healthy season since he underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2024. Across eight starts last regular season, Javier logged a 4.62 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 34:15 K:BB over 37 innings. He's tentatively expected to follow Hunter Brown and Tatsuya Imai in the rotation.
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Astros' Cristian Javier: Away from team for personal matter
Rotowire
Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that Javier will be away from the club for the next few days while tending to a personal matter, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Citing privacy, Espada didn't provide any further information regarding Javier's upcoming absence, but the skipper noted that the right-hander will continue to throw while he remains away. Javier tossed 1.2 innings and 52 pitches in his Grapefruit League debut Monday, so as long as he's able to return to the team in time to make another start before spring training ends, he should be able to handle something close to a normal workload when his first turn in the rotation comes up during the regular season.
Astros' Cristian Javier: Takes loss against Athletics
Rotowire
Javier (2-4) allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out four over 4.2 innings to take the loss Tuesday versus the Athletics.
Javier's own fielding error was responsible for the unearned run on his line. He ran into further trouble in the fourth and fifth innings, and the Astros' offense wasn't able to cover his mistakes in the end. Javier has allowed 14 runs (13 earned) over 21 innings across his four starts in September, losing three of them. He's now at a 4.62 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 34:15 K:BB through 37 innings over eight starts this season. He would be on regular rest for the Astros' regular-season finale Sunday versus the Angels, but if the team either clinches a playoff spot or is eliminated by then, Javier might not make that start.
Javier (2-3) earned the win over Texas on Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts over six innings.
Javier surrendered a pair of runs in the second inning, but the Rangers were unable to cross the plate outside of that frame. The righty hurler finished with his second quality start of the campaign and completed exactly six innings for the third time in his past four outings. Javier is just over five weeks past his 2025 Astros debut after coming back from Tommy John surgery, and his 88 pitches Wednesday marked a season high. His next start is projected to be on the road against the Athletics.
Javier (1-3) took the loss Thursday against Toronto, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six.
Javier got off to a rocky start Thursday, allowing two runs in the opening inning before giving up a leadoff homer to Davis Schneider in the second. Javier would eventually settle in and hold the Jays to one run over his final four frames, though he'd ultimately come away with the loss in a 6-0 defeat. In six starts since rejoining Houston's rotation, the 28-year-old Javier's posted a 4.78 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP and 26:13 K:BB across 26.1 innings. He's currently scheduled to face the Rangers at home in his next outing.
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