Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained hip and a herniated disk in his back. Oswalt (7-8, 4.56 ERA) underwent an MRI exam on Saturday that confirmed a strained left hip abductor and also revealed the disk problem. Manager Cecil Cooper said Oswalt should be ready to start again on July 28 for the opener of a three-game series with Cincinnati. "It just got to the point where he couldn't really throw off a mound," Cooper said. "We're going to try to get him on the mound a couple of times before his start." The Astros will recall Runelvys Hernandez from Triple-A Round Rock to fill Oswalt's roster spot. Hernandez, 0-3 in three starts for Houston this season, will start Monday's game against Pittsburgh. Oswalt injured his hip in the sixth inning of his June 30 start against Los Angeles. He re-aggravated the injury in his next start on July 11, leaving the game after throwing only 17 pitches against Washington. ...
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