Adrian Houser removed from latest start because of hip discomfort

There was a bit of rumbling in Brewer Nation about taking Adrian Houser out after just five innings pitched and less than 80 pitches thrown against the St. Louis Cardinals in last evening’s game. Houser was pitching well, and he even hit for himself in the bottom of the fifth before being lifted prior to the sixth. Questions were being asked about why he was lifted after batting for himself.

Without Moustakas, the Brewers were short on the bench. However, the more obvious answer was that he was about to face the Cardinals for the third time through the order, and Craig Counsell did not want to send his young starter out there in a situation where he has a 9.00 ERA. When Houser goes through a line up for the third time, opponents hit .357 against him, and he has given up five of his 12 home runs this season.

Unfortunately that was not the answer either. Adrian Houser was having hip discomfort, as the Journal Sentinal headline (subscription required) below indicates.

It seems that Houser was feeling discomfort in the hip as early as the second inning, and it progressively worsened as the game went along. Being prudent, Counsell removed the young right-hander from the game. Counsell said he does not think the injury is serious but something that they will have to keep an eye on over the next few days. To hear it from Counsell’s own mouth, listen to the video below right after Counsell answers a question about why he did not use Hader.

It looks like the injury will not be something that shelves Houser, but if it does the Brewers will have arms to fill in for him as the rosters expand on September 1. Nonetheless Houser’s early exit and injury are reflective of the frustrating season the Brewers’ have played through. Even so, Milwaukee is just 3.5 out of the wild card and still in contention with 30 games remaining. On the downside, the Brewers have not played their best baseball of late, and a sweep by the Cardinals would not bode well for them with the next nine games being against the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. Let’s hope Houser is healthy and ready for his next start with reinforcements on their way for the September run.