How mounting evidence is raising questions about Astros' injury concerns

How mounting evidence is raising questions about Astros' injury concerns
Kyle Tucker did some work on the field on Monday. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images.

Justin Verlander is set to make his second minor league rehab start this week and could rejoin the Houston Astros' rotation after that.

The 41-year-old right-hander took his first step toward returning to the Astros by pitching three innings for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday night. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is coming back from neck stiffness that’s sidelined him for two months.

“He bounced back well,” Houston manager Joe Espada said before Monday night's game at Tampa Bay. “He feels well. He feels good.”

Verlander hasn’t pitched in the majors since June 9. He also missed the beginning of the season with right shoulder inflammation before going 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts. He made his season debut April 19.

Kyle Tucker has a ways to go

In other injury-related news, Houston outfielder Kyle Tucker took flyballs off a fungo for the first time since fouling a ball off his right shin June 3 against St. Louis. He ran short sprints, went through agility drills and hit in an indoor batting cage.

You can watch some of Tucker's drills below. Many people in the comment section didn't feel like he was moving around very well and are concerned that he won't be back anytime soon. You can judge for yourself. Espada seemed happy with what he saw.

“I'm very pleased,” Espada said. “I think he's turning the corner. Now, we've got to improve from what we saw today. We've got to see more of that. He's tolerating the pain better. He's able to move around and he's recovering much better, which is huge.”

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Rockets defeat the Magic, 116-108. Photo by David Berding/Getty Images.

Jalen Green scored 26 points, Alperen Sengun had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to a season-best eight games, beating the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Wednesday night.

Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the Rockets, who maintained their second-place position in the Western Conference, ahead of — among others — the surging Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 31 points. Franz Wagner added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, and reserve Goga Bitadze had 19 points and eight rebounds.

Takeaways

Rockets: Their streak included a six-game homestand. This was only their second road win since Jan. 28.

Magic: After nine losses in 13 games and six straight defeats at home, the Magic stand eighth in the East. Banchero has averaged 33 points over the last four games.

Key moment

Green and VanVleet made 3-pointers to open and close a 12-0 run late in the third quarter that left the Rockets with an 80-65 lead.

Key stat

The poorest free-throw shooting team in the NBA, the Rockets made 29 of 32 (90.6%) from the foul line.

Up next

Rockets: At Miami on Friday.

Magic: At Washington on Friday.

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