José Luis Hernández Urquidy (born May 1, 1995) is a Mexicanprofessional baseballpitcher who is a free agent. Urquidy signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent in 2015 under the name of José Luis Hernández, as he was known until the start of the 2019 season. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2019.
Professional career
Minor leagues
Urquidy signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent on March 2, 2015.[1] He made his professional debut that same year, and spent his first professional season with both the Greeneville Astros and Tri-City ValleyCats, pitching to a combined 2–1 record and 3.35 ERA in 37+2⁄3 innings. He pitched 2016 with the Quad Cities River Bandits and Lancaster JetHawks, posting a 6–5 record and 2.94 ERA in 24 games (21 starts).
On July 2, 2019, the Astros promoted Urquidy to the major leagues.[4] He made his debut that night in a start versus the Colorado Rockies, pitching 3+2⁄3 innings.[5] In 2019, he was 2–1 with a 3.95 ERA, as in nine games (seven starts) he pitched 41 innings.[6]
In Game 4 of the 2019 World Series versus the Washington Nationals, Urquidy started for the Houston Astros, making him just the third Mexican-born World Series starting pitcher. He threw five innings, giving up two hits while striking out four. With the Astros winning the game, Urquidy became the second Mexican-born pitcher to win a World Series game after Fernando Valenzuela.[citation needed]
2020
In 2020, Urquidy was 1–1 with a 2.73 ERA in five starts covering 29+2⁄3 innings.[7]
2021
In 2021, Urquidy was 8–3 with a 3.62 ERA in 20 starts covering 107 innings.[7] In the postseason, he started Game 3 of the ALCS versus the Boston Red Sox, lasting less than three innings. Urquidy was the winning pitcher in both of Houston's victories versus the Atlanta Braves in the World Series.[8] He started Game 2, throwing five innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts as the Astros defeated Atlanta, 7–2. With the win, Urquidy became the first Mexican-born pitcher to earn multiple World Series wins.[9] Pitching in relief in Game 5, he earned the win with one scoreless inning, making him the winningest internationally born player in World Series history.[10][11]
2022
On June 26, 2022, Urquidy started a contest with 6+1⁄3 hitless innings versus the New York Yankees before ceding a home run to Giancarlo Stanton. Urquidy's performance extended a no-hit streak to 16+1⁄3 innings forged by Astros pitching, tying an expansion-era record.[a][12] On July 8, he reached a career-high eight innings in an 8–3 win versus the Oakland Athletics, allowing all three runs.[13] Urquidy spun seven scoreless innings on August 3 versus Boston, delivered a game score of 83 and tied his career high of 10 strikeouts on the way to a 6–1 win.[14] On August 15, he hurled 7+2⁄3 hitless innings versus the Chicago White Sox until allowing his lone hit against A. J. Pollock before being removed.[15]
In a rematch of the prior year's World Series, Urquidy earned the win versus Atlanta after allowing two runs over seven innings, striking out six, as Houston won, 5–4. The Astros had won 15 of his last 20 starts, and over his last 11, Urquidy was 7–1 with a 2.48 ERA.[8] He earned the win after tossing seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts versus the Los Angeles Angels on September 4.[16]
In 2022, Urquidy was 13–8 with a 3.94 ERA in 29 games (28 starts) covering 164+1⁄3 innings.[17]
Urquidy made one appearance in the Astros' 2022 playoff run, pitching three scoreless innings in relief to help stabilize the Astros' bullpen in a 7–0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series. Urquidy became the first Mexican-born player in Major League history to appear in three World Series.[18] The Astros would go on to win in six games, earning Urquidy his first World Series championship,[19] and become the 15th Mexican-born player to win a World Series.
2023
On January 13, 2023, Urquidy avoided arbitration with the Astros, agreeing to a one-year, $3.025 million contract for the season.[20] After exiting a start in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies with right shoulder soreness, the Astros placed Urquidy on the 15-day injured list on May 1.[21] He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on June 23.[22] On August 6, he returned from the IL to make a start versus the Yankees, which the Astros won, 9–7.[23] Urquidy picked up the last four innings of a 13–5 win over Boston on August 28 to convert his first career save.[24] In the third-to-last regular season game of 2023, Urquidy made and won a spot start versus the Arizona Diamondbacks by authoring six shutout innings, which was instrumental in the Astros' postseason push in a tight AL West division race with Seattle and Texas.[25]
Urquidy started and won Game 4 of the American League Division Series (ALDS), a 3–2 win versus the Minnesota Twins, to clinch the series. Uruqidy delivered 5+2⁄3 innings with two runs allowed, both on solo home runs, three hits, one walk, and struck out six. The Astros advanced to, and extended their record, seventh-straight American League Championship Series (ALCS).[26]
2024
Urquidy began the 2024 campaign on the injured list as the result of a right forearm strain. On June 5, 2024, it was announced that he would undergo season–ending elbow surgery.[27] On November 4, Urquidy was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Sugar Land Space Cowboys, but rejected the assignment and elected free agency.[28]
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