Astros' J.P. France: Under consideration for Game 4
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France and Jose Urquidy are being considered to start for the Astros in Game 4 of the ALDS versus the Twins on Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Manager Dusty Baker seemingly ruled Hunter Brown out when he used the righty in relief in Game 2. France really struggled in the final two months of the regular season in collecting a 5.84 ERA, but he posted a 2.85 mark prior to that. Urquidy pitched to a 5.29 ERA this season while missing time with a shoulder issue, although he pitched well in a spot start in his final appearance of the regular season.
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Astros' J.P. France: Available out of bullpen
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France (personal) is back with the Astros and is available out of the bullpen, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
France was scratched from his scheduled start against Arizona on Friday due to a family emergency. While his absence lasted just one day, he won't get another chance to start.
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Astros' J.P. France: Scratched due to family emergency
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France was scratched from his start Friday versus the Diamondbacks due to a family emergency.
Jose Urquidy will get the start instead as the Astros open their final series of the regular season. Entering play Friday, they sit two games back of the Rangers for first place in the AL West and one game up on the Mariners for the third AL wild-card spot.
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Astros' J.P. France: Scratched from start Friday
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France was scratched from his start Friday against the Diamondbacks for undisclosed reasons, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Given their position in the American League West and wild-card standings, Friday's game is pretty close to a must-win game for the Astros, so France must be dealing with some kind of physical issue. Look for an update on France's status to arrive later Friday. Jose Urquidy will pick up his first start since Aug. 23 in place of France.
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Astros' J.P. France: Walks five in win
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France (11-5) yielded one run on four hits and five walks over six innings Sunday, striking out five and earning a win over the Padres.
Despite his lackluster final line, France threw five shutout frames before Matt Carpenter's solo shot in the sixth inning. France has allowed nine homers in his last five appearances, posting a brutal 7.20 ERA during that span. However, he's given up two or fewer runs in eight of his last 10 outings with a 7-2 record across that stretch. France now owns a 3.61 ERA and a 96:42 K:BB through 127 innings. His next start is projected to be in Kansas City.
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Astros' J.P. France: Surrenders five in no-decision
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France did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks over five innings in Houston's 13-6 victory over the Rangers. He struck out five.
France struggled early Monday, allowing two runs in the opening frame in an eventual no-decision. After posting a 2.75 ERA through his first 18 starts, France has now surrendered 17 runs in his last three outings (13 innings), pushing his ERA to 3.72 with a 1.31 WHIP and 91:37 K:BB across 121 innings this season. The 28-year-old rookie will look to get back on track in his next outing, currently scheduled for this weekend against the Padres.
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Astros' J.P. France: Earns loss despite quality start
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France (9-4) took the loss Friday, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk over six innings in a 2-0 loss against the Mariners. He struck out seven.
France continues to pitch well in his first major-league season but was outmatched in a pitchers' duel by fellow rookie Bryce Miller. France has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last 13 starts and has gone at least six innings in 11 of those 13 appearances. He's currently projected to face the Red Sox next week in the friendly confines of Minute Maid Park.
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Astros' J.P. France: Cruises to ninth victory
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France (9-3) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five batters over seven innings.
France was back in the rotation Saturday after a temporary move to the bullpen following his previous start. The right-hander continued to hum along, picking up his fifth win over his past five outings. Excluding an effective 3.1-inning relief appearance last Sunday against New York, France has picked up four straight quality starts, going exactly seven innings in each instance. He's given up more than three earned runs in an outing only twice over 17 appearances on the campaign, with his last such performance coming all the way back on May 29. The only knock on him from a fantasy perspective has been his below-average strikeout numbers, but France has still been a valuable rotation piece with nine victories, a 2.74 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.
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Astros' J.P. France: Back in rotation Saturday
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France is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Angels in Houston, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
After the Astros acquired Justin Verlander from the Mets and returned Jose Urquidy from the 60-day injured list last week, Houston elected to keep a five-man rotation intact, leaving France as the odd man out. With Urquidy turning in a short start Sunday against the Yankees in his first outing back from the IL, France ended up coming in relief and struck out four over 3.1 innings en route to nabbing the win. Just as manager Dusty Baker suggested was the case last week, France's move to the bullpen was short-lived, as Houston will move to a six-man rotation at least temporarily while the team is in the midst of a stretch of nine games in nine days. France will return to the hill Saturday looking to claim his seventh win in eight appearances.
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Astros' J.P. France: Scoops up win in relief
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France (8-3) was the pitcher of record in Sunday's 9-7 win over the Yankees after giving up one unearned run on three hits and three walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings out of the bullpen.
After serving as a starter in his first 15 appearances with Houston, France moved to the bullpen Sunday to clear a spot in the rotation for right-hander Jose Urquidy, who was activated from the 60-day injured list to make his first start since April 30. Urquidy was on a limited pitch count and labored through 3.1 innings before being pulled from the contest, paving the way for France to effectively piggyback him. France was able to come away with his fourth consecutive win and his sixth win in seven outings while lowering his ERA to 2.75 in the process. The rookie right-hander isn't expected to be in line for a permanent stay in the bullpen, but manager Dusty Baker has yet to reveal when France may make his next start.
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Astros' J.P. France: Making temporary move to bullpen
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Astros manager Dusty Baker said Friday that France is being moved to the bullpen only temporarily, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
France will be available in relief as a piggyback option Sunday behind Jose Urquidy (shoulder), who is returning from the 60-day injured list to start the Astros' series finale with the Yankees. Even though France will move to the bullpen this weekend, the Astros seem willing to roll with a six-man rotation for at least a portion of the stretch run. The 28-year-old France has delivered a sharp 2.85 ERA through 91.2 innings (15 starts) this season with Houston.
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Astros' J.P. France: Improves to 7-3
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France (7-3) earned the win in Monday's 7-3 victory over Cleveland, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six batters over seven innings.
France fell behind early after giving up two runs in the second inning, but he bounced back and kept the Guardians off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing. The rookie finished with his third straight quality start, and he's completed exactly seven frames in each game during that stretch. France has now won five consecutive decisions in a span of six starts, registering a 1.88 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 22:8 K:BB across 38.1 innings during that period. Even with Jose Urquidy (shoulder) on the verge of a return and the Astros possibly in search of another starter as the trade deadline approaches, France's spot in the rotation should be secure given his excellent results on the campaign.
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Astros' J.P. France: Allows just one unearned run
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France (6-3) earned the win Tuesday against the Rangers after he gave up one unearned run on five hits and two walks across seven innings. He struck out three.
The rookie right-hander generated a mere four swinging strikes but allowed only five singles as Texas managed just a single unearned run against him. It's France's fourth victory in his past five starts, and he has a 1.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 16:6 K:BB over 31.1 frames in that span. The 28-year-old now has a 2.87 ERA through his first 14 major-league starts.
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Astros' J.P. France: Breezes through seven frames in win
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France (5-3) earned the win over Oakland on Thursday, allowing one run on six hits and one walk while striking out five batters over seven innings.
France yielded a run in the first inning but kept the A's off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing. As usual, the rookie right-hander wasn't overpowering -- his five punchouts were actually his most over his past six starts -- but he kept the ball in the park and induced two double-play groundouts. France has recorded seven quality starts over his past eight outings, compiling a 2.66 ERA and 1.20 WHIP across 50.2 innings during that span. His steady consistency has helped him solidify an unquestioned role in the Astros' rotation.
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Astros' J.P. France: Turns in no-decision
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France did not factor into the decision Friday, allowing four runs on nine hits over 4.1 innings against the Angels. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.
France had one of the more mediocre starts of his young career, failing to complete five innings for the first time since May 17. However, this could simply be a minor bump in the road for the right-hander as he's generally been good this year (3.31 ERA, 1.26 WHIP). France's next start is tentatively slated for next Thursday against the A's.
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Astros' J.P. France: Allows three runs over six frames
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France (4-3) earned the win Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk over six innings against the Rockies. He struck out four.
France allowed the leadoff man to reach base in three of his first five innings of work and it finally cost him in the fifth, as he surrendered two runs on singles by Harold Castro and Jurickson Profar after walking Nolan Jones to open the frame. The right-hander would still make it through six innings for the seventh consecutive start, however, while going on to record his fourth win. France also has not allowed more than three runs in any game over that stretch and now holds a solid 3.26 ERA after Wednesday's outing.
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Astros' J.P. France: Tough-luck loser
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France (2-2) allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three across 6.2 innings to take the loss against the Reds on Friday.
France kept pace with counterpart Andrew Abbott for much of the game but ultimately allowed a two-run blast to Tyler Stephenson in the seventh inning. France has worked deep into his starts of late, completing at least six innings in each of his last four appearances. In that span, he's maintained a 3.42 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while posting a 20:11 K:BB across 26.1 frames.
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Astros' J.P. France: Holds Angels to one run
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France tossed seven innings against the Angels on Sunday, allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three. He did not factor into the decision.
France had a no-hit bid through 5.1 frames until Luis Rengifo belted a first-pitch changeup over the wall in right center to even the game at 1-1. He wound up giving up two more singles in the seventh but was able to escape with no harm done. The three hits given up tied his season-low and seven innings was the longest France has gone in his first MLB season. The 28-year-old has given the Astros' rotation a huge lift with all the injuries they've had to deal with and now sits at a 3.44 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 29:9 K:BB over 34 innings. His only win was back on May 14, and he'll look to get back in the win column versus the Guardians in another weekend start.
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Astros' J.P. France: Fans eight in no-decision
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France allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight batters over six innings in a no-decision against Minnesota on Monday.
The outing was a mixed bag for France -- a third-inning three-run homer off the bat of Royce Lewis put him in an early hole, but he gave up only one more run despite failing to record a single 1-2-3 frame. The rookie righty also racked up an impressive 17 swinging strikes and fanned eight batters for the second straight game. Though this was France's second-longest start of the season, it was also just the second time he's given up more than one earned run through five appearances. From a fantasy perspective, his appeal is increasing with his improved strikeout numbers -- France notched a modest 10 punchouts over his first 15.1 big-league frames but has struck out 16 across his past 11.2 innings.
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Astros' J.P. France: No run support in loss
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France (1-1) allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5.2 innings in a loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.
France delivered a nice performance while racking up a season-high eight strikeouts, but he had no margin for error since the Astros were shut out. It was the third consecutive outing in which he's allowed a home run as Owen Miller took him deep to center to kick off the scoring in the third. France owns a 3.43 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 18:5 K:BB over 21 innings thus far.
