Astros' Brandon Bielak: Stretching out at Triple-A

Bielak is being stretched out at Triple-A Sugar Land, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Bielak made two starts since being sent down to the Skeeters at the end of July and has thrown a combined 128 pitches over 6.2 innings. The Astros appear to be preparing him as starter depth during the month of September, when they could turn to a six-man rotation once Jose Urquidy (shoulder) returns. Houston has a stretch of 17 games in 17 days from Sept. 10 to Sept. 26, so having another long arm on hand could be useful, given that Luis Garcia and Jake Odorizzi have been essentially five-inning starters.