Depleted rotation absorbs another blow
McCullers forced onto disabled list after discomfort in his lower back
Already without ace Dallas Keuchel and middle-of-the-rotation starters Charlie Morton and Collin McHugh, the Astros were dealt their latest injury blow Monday.
Lance McCullers Jr. will miss at least Tuesday’s start because of what the team described as lower back discomfort.
The major league-leading Astros placed their No. 2 starter, who’s amid a breakout season, on the 10-day disabled list, from which he will be eligible to return June 19, the date of what would be his next turn in the rotation.
Brad Peacock will start Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park against the Texas Rangers on three days’ rest in McCullers’ place.
Top pitching prospect Francis Martes, who struggled in Class AAA and in his major league debut in relief Friday, will make his first major league start Wednesday. He represents the team’s last healthy starting option on the 40man roster. The season is two months old.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch said McCullers, 23, reported feeling soreness in his lower back to the team during Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels. McCullers wasn’t available for comment Monday. According to a team spokesman, the righthander was advised by the team’s medical staff to stay home from Minute Maid Park on Monday.
“It was something that was going to keep him from making his start (Tuesday), so then we decided to put him on the DL, give him complete rest and hope that he comes back at the end of those 10 days,” Hinch said.
Impact as starter
Coming into Monday’s games, McCullers (6-1) ranked fourth among qualified American League starters in ERA (2.58) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.45) and second in ground-ball rate (63.0) behind only Keuchel (67.4). The reigning AL pitcher of the month pitched seven innings of one-run ball in his last outing Thursday at Kansas City, arguably the best of his 13 starts.
“He said that (the soreness) started to be gradual when he was playing catch (Sunday) and then as the game got underway it was something that he wanted to report,” Hinch said. “I know he’s had this before, in the past, in the minor leagues, in which he’s missed a couple days. And we’ve all had back soreness, so it’s kind of selfexplanatory what he feels like and what he’s going through.
“If he can’t perform at an optimal level, then we were going to make sure that we DL’d him as a precaution and hope that this is a short stint for him.”
McCullers is the fifth Astros starter to require a DL stint this season and one of four on the DL. Keuchel, a lefthander who has a major league-best 1.67 ERA, is out with a pinched nerve in his neck and isn’t expected to resume throwing until this weekend at the earliest.
Fiers the exception
Righthander Morton (lat strain) resumed throwing only Friday. McHugh (elbow impingement) has been throwing for a couple of weeks but the righthander isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break.
Mike Fiers is the only member of the openingday rotation who hasn’t gone on the DL this season. Joe Musgrove returned to pitch Monday after missing his previous two starts because of shoulder inflammation.
“It is what it is,” Hinch said of the rash of injuries to the rotation. “I know everybody wants the ‘frustrating’ quote or the ‘woe is me’ or ‘the sky is falling.’ The reality is we’ve got a really good team and we’re going to have to absorb this or else.
“There’s no more pressure on us. There’s no more anxiety on us. It is what it is. We’re tough enough to deal with it. We’ve got guys who are in the rotation for the foreseeable future, and the better they pitch the better we’ll be.”