It's not every day a franchise's former top pitching prospect and the current top pitching prospect hurl in the same game. Well, that happened Thursday for the Houston Astros' Triple-A affiliate.
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys deployed Forrest Whitley as their starter for his first outing since his July 10 exit. Whitley was pulled with upper-right bicep inflammation in his second Triple-A start of the season.
Whitley was put on a 35-pitch limit for his Thursday outing but reached 37 pitches, 27 for strikes. The 24-year-old worked 1.2 innings, yielding two hits and a hit batter to his three strikeouts and four whiffs.
The right-hander topped at 95.6 mph on his four-seam fastball while incorporating his slider, changeup and curveball into his arsenal. In four of his last five starts, Whitley has yet to yield a run as he now eases back to regular play.
Hunter Brown relieved Jon Olczak for the fourth inning. The righty — who is an established starter — continues to show success in a piggyback scenario, too. Brown threw 5.1 innings on 73 pitches, getting the hook in the ninth inning with two runners on.
Ronel Blanco allowed one run to score which was charged to Brown, leaving one blemish on Brown's outing. The 23-year-old finished his night with one run on two hits and two walks to nine strikeouts. Brown leads the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts once again with 115.
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