Bewerbung » an anything,” Lue said. ”He

HOUSTON — Houston Astros veteran catcher Brian McCann pledged on Friday that he will return before the regular season concludes despite undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee earlier in the week.

McCann was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday. There is no timetable for his return.

McCann had dealt with recurring knee pain since last year. After posting a 108 OPS in his first campaign with the Astros in 2017 Derrick Nnadi Color Rush Jersey , McCann was down to a 73 OPS this season, slashing .206/.283/.323 with five home runs and 17 RBIs over 50 games. McCann has played in 1,657 games since making his debut on June 10, 2005, catching 12,733 innings with the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and Astros during the regular season.

“He’s got a little bit of mileage on him when it comes to catching games Jeremy Kerley Color Rush Jersey ,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, a former catcher. “His knees have held up fine and he can play through a lot of pain. I think that’s what I appreciate the most in learning and knowing how much pain he played through. He tried, and he did a lot of things to post for our pitching staff. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s one of the most respected guys in there is what he’s willing to do to contribute.

“As his play declined, his comfort declined and what it took for him to play every day, we needed to get it taken care of.”

Right-hander Charlie Morton (10-2, 2.55 ERA) will get the start for the Astros on Saturday. Morton has faced the White Sox once previously, working seven shutout innings while allowing four hits and one walk with three strikeouts in a 3-0 victory with the Pirates on June 16, 2015.

Morton is 24-9 with a 3.18 ERA and 296 strikeouts over 249 innings with the Astros.

In his past two starts John Franklin-Myers Color Rush Jersey , Morton has dominated in a win against Toronto and a loss to Tampa. In a 7-0 win against the Blue Jays he struck out 13 in seven innings. The Rays touched him up for two runs, but that was enough for a 3-2 Tampa Bay win. Morton struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings.

Right-hander James Shields (3-9, 4.12 ERA) will start for the White Sox (30-58) on Saturday. He is 1-4 with a 5.17 ERA on the road this season and 2-3 with a 3.19 ERA over seven career starts against the Astros. In his only start against Houston this season, Shields gave up seven runs in 5 1/3 innings and took the loss in a 10-0 defeat on April 20.

In 76 games (75 starts) against the American League West, Shields is 26-26 with a 3.83 ERA.

With right-hander Reynaldo Lopez working just 4 2/3 innings, the Chicago bullpen was forced to shoulder a heavy load again on Friday. Right-hander Chris Volstad, and lefties Luis Avilan and Hector Santiago combined to allow eight runs on seven hits and one walk over 3 1/3 innings in Chicago’s 11-4 loss, marking the 10th consecutive game the White Sox bullpen has surrendered a run.

Chicago relievers have pitched 303 2/3 innings this season Denzel Ward Color Rush Jersey , eighth-most in the American League.

“Obviously, (Lopez) didn’t give us the outing we were looking for,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “Worked through quite a bit of traffic, some deep counts, pitch count ran up there a bit. Had to give it to the relief corps again, which is strained.”
Rodney Hood’s playoff problems now extend to off the court.

Hood, who has seen his role reduced during his first postseason with Cleveland, will not be fined or suspended for refusing to enter Monday night’s Game 4 blowout win over the Toronto Raptors in the fourth quarter Sam Darnold Jersey Jets , a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

Hood feels bad about the incident that happened with 7:38 left in the fourth quarter, and he expressed remorse on Tuesday to team officials about becoming a distraction, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

The person said disciplinary actions against Hood ”were never a consideration.”

The Athletic first reported that Hood had angered teammates and others in the organization by rejecting coach Tyronn Lue’s instruction to enter the game.

With Cleveland leading 110-80 and on its way to sweeping the series, the Cavs called timeout to replace superstar LeBron James. Lue told Hood to check in but he refused, and guard Jose Calderon peeled off his warmup and jogged to the scorer’s table. The AP observed at least one assistant coach shouting toward Hood.

Earlier in the game, rookie Cedi Osman came in with the second unit and played the minutes that had been going to Hood in Lue’s rotation.

The 25-year-old Hood is averaging 4.6 points in 17 minutes in the postseason. His playing time dropped in the second round – he began the playoffs against Indiana in the starting lineup – as he struggled with his shot and looked uncomfortable on the floor.

Hood scored just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting in three appearances against the Raptors.

The Cavaliers acquired Hood at the Feb. 8 trade deadline from Utah. A first-round pick in the 2014 draft, he averaged 16.8 points with the Jazz, but the 6-foot-8 left-hander has never found his rhythm with Cleveland Rich Hill Los Angeles Dodgers Jersey , which is back in the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth straight season.

Lue said he spoke with Hood at Sunday’s practice and that he understood his role.

”It’s been tough circumstances as far as the first round and playing now and getting spot minutes more than anything,” Lue said. ”He could be better, he knows that. Just need him to be aggressive.”

Hood started Game 1 against Indiana, but after the Pacers beat the Cavs by 18, Lue changed his lineup. He swapped Hood with Kyle Korver and Cleveland regrouped, going 8-2 since the change.

Hood will be a restricted free agent this summer.

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