Wesneski blanks A’s for five frames in win

Wesneski shut out the Phillies until giving up a double to Justin Crawford, an RBI single to Kyle Schwarber and a two-run homer to Trea Turner in consecutive at-bats in the sixth. Fortunately, he had a five-run lead to work with before that happened. He moved to 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA. Barring a change, he’ll make his next start Sunday against the Rays. The Astros, though, might look at pushing him back. His only outing on four days’ rest since returning from elbow surgery was also his worst to date; he gave up five runs in four innings against Seattle in his lone loss on Aug. 15.

The longest scoreless outing of Wesneski’s career didn’t get him a win, since the Astros didn’t take the lead until the bottom of the eighth. Still, he is 4-1 in seven starts since returning from elbow surgery, and his ERA is sitting at 3.18 right now. He’s slated to make his next start Tuesday in Philadelphia.

The insinuation is that Blanco will be part of the September 1st roster expansion moves. The right-hander was optioned to Triple-A in the middle of August after posting a 7.71 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a 20/12 K/BB ratio over 23 1/3 innings in his five appearances (four starts). Blanco starting on Tuesday means that Hayden Wesneski will now start on Wednesday and will not get a Sunday start this week against the Diamondbacks.

Wesneski gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out six. He fell to 2-1 in four starts with the loss. Wesneski struck out six of 20 batters faced, which was a positive. Unfortunately, he was just a little too hittable. Wesneski has a 5.16 ERA, though his 4.36 xFIP points to more upside if he can correct some of his issues. He’s lined up to face the Athletics on the road next weekend.

Wesneski hasn’t been dominant at all, but it’s really impressive that he’s managed to throw 18 2/3 innings in his first three starts back from Tommy John, going 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in the process. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out four tonight. Jung Hoo Lee and Drew Gilbert both homered off him. He’ll likely start again at home against the Mariners this weekend.

Wesneski held the Blue Jays scoreless through four innings until he gave up a pair of runs on two hits and a wild pitch in the fifth. That would be all the damage Toronto could do as he returned for a scoreless sixth to complete a quality start on his way to a win. Wesneski tossed 51 of 78 pitches for strikes and collected four strikeouts. The 28-year-old right-hander has given up five runs with an 8/4 K/BB ratio over 11 2/3 innings across two starts. He’ll look to keep it going on Monday against the Giants in San Francisco.

Wesneski struck out four and gave up nine hard-hit balls, so this wasn’t a dominant effort. The Astros, though, had to be pretty pleased. Wesneski was quite efficient, throwing first-pitch strikes to 19 of 25 batters and getting 17 outs on 79 pitches. His sweeper, thrown slower and with more break than it had been previously, had a 43 percent CSW with no hard-hit balls the five times it was put into play. It’s possible the Astros could go away from Wesneski if they acquire a starter before the deadline, but the rotation doesn’t seem to be the team’s priority. He’ll likely face the Blue Jays next Tuesday.

The move is now official. Wesneski takes the ball against a pedestrian Angels offense for his first start back in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery last May. He struck out seven over four shutout innings during his final minor league rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land last week. The 28-year-old offers some streaming appeal in deeper mixed leagues and is at least worthy of a speculative pickup based on the matchup alone.

It’s a tasty matchup for Wesneski as he makes his return to Houston’s rotation for his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery last May. The 28-year-old struck out seven batters over four scoreless innings during his final minor league rehab outing for Triple-A Sugar Land last week. He’s worthy of a speculative pickup in extremely deep leagues.

A simple connect the dots exercise seems to indicate that Wesneski, who threw a bullpen session in Los Angeles after traveling with the club, will come off the injured list to take Spencer Arrighetti’s spot in Houston’s rotation. The 28-year-old hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since last May when he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. It’s a decent matchup for streaming purposes and Wesneski has looked good in recent rehab outings, including striking out seven over four shutout frames for Triple-A Sugar Land last Friday. He’s at least worth a speculative pickup in extremely deep leagues.