Santo Domingo – Dominican pitcher Christian Javier had a dream debut with the Houston Astros by adding his first victory of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery, his compatriot Carlos Estévez reached the mark of 30 saves on Monday’s Major League Baseball games.
Dominican Cristian Javier, pitching in the Major Leagues for the first time since May 21, 2024, allowed three hits and two runs in five innings in his return from the injured list, and Chas McCormick hit his first home run in almost a year for the Astros to hold on and beat Boston 7-6.
“It was a really good one,” Astros manager Joe Espada praised. “He looked strong. I thought he got out of some jams and had all his pitches working. Aside from Breggy’s homer in the first, he was really, really good.”
Javier made five rehabilitation starts before his season debut. His last outing was on August 5, when he threw 77 pitches in 3.2 innings with Triple-A Sugar Land. He allowed one earned run, walked four, and struck out six. During his rehabilitation period, he recorded an ERA of 5.14 and the same number of strikeouts as walks (15).
The 28-year-old right-hander had a breakout season in 2022, with an earned run average of 2.54 and 194 strikeouts in 148.2 innings. He closed out that campaign with 25.1 consecutive scoreless innings and then pitched six innings as part of the combined no-hitter against the Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series.
In the duel between the Royals and the Nationals, Venezuelan Salvador Pérez shone with a two-run home run, accompanied by Maikel García, who scored twice, to guide Kansas City to a 7-4 victory. Estevez closed with a perfect ninth inning to seal the save.
For his part, in Boston, Javier worked five innings of two runs and five strikeouts in the Astros’ 7-6 victory over the Red Sox, supported by the offense of Mexican Ramón Urías, who hit a home run and drove in two runs.
The day also featured outstanding performances by Colombian José Quintana, who reached ten wins with the Brewers; Mexican Taijuan Walker, who guided the Phillies over the Reds; and Giancarlo Stanton, Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Cody Bellinger, who hit home runs in the Yankees’ victory over the Twins.
Javier made five rehabilitation starts before his season debut. His last outing was on August 5, when he threw 77 pitches in 3.2 innings with Triple-A Sugar Land. He allowed one earned run, walked four, and struck out six. During his rehabilitation period, he recorded an ERA of 5.14 and the same number of strikeouts as walks (15).
The 28-year-old right-hander had a breakout season in 2022, with an earned run average of 2.54 and 194 strikeouts in 148.2 innings. He closed out that campaign with 25.1 consecutive scoreless innings and then pitched six innings as part of the combined no-hitter against the Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series.
In the duel between the Royals and the Nationals, Venezuelan Salvador Pérez shone with a two-run home run, accompanied by Maikel García, who scored twice, to guide Kansas City to a 7-4 victory. Estevez closed with a perfect ninth inning to seal the save.
For his part, in Boston, Javier worked five innings of two runs and five strikeouts in the Astros’ 7-6 victory over the Red Sox, supported by the offense of Mexican Ramón Urías, who hit a home run and drove in two runs.
The day also featured outstanding performances by Colombian José Quintana, who reached ten wins with the Brewers; Mexican Taijuan Walker, who guided the Phillies over the Reds; and Giancarlo Stanton, Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Cody Bellinger, who hit home runs in the Yankees’ victory over the Twins.
