Houston Astros

The numbers don’t lie: Lance

McCullers, and not Dallas Keuchel, is the Astros’ ace this year. McCullers, who missed the first five weeks of the season because of a sore shoulder, had a 2.11 ERA in his last seven starts after defeating the New York Yankees last week. It also marked the second consecutive game and third time in five games he had 10 strikeouts, a testament to his devastating curveball.

And yet while the 22-year-old’s wipeout curve is his biggest weapon, manager A.J. Hinch said fastball command is the key.

“The well-placed fastball is going to be a huge part of his game plan moving forward,” Hinch said.

While McCullers has soared, Keuchel has continued his uneven year. The reigning Cy Young Award winner’s ERA stood at 4.86 after he gave up seven runs in five innings Sunday at Detroit.

The Astros promised top prospect Alex Bregman would get playing time when he was called up recently; they just weren’t sure where. But then

Luis Valbuena went on the disabled list July 29 because of a strained right hamstring, and Bregman’s spot became clear — third base. However, Bregman had just one hit in his first 22 at-bats. Infielder Marwin Gonzalez

was hoping his sore right hand and wrist wouldn’t be an issue, but he missed two games over the weekend even though X-rays were negative. Gonzalez wasn’t sure how he injured it.