Diaz an emergency weekend fill-in for Feliz
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Astros called up righthander Dayan Diaz as a temporary bullpen replacement for Michael Feliz ahead of Friday night’s series opener against the Angels.
Feliz was placed on the family medical emergency list, on which players may spend between three and seven days. It’s expected that Feliz, who’s in Houston, will miss only this weekend’s series at Angel Stadium. The Astros are off Monday before opening a two-game home series against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.
“We’re thinking about Michael Feliz now as he’s had to step away from our team for a few days and go on the family emergency list,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s a very private matter. … He would like some privacy while he tends to a personal matter.”
Diaz, who had a 2.19 ERA in 121⁄3 innings of relief with Class AAA Fresno, had his contract selected because he was not previously on the Astros’ 40-man roster. His addition increases to 39 the players on their 40man roster.
If Diaz gets into a game, it will be his first with the Astros. The 28-year-old Colombian debuted in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds last May. In six appearances out of the Reds’ bullpen, he allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits in 62⁄3 innings. The Astros signed him to a minor league deal in January and he pitched 71⁄3 scoreless innings while in major league spring training.
Diaz has spent parts of 11 seasons in the minors. He actually signed his first professional contract with the Astros as an amateur international free agent in 2005. His first go-around with the organization ended after the 2012 season, when he signed with the Chicago Cubs as a minor league free agent. He later spent time in the Boston Red Sox system.
Diaz said he throws four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a slider and a splitter.
“He’s a power reliever that has a really good fastball, a pretty good breaking ball,” Hinch said. “He hasn’t had a ton of exposure in the big leagues but does have an attack mentality.”
Gregerson cannot find his command
Astros manager A.J. Hinch said reliever Luke Gregerson’s recent struggles stem from his command of his pitches, “which is a rarity for him.”
Gregerson has allowed 11 earned runs on 17 hits and five walks in 112⁄3 innings overall this season and was hit hard in each of his last two appearances. The sinkerballer has suddenly become prone to giving up the long ball. The four homers he has allowed are one fewer than he surrendered in each of the previous two seasons.
“The feel for his pitches doesn’t seem to have been there the last couple outings,” Hinch said. “He’s left some very hittable pitches, and they’ve done some damage against him.
“I know he’s going to bounce out of this and be able to help us a ton and be the type of reliever that we expect out of him. It comes down to making pitches for him. His command has been off. He’s walked more hitters than he normally does. He’s given up some hits off his slider, which he doesn’t normally do. And it’s snowballed on him the last couple outings.”
Gonzalez too hot to put on bench
Marwin Gonzalez’s scorching hot bat kept him in the Astros’ lineup Friday at the expense of third baseman Alex Bregman.
Bregman, who is batting .265 with a .676 OPS, didn’t start for a third time in 30 games. He was 2-for3 against righthander Jesse Chavez, the Angels’ Friday starter, when they matched up April 17 at Minute Maid Park.
Gonzalez’s start at third base was his sixth of the season. He batted eighth in the order despite coming into Friday with a team-best 1.087 OPS in 64 at-bats and having
homered in five consecutive starts.
Gustave suffers setback with arm
Astros relief pitcher Jandel Gustave, who had been nearing the start of an official rehab assignment, had a setback Thursday while facing hitters in a live batting practice session.
Gustave experienced a recurrence of the arm soreness that landed him on the 10-day disabled list April 20, according to manager A.J. Hinch. The hard-throwing righthander, who threw the live BP in Fresno with the Astros’ Class AAA affiliate, again will visit with the team’s doctors in Houston.
Odds and ends
The Astros will stay in rotation next week despite having a day off Monday, manager A.J. Hinch said. … Lefthanded reliever Ashur Tolliver was activated from the minor league disabled list with Class AAA Fresno. He had been sidelined with abdominal soreness.