HOUSTON -- CC Sabathia is scheduled to come off the injured list on Saturday to make his first start of the season against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium, and presumably, that pending activation means relief pitcher Joe Harvey’s time at the big league level may be a short one.

Harvey, a 27-year-old hard-throwing right-hander, was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to fill the roster spot vacated by Jonathan Loaisiga, who was optioned to Triple-A after Tuesday’s game. Harvey gives the Yankees a fresh arm in the bullpen after the club used five relievers Tuesday.

Harvey was called on to make his Major League debut in the fifth inning of the Yankees' 8-6 loss to the Astros on Wednesday, with a runner in scoring position and the Astros holding a 7-2 lead, and he struck out the first batter he faced, George Springer, to end the inning. He tossed two scoreless innings overall, allowing one hit and striking out three while walking one.

Harvey remembered watching Springer play at the University of Connecticut while he was a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh, and he was amped up to face him in his big league debut.

“He was a great hitter in college, and still is a great hitter, obviously,” Harvey said. “I have mad respect for that guy. Just tried to get him out.”

Harvey said it took only a couple of pitches for him to work out those debut jitters. The call to the ‘pen and the subsequent summons to the mound were probably his most nerve-wracking moments.

“I said, ‘This is pretty crazy. This just got real,’” Harvey recalled. “I tried to keep my head down until I got to the mound and had a couple pitches under my belt. I looked around and said, ‘This is pretty dope.’ Ton of excitement, and probably the most fun I’ve had, ever.”

Harvey, selected in the 19th round of the 2014 Draft, owns a lifetime 1.72 ERA in the Minors. He had Tommy John surgery in 2016, and he was added to the 40-man roster for the first time last offseason. This is his first callup to the big leagues.

“Really good fastball,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Power arm. He’s been a bulldog. He had a great year at Triple-A last year. We feel like he’s a guy that can come up and help us.”

Harvey was making the 45-minute drive home after the RailRiders’ game in Lehigh Valley on Tuesday when he got off the exit, stopped at a red light, checked his phone and saw numerous missed calls and text messages from his Triple-A manager, Jay Bell.

“[Bell] said, ‘Hey, you have to drive back and pick up all your stuff,’" Harvey recalled. “’You’re going to Houston.’”

Harvey’s dad was asleep, so he called his mom, who delivered the good news to the family. His parents bought tickets on the spot for a 6 a.m. flight to Houston. His fiancée traveled with him, a little later in the morning.

Loaisiga made two starts with the Yankees this season, allowing three runs over seven innings combined. The right-hander threw 71 pitches over three frames in New York’s 6-3 loss to the Astros on Tuesday.

Loaisiga, who ranks 65th on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list and is New York's second-ranked prospect, could get additional starting opportunities with the Yankees later this season, especially after it was announced Tuesday that Luis Severino will be shut down from throwing for six weeks due to a Grade 2 lat strain.

Sanchez pinch-hits after precautionary rest

Catcher Gary Sánchez has been experiencing minor tightness in his legs and calves, and that’s the main reason why he was the designated hitter during Tuesday’s game with the Astros.

Boone intended to give him a full game off on Wednesday, though both Sanchez and Boone said the catcher would be available to hit later in the game if the need arose.

And it did. Sanchez was called on to pinch-hit for Tyler Wade with two outs in an eighth inning that had already produced four runs. Facing Ryan Pressly, Sanchez struck out to end the comeback bid.

With Thursday’s off-day, Boone was hoping Sanchez would benefit from two full days off.

“I want to make sure we’re being smart about this and make sure we keep him healthy,” Boone said. “Just trying to be proactive and make sure this doesn’t become an issue.”

Sanchez said he started feeling the tightness on Monday.

“I feel fine,” he said before Wednesday’s game. “Just a little tight in my legs. I’ll be ready any moment during the game if I need to come in and hit. I’ll be ready.”

Rehab updates: Andujar, Stanton, Hicks

• Miguel Andújar (right shoulder strain) made 25 throws at 60 feet on Wednesday and will repeat that drill on Friday, in addition to swinging a bat.

If that all goes well, he’ll throw at 90 feet Saturday.

“I definitely felt better than I thought I was going to feel,” Andujar said. “This is an experience for me -- I’ve never been here before. Thank God I’ve been pretty healthy throughout my baseball career. I didn’t know what to expect. I just feel better.”

• Giancarlo Stanton (left biceps strain) hit off a tee on Wednesday and took some one-handed dry swings.

“He’s been progressing well,” Boone said. “The exercise program he’s been doing, he’s bounced back from pretty well. Today is another step and hopefully it goes well, and slowly but surely, start to ramp it up.”

• Aaron Hicks (left lower back strain) has been hitting off a tee, hitting soft toss, running on the treadmill and throwing. Boone said the hope is that by this time next week, Hicks will be hitting in the cage, running on the field and throwing.

“It feels like it’s been a couple of weeks now that he’s feeling really good, where he’s over the injury,” Boone said. “He’s eventually getting to the point where he can get into some games. That’s a little ways off, but it feels like it’s happening.”