41 Brad Peacock RP

Peacock (2-4) entered Saturday's game after Lance McCullers (elbow) was removed prior to the fifth inning and pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win over the Dodgers.

McCullers is heading back to Houston to be evaluated and could miss his next turn scheduled for Friday. If so, Peacock is a former starter that could get a spot start, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Collin McHugh is another option to fill in for McCullers.

Peacock gave up three runs on two hits and a walk over two innings Friday but still got credit for his second save of the season in an 11-4 win over the White Sox. He struck out one.

The right-hander entered the game in the eighth inning protecting a 4-1 lead, but after the Astros piled on seven more runs in the bottom of the eighth, Peacock stuck around to mop things up and served up homers to Avisail Garcia and Daniel Palka in the ninth. Peacock isn't likely to break into the closer mix alongside Ken Giles and Hector Rondon, but his 2.84 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 53:9 K:BB in 38 innings on the year still carry plenty of fantasy value in deeper formats.

Peacock struck out one and allowed a hit in a scoreless eighth inning in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Giants.

Peacock has not allowed a run since an ugly blown save April 14. Wednesday's effort was his 11th straight scoreless appearance and lowered his ERA to 1.83. During that run, he's allowed six hits and three walks while fanning 15 over 11 innings. He's the trusted reliever when manager A.J. Hinch needs multiple innings, but will also pitch a one-inning setup role when needed.

Peacock threw two perfect innings, striking out three in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Oakland.

Starter Lance McCullers endured a turbulent five innings, so manager A.J. Hinch had to go to the bullpen early and needed some length. With Houston winning at the time, that meant using his most trusted relievers, beginning with Peacock, the former starter who was called on for fourth time in 13 games to throw multiple innings. Since an ugly blown save April 14, Peacock has fired seven consecutive scoreless innings spanning seven appearances. He has a 2.30 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 20 strikeouts and four walks over 13.2 innings.

Peacock struck out two over two perfect innings in Tuesday's 8-7 loss to the Angels.

With Charlie Morton done after four innings, the Astros needed some rare length out of the bullpen and turned to Peacock, who has become this year's version of Chris Devenski. In 2017, Devenski was the team's Swiss Army Knife out of the pen, but this year it's Peacock, who has pitched in every inning from the fifth to the ninth, has one save, and also has been needed for more than one inning of work. Since a blown save April 14, Peacock has tossed four scoreless innings.