Houston Astros' James Exits Rehab Outing Early With Apparent Injury

In his seventh rehab appearance, Houston Astros pitcher Josh James recorded just one out before leaving with a trainer.

Starting his rehab assignment Aug. 25, Josh James' seventh appearance didn't go as planned. The Houston Astros right-hander worked a six-pitch groundout to Salt Lake City Bees' Jake Palomaki before inducing a home run to Jake Gatewood five pitches later.

The boxscore listed 14 pitches for James, indicating he was pulled mid-bout with a third batter. The three pitches to Dillon Thomas were all sporadic in nature, none of which were near the zone.

James was attended to by a trainer before leaving the contest, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston said. According to Baseball Savant, the righty showed a decrease in velocity on all three of his pitches, including an 6.1 mph spike on his fastball.

Josh James’ velocity was way down: pic.twitter.com/d3GMH2ia86

— Inside the Astros (@InsideAstros) September 14, 2022

Across his seven rehab outings between Triple-A Sugar Land and Single-A Fayetteville, James has totaled 6.1 innings pitched, yielding two runs on six hits to his 13 strikeouts. 

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