Astros’ injury woes get worse with Cody Bolton’s early exit

The word “catastrophic” does not often have a place in April baseball, but it is hard to describe the Houston Astros’ first road trip of the 2026 MLB campaign as anything else. Joe Espada’s squad has gone 1-8 versus the Athletics, Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners and is off to a slow start for the second straight year. This franchise has proven it can tread water in the past, but the losses are being compounded by an avalanche of injuries. Cody Bolton is the latest player to run into trouble during this abysmal stretch.

The right-handed pitcher left Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the M’s in the second inning due to mid-back tightness, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Besides this potential bit of misfortune, free-agent signing Tatsuya Imai is dealing with arm fatigue, Cristian Javier is going on the 15-day injured list with a Grade 2 shoulder strain and Jeremy Pena will undergo an MRI after leaving Saturday’s game. When will it end?

Bolton combusted on the mound before being removed, allowing two runs on one hit and four walks in just one inning of work. He now has a 5.40 ERA and 1.68 WHIP through three outings this season. It remains to be seen how long the 2017 sixth-round draft pick will have to wait for the chance to improve those numbers. The Astros will monitor his status in the coming days and decide how to proceed.

Houston (6-10) successfully navigated a slew of injuries for much of last season before sputtering down the home stretch and falling brutally short of a ninth consecutive playoff berth. With Framber Valdez now on the Detroit Tigers, Hunter Brown nursing a shoulder strain of his own and closer Josh Hader yet to make his season debut, this ballclub is already in dire straits.

Hopefully, the pitching staff will get a positive update regarding Cody Bolton.

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