McCullers throws live BP; Blanco K's five in rehab assignment
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HOUSTON -- A month after he was scratched from his start in Minnesota with right shoulder inflammation, Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. faced hitters for the first time in a live batting practice session before Friday’s game at Daikin Park.
McCullers threw 25 pitches to teammates Taylor Trammell and Brice Matthews, mixing in his fastball (which sat in the lower 90s) and slider. He described his injury as a rotator cuff impingement, and said it had been bothering him for a few starts before landing on the injured list on May 16.
“Everyone deals with stuff, you know?” McCullers said. “I don't think there's probably a guy out there that's like, ‘Oh, I feel great today.’ But it had been like a few starts in a row, and then just like it kind of progressively got worse. When you're kind of monitoring those things, it's like one of those, ‘Can I go out there and give the team the 100 pitches they need?’ Because nothing would be worse than that.”
McCullers, who was 2-3 with a 6.86 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP in eight starts this season, said he will either throw another live bullpen session or head on a Minor League rehab assignment next week.
In the final year of a five-year, $85 million contract, McCullers returned to action last year following a 2 1/2-year layoff and posted a 6.51 ERA in 55 1/3 innings in 16 games (13 starts), though he landed on the injured list three more times. A right foot sprain came in June, a blister on his right finger sidelined him in July and August, and right hand soreness got him in September.
Meanwhile, Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco took a big step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery on Friday by throwing three scoreless innings in his rehab outing for the Rookie-level FCL Astros in Florida, allowing one hit and one walk with five strikeouts.
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Coming off a breakout 2024 season in which he went 13-6 with a 2.80 ERA and threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays in his first start of the season, Blanco went 3-4 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in nine starts in 2025 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.