Oberholtzer to make season debut vs. Giants

HOUSTON -- Left-hander Brett Oberholtzer will be activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to Wednesday's game against the Giants to make his 2015 debut when he starts for the Astros. Oberholtzer came to spring camp as a favorite to make the rotation, but he's spent two months dealing with a blister on his left index finger.

Left-hander Kevin Chapman was optioned to Triple-A Fresno after he gave up two hits and one run in 1 1/3 innings of Tuesday's 8-1 loss to San Francisco.

Oberholtzer did most of his rehab at extending spring training before making two Triple-A rehab starts, including throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out nine batters last week against El Paso. He threw 72 pitches.

"Obviously, the adrenaline will kick in and Major League pitches can be a little different than Minor League pitches," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday. "All in all, I would expect him to go in the 85 to 90 [pitch] range, if not better. It depends on how efficient he is. Obie's conditioned, but we'll see how the game goes when he gets activated tomorrow."

Oberholtzer, 25, made 34 starts for the Astros the last two years and went 5-13 with a 4.39 ERA last year. He developed a blister late in the spring and had to take some time off to let it heal. He said the finger has developed a hard callous.

"It was great to watch them while I was recovering, and it's great to be back and hopefully I can contribute to the winning ways that are going on around here," he said. "A lot of these guys I've played with since I got called up a couple of years ago, and it's great to see them have success as well."