Mum’s the word on progress of McCullers
Manager A.J. Hinch and Lance McCullers Jr. were cryptic about McCullers’ bullpen session Thursday.
They were terse when asked about it.
McCullers, a righthander, has been on the disabled list since July 31 for back discomfort.
“I heard it went fine,” Hinch said after the Astros’ 4-0 loss to the Diamondbacks.
At his locker, McCullers said he would talk to media in “a couple days, when A.J. and them determine what’s the next step.”
McCullers seems likely to need multiple rehab starts and target September for his return.
Hinch said the DL stint has offered McCullers a mental break. McCullers unraveled after going 7-1 with a 2.69 ERA through June. He was 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA in July.
“That’s a benefit that comes with some downtime, if handled properly,” Hinch said. “When you get punched in the gut a little bit and you get beat up and maybe not perform the way you’re used to performing, it can be taxing on your mind. Mentally, any time somebody goes through a lull, time away usually helps.”
Moran’s return sooner than later
On Thursday, manager A.J. Hinch said something he never thought he would: Third baseman Colin Moran might return from his ghastly injury and play for the Astros in September.
Moran suffered a facial fracture when he fouled a ball into his face July 23.
After surgery about a week later, Moran recently began working out at the Astros’ minor league complex in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“He’s doing a little bit better,” Hinch said. “He’s going to hopefully start some baseball activities and get going. Once he’s cleared by doctors, he’s going to be able to do some baseball things.
“We haven’t ruled out his return maybe at some point in September, which is something that I never would have thought I would say. We just don’t know yet. His re-entry into baseball activities will dictate when he can make it back.”
Moran had been 3-for-6 in two games for the Astros before the injury.
Strom works with Liriano
Astros pitching coach Brent Strom sat down with reliever Francisco Liriano before Thursday’s finale against the Diamondbacks. After studying the latest video footage of Liriano, Strom had identified two areas for him to improve: Liriano needed to commit to a slower slider with
more break and a slower heart rate in his transition from starting pitcher to lefthanded specialist.
Liriano was the Astros’ lone acquisition at the trade deadline. The team envisioned deploying him against lefthanded batters
but expected Liriano — a former Cy Young candidate as a starter — could be a solid option to complete innings.
Entering Thursday, he had disappointed in both regards. His fastball command wavered. He flattened out his breaking ball by throwing it too hard. In 32⁄3 innings, he had two strikeouts, five walks, four hits surrendered and a 4.91 ERA. Worse, in three of his five appearances, manager A.J. Hinch had to take him out because he could not finish an inning.
In Thursday’s 4-0 loss to the Diamondbacks, Liriano lowered his ERA to 5.73 with 12⁄3 innings of relief work. He ended the sixth and seventh inning with double plays. Hinch removed him after he gave up a single to start the eighth.
But in his two previous outings, Liriano hit two batters one game and walked two the next.
Liriano’s ineffectiveness has exacerbated the ire of fans who wanted the Astros to trade for more formidable pitching for an injured rotation and ailing bullpen.
The pressure on Liriano to satisfy those expectations burdened him during his transitional period. He had gotten used to the lengthy process of preparing to start games. Now he is struggling to warm up quickly — to be ready in two minutes, he said — after getting the call to the bullpen.
He is unsure how to make that adjustment.
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m trying to find that right now.”
He has had to temper the immediate, unfamiliar rush of adrenaline, which has flattened his slider and rattled his mechanics. Strom recommended his slider should decrease from 90 mph to 87 mph to give it more vertical movement.
“The first couple games I was just trying to let it out, get loose quick and give everything I had from the first pitch in the bullpen — and then trying to come in and do the same thing,” Liriano said. “I have to find the in between: Not too excited, not too low. Get a good rhythm with my mechanics.”
He also said his new role relies more on his fastball because he throws fewer off-speed pitches, in both the bullpen warm-up and games.
“Not trying to be too picky,” Liriano said of his new approach to hitters. “Not trying to be too fine on the corners. That’s a different role, but I’m trying to find a way to get my body used to it.”
He plans to start loosening up his body earlier, in the fourth or fifth innings of games.
He has taken tips from Michael Feliz and Joe Musgrove, starters who have converted to relievers. Musgrove made the switch in July and has not allowed a run in 81⁄3 innings in August.
For now, Hinch likely will simplify Liriano’s assignments to one or two lefthanded hitters in an outing until the southpaw can prove capable.
“Everything has got to be quick,” Liriano said, snapping his fingers. “Hopefully, I get it going the next couple weeks.
Odds and ends
The Astros hit into four double plays in a 4-0 loss to the Diamondbacks on Thursday. Their 117 total ranks second, behind the Blue Jays, for the most in baseball. Also, when Max Stassi threw out A.J. Pollock on an attempt to steal second base, it was the Astros’ first caught stealing since June 18. Opponents stole 29 bases before then. … Manager A.J. Hinch said Tony Sipp will pitch a rehab assignment in Class AA Corpus Christi “toward end of the homestand,” which is Aug. 24. … Hinch expects Evan Gattis (concussion) to be the first Astros player to come off the disabled list, but Hinch did not offer a timetable.