Inside the Astros

Astros Pitcher Scratched from Start Against Diamondbacks Friday Night

Rookie JP France has been scratched from his start Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Jose Urquidy will start for Dusty Baker's club instead.

Jack Vita

Astros Pitcher Scratched from Start Against Diamondbacks Friday Night
Astros Pitcher Scratched from Start Against Diamondbacks Friday Night /
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The Houston Astros made a last second change to their starting lineup, hours before first pitch of Friday's series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rookie JP France (11-6, 3.83 ERA) had been scheduled to pitch the first game of the Astros' critical, final series of the year in Phoenix, Arizona. The Astros announced via Twitter that France had been scratched from his start due to a family emergency.

In his place, veteran Jose Urquidy (2-3, 5.84 ERA) will take the mound for the Astros, as they fight for a postseason spot. 

Later on Friday, France's wife tweeted that the medical emergency had passed and that everything was OK. 

The Astros have struggled down the stretch of the season, and enter Friday having lost ten of their last 15 games. The club leads the Seattle Mariners by one game for the third and final American League Wild Card. Houston is still in contention for an AL West division title and first round bye from the Wild Card Series round of the MLB playoffs, however Dusty Baker's team has yet to clinch a postseason berth.

The Astros trail the Texas Rangers by two games in the AL West. The Rangers dropped game one of a four-game series with the Mariners Thursday night.

Justin Verlander (6-3, 3.57 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the Astros Sunday. Dusty Baker's starting pitcher for Sunday is to be determined.

The Diamondbacks are also fighting for a playoff spot. The club hasn't clinched a postseason berth since 2017. With a win Friday night, Arizona will secure a spot in the playoffs for the first time in six years.

Ace Zac Gallen will take the mound for the Diamondbacks.

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Jack Vita
JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Astros, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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