Astros Reliever Shines in Rehab Appearance

Houston Astros reliever Phil Maton threw an inning of scoreless relief in his rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.

Maton started the sixth by giving up a single to Emmanuel Rivera. But, from there, Maton owned the Reno Aces.

He struck out the next three hitters — Diego Castillo, Blaze Alexander and Adrian Del Castillo — to end the inning. All three struck out swinging.

Maton’s rehab inning came two days after he threw his latest bullpen session at Minute Maid park. In that session he hit 88 miles per hour on the radar gun, a milestone the team believed was important for him to be effective.

On Friday, Maton hit 90 miles per hour on the radar gun on three pitches, further reinforcing that his velocity is coming around.

The Astros wanted him to have at least one rehab inning before they considered activating him from the 15-day injured list.

He is eligible to return on Sunday, which would be the Astros’ final game of a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers. But the Astros could opt to wait and have Maton meet them in Boston for Monday’s opener with the Red Sox.

Maton threw three bullpen sessions since he was placed on the injured list.

Maton took a line drive off his right elbow when he made a relief appearance on Aug. 11 against the Los Angeles Angels. An X-ray showed no structural damage to Maton’s elbow.

Maton has been one of the Astros’ more reliable relievers all season, with a 3-3 record and a 3.04 ERA. He’s thrown in 54 games, throwing 53.1 innings with 58 strikeouts and 21 walks.

But, his performance has taken a downturn of late. In his last 15 appearances he has a 8.18 ERA and a 2-1 record in 11 innings. He has 11 walks and nine strikeouts in that span.