Astros' Lance McCullers: No-decision in season finale
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McCullers did not factor into Sunday's decision against the Angels, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four across three innings.
McCullers was activated from the 15-day injured list Saturday after recovering from a right hand injury. He gave up a solo homer to Mike Trout in the first before keeping the Angels off the board over the next two frames, but he did not return to the mound for the fourth frame after tossing 54 pitches (35 strikes). McCullers will end the 2025 regular season with a 2-5 record across 16 games (13 starts) with a 6.51 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and 61:39 K:BB over 55.1 innings. The 32-year-old right-hander is under contract with Houston through 2026.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Activated from IL
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McCullers (hand) was activated from the 15-day injured list Saturday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
McCullers will make his return to the major-league roster with just two games left in the regular season. The 31-year-old has been sidelined since Sept. 12 with right hand soreness, and he was at one point described to be "highly unlikely" to return to action in September by general manager Dana Brown. McCullers has posted a 6.71 ERA and 1.85 WHIP with 57 strikeouts over 52.1 innings in 15 appearances, including 12 starts, with Houston this season. In a corresponding move, Nick Hernandez was designated for assignment Saturday.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Starting in season finale
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McCullers will start Sunday's season finale against the Angels, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
McCullers was activated from the 15-day injured list Saturday after missing the minimum amount of time with right hand soreness. The Astros have been eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2016, so McCullers will likely have a long leash Sunday. He owns a 6.71 ERA over 52.1 innings in 15 appearances and had been demoted to the bullpen in late August before landing on the shelf. McCullers remains under contract through 2026, and with the Astros set to be without all of Hayden Wesneski, Ronel Blanco, Luis Garcia and Brandon Walter for the majority or entirety of next season while the quartet recovers from elbow surgeries, McCullers stands a good chance of being included in the Opening Day rotation coming out of spring training.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Unlikely to return in September
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Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that McCullers (hand) isn't expected to return from the 15-day injured list before the end of the regular season, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports. "There's a chance that this is the last that we've seen of him," Brown said. "Is it possible he could get back for the last couple games? There's probably an outside chance, but highly unlikely."
McCullers was placed on the IL on Friday due to right hand soreness, and while his injury doesn't appear to be considered serious, he looks like he'll need more than the minimum 15 days to move past the issue. Brown noted that McCullers' "name will come up" in discussions about the Astros' roster for a potential postseason run, but given how the 31-year-old righty performed as a reliever after losing his spot in the rotation in late August, it's difficult to envision Houston turning to him in the playoffs. McCullers was charged with five runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks over four innings across his three low-leverage relief appearances prior to landing on the IL.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Placed on 15-day IL
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The Astros placed McCullers on the 15-day injured list Friday due to right hand soreness, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
McCullers returned to Houston to be evaluated, and the Astros have recalled Colton Gordon from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. McCullers threw two innings out of the bullpen in Thursday's loss to the Blue Jays and allowed one run on two hits and one walk with zero strikeouts. On the season, McCullers owns a 6.88 ERA, 1.85 WHIP and 57:38 K:BB across 52.1 innings.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Debuts out of bullpen
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McCullers struck out three and allowed two earned runs on three hits and two walks across two innings of relief in Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Angels.
Working out of the bullpen for the first time in the majors since 2018, McCullers kept the Angels off the board in the seventh inning, but he allowed five of the first six runners he faced in the eighth to reach base, with two coming around to score. Finding more success in his future relief appearances in September likely represents McCullers' clearest path to earning a spot on the Astros' postseason roster, as he doesn't appear likely to get another look in the rotation anytime soon unless the team loses another starter to an injury. Houston appears set to maintain a six-man rotation during the final month of the season, but McCullers will give up his spot to Luis Garcia (elbow), who will be activated from the 60-day injured list to start Monday's series finale. Before shifting to the bullpen this weekend, McCullers struggled mightily over his 12 starts with the Astros, logging a 6.89 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 54:34 K:BB in 48.1 innings.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Moving to bullpen for now
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Astros manager Joe Espada said Thursday that McCullers is available to pitch out of the bullpen, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Espada described the move as "short-term" and noted that McCullers is an option to start Monday's game against the Angels. Luis Garcia (elbow) is also an option to return from the 60-day injured list start Monday, and the two could be used in tandem if McCullers isn't needed out of the bullpen Thursday versus the Rockies or during the first three games of the series with the Angels over the weekend. In his most recent start this past Friday in Baltimore following his return from the IL, McCullers yielded three runs and walked five over four innings. He's now sitting on a 6.89 ERA in 12 starts this season.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Can't find plate in return
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McCullers came away with a no-decision in Friday's 10-7 win over the Orioles, giving up three runs on five hits and five walks in four innings. He struck out four.
Out since July 19 due to blister issues, McCullers had trouble finding the plate in his return, tossing 50 of 97 pitches for strikes and falling short of qualifying for the win in a game in which the Astros never trailed. The five free passes were a season high for the right-hander, but he's issued multiple walks in six straight big-league starts dating back to June 10, compiling a disastrous 9.38 ERA, 2.21 WHIP and 21:22 K:BB in 24 innings over that stretch. With Luis Garcia (elbow) closing in on his return, McCullers may find himself bumped from the rotation as soon as next week.
Astros' Lance McCullers: Reinstated ahead of start
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The Astros activated McCullers (finger) from the 15-day injured list Friday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
McCullers is set to rejoin the rotation Friday in Baltimore after missing more than a month of action with a blister on his pitching hand. The veteran right-hander threw 80 pitches and went five innings in his lone rehab start, so he shouldn't have much of a workload restriction Friday.
Astros' Lance McCullers: Set to rejoin rotation Friday
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Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that McCullers (finger) will rejoin the rotation Friday in Baltimore, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Coming back from a blister, McCullers permitted just one run while fanning five batters over five innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land last Friday. The right-hander threw 80 pitches in that outing, so he shouldn't have any major workload limitations against the Orioles.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Tosses 80 pitches
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McCullers (finger) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
McCullers threw 80 pitches while averaging 91.9 mph with his fastball. Prior to the outing, general manager Dana Brown said the Astros would have to decide whether McCullers needed an additional rehab start before being activated. While no official decision has been made, McCullers looks to have checked a lot of boxes with his outing Friday night.
McCullers (finger) will begin a rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Sugar Land, MLB.com reports.
McCullers threw a bullpen session in Houston on Tuesday after throwing a four-inning simulated game a week earlier. Given the significant ramp-up before his scheduled rehab start, McCullers could be activated from the injured list by late August.
McCullers (finger) threw a four-inning simulated game Wednesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
While McCullers is already stretched out to four innings, Astros manager Joe Espada indicated Sunday that the righty will throw 1-to-2 more times off a mound and could require a rehab assignment before rejoining the rotation. Espada's comments suggest that McCullers -- who is working his way back from a blister -- probably won't be back with the big club until at least mid-August.
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Astros' Lance McCullers: Resumes throwing off mound
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Astros manager Joe Espada said Sunday that McCullers (finger) has resumed throwing off a mound and is scheduled for "another bullpen or two" before he starts facing live hitters, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
McCullers was placed on the injured list July 22 after developing a blister on his pitching hand and will wind up missing more than the minimum 15 days. Based on Espada's comments, McCullers could be ready to face hitters by next week, though it's unclear if the right-hander would be cleared to immediately return from the IL after that or if he would first have to go out on a minor-league rehab assignment. With a 6.90 ERA and 1.74 WHIP over 44.1 innings in his 11 starts with Houston this season, McCullers could be at risk of moving to the bullpen upon his activation, as the Astros could get starters Spencer Arrighetti (thumb), Christian Javier (elbow), Luis Garcia (elbow) and Brandon Walter (elbow) back from the IL before him or around the same time.
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