Starting pitcher Cristian Javier left Sunday’s series finale vs. the Baltimore Orioles at Daikin Park due to illness, the Houston Astros announced.
Javier threw just 50 pitches over 3.0 innings before his exit, allowing one earned run on three hits and no walks. His velocity was down across the board, including a changeup that was 2.7 mph slower than his season average, per Baseball Savant.
Cristian Javier left today’s game due to illness.
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 17, 2025
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com suggested that something could be going around the clubhouse, since Jeremy Pena missed the first two games of Houston’s series vs. Baltimore because of illness.
The initial fear among observers was that Javier suffered an injury to his right elbow after he had just returned from Tommy John surgery. He was activated on Aug. 11 to face the Boston Red Sox following five rehab starts in the minors, and he tossed 5.0 innings of 2-run ball in his first major league appearance since May 21, 2024.
The Orioles led 1-0 when Javier left the game, plating their only run on a sacrifice fly by Gunnar Henderson in the third. Right-hander Shawn Dubin replaced him and proceeded to give up four earned runs in the fifth, including a three-run homer by Jordan Westburg that put Baltimore up 5-0.
Javier, originally from the Dominican Republic, made his MLB debut in 2020 for Houston, where he’s spent his entire career. He helped the Astros win the 2022 World Series and has been a part of two combined no-hitters during his six years in MLB.
Javier is 34-18 with a 3.59 ERA over 118 career games (84 starts), but he’s made just nine starts since the start of 2024 because of Tommy John surgery. But now that he’s back, the Astros hope Javier will be a critical part of a postseason run in October.
