Pressly started Tuesday's exhibition game against the Royals and set the side down in order in his one inning of work, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Pressly, who had been dealing with a blister on his right index finger, showed no effects during a surprise start. With rain threatening a cancellation, the Astros scratched starter Josh James and used a steady stream of relievers to get through the nine innings. Pressly struck out the first two batters on his way to a 1-2-3 inning on 12 pitches, and his fastball approached 96 MPH. "I was really happy with my breaking stuff, the fastball had some life to it," Pressly said. "I'm really excited with where I'm at compared to the end of last year. Everything is moving better and more in sync so I'm excited to get the season going." He'll open the season as Houston's closer while Roberto Osuna (not injury related) is unavailable.