Houston Astros manager Joe Espada announced that third baseman Carlos Correa will miss the remainder of the season, effectively ending his bid to return from left ankle surgery in May.
Correa missed his 115th consecutive game on Tuesday as the Astros (76-75) defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-2 in the opener of a three-game series. The teams will continue their set on Wednesday in Houston.
Correa initially was slated to miss the remainder of the season, but ramped up workouts in recent weeks, aiming to return.
“Every day we did a little bit more around the bases, the swinging on the field, just being on the spikes for such a long time, it kind of flared up on him,” Espada said. “The smart thing to do right now for Carlos is to focus on next season.
“I give him a ton of credit. He worked his tail off trying to get back this season. We all knew there was always a chance for this to flare up on him again, but my respect to him. He tried, and he did everything he could. But we’ve got to make sure that he’s healthy for next season, and that’s the course we’re going to take.”
Espada said Correa will continue to rehab and will remain with the team through the final two weeks of the regular season and into the postseason, should the Astros qualify. Houston maintained its one-game lead over Texas in the American League West after the Rangers recorded a 4-2 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox.
Right-hander Cristian Javier (2-5, 5.50 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros on Wednesday. He has pitched effectively in two starts this month, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks with 13 strikeouts in 11 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies.
Javier is 0-2 with a 5.60 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against the Royals. In his previous appearance against the Royals on April 9, 2024, Javier allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings in the Astros’ 4-3 extra-inning loss.
Left-hander Daniel Lynch (5-5, 3.52 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Royals (66-85). He is 1-3 with a 6.31 ERA over seven starts since joining the rotation on Aug. 7. Lynch earned that victory in his previous start, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts over five innings in a 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks last Wednesday. He has logged five innings in each of his last two starts.
Lynch is 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA across five career appearances (two starts) against the Astros. He made consecutive perfect relief appearances against the Astros in mid-June.
Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia (left hamstring strain) was reinstated from the injured list and finished 0-for-3 with a walk in his first game since Aug. 20. Garcia played just four games last month after spending nearly two months on the IL with a left hand muscle strain.
“I’m proud of him for the way he worked to get back because the day of the injury and even shortly after it was kind of demoralizing, thinking he was done for the year,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Garcia. “But to keep himself in a positive frame of mind, to work hard to get through the rehab process and play in those games and feel good, that’s really exciting for him.”
–Field Level Media
