Astros place Lance McCullers Jr. on IL, recall Colton Gordon and promote Zach Cole

ATLANTA (AP) — The Houston Astros placed right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on the 15-day injured list with soreness in his pitching hand, general manager Dana Brown said Friday before the Astros opened a three-game series in Atlanta.

“We are having it looked at, just trying to figure out what that is related to,” Brown said.

McCullers flew back to Houston from Toronto to have his hand evaluated.

McCullers made two relief appearances in September, including one Thursday in a 6-0 loss to the Blue Jays. He is 2-5 with a 6.88 ERA with 12 starts in 15 appearances this season.

Rookie left-hander Colton Gordon (4-4, 5.67) was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land and is available to pitch against the Braves on Friday.

The Astros also promoted outfielder Zach Cole, who hit a home run on the first pitch he saw in his major league debut. Cole hit a fastball 423 feet to center field to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

Cole spent almost the whole season in Double-A before being promoted and played just 15 games at the Triple-A level. He hit five home runs in those 15 games, however, including a walk-off grand slam. He hit .353 in his brief time with Sugar Land.

“He’s been swinging the bat very well in Triple-A and he’s going to get an opportunity here to play at the big league level, potentially provide some type of spark to this offense,” Brown said. “We’re hoping he can give us a nice little boost.”

The Astros are desperate for offense as they try to secure their ninth straight playoff appearance. They have been shut out six times since the All-Star break and entered Friday night tied for first in the American League after holding a seven-game lead on July 5.

Catcher Cesar Salazar was optioned to Sugar Land to make room for Cole.

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