Connect with us

Sports

Astros' AJ Blubaugh set for big-league debut vs. Tigers

MLB: Houston Astros-WorkoutsFeb 14, 2024; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Houston Astros pitcher A.J. Blubaugh (69) works out during spring training at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers right-hander Jackson Jobe, set for the seventh outing of his major league career, will be the more experienced starter on the mound when he faces the host Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon.

The Astros are calling up their top pitching prospect, right-hander AJ Blubaugh, for his major league debut as they shoot for a three-game series sweep.

Blubaugh went 2-2 with 3.86 ERA in five games (four starts) for Triple-A Sugar Land this season, recording 28 strikeouts and 10 walks in 21 innings.

The 24-year-old Ohio native was a seventh-round pick out of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by the Astros in the 2022 draft. He has recorded 297 strikeouts and 112 walks over 268 1/3 innings in 65 appearances (44 starts) in the minors.

Blubaugh will start in place of right-hander Hayden Wesneski, who is getting extra rest between outings.

“We’re going to give him a couple of more days to recover from his last start,” Espada said of Wesneski, who is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA through five starts. “Yes, he’s healthy. …

“I just want to make sure he plays catch, recovers well and I’ll make a decision on (whether he starts this weekend vs. the White Sox in Chicago).”

Wesneski has lasted at least five innings in each of starts for the Astros, who acquired him as part of the trade that sent Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in December. Most recently, he threw a season-low 80 pitches while tossing five-plus innings of two-run ball in a 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

Jobe (2-0, 2.70 ERA) earned his second consecutive winning decision on April 18 against the Royals, allowing one run on five hits over five innings, but he hasn’t pitched since. That outing followed a 4-0 road win over the Minnesota Twins on April 12, when Jobe worked six scoreless innings. He made his major league debut on Sept. 25, 2024, and appeared twice as a reliever for the Tigers that month.

Jobe will be making his first career regular-season appearance against the Astros. He faced Houston in Game 2 of the 2024 American League wild-card series and surrendered two runs on two hits while recording one out in a no-decision during the Tigers’ 5-2, series-clinching win.

As the organization’s top pitching prospect, the Tigers are exercising caution in utilizing Jobe. However, the time between his starts was extended a bit beyond what they considered ideal.

“He’s more than ready to go,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Poor guy, he’s been waiting and waiting and waiting. The best-laid plans were we loved the fact that we were going to get him extra rest. We didn’t know or intend for it to be this long. He will be eager for the day game. Day game after a night game has its own challenges. It will not be a challenge for Jackson.

“The work (between starts) is great. But I think the routine part of the season and the rhythm and being able to be in competition is important. That’s the one downside. He hasn’t competed in 10 to 12 days. It doesn’t mean it’s not an issue, but it will be fine once he gets back in rhythm.”

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Canes keep rolling, blank Flyers to open semifinal series

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Philadelphia Flyers at Carolina HurricanesMay 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (22) is congratulated by left wing Taylor Hall (71) and right wing Jackson Blake (53) after his goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

Logan Stankoven scored twice and goaltender Frederik Andersen collected his second shutout of this year’s playoffs as the host Carolina Hurricanes opened their playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-0 victory on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.

Jackson Blake scored once and added an assist for the Hurricanes, who followed a first-round sweep of the Ottawa Senators with a decisive victory to kick off the Eastern Conference best-of-seven semifinal series.

Andersen made 18 saves for his seventh career playoff shutout.

Mike Reilly collected a pair of assists.

Dan Vladar stopped 20 shots for the Flyers, who will attempt to regroup when the series resumes Monday in Raleigh.

The Hurricanes, who finished atop the Eastern Conference standings in the regular season, are yet to trail in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs and continued that trend thanks to their hottest player.

Stankoven tallied for the fifth consecutive game to open the scoring only 91 seconds into the clash. Reilly fired a point shot that Stankoven deflected into the net. Stankoven, 23, is the youngest player in history to score goals in five consecutive games to open the playoffs.

Stankoven has scored first in four of Carolina’s five playoff outings.

Blake doubled the lead six minutes later with a highlight-reel worthy tally. He zipped around the defenders before tucking home the puck for his second tally of the playoffs.

The Flyers had managed only one shot on goal at the point.

Stankoven gave the Hurricanes a three-goal edge late in the second period. After a turnover, Seth Jarvis fed a pass to Stankoven in the slot and he immediately buried the chance with 3:44 remaining in the middle frame.

From there, the Hurricanes cruised to victory, amidst a string of message-sending infractions by the Flyers and retaliatory actions from Carolina’s skaters.

After a handful of players were sent to the dressing room with misconducts just past the midway point of the final frame, things quieted.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Mariners place INF Will Wilson (thumb) on 10-day injured list

MLB: Seattle Mariners at St. Louis CardinalsApr 25, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Will Wilson (7) reacts after hitting a two home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Seattle Mariners placed infielder Will Wilson on the 10-day injured list on Saturday because of a fractured left thumb.

The move was retroactive to Thursday. In a corresponding move, the Mariners recalled catcher Jhonny Pereda from Triple-A Tacoma.

Wilson, 27, played in two games and hit .200 (1-for-5) with a home run in his first at-bat for the Mariners in an 11-9 win on April 25 against the host St. Louis Cardinals. He may have been injured on Wednesday when he went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in his second game this season, a 5-3 road victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The Los Angeles Angels selected Wilson in the first round (15th overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft out of North Carolina State.

Wilson, a second and third baseman, made his major league debut in 2025 with the Cleveland Guardians and batted .192 (15-for-78) with two RBIs and four doubles in 34 games. He signed as a free agent with Seattle in January.

Pereda, 30, has a career batting average of .241 with eight RBIs in 48 games with the Miami Marlins (2024), Athletics (2025) and Minnesota Twins (2025).

In other moves on Saturday, Seattle optioned left-hander Josh Simpson, 28, to Tacoma and selected right-hander Nick Davila, 27, from Double-A Arkansas.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Sean Burke stifles Padres, lifts White Sox to fifth straight win

MLB: Chicago White Sox at San Diego PadresMay 2, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Sean Burke (59) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images

Sean Burke tossed six scoreless innings Saturday night and the visiting Chicago White Sox stretched their winning streak to five with a 4-0 blanking of the San Diego Padres.

Burke (2-2) allowed only four hits and a walk while fanning eight, including Xander Bogaerts three times. Three relievers finished up, with Seranthony Dominguez getting the last two outs for his eighth save in 10 chances, as Chicago wrapped up its first series win over San Diego since 2022.

The Padres filled the bases with no outs in the ninth when Jackson Merrill beat out an infield single followed by walks to Manny Machado and Bogaerts. Grant Taylor slipped a called third strike past Gavin Sheets before Dominguez came in to retire Miguel Andujar on a shallow fly ball and strike out Luis Campusano.

Michael King (3-2) yielded seven hits and four runs over six-plus innings. King walked three and struck out five as the Padres dropped their fourth straight game.

Burke and King matched each other pitch-for-pitch through the first five innings. But the White Sox struck in the sixth when Tristan Peters drew a one-out walk and Andrew Benintendi legged out an infield single.

After Munetaka Murakami moved the runners up 90 feet with a groundout, Miguel Vargas looped a liner into short right field, scoring Peters and Benintendi for the only runs Chicago needed.

But the White Sox added on with two more runs in the seventh. Chase Meidroth singled and reached third on Sam Antonacci’s double, then scored on Edgar Quero’s single that knocked out King. Peters then capped the scoring with a safety squeeze bunt that plated Antonacci.

The Padres’ best scoring chances against Burke came in the second and fifth innings. Sheets walked and Andujar singled with one out in the second. But Burke stiffened, fanning Campusano and inducing a groundout from Jake Cronenworth.

In the fifth, Andujar led off with a single and Cronenworth singled with one out. However, Ramon Laureano flew out and Burke blew away Fernando Tatis Jr. on three pitches to quash the threat.

The Padres were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight runners.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading