Veiled somewhat by his role and veteran colleagues is the value AJ Blubaugh has brought to the Houston Astros‘ bullpen in his rookie season. Other relievers eclipse him in wins above replacement, but none can rival the variety of the right-hander’s contributions.

Blubaugh, a converted starter, has helped buoy and preserve Houston‘s pitching staff by being an option at any time. He has entered at least one game this season in every inning from one through nine. He has worked multiple innings in 33 of 53 appearances.

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No major-league reliever has thrown more innings than Blubaugh, who has a 3.06 ERA in 85 ⅓ frames. That combination alone illustrates Blubaugh’s importance to an Astros bullpen that entered Wednesday with the sport’s fifth-lowest ERA since May 1.

At a critical point in the season, however, his position in it also appears to be evolving. In Blubaugh’s first 41 outings, he recorded four holds, defined as a reliever entering a save situation and maintaining a lead for the next reliever while getting at least one out.

In his 11 outings in August, Blubaugh recorded four holds. That included both his appearances during the Astros’ week in New York against the Yankees and Mets. He also logged a save last month and, in his first outing of September, entered a scoreless game in the eighth inning Wednesday against the White Sox.

“The moments are not getting too big for him anymore,” manager Joe Espada said after his team’s 2-0 win Wednesday night. “Obviously, I’m starting to give him the ball in big spots, because he’s earned the right to do that. He can pitch out of trouble, he can get punchouts.”

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Since allowing five runs at Coors Field in his fifth outing of the season, Blubaugh has a 2.22 ERA over his past 48 appearances. He has allowed one earned run in his past 18 innings while drawing higher-leverage situations for a Houston team in a postseason hunt.

The implications for its bullpen are enticing. Closer Josh Hader has been excellent since his return in June from the injured list, going 22-for-22 in save chances with a 0.72 ERA. Bryan Abreu has turned his season around to reassume a setup role alongside Steven Okert.

Adding Blubaugh to the late-innings mix could expand Espada’s options to close out games with a well-worked bullpen. Some caveats do exist. Blubaugh is still relatively new to that at the major-league level, and his multi-inning ability can be needed earlier in games. His workload also bears watching.

Blubaugh ended Wednesday with 10 ⅓ innings more than any other reliever in the majors this season. His 33 multi-inning appearances also lead the majors. He does not operate by finesse, either; his fastball has averaged 95.7 mph this season and touched 99.3 mph.

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“What’s funny, if no one told me I had a high workload, I wouldn’t know I had a high workload,” Blubaugh said Wednesday night. “I’m approaching every day as I’m trying to pitch, and whether I feel good or I feel bad doesn’t change anything.

“Whether I go in in the first inning or the eighth inning tonight, I’m still trying to put up a zero. So I wouldn’t say I feel any certain way. Tomorrow I’m going to show up the same way, I’m going to do my prep and I’m going to make myself available to throw.”

2026 ASTROS STATS

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After throwing two scoreless innings at Citi Field on Sunday, Blubaugh did not pitch the next two days. Wednesday, the Astros reached the eighth inning of a scoreless tie with the AL Central-leading White Sox, whose lineup featured seven left-handed or switch-hitters.

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None of their relievers save Kai-Wei Teng and Tatsuya Imai had pitched Tuesday. Okert and Abreu had each worked Sunday and Monday, however. Left-hander Bennett Sousa has struggled to get lefties out this year. Blubaugh came in holding lefties to a .550 OPS. He drew the eighth.

Tristan Peters met him with a leadoff triple, driving a fastball off the base of the wall in right-center at Daikin Park. Blubaugh walked Drew Romo, the Chicago ninth hitter, turning their lineup over. After the walk, he said, he resolved “to start pounding the zone and pray for good things to happen.”

One did. With the Astros infield in, Sam Antonacci bounced a first-pitch sweeper to shortstop Jeremy Peña. Peters hesitated before breaking for home plate. Peña threw him out.

“I thought the big play was that ground ball to Jeremy, Peters tried to kind of deke him and hesitated to go, potentially thinking (he’d) go for a double play,” Espada said. “So he was waiting to see what Jeremy was going to do, but Jeremy held his ground, made the right decision there.”

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Blubaugh agreed “you could feel (the inning) switch there.” But it wasn’t over. Munetaka Murakami hit a 2-2 sweeper to right-center. Romo, the catcher running at second base, was held at third. Miguel Vargas arrived with the bases loaded and one out. Blubaugh threw him two fastballs.

“Throw it as hard as I can, that’s really what it came down to,” Blubaugh said. “Empty the tank, give everything I have right here, get this out and then go from there. And it just happened to get in there and jam him a little bit.”

A 97 mph fastball on the plate induced a sharp grounder to third baseman Isaac Paredes, who started a double play. Nelson Velázquez’s two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the inning gave Houston the lead. Hader preserved it, as the Astros stretched their AL West lead back to two games.

Espada credited Blubaugh with “staying composed, pitching and getting the job done.” The situation may have magnified it. But the result resembled much of Blubaugh’s season before it.

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“What he’s doing is incredible,” said starter Hayden Wesneski, who allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings Wednesday. “It’s so hard. I’ve been in that role and I didn’t do that. He fills a role of, like, whatever you need. And what he’s doing is incredible.”

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This article originally published at AJ Blubaugh has become Houston Astros’ do-everything bullpen weapon. ‘What he’s doing is incredible’.

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers looks on before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Intuit Dome on December 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California.  Luke Hales/Getty Images/AFP

The NBA on Tuesday walloped the Los Angeles Clippers with a record $30 million fine, stripped the team of five first-round draft picks and banned owner Steve Ballmer for a year after a probe uncovered major salary cap violations involving star Kawhi Leonard.

The Clippers, who said they plan to fight the punishments, will forfeit a first-round NBA Draft pick every year 2029-2033 after having been found to have aided Leonard in evading salary cap rules in deals with team corporate sponsors when he signed in 2022.

READ: Clippers owner Ballmer welcomes NBA probe, denies involvment

Clippers owner Ballmer was banned from all league and team activities for one year, president of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for a year and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months, while Leonard was fined $700,000.

The $30 million fine is comfortably the largest ever imposed on a team by the NBA, eclipsing the previous largest penalty of $3.5 million against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 for breaching salary cap rules.

“I’m deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

READ: NBA: Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors return on hold pending Clippers probe

“The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations.”

The Clippers, responding in a statement, said the probe was biased to fit what the team called a “predetermined narrative” and vowed to challenge the penalties.

“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” a club statement said.

The Clippers said feedback it had received directly from the NBA “differs from what it announced today publicly.”

“For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence,” the statement said.

“We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”

FILE – Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sits on the sideline before an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls on March 13, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)

The Clippers agreed to trade Leonard to Toronto in July but the Raptors said they would await the result of the investigation before finalizing the deal.

“As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate,” Leonard said in a statement.

The investigation was into allegations the Clippers compensated Leonard $28 million through an endorsement deal with now-bankrupt Aspiration.

It found what the NBA called “a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules.”

Law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz found the Clippers initiated and facilitated sponsorship income deals between Leonard and four team corporate sponsors — Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance.

The probe found the club induced companies to enter into agreements with Leonard by offering them business, also paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives, and failed to report improper solicitations for income opportunities by Leonard’s then-business manager, Dennis Robertson.

Leonard, through Robertson, violated salary cap rules by obtaining improper off-court income, pressuring the Clippers to assist him in getting those opportunities and failing to reimburse the Clippers for expenses.

Robertson was banned from engaging with NBA teams on behalf of any player, employee or other NBA or team personnel for five years.

 ‘No knowledge’

Leonard accepted responsibility for actions by his representatives but said he had no clue salary cap violations were involved.

“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family,” Leonard said in a statement.

“I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.”

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed the penalties are final and binding to all parties but the league said it will “consider further action as appropriate.”

That’s almost as much as the 18 Ligue 1 clubs combined (€605 million). Lionel Messi will get his tribute after announcing his retirement from the Argentina national team.

In Germany, Bayern Munich comfortably secured their place in the round of 32 of the German Cup. The US Open continues in New York, with Daniil Medvedev and Arthur Rinderknech advancing to the third round. There was a major upset as Rafael Jodar was eliminated after losing to lucky loser Yunchaokete Bu.

In cycling, British rider Matthew Brennan claimed his third stage victory at the 2026 Vuelta.

A newly crowned WWE NXT Women’s Champion recently opened up on Busted Open Radio about the secret behind her evolving fighting style. She revealed that Shayna Baszler continues to mentor her even now and that Shayna unleashes the aggressive side we see in the ring.

The star in question here is Kelani Jordan. The NXT Women’s Champion claims to have refined her submission technique due to Baszler, and she appreciates it a lot. She added that her next challenger, Jaida Parker, looks easy to her because of Shayna’s tutelage in submissions.

“I have Shayna Baszler in my corner, who has been working with me on submissions, still to this day. I’m ready if she tries to pull a Sharpshooter or Rings of Saturn or whatever she wants. I’ve been training with Shayna, which is a fact. I owe her a lot of credit because she helps me a lot when it comes to my aggression and being very physical in the ring and all the submissions. She’s helped me tremendously. When you see me do a submission and all that stuff, she’s definitely been helping me, and I’m super appreciative of that,” said Kelani Jordan.

Jordan captured the NXT Women’s Title just this last Sunday at NXT Heatwave after defeating Kendal Grey. Now sitting at the top of the division, the champion prepares to defend her title against Jaida Parker on next week’s edition of WWE NXT.

WWE NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan names her wrestling soulmate

In an interview with Denise Salcedo, Kelani Jordan named Sol Ruca as one of her wrestling soulmates. They have had a few tag team matches, always being rivals, and only two singles matches in WWE NXT.

The first one was at NXT Heatwave 2024 in Toronto, where Kelani came out successful, defending her Women’s North American Championship.

“Sol Ruca, I would say one of my wrestling soulmates,” she said.

The second match took place at NXT Battleground 2025 in Tampa, where Ruca defended the same North American title against Jordan. Only a blow-off match would settle their score, but it is unlikely to happen this year.