--RHP Brett Myers exited his March 25 start with a strained left groin, but he was hopeful he wouldn't miss a start. "If I did keep going, I could have (been out) a month instead of like three days," he said. --RHP Roy Oswalt will make his eighth consecutive opening-day start, manager Brad Mills announced March 20. Oswalt had a career-low eight wins and a career-high 4.12 ERA last year. --RHP Brandon Lyon made his Grapefruit League debut on March 18 as he continues his rehabilitation from surgery in late January to have a cyst drained on his throwing shoulder. "It seems like every day, my arm is feeling better and better and getting stronger and stronger," said Lyon, a candidate for the closer's job. "Still, my goal is to be ready by Day 1." --RHP Bud Norris was the latest Astro to be afflicted with a stomach flu that had traveled around the clubhouse. Norris was scratched from his third start because of the illness and was pushed back two days. C Jason Castro and LF Carlos Lee had also been bothered by the virus during spring training. --INF Edwin Maysonet began taking fly balls in the outfield as roster cuts trimmed the number of outfielders in camp. Maysonet will have difficulty making the club as an infielder if 1B Lance Berkman returns healthy in time. "All I have to do is work at it," Maysonet said of the outfield. "I think my defense is pretty good, and I should be able to do a pretty good job out there (in the outfield), too." --OF Cory Sullivan and OF Jason Bourgeois were the only two true outfielders among the non-roster invites to survive the first round of roster cuts. The Astros had only four outfielders on the roster, giving the two the inside track on a job. They responded well in the next game after the cuts, combining for four of the Astros' six hits. --RHP Sammy Gervacio's bid to win a spot on the club was off to a tremendous start. The nearly sidearming right-hander allowed one run and two hits in seven innings over his first six appearances. He credited time in the Dominican winter league and his short stint with the Astros last year for giving him some comfort, but he said, "It's the same spring training every year." --INF Jose Vallejo was outrighted to Class AAA Round Rock, and OF Alex Romero unconditionally released. RHP Chia-Jen Lo and C Lou Santangelo were reassigned to the Astros' minor league camp, LHP Fernando Abad, OF Brian Bogusevic, RHP Evan Englebrook, RHP Matt Nevarez, OF Yordany Ramirez, INF Wladimir Sutil, LHP Polin Trinidad, RHP Jose Valdez and RHP Henry Villar were optioned to the team's minor league camp. BY THE NUMBERS: 39 -- Players remaining on the Astros' 40-man roster after INF Jose Vallejo cleared waivers and was outrighted to Class AAA Round Rock. That left the Astros with a spot to add a non-roster invitee such as C Jason Castro, OF Cory Sullivan or OF Jason Bourgeois. QUOTE TO NOTE: "This is not rotisserie league baseball or anything like that. We've got to take roster status, contractual status, service time, everything into consideration to try to make the right decision both for now and the long term." -- GM Ed Wade, on the Astros' looming decision between C J.R. Towles and C Jason Castro for a roster spot.