The recent series between the Brewers and Astros has provided quite a lot of news. In Monday's game, two Milwaukee outfielders suffered injuries. Kirk Saarloos made his major league debut as the Astros' starting pitcher on Tuesday.

I'll start with the Brewers' injuries before moving onto Saarloos' debut. Milwaukee placed Geoff Jenkins on the DL yesterday due to an ankle injury incurred during Monday night's game. Jenkins was attempting to return to third after over running the base and slid into the bag at a bad angle, dislocating his right ankle. He tore ligaments in the ankle but there were no fractured bones or torn tendons on the MRI. He's in a cast to stabilize the joint.

The earliest Jenkins could return would be two months from now in late August, as the ligaments will take at least 6 weeks to heal, followed by a couple weeks of strengthening and rehab. Milwaukee will learn more about his potential return schedule when he receives a checkup in two weeks. However, the Brewers will reportedly be pleased if Jenkins is ready for Spring Training next season; the team is not counting on his return this year.

After Jenkins left, Matt Stairs came in to play right field, Jeffery Hammonds shifted to center, and Alex Sanchez replaced Jenkins in left field but also failed to finish the game due to injury. While Jenkins was injured running the bases, Sanchez collided with the wall past the left field foul line. He was running to catch a flyball and went careening into the wall, which was padded up to about waist high but was constructed of green metal fencing above that level.

Sanchez did not catch the ball and his injury allowed Lance Berkman to run out an inside-the-park home run. According an article on the Brewers' site written by Adam McCalvy, Berkman later critiqued the play saying, "You certainly don't want to dive head first into the wall, that's not the way to play that ball."

Fortunately, though his injury seemed severe at the time, the Brewers only expect him to miss a few days. He cut his hand and bruised his knee, but the main concern is his sprained wrist. Alex Ochoa replaced Sanchez as the third left fielder of the game. He'll likely receive an increase in playing time due to the injuries.

Milwaukee called up Ryan Thompson to replace Jenkins on the roster, and he could receive significant at-bats since Manager Jerry Royster seems to favor Thomspon. At 34, Thompson's a journeyman outfielder who owns some power without much plate discipline.

The Brewers activated Matt Stairs from the DL in early June, and he normally would have received an increase in playing time with both Jenkins and Sanchez out of the lineup. However, Stairs injured his right hamstring during batting practice before Tuesday's game, in which he was supposed to start in left field.

Milwaukee designated Luis Lopez for assignment in order to make room for Stairs on the roster. The Brewers opted to place Lopez on unconditional release waivers and he became a free agent when he went unclaimed.

Saarloos emerged as one of the most talked-about starting prospects in baseball this summer. The Astros drafted him out of Cal State-Fullerton in the third round of the 2001 draft. After signing in late June, he went straight to full-season ball in the A South Atlantic League, where he allowed 18 H in 31 IP with a 40:7 K:BB in relief for Lexington.

Houston was so impressed with his performance that they sent him to AA Round Rock in the Texas League to start this season. Many consider Round Rock to be the most hitter-friendly park in all of professional baseball. While there, Saarloos allowed only 48 H and 1 HR in 83.1 IP with an 82:21 K:BB in the rotation. The Astros were going to wait until after the AA All-Star game and then promote him to AAA, but then they found out Saarloos planned to skip the AA All-Star game for his wedding.

Before he had a chance to pitch an inning at AAA, Houston needed a starter and decided to simply call Saarloos to the majors. However, he did have a chance to stop in Seattle so that he could get married on Sunday before his start Tuesday. His bride, her family, and his family accompanied Kirk to Milwaukee to watch his major league debut. In an interview during the game, his new wife, a very pretty blonde named Kristen, said that she liked Milwaukee, it was a nice city, she never thought she'd spend her honeymoon there, and that Kirk would have to make up to her with a big trip in the off-season.

Despite the support in the stands and some very nice pitching, Saarloos did not win his major league debut. The 23-year-old lasted 4.2 IP in which he allowed 6 H and 1 HR with a 4:3 K:BB and threw 79 pitches, including 52 strikes. He started out the game by striking out Eric Young, though Young did a good job of drawing Saarloos out so that he threw quite a few pitches to the leadoff batter. He forced Tyler Houston and Hammonds to ground out so no one reached base in his first major league inning pitched.

Saarloos walked Sexson to lead off the bottom of the second, but Thompson grounded into a double play, and Jose Hernandez struck out looking. He also led off the bottom of the third with a walk to Ochoa, but again finished the inning without trouble due to a line out by Robert Machado, a sacrifice by Ben Sheets, and a ground out by EY. The fourth inning didn't go as well for Saarloos, as he allowed a leadoff home run to Houston and then a single to Sexson, though he came back to strike out Hammonds swinging and Thompson looking. A fielder's choice by Hernandez ended the fourth.

In the fifth inning, he found himself in a lot of trouble. Ochoa singled and Machado doubled. Sheets then hit the dinkiest bloop single that fell in short left-center between the charging Jose Vizcaino, Daryle Ward, and Lance Berkman; Ochoa scored on a play that should have been an easy out. Saarloos then allowed a walk to EY before managing two outs, retiring Houston on a sacrifice fly that scored Machado and inducing Hammonds to ground out. Nelson Cruz came in to relieve him after he allowed Sexson to single, scoring Sheets. Unfortunately Cruz allowed both of Saarloos' baserunners to score before he finished the inning.

At this point, I'm not sure how long Saarloos will stay in the majors. Dave Mlicki will return in a few weeks and the Astros will bump someone from the rotation. Tim Redding has struggled recently, so Houston could send him to the pen or the minors before Saarloos. However if Saarloos doesn't seem quite ready for a major league starting job, I doubt Houston would hesitate to return him to AAA, as he's certainly due some development time. The Astros have been very good with advancing their pitchers at a pace that aids their development and leads to a smooth transition into the majors.

Houston could choose to move him into the bullpen if they decide he's not ready for the rotation. During the past year, Houston has used Roy Oswalt, Carlos Hernandez, and Tim Redding in the pen before leaving them in the rotation. In this way he could receive the major league experience without stressing his arm, which could easily become over-taxed moving from the workload of a reliever to a starter in one year. Houston has also cycled through a number of relievers at the bottom of their pen, making the thought of adding a quality pitcher very attractive. He could certainly return to starting next season, especially since he didn't appear to have any difficulty making the transition this year.

The Astros needed to call upon Saarloos because they lost Shane Reynolds for the season last week. Houston placed Reynolds on the DL last Thursday due to a pinched nerve in his back. Reynolds underwent surgery that same day, a microdisectomy to remove the fragments of disc that were pushing on the nerve. The pinched nerve was causing weakness in his right leg and doctors told him that he might sustain permanent nerve damage if it weren't corrected now. Reynolds has suffered from two degenerative bulging discs in his back since 2000.

Houston recalled Brandon Puffer to replace Reynolds on the roster as they didn't immediately need a starter. In his 20.2 IP in the majors this season, Puffer's allowed 25 H and 1 HR with a 14:15 K:BB, indicating he might need more time in AAA. The Astros had sent Puffer down on June 7th when they recalled Adam Everett.

After only 10 days in the majors, Houston once again demoted Everett on Monday. Houston called up Everett because they needed an extra infielder while Julio Lugo was sidelined with a sore groin and then sent him down once Lugo was healthy so that he could continue receiving regular playing time. I generally disapprove of yanking prospects up and down to fill brief holes in the major league team. However one could argue that Everett isn't really a prospect any longer and isn't likely to make any further offensive strides in AAA, so he's only waiting for a position to clear in the majors.

In addition to demoting Everett, the Astros sent down Keith Ginter and Jim Mann, clearing roster space for Alan Zinter, Scott Linebrink, and eventually Saarloos. Ginter was in a position similar to Everett in which he wasn't receiving any playing time in the majors and was therefore better off in the minors. Mann and Linebrink exchanged roster spots in early June when Linebrink went on the DL and now reverse that transaction. Mann allowed 18 H and 1 HR in his 14.1 IP in the majors with a 10:5 K:BB.

Zinter's a lesson in counting your chickens before they hatch. He reportedly claimed that he would be in the majors in two years when the Mets drafted him out of the University of Arizona in the first round of the 1989 draft. Thirteen years later, including eight in AAA and one in Japan, he's receiving his first major league call-up. He hasn't done anything extraordinary to warrant the promotion, as he was hitting .225 with a .298 OBP and .440 SLG in 225 AB at AAA New Orleans in the Pacific Coast League on 52 H, 14 2B, and 11 HR with a 22:64 BB:K and 2/2 SB%. The 34-year-old's always possessed the ability to hit for a moderate amount of power and can usually take a walk, but his high strikeout totals have kept him in the minors. Houston likely just wanted someone inexpensive and who wouldn't have any potential to hinder if they didn't receive any at-bats to take the last seat on the bench.