Cristian Javier injury is another blow to Astros pitching staff already running on empty

Cristian Javier was finally finding his stride.

In his second season back from Tommy John surgery, he had looked nothing like his pre-injury self until September. Plagued by command issues and severe velocity fluctuations, Javier entered the month of September with a 6.45 ERA and legitimate questions if he was even still a viable major league arm.

He had just went 0-4 in his five August starts, allowing 15 ER on 30 hits with 5 HR in 23.1 IP. He didn't make it through 5 innings in three of those starts, the last three.

But as the calendar changed to September, something seemed to change in Javier as well. There was a little more fight in his demeanor, a little more bulldog showing through. There was a little better command, there was a little better velocity control. He was starting to resemble, for the first time in years, pre-injury Christian Javier.

In his first two September starts (at home against Arizona, on the road against Philly) Javier looked much like his old self. 11 total innings, 2 ER, 4H, 4 BB, 13K. He went 1-0 and the Astros won both starts. In his third start of September against Kansas City, Javier was as sharp but he was effective as he held the Royals to 2 ER in 5.1IP despite taking the loss after Enyel De Los Santos allowed 3 in the 8th to put the game out of reach for Houston.

Then came last night, and all of Houston took a collective deep breath when they saw Miguel Ullola come out for the third inning.

Javier wasn't as sharp as he had been earlier in the month, needing 45 pitches to get through 2 innings in which he allowed one hit, two walks and struck out two. However, no one expected him to be out of the game. Later on we would learn Javier had experienced tightness in his groin that was getting worse with each subsequent pitch.

The loss of Javier hurts twofold. One, he was finally finding an effective stretch at a time when the Astros absolutely needed it most. Two, the beaten and battered pitching staff was already reeling iwth injury and ineffectiveness. Losing Javier is just another gut punch to a team that already is pitching on fumes.

The heavily taxed and overused bullpen really seemed to hit a wall the last few weeks, with relievers who had pitched well for long periods suddenly looked out of gas. Bryan Abreu allowed a pair of backbreaking HRs that cost the team games. AJ Blubaugh suddenly struggled to finish an inning. Enyel De Los Santos was giving up multiple runs in three successive outings before landing on the IL. Steven Okert, the team's most consistent reliever not named Josh Hader, went on the IL in early September and his season is over.

Elsewhere in the bullpen, Bryan King has an ERA north of 13 since July 10. Ronel Blanco has a 7.11 ERA since returning from Tommy John surgery. Tatsuya Imai is banished to extremely low leverage situations once every week to 10 days, with only seven appearances since July 27.

Logan VanWey has been called up to help the pen, though it is clear that the team has little faith in him.

Rookie Ethan Pecko will get the start tonight for Houston, not having an opener for him for the first time in three starts. His opener had been Miguel Ullola, who would up getting bulk innings last night.

While the Astros will still have Hunter Brown, Hayden Wesneski and Peter Lambert to start in the postseason, behind those three may now well be Pecko.

It remains to be seen if the team will make roster moves to accommodate the rotation and the pen as they are currently carrying three unusable arms at the most critical juncture of the year.

There aren't many more gut punches this pitching staff can take.

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