The Houston Astros have activated right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. from the 60-day injured list.
McCullers will make his season debut starting at home against Oakland on Saturday. He has been sidelined all season after suffering a setback during the lockout while recovering from a flexor tendon injury suffered during the playoffs last season.
“I was experiencing just a not fully 100-percent-type of feeling,” McCullers said in March. “I had to go back and see the doctors, do MRIs and things like that. The tendon just isn’t where we thought it was going to be. It’s not healed yet.
“It was a tendon issue that we felt was going to resolve by now and I was going to be ready to roll.”
McCullers, who set career highs in wins (13), ERA (3.16), strikeouts (185) and innings pitched (162⅓) last season, said the setback happened while throwing from 120 feet in late January or early February.
The Astros (73-41) have won three of their past four games and have the best record in the American League