McCullers (back) will come off the DL to start Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.
This new and improved Astros rotation will take shape next week, with Dallas Keuchel starting Monday and Justin Verlander starting Tuesday. McCullers threw a five-inning rehab start Wednesday in which he totaled 60 pitches, but that was followed by a 15-pitch simulated inning in the bullpen, so it seems like he should be able to approach 100 pitches in his return from the DL. He has a 3.92 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 118 strikeouts in 105.2 innings this season.