Ryan Pressly is on the IL. The Houston Astros received a big blow to the bullpen this weekend with the placement of closer Ryan Pressly on the 10-day Injured List. According to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, Pressly is battling inflammation in his right knee. Houston has since called up reliever Parker Mushinski in a corresponding move.
Ryan Pressly on IL
Pressly blew the save and took the loss on Wednesday, his last appearance, before hitting the IL. The 33-year-old allowed two runs on a hit and two walks in 1/3 of an inning in the tenth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The veteran’s velocity had been down a little in the early going, so the knee inflammation may be why. Despite a rough outing his last time out, Pressly was off to a strong start this season. He nailed down three saves in four appearances while giving up two hits.
According to Rome, Dusty Baker mentioned Hector Neris, Ryne Stanek, and Rafael Montero as candidates to close out games in Pressly’s absence. Neris has not allowed a run entering Sunday over 4 1/3 innings, posting a 0.46 WHIP. Stanek has been limited to one appearance this season due to back stiffness. He has allowed one run in one inning of work this year. This season, Montero has pitched three innings, allowing zero runs and striking out five entering Sunday.
Justin Verlander is Officially Back
After barely pitching in the past two years, Justin Verlander is back, and he appears as great as ever. In his second start of the season, Verlander dominated the Seattle Mariners. The future Hall-of-Famer threw eight shutout innings against the Mariners on just 87 pitches. The veteran has thrown 13 innings in two starts, allowing one run. He has posted a 0.69 WHIP while striking out 15 batters. There are a lot of seasons left, but Verlander looks like he is still an elite starter.
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Players/Managers mentioned:
Ryan Pressly, Justin Verlander, Dusty Baker, Hector Neris, Ryne Stanek, Rafael Montero
