Peacock on IL »
Sore shoulder earns Brad Peacock some rest.
To “get ahead” of some recurring shoulder soreness plaguing Brad Peacock throughout the season, the Astros placed the 31-year-old starter on the injured list Friday, ending the first half of his season.
Peacock lasted just three innings in Thursday’s 10-0 loss to Pittsburgh, surrendering three home runs, seven hits and six runs. He was unavailable for comment prior to Friday’s series opener against Seattle.
“He’s pitched through (the soreness) and could probably keep giving us 100 percent of what he’s got,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Friday. “Obviously, it didn’t go well yesterday. We feel like with the off days and the All-Star break, we can get ahead of this and avoid any more missed time.”
The Astros recalled Reymin Guduan from Class AAA Round Rock to take Peacock’s spot on the roster.
Hinch said the Astros “expect” Peacock to rejoin their starting rotation after the All-Star break. In 25⅓ innings in June, Peacock had a 6.39 ERA and allowed eight home runs, though he did strike out 11 Yankees across six innings of two-run ball in Yankee Stadium on June 21.
Peacock’s absence leaves the Astros in need of a starter on Tuesday against the Rockies at Coors Field.
Hinch said Peacock’s situation would “not impact” Collin McHugh, the starter-turnedreliever who just finished a stint on the injured list. McHugh has not pitched more than two innings since May 7.
Alvarez to rest for couple of days
As manager A.J. Hinch intimated on Thursday, Yordan Alvarez was out of the Astros’ lineup on Friday with a sore left knee.
Alvarez left Thursday’s game in the third inning after feeling pain when chasing a fly ball in left field. He fouled a pitch off his left knee on Tuesday against the Pirates, but the rookie slugger was able to finish that game and play all nine innings on Wednesday at designated hitter.
“It’s his back leg, which is very important for his power, very important for his stability in the box,” Hinch said. “I’m not going to play him until he feels better.”
Hinch said Thursday he may give Alvarez a “day or two” off to recuperate from his soreness. A day later, the manager declined to forecast any further.
Should Alvarez not return during this Mariners series, a possibility exists the he may not crack the Astros lineup for five straight games.
The Astros head to Coors Field, home of one of baseball’s biggest outfields, for a two-game interleague set on Tuesday and Wednesday. Playing the defensively limited Alvarez anywhere in that stadium may not be advantageous.
Without the designated hitter, Alvarez may be limited to a pinch-hitting role late in a game.
Crane awaits data before decision on net
Astros owner Jim Crane said Friday he is awaiting more information before deciding how to address the need for additional protective netting at Minute Maid Park for later this season or beyond.
Crane’s comments came two days after it was disclosed that a 25-month-old girl suffered a fractured skull and is on medication to prevent seizures after she was struck by a foul ball. The child was sitting on a relative’s lap in the field-level seats down the left-field foul line when she was injured May 29 during an AstrosCubs game.
Four ballclubs — the Nationals, White Sox, Dodgers and Pirates — have announced plans to expand netting beyond Major League Baseball’s standard, which requires netting to the far end of each dugout. The Astros reached that standard in 2017, a year before MLB required all teams to do so, but the injured child was seated in a section just beyond the netting.
“We’re analyzing it and looking at the possibility,” Crane said. “(Extended netting) is a possibility. I’m not going to commit to it until I have more data. I don’t have the information yet, but we know it is a concern of everyone.”
Bukauskas to appear in Futures Game
Astros pitching prospect J.B. Bukauskas will appear in the Futures Game in Cleveland on July 7, the league announced Friday.
Ranked the organization’s fifth-best prospect by MLBPipeline and sixth by Baseball America, Bukauskas has a 5.97 ERA in 57⅓ innings with Class AA Corpus Christi this season.
The righthander had a horrible start to his minor league season but has shown signs of turning it around. Bukauskas walked 12 in his first eight innings, ballooning his ERA to 19.13 after three appearances with the Hooks.
Across his next 11 starts, Bukauskas pared it to 5.97. His walk numbers are still high — 6.1 per nine innings — but the former first-rounder is also striking out 11 per nine.