Qualls earned his first win of the season in relief Wednesday against San Francisco.

The veteran right-hander struck out a better during a perfect eighth inning of a 3-3 tie before the Astros took the lead in the bottom of the frame. Qualls, who temporarily filled the closer role for Houston while Luke Gregerson was on the Family Medical Emergency List, has a .176 BAA and 16:3 K:BB ratio with three saves and four holds in 14 appearances this season.

Qualls will likely step into the closer role temporarily with Luke Gregerson being placed on the Family Medical Emergency List.

It's uncertain how long Gregerson may be away from the club, but Qualls figures to occupy the ninth-inning role in the meantime. Qualls gave up a run on two hits in an inning against Texas on Monday, but he's posted a .194 BAA and 14:2 K:BB with two saves and four holds in 12 appearances this season.

Qualls gave up a run during the ninth inning of a tie game against the Rangers on Monday night and took his second loss of the season.

Despite the loss, Qualls (0-2) struck out two during the appearance and threw 14 of his 18 pitches for strikes. The veteran right-hander sports a 3.48 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 14:2 K:BB ratio over 10.1 innings for the Astros thus far.

Qualls, who earned a one-out save in his last relief appearance Friday night, retired two batters on five pitches Monday against San Diego to pick up his third hold of the season.

Qualls entered the game with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and quickly retired Derek Norris and Will Middlebrooks. Through nine relief appearances with the Astros this season, the veteran right-hander is 0-1 with two saves, a 3.52 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 10:2 K:BB over 7.2 innings.

Qualls got a one-out save Friday night, retiring Brett Lawrie on a long fly ball to center field in the 11th inning.

Qualls now has two saves this week where he almost certainly was on the bench in those leagues where he was still owned, at least where the league makes weekly moves. The first opportunity came when Luke Gregerson was unavailable, and this one came after both Gregerson and Pat Neshek had already pitched. There's no changing of the guard here, just a fortuitous break for the few that had Qualls active.

Qualls pitched a perfect ninth Tuesday against Seattle to earn his first save of the season.

With Luke Gregerson unavailable Tuesday after pitching three days in row, Astros manager A.J. Hinch elected to use Qualls in the ninth inning over Pat Neshek. The veteran reliever struck out two during the appearance and lowered his ERA to 4.05 this season.

Qualls picked up his first hold of the season with a scoreless inning of relief Friday against the Rangers.

Qualls protected a 3-1 Astros' lead in the bottom of the eighth inning by retiring Leonys Martin, Jake Smolinski and Adrian Beltre on 12 pitches (nine for strikes). If your league counts holds as a scoring category, the veteran reliever should see plenty of opportunities as one of Luke Gregerson's primary setup men.

Qualls struck out one during a scoreless inning of relief Thursday in his 2015 season debut.

The veteran reliever gave up a leadoff infield single to Michael Bourn, but escaped the inning without any further damage. Qualls will be one of closer Luke Gregerson's primary setup men to open 2015.

Qualls is slated to open the year in a setup role, with Luke Gregerson named the Astros' closer Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Qualls has been very good this spring, giving up just two hits with no walks and three strikeouts over 5.2 scoreless innings, but he blew three of his final seven save opportunities last year (six blown saves in total) and it seems the Astros decided Gregerson was the safer bet given his sustained success over the years. Gregerson has posted a sub-2.76 ERA in each of the last four seasons, while Qualls' mark has ranged from 2.61 to 5.33 over the same span. For his career, Gregerson has averaged 8.8 K/9 whereas Qualls has averaged 6.9 K/9, though Qualls did have a slightly better K/9 rate last year.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch isn't ready to announce his closer, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Qualls is having a great spring thus far, permitting only an unearned run on two hits with no walks and two strikeouts through four Grapefruit League innings. Luke Gregerson (2.25 ERA) and Pat Neshek (3.00 ERA) have also pitched well, so assume this competition won't be settled until the end of spring training. It's possible Houston will use the three veterans in a closer-by-committee, but Qualls is the slight favorite to open 2015 in the role due to success last year (19 saves) and strong camp thus far.

Qualls is expected to face competition from Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek for the Astros' closer role in spring training.

Qualls was impressive for Houston last season, posting 19 saves with a 3.33 ERA and 43:5 K:BB ratio in 51.1 innings, but Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow signed Gregerson and Neshek via free agency this offseason to give the team several experienced options for the ninth inning role. Manager A.J. Hinch has an idea of who he'd like to use in the ninth inning, but he cautioned that the decision isn't final and would be contingent on spring performance.

Qualls (hip) earned his 18th save of the season Monday with a scoreless ninth inning against Cleveland.

Making his first relief appearance for the Astros since September 6 after a nagging hip injury, Qualls permitted a single and struck out a batter in the scoreless frame. The veteran reliever figures to close out the season as Houston's closer, or at least share the role with Josh Fields, who filled in during Qualls' recent absence.

Qualls (hip) is available to pitch Monday if needed, Howard Chen of CSN Houston reports.

Because of the injury, Qualls has not appeared in a game since September 6. Josh Fields has been filling in as the team's closer in Qualls' absence, leaving the veteran's role as an uncertainty for the final two weeks of the season.

Qualls was unavailable again Wednesday due to a nagging hip injury, MLB.com reports. "I don't know if it's a tight hip that's putting pressure on a nerve back there," Qualls said. "I get a warm feeling like in a 6-inch [region] down the side of my leg. When I sit down or lay down, it really doesn't hurt, and if I walk around, it gets irritated or something."

With Qualls' discomfort failing to subside over the course of five days, the training staff went ahead and prescribed rest for the 36-year-old right-hander. Josh Fields has collected a pair of saves since Qualls' last appearance and is the clear favorite for opportunities until Qualls returns, but lefty Tony Sipp nailed down a save Wednesday and could see chances depending on the matchups.

Qualls took the loss in relief Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits over two-thirds of an inning against the Athletics.

Qualls (1-4) has allowed 11 runs in six relief appearances against Oakland this season, going 0-3 with two saves and a 24.75 ERA in those games.

Qualls will remain with the Astros for the rest of the season, MLB.com reports.

Qualls was claimed off waivers by the Tigers earlier in the week, but Wednesday's deadline for the teams to complete a trade passed without Qualls switching teams, and he can no longer be traded to any other squad. Qualls will continue working as the Astros' closer.

Qualls earned his 15th save of the season Tuesday with a scoreless frame against the A's.

Qualls was claimed off revocable waivers by the Tigers on Tuesday, but the veteran reliever did not let the news affect him in preserving a 4-2 win over Oakland. The Astros and Tigers have until Wednesday to work out a trade, but there's a strong likelihood Houston will pull Qualls off waivers rather than trade him.

Qualls has been claimed off of revocable waivers by the Tigers, MLive's James Schmehl reports.

With this development, Qualls could soon join the Tigers' bullpen. However, there is no guarantee that a deal will materialize, as the Astros do have the option of hanging on to their veteran closer. The two teams have until Wednesday to come to an agreement. Qualls has turned in a solid campaign in Houston to this point, converting 14-of-17 save chances while posting a 3.07 ERA and 38:5 K:BB ratio across 44 innings.

Qualls (back) pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a non-save situation Friday.

Qualls was unavailable for the final two games of the Yankees series due to back discomfort, but he got back on the hill Friday and retired the side on 14 pitches. After struggling in July (7.71 ERA), Qualls has now given up just one earned run in seven August appearances, thus further cementing himself into the closer role for Houston.

Qualls (back) said he's "probably unavailable" Thursday against the Rays, MLB.com reports.

Qualls did not pitch Wednesday due to discomfort in his back stemming from Friday's game. While it doesn't appear to be anything serious, Qualls could miss a few games in the short-term.