HOUSTON -- Jhoulys Chacín has been cleared to come off the injured list on Monday and start the Brewers' opener at San Diego, manager Craig Counsell confirmed before the club's finale against the Astros on Wednesday.

Chacin, who has been sidelined since June 2 with a lower back strain, threw a 50-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday, a positive indicator that he was nearing a return to the rotation. It's likely he'll throw another side session prior to his outing in vs. the Padres.

"I feel fine, and I'm anxious to get back to the process," the 31-year-old veteran right-hander said.

What this means for right-hander Freddy Peralta remains to be seen. Monday would be Peralta's turn in the rotation, but Counsell said Chacin pitching that day doesn't mean Peralta is the odd man out.

It's fair to speculate that Peralta could be bumped, however. The right-hander has served as a reliever and starter this year, and though he was locating his pitches well during his outing vs. Houston on Tuesday, he struggled to stay ahead of the Astros, especially with his fastball.

Peralta's two-pitch fastball-curveball arsenal may translate better long-term in the bullpen. Overall, he is 3-3 with a 5.81 ERA over 12 games, including eight starts, in 2019.

From Chacin, Counsell is looking for more crispness with his pitches. On May 31 in Pittsburgh, Chacin allowed six hits, seven runs and walked four -- including walking in three runs in one inning. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings.

"The crispness with the slider is something that we'd be looking to see," Counsell said.

Injury update: Gio

Lefty Gio Gonzalez, sidelined since May 29 with left arm fatigue, played catch for a third straight day on Wednesday and will resume his program after Thursday's off day in San Francisco.

"We'll ramp it up another step," Counsell said. "Not bullpens [yet], but with more intensity. Just keep taking positive steps."

No-hit memories

Counsell was reminded more than a few times that Wednesday was the 12-year anniversary of Justin Verlander's no-hitter, which he threw against the Brewers, in his second full season with the Tigers.

Why did this come up in conversation so much? Two reasons -- Verlander started against Counsell's Brewers on Wednesday, and Counsell was on that Brewers team that was no-hit by the former American League Cy Young Award winner that day in Detroit.

What else does the skipper remember? He started at third base, in place of rookie Ryan Braun.

Against Verlander, Counsell was 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.

"The first pitch I struck out on was a ball," Counsell recalled. "Then I looked bad on another strikeout -- a really good curveball."