SALT LAKE CITY – Former Utah Tech Trailblazer Jayden Murray has had a whirlwind ten days since making his long-awaited MLB debut for the Houston Astros on September 4.
That spotless 1.1 inning appearance against the New York Yankees helped Murray become a valuable member of an Astros team in the middle of an American League West playoff chase with the Seattle Mariners.
Jayden Murray with a strong performance tonight:
3 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 1 K#Astros #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/d2IYpOiuBi
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) September 13, 2025
The Vernal, Utah, native entered with Houston down four and on a runner on in the top of the eighth.
After completing his warmup, Murray toed the rubber and set his gaze on seven-time All-Star and two-time AL MVP Aaron Judge.
The righthander didn’t flinch. He delivered back-to-back called strikes before retiring Judge on a lineout to left, ending the inning.
Murray came back to induce Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez into flyouts for the first two outs of the ninth.
The 28-year-old finished the outing when José Caballero chased a 96 MPH fastball above the zone for the first strikeout of his MLB career.
Following a clean inning against the Texas Rangers two days later, Murray made his first big league start on Friday, September 12, against the Atlanta Braves.
He threw three innings of one-hit baseball in an 11-3 Houston win.
Jayden Murray | Pitcher
MLB – Houston Astros
Murray threw 148 innings for Utah Tech in 2018 and 2019, ending his college career with a 13-8 record and a 4.38 ERA. He was 10-3 in 2019 with a 3.78 ERA.
The Tampa Bay Rays selected Murray in the 23rd round of the 2019 MLB draft. He was dealt to Houston in 2022 as part of a trade that brought Jose Siri to the Rays.
Murray reached Triple-A Sugar Land in 2023 with the Astros organization before a series of injury setbacks cost him most of the 2024 season.
He made 50 appearances for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys out of the bullpen this season. Murray had a 4.64 ERA in 64 innings, tallying seven holds and three saves in four chances. He struck out 66 batters against 30 walks, and had a 1.33 WHIP.
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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
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