Brown will start Wednesday in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Tigers, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The Astros fell to the Tigers, 3-1, in Game 1 on Tuesday and will send Brown to the bump for an elimination game. The 26-year-old allowed one run on three hits and a walk in his last start Sept. 23. The right-hander, who'll be on extended rest, will look to help preserve Houston's season.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Strikes out eight in loss
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Brown (11-9) allowed a run on three hits and three walks while striking out eight over six innings to take the loss versus the Mariners on Monday.
Brown has six quality starts over his last seven outings, and his eight strikeouts Monday are the most in any one start during that span. Despite his strong pitching over that stretch (2.11 ERA in 42.2 innings), he has a 1-2 record. Brown lowered his ERA for the year to 3.49 with a 1.27 WHIP and now has a career-high 179 strikeouts over 170 innings through 31 outings (30 starts). The right-hander is not projected to make another regular-season start since the Astros are currently using a six-man rotation and have just five games left on the schedule.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Bounces back against Padres
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Brown did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Padres, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three over six innings.
Brown blanked the Padres up until the sixth inning when Manny Machado swatted a two-run homer to even the game up at 2-2. The long ball was the only extra-base hit allowed by Brown, who has now allowed a homer in back-to-back starts for the first time since July. Brown's three strikeouts were also his lowest since he had three back on May 22, but he's given the Astros five quality starts in his last six outings. He'll take a 3.57 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 171:57 K:BB in 164 innings into a start against the Mariners to begin next week.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Loses to Athletics
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Brown (11-8) allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out seven over five-plus innings to take the loss Wednesday versus the Athletics.
Brown had not allowed more than two runs in any of his previous six starts before this setback. The Athletics tagged him for two runs in the third inning and added three more in the sixth, with the last of those runs crossing the plate when Caleb Ferguson allowed an inherited runner to score. Brown is now at a 3.59 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 168:56 K:BB through a career-high 158 innings over 29 appearances (28 starts). His next start is projected to be at San Diego.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Strong start in no-decision
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Brown did not factor into the decision Thursday against Cincinnati, allowing four hits and one walk over six scoreless innings. He struck out six.
Brown kept the Reds off the board over six innings Thursday and came away with his third straight no-decision in a quality start. After having an 8.89 ERA through seven starts this season, Brown was asked to pitch in relief and pitched well enough that he was given another chance in the rotation, and he hasn't looked back since. Including that relief outing May 11, Brown has a 2.25 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in his last 125.2 innings.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Third straight quality start
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Brown did not factor into the decision in a win over the Royals on Thursday, allowing two unearned runs on two hits and two walks over 6.2 innings. He struck out four.
Brown was efficient, tossing 60 of 97 pitches for strikes and allowing just one man to reach second base through the first six innings. The right-hander then ran into some trouble in the seventh after a fielding error from Jeremy Pena. Brown was relieved by Bryan Abreu, who would let three runs come across for Kansas City. The outing marked Brown's third consecutive quality start and his fifth straight outing in which he's allowed two or fewer runs. He's issued exactly two walks in each of his last six starts but hasn't paid for it, posting a 2.21 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 37:12 K:BB in 36.2 innings over that stretch.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Strikes out six in no-decision
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Brown did not factor into the decision in Friday's 7-5 loss to the Orioles, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings.
Brown induced just seven whiffs on 107 pitches, but he left the game with a 5-2 lead before the Orioles exploded for five runs in the eighth inning. The 25-year-old has logged three quality starts in four August outings while yielding two earned runs or fewer in each. On the season, he owns a 3.72 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 151:52 K:BB across 140.1 innings and lines up to face the Royals at home next week.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Earns win Saturday
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Brown (11-7) allowed a run on four hits and two walks while striking out six over seven innings to earn the win Saturday over the White Sox.
This was Brown's longest start since June 14, and he threw 69 of 102 pitches for strikes to take advantage of a soft matchup. The lone blemish came on a first-inning RBI single by Gavin Sheets. Brown continues to walk a lot of batters -- he's issued 21 free passes over 60 innings across his last 10 starts, but he's added 63 strikeouts in that span. Overall, he has a 3.82 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 145:50 K:BB through 134.1 innings over 25 appearances (24 starts) this season. Brown is projected for a tougher road start in Baltimore next week.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Quality start in no-decision
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Brown did not factor into the decision in Monday's 4-3 loss to Texas, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.
The Houston right-hander earned his third quality start in four outings since the All-Star break with this 97-pitch performance. The only run he allowed came via a Leody Taveras sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Since the break, Brown has been a reliable starter, pitching to a 2.28 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 25:8 K:BB across 23.2 innings. He looks to keep his string of solid performance rolling in his next appearance, currently scheduled to be in Boston this weekend.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Another strong outing
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Brown (9-6) earned the win Wednesday over the Athletics, allowing one run on eight hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out eight.
The lone run charged to Brown came in the first inning when the A's led off the game with back-to-back doubles. The right-hander would rebound to blank Oakland over his final five frames, earning a third straight win while logging his 11th quality start in his last 12 outings. After posting a 7.71 ERA through his first nine starts, Brown's pitched to a 2.09 ERA in his subsequent 12 appearances. Overall, his ERA sits at 4.00 with a 1.37 WHIP and 118:42 K:BB across 110.1 innings this season. Brown will look to keep rolling in his next outing, currently scheduled for early next week at home versus the Pirates.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Nabs seventh win
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Brown (7-6) picked up the win in Friday's 6-3 victory over the Rangers, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five.
The right-hander rebounded from a rough outing in Minnesota on July 6 to deliver his 10th quality start of the year. Brown has lasted at least six innings in 10 straight trips to the mound, posting a 2.36 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 64:17 K:BB through 61 innings over that stretch as he puts his shaky first month of the campaign further behind him.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Third straight quality start
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Brown did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk over six innings against the Twins. He struck out seven.
Brown allowed two solo homers, one to lead off the game by Trevor Larnach and a blast in the sixth by Jose Miranda. Those two dingers sandwiched a second inning run-scoring double by Alex Kirilloff to represent the three tallies against Brown. The sixth-inning homer eliminated Brown's chance to pick up his second win, though he did collect his third straight quality start. While Brown's season ERA remains poor at 6.18, he's been much better over his last five starts, accumulating a 3.53 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 31 strikeouts over 28 innings. His next start is tentatively slated for next weekend when the Astros travel to Anaheim to take on the Angels in a three-game set.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Rejoining rotation this weekend
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Astros manager Joe Espada said that Brown will make a start during the team's three-game home series versus the Brewers this weekend, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Espada didn't specify which day Brown will start, but Friday's series opener looks like the logical target for him to slot back into the rotation. Brown's spot in the rotation looked to be on thin ice after he supplied an 8.89 ERA and 2.20 WHIP over 27.1 innings in his first seven starts of the season, prompting the Astros to skip over his turn this past week. The right-hander was available out of the bullpen for the weekend series in Detroit and excelled in long relief behind Cristian Javier in Saturday's 8-2 loss to the Tigers, tossing five innings of one-run ball while tying his season high with seven strikeouts. Houston will move to a six-man rotation this week to accommodate Brown, but he may still need a strong showing against Milwaukee to ensure he sticks in a starting role moving forward, especially with Jose Urquidy's (forearm) return from the injured list on the horizon.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Could be available in relief
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Astros manager Joe Espada said Thursday that Brown could be available out of the bullpen for the next few days, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Brown last pitched Sunday and had been on turn for a start Saturday in Detroit, but Cristian Javier (neck) is returning that day and Justin Verlander will move ahead of Brown to pitch Sunday on regular rest. Brown seemingly would be set up to make a start Monday versus the Athletics if he doesn't pitch in relief before then, but it doesn't appear that has been decided yet. Espada hasn't ruled out the possibility of using a six-man rotation for a while, which would leave room for both Brown an Spencer Arrighetti to keep making starts.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Limits damage against Mariners
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Brown didn't factor into the decision Sunday against Seattle, allowing two runs on five hits with four walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out five.
Despite tying his season high in walks, Brown allowed only a pair of runners to score and held the Mariners to just one extra-base hit. Brown has lasted less than five innings in five of his seven starts this season and owns an ugly 8.89 ERA through 27.1 innings. With Cristian Javier (neck) set to return in the next week or so, Brown's time in the rotation could be coming to a close. However, Houston could drop rookie Spencer Arrighetti instead. As it stands, Brown is tentatively scheduled for a start against the Tigers on Saturday.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Issues persist against Guardians
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Brown didn't factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks across 5.1 innings against Cleveland. He struck out seven.
Brown gave up at least five runs for the third time in his last five starts and walked multiple batters for the fifth time this season. He was tagged for a three-run home run in the first inning by Josh Naylor and a two-run home run in the sixth by Andres Gimenez. Through six appearances, Brown is 0-3 with a 9.78 ERA and a 2.22 WHIP over 23.0 innings. He's lined up for a start against the Mariners on Sunday.
Brown (0-4) allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over four innings to take the loss Sunday against the Nationals. He struck out six.
Brown needed 34 pitches to get through the first inning, allowing three runs in the process. However, he was much better in the next three frames, facing just one more batter than the minimum, including striking out the side in the second. That's now 12 first-inning earned runs allowed by Brown through five starts this season. Despite the so-so outing, Brown saw his ERA drop from 10.54 to 9.68 and his WHIP fall from an abysmal 2.78 to a slightly less abysmal 2.49. Brown's next start is tentatively slated to take place next weekend, when the Astros travel to the high altitude of Denver to take on the Rockies.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Tagged with five runs
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Brown (0-1) allowed five runs on eight hits and four walks over three innings Friday, striking out three and taking a loss against Texas.
Brown worked around a bases-loaded situation in the first inning but then coughed up five runs in the second. Only 45 of his 80 pitches went for strikes, and he managed to force just five whiffs. Through two outings, Brown has thrown seven innings with a subpar 8:6 K:BB. He's projected to take the mound in Kansas City next week.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Goes four in no-decision
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Brown took a no-decision Saturday, permitting one unearned run over four innings against the Yankees.
The only damage the Yankees managed against Brown came when they scored on a Jose Abreu fielding error. They made him work, though, as Brown wasn't able to go beyond four innings because he threw 88 pitches. The right-hander fanned five batters on the day, picking up eight whiffs. Brown had issues in the second half last season, particularly with the home run ball as he served up a whopping 17 in 61.2 frames after the break. Keeping the ball in the park as he did Saturday could certainly lead to more consistency in 2024.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Starting third game
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Brown will start the third game of the regular season against the Yankees, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Brown will slot into the rotation behind Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier. He's worked on a traditional slider while also aiming to improve his stamina this spring and has posted an impressive 12:3 K:BB across 12.2 innings in the exhibition season.
