McHugh allowed a hit and a walk while striking out five in two innings of relief in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Twins.
Starter Dallas Keuchel expended 101 pitches before leaving after four innings, necessitating some length out of the bullpen. That's the ideal spot for McHugh, the starter turned reliever. With Houston's offense, which ranks seventh in runs scored per game over the final four innings, that could lead to some stolen wins for a long man like McHugh. The 31-year-old right-hander has three multi-inning appearances and has struck out 10 over 6.2 innings.