Astros decided Moehler wouldn’t be ready by Sunday and put him on the 15 day DL retroactive to April 14.
They haven’t announced a plan for the Sunday starter and speculation is that they could make a roster move. For now they’re saying ”
[Arias] will pitch out of the ‘pen,” Cooper said. “He and Fulchino will both be available [Thursday] in the bullpen. We’ll just see where we are on the weekend.” Link
Cavalry coming?
Not likely,
Brandon Backethrew 60 pitches Wednesday in his third bullpen …. He threw 40 to get warmed up and another 20 under game-like conditions.
The mound at PNC Park was muddy, so Backe didn’t go full bore.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I was pretty cautious out there today. The mound is pretty reminiscent of the game I got hurt. It would have been stupid of me to throw the ball hard and test it out with the mound the way it was. ” Link
That’s progress. Last time he felt injured he went out and pitched another inning.
Matsui’s back hates the cold.
His back is still stiff. Cooper says “I would think [Thursday] is probably out. We’ll see how he is Friday and kind of go from there.”
“He’s had some issues with his back before, but we’re hoping it was the weather, the fact that it’s cold,” Cooper said. “We’ll give it some time and see if we can get him back out there. We need him to be a 120-plus game guy.” Link