Fort Worth native Blair Henley struggles against Texas Rangers in MLB debut with Astros
Houston Astros pitcher Blair Henley is a Fort Worth native who made his big league debut against the Texas Rangers on Monday — and it didn’t go well.
Starting in place of Framber Valdez, who missed the game with left elbow soreness, Henley didn’t make it out of the first inning, giving up five runs off four hits while recording one out.
Henley struggled with control, giving up three walks and hitting a batter that accounted for two of his five earned runs. He faced just nine batters before Astros manager Joe Espada took him out.
Despite Henley’s early struggles, the Astros rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the first inning to win the game 10-5 and earned a series split with the Rangers.
“I told him when I went to the mound to keep his head up and we were going to win this game for him,” Espada said after Henley’s 39-pitch debut.
Four Astros relievers shutout the Rangers the rest of the way, allowing just four hits in 8 2/3 innings.
“All the guys, they felt for me a little bit,” Henley said afterward. “Seth (Martinez) came and did his job and I congratulated him. I wanted to do my part rooting for him because that was the most I could do at the time. The locker room is incredible, the coaches are incredible and the staff is awesome. They felt for me and they told me I’ll get my opportunity.”
Henley was optioned after his debut by Houston.
Henley played his collegiate baseball for the Texas Longhorns and was drafted by the Astros in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
He played high school baseball at Arlington Heights, where he recorded three straight no-hitters on his way to being named a Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American in 2016.
In the minor leagues, Henley went 4-10 with a 4.47 ERA from single-A to triple-A.
Henley became the first Arlington Heights attendee to make an MLB debut since Tim Mauser did so against the New York Mets in 1991.
This story was originally published April 8, 2024 at 8:53 PM.
