Brown (11-13) took the loss Sunday against the Royals, allowing six runs on six hits and one walk over three innings. He struck out four.
Brown allowed a season-worst four home runs Sunday, marking the third time in his last four starts allowing six runs or more. He has gone 1-3 with a 9.67 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 21:7 K:BB over 17.2 innings in those four outings. The 25-year-old rookie appears to have worn down over the long season, as he sports a 6.67 ERA over 60.2 innings post-All-Star break. Brown will look to right the ship in his last start of the regular season, currently scheduled to be at Arizona.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Rocked by Orioles
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Brown (11-12) took the loss Tuesday, allowing seven runs on six hits and two walks over 5.1 innings against the Orioles. He struck out five.
Brown served up a pair of long balls Tuesday, with one being a two-run shot by Ryan O'Hearn in the first and the other a three-run homer by Austin Hays in the third inning. The outing marked Brown's second time allowing at least six runs across his last three outings. However, between the disastrous starts, Brown fired off five scoreless frames against the A's. Since the beginning of August, Brown owns a 4-5 record with a 6.92 ERA and a 48:16 K:BB during 40.1 innings. He's lined up to make his next start against the Mariners in Seattle.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Rebounds with five hitless frames
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Brown (11-11) earned the win over Oakland on Wednesday, issuing two walks and striking out seven batters over five scoreless and hitless innings.
Brown had been struggling coming into Wednesday, posting a 9.56 ERA and 2.06 WHIP over his previous four starts. The rookie bounced back in impressive fashion against the A's, holding them without a hit and racking up seven punchouts over five dominant frames. Brown's final pitch of the fifth was his 78th of the night, and there was no chance he'd be allowed to push for a complete game or a no-hitter (especially since he's already thrown a professional-high 146.1 frames on the campaign). He'll look to build upon this stellar start in what projects to be tougher matchup against Baltimore next week.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Struggles again
Rotowire
Brown (10-11) allowed six runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five over 4.1 innings to take the loss Friday versus the Padres.
For the third time in his last four starts, Brown failed to complete five innings. He's posted a 24:10 K:BB over 16 innings while giving up three home runs over that span, but he's just not getting the job done. The right-hander is at a 4.78 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 162:49 K:BB through 141.2 innings across 27 appearances (26 starts) this season. Brown is tentatively lined up for a favorable home start versus the Athletics next week.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Rough night against Yankees
Rotowire
Brown (10-10) took the loss Saturday, coughing up five runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks over four-plus innings as the Astros were downed 5-4 by the Yankees. He struck out five.
A fifth-inning error by Mauricio Dubon on a potential double-play ball right after a leadoff walk to Aaron Judge spelled the end of Brown's night, and both baserunners eventually came around to score after he'd left the mound. The right-hander didn't necessarily deserve a better outcome, though -- he tossed only 54 of 94 pitches for strikes, and the four free passes were the most he'd issued since he walked five Giants on May 2. Brown has been tagged for at least five runs in three of his last five starts, and fatigue could be a factor for him down the stretch as his 137 innings on the season are already a career high. Unless Houston decides to give the 25-year-old some extra rest between starts, his next outing lines up for a home series next weekend against the Padres.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Cruises to 10th win
Rotowire
Brown (10-9) earned the win Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over five innings against Detroit. He struck out nine.
Brown bounced back from a poor last start in which he surrendered six runs across 2.2 innings against Seattle to limit the Tigers to four hits on the day. He also notched his best strikeout total since May 26 (14 starts) and gave up just one extra-base hit. The 24-year-old has been very inconsistent as of late, giving up four or more runs in four of his last eight starts while yielding two in each of the other four. He's expected to toe the rubber against the Yankees next.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Hit hard in loss
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Brown (9-9) took the loss Sunday, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks over 2.2 innings against the Mariners. He struck out five.
It was a rough day for Brown, who was charged with two runs in each of the first three innings. The 24-year-old right-hander has struggled to a 6.32 ERA over his last eight outings (37 innings). Overall, Brown's ERA is up to 4.50 with a 1.34 WHIP and 143:41 K:BB across 23 starts (128 innings) this season. If the Astros elect to return to a five-man rotation, Brown could find himself back in the bullpen.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Rejoining rotation Sunday
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Brown is slated to start Sunday's game against the Mariners in Houston, Paige Leckie of MLB.com reports.
Though reports from Sunday indicated that Brown would have his turn in the rotation skipped this week, he'll end up starting the series finale with the Mariners while Jose Urquidy instead gets pushed to the back of the Astros' pitching schedule. Brown could have a chance at picking up two wins this week, as he improved to 9-8 in Tuesday's 6-5 victory over the Marlins after tossing two innings out of the bullpen behind starter Cristian Javier in what was the 24-year-old's first relief appearance of 2023.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: To be skipped in rotation
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The Astros will skip Brown's next turn through the rotation, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Brown was originally scheduled to pitch again Wednesday against Miami, but the team will delay his next start in favor of Justin Verlander. Brown will be available out of the bullpen during Houston's upcoming series with the Marlins and will start Friday against Seattle if he isn't used at all against Miami. The 24-year-old righty holds a 4.23 ERA and 1.29 WHIP on the season and surrendered five runs over six innings in his last start against Baltimore.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Takes eighth loss
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Brown (8-8) took the loss Thursday, allowing five runs on eight hits over six innings against Baltimore. He struck out seven without walking a batter.
It wasn't a good start for Brown, as he gave up a solo home run to Adley Rutschman to open the top of the first inning. The right-hander then allowed runs in the third, sixth and seventh innings, marking the fourth time this season he's allowed at least five runs in a start. Brown has lost five of his last seven decisions and has surrendered at least two home runs in two straight starts. He has, however, still managed to go six innings in each of his last four outings.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Earns eighth win in quality start
Rotowire
Brown (8-7) earned the win Friday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk over six innings against the Yankees. He struck out four.
Outside of a couple of two-out solo homers, Brown was able to keep the Yankees at bay in earning his eighth win of the season. Brown has now gone exactly six innings and has struck out exactly four batters in each of his last three outings. While the three consecutive quality starts are promising, fantasy managers would love to see his K/9 rate move closer to the 10.63 he posted over the first half of the season as opposed to the 6.67 he's maintained over his most recent stretch.
Brown (7-7) earned the win Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings against Tampa Bay. He struck out four.
After holding the Rays scoreless through the first six innings, Brown retook the mound to start the seventh frame but was quickly pulled without recording an out after serving up a two-run home run to Isaac Paredes. The outing marked Brown's second consecutive quality start after recording just one in his previous five appearances. In the month of July, Brown holds a 1-3 record and a 5.92 ERA across 24.1 innings. He's tentatively lined up for a meeting with the Yankees on the road for his next start.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Yields two runs in no-decision
Rotowire
Brown allowed two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings in a no-decision versus the Athletics on Sunday.
Brown enjoyed his best start of July, though the quality of opponent likely played a role. He'd allowed a total of 12 runs and 24 hits over 12.1 innings across his three previous outings before getting back on track Sunday. The right-hander is now at a 4.19 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 122:35 K:BB through 105.1 innings over 19 starts this season. Brown's career high in innings came last year when he pitched 126.1 between Triple-A and the majors, though it's unclear if the Astros have any plans to reduce his workload over the final two months of this season. He's projected for a home start versus the Rays next weekend -- he previously tossed seven innings of two-hit ball against them April 26.
Astros' Hunter Brown: Recovers from rocky beginning
Rotowire
Brown (6-7) took the loss Tuesday, allowing four runs on six hits over 5.1 innings against the Rockies. He struck out seven.
Brown got into trouble quickly Tuesday, allowing a leadoff single to Jurickson Profar and then serving up back-to-back long balls to Kris Bryant and Ryan McMahon. However, the 24-year-old bounced back from the rough first inning and subsequently tossed 4.1 frames of one-run baseball. Though Brown has been a strong source of strikeouts (10.69 K/9) he's surrendered multiple home runs on four different occasions this season and has struggled over his last five outings (7.13 ERA in 24 innings). He'll look to get back on track in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled to come against the Athletics at Oakland Coliseum.
