SEATTLE — San Diego baseball alum Josh Hendrickson made his Major League debut Wednesday night, striking out three over two innings of relief for the Houston Astros in a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

Houston selected Hendrickson's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day, and his first big-league appearance made him the 28th player in USD program history to reach the Major Leagues.

With the Astros in the final week of a tight American League West race, Hendrickson inherited a jam in the bottom of the third: a 4-3 lead, two outs and Mariners at second and third. The left-hander escaped when Josh Naylor grounded out on a four-seam fastball, then retired the next four batters he faced before Seattle manufactured the tying run in the fifth on a Randy Arozarena single, a steal of second and an RBI single by Dominic Canzone. It was the only run charged to Hendrickson, who allowed two hits, walked none and threw 20 of his 31 pitches for strikes.

His wife, Lizzie, and daughter, Hazel, were at T-Mobile Park to see it.

"It's something I don't think I'll forget," Hendrickson told MLB.com.

A native of Perth, Australia, Hendrickson pitched for his country at the 2015 WBSC U-18 World Cup in Osaka, Japan, and the 2016 U-23 World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico, before coming to the United States to play at Ranger College in Texas and Barton Community College in Kansas. The Kansas City Royals drafted him in the 20th round out of Barton in 2018, but he did not sign and instead transferred to USD for the 2019 season.

He made an immediate impression as a Torero, throwing six shutout innings in his first start for USD, a 3-1 win over Wagner on Feb. 16, 2019, in which he allowed five hits, struck out five and walked none. A week later, he struck out a season-high six over five innings of one-run ball in a 14-4 win over Missouri State. Hendrickson finished his junior season 4-2 with 28 strikeouts in 39 innings across 12 appearances, 10 of them starts.

The Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the 38th round (1,140th overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft, and he reached Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2021. An elbow injury in spring training 2022 interrupted his climb, and the Phillies released him in November 2023 with Tommy John surgery still ahead of him.

Hendrickson rebuilt his career in independent ball, going 10-5 for the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association in 2025. After a stint with the Adelaide Giants of the Australian Baseball League, he made Australia's roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic and started against the Czech Republic at the Tokyo Dome in March, allowing one run over three innings in a 5-1 Australia win. The Astros signed him to a minor-league deal in April, and he went 9-7 with a 4.75 ERA as a starter at Triple-A Sugar Land before Wednesday's call-up.

Hendrickson, one of 158 players in USD history to either have his name called in the MLB Draft or sign with a Major League team since 1964, is the second Torero to reach the Major Leagues this season, following Brycen Mautz (St. Louis Cardinals) in May. He also joins 2019 USD teammate Chris Murphy (Chicago White Sox) in the big leagues; both left-handers were drafted out of USD that June, and Murphy debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 2023.