Tuesday start a possibility for McCullers
Before Saturday’s 8-6 win over the Mariners, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said that if righthander Lance McCullers Jr. bounced back from arm fatigue with a successful bullpen session later in the day, he would start Tuesday against the White Sox.
After the game, Hinch would not offer an assessment of how the bullpen session went. Hinch said he would discuss plans for McCullers during his pregame interviews Sunday.
Also on Saturday against Seattle, Hinch reserved Collin McHugh as an option out of the bullpen for a second consecutive day.
McHugh did not pitch in the game, however. Earlier, he had said he would throw a bullpen session if that wound up being the case.
McHugh last pitched against the Athletics on Sept. 8. He left that game after three innings because of an avulsion on his right middle fingernail.
The postseason roles of McCullers and McHugh remain malleable because of a crowded starting rotation, bolstered by the acquisition of starter Justin Verlander last month.
“It’s a good problem to have for us,” McHugh said. “More guys able to throw and ready to throw than there are spots to do it.”
In the 2015 American League Division Series against the Royals, McHugh allowed five earned runs in 10 innings, good enough to keep the Astros in contention. He won the opener and lost Game 5.
McHugh does not feel slighted by a potential transition into the bullpen but his preference is to start. He has six career relief appearances, the last coming with the Colorado Rockies in 2013.
“I’ve been starting for the last four years,” said the 30-year-old McHugh. “I’m a starter until they tell me different.”
Speaking about McCullers before Saturday’s game, Hinch said: “We need guys to get healthy and get good. I anticipate him being able to post and be effective. From a volume standpoint, the question is: 80, 90, 100 pitches? But that’s going to be answered over the next couple weeks.”
Pending how well he has recovered from arm fatigue, McCullers will have the chance to start three more regular-season games.
Still, Hinch left open the possibility that McCullers could be moved into the bullpen.
McCullers was not available for comment after Saturday’s game.
Fisher produces 2-double game
Astros rookie outfielder Derek Fisher broke an 0-for-9 slump in Saturday’s win over the Mariners.
Fisher, batting ninth and starting his first game since Sept. 9, impressively slashed a low-and-inside fastball the other way for a double up the left-field line to drive in the first run.
He went on to score two runs and hit another double.
The outburst followed a 2-for-26 stretch with 11 strikeouts that dated to Aug. 18. Fisher had started in eight of 15 games during that span.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch has primarily used Fisher as a pinch runner recently.
“That’s hard to ask him to contribute at the same level when I’m barely playing him,” Hinch said.
With Jake Marisnick out for the rest of the season to recover from surgery on his fractured right thumb, veterans Marwin Gonzalez and Cameron Maybin are the likeliest players to fill in a void in the outfield.
Although Hinch said Fisher still has a chance to make the postseason roster, particularly because of his speed, his opportunities to be more than a pinch hitter are dwindling.
“That’s something I’m not really thinking about right now,” Fisher said.
Fisher has remained indomitably positive in a role that has been minimized since the Astros acquired Maybin off waivers last month.
“That’s someone I liked watching growing up,” Fisher said of Maybin. “He was so athletic.
“I’ve been able to use this time to focus on the finer things in the game.”
Fisher, a lauded prospect in the spring with a powerful lefthanded swing, likes the idea that he can affect a game with his speed.
“I want to be able to help the team,” he said. “If it’s not at the beginning of the game, it could be the end of the game.”
ALDS tickets on sale Monday
Individual tickets for potential American League Division Series games played at Minute Maid Park will go on sale to the general public Monday at noon. Tickets will be available for purchase by phone at 1-800-ASTROS2, online at www.astros.com/tickets, and at the Minute Maid Park Box Office.
With the availability of individual game tickets limited for postseason games, fans are encouraged to register for the postseason purchase lottery pre-sale opportunity, which can be found at www.astros.com/postseason.