Musgrove on track for Monday start vs. Texas

June 9th, 2017

HOUSTON -- After throwing a 20-pitch bullpen session on Thursday to gauge the status of his recovery, Astros right-hander Joe Musgrove said he's on track to start on Monday against the Rangers.
Musgrove was placed on the 10-day disabled list on May 27 with right shoulder discomfort, and said on Friday that he feels "no pain, no nothing" after the bullpen, which featured a mixture of pitches.

"Yesterday was pretty light, intensity-wise on the bullpen," Musgrove said. "I didn't want to cut everything loose, full go, but I got about as close as I needed to be to tell if my body is feeling right. Everything feels good so I bounced back really well."
Musgrove played catch on Friday prior to the series opener against the Angels. The Astros will evaluate his status to see if he will make his first start since May 26 on Monday.
"He's got to play catch today and make sure he feels well, or as well as he says he's feeling," manager A.J. Hinch said. "But that's the plan if things go well the next couple of days."
Morton begins throwing program
Astros right-hander Charlie Morton, one of the club's three starting pitchers on the DL, picked up a ball for the first time on Friday since hitting the DL on May 28 -- retroactive to May 25 -- with a strained right lat.
Morton made a handful of tosses from 75 feet. Up until throwing for the first time, Morton completed upper body and lat-focused exercises with little to no pain or discomfort, he said.
"Didn't feel entirely perfect. But felt normal, felt good," Morton said. "It's good. I didn't expect it to be vastly different from an overall arm standpoint, but the lat itself didn't bother me."
Morton will throw again on Saturday and upcoming days at various lengths, rebuilding the strength in his throwing arm.
"It's a day-to-day thing," he said. "Re-evaluating every day, seeing where we are at and going from there. ... I feel good and I'm pleasantly surprised."
Keuchel's injury unclear
Lefty ace arrived in Houston on Thursday morning to be evaluated by the club's team doctors after being scratched minutes before his scheduled start on Wednesday in Kansas City.
Keuchel (neck discomfort) was not made available to the media on Friday. The extent of his injury remains unclear, said Hinch, who had yet to meet with Keuchel.
"He's going to continue his rest and recovery, so there's not a ton more to update," Hinch said. "He's not doing anything other than resting and seeing our doctors. The 10-day DL will be the full 10 days, so there's not going to be a daily update."