Later that evening, the pitcher watched from the Chicago White Sox dugout as a tribute in his honor played on the video board.
Keuchel spent the first seven seasons of his major-league career with the Astros. He’ll face them for the first time Sunday.
“It’s going to be a little weird,” Keuchel said of his return during a Tuesday conference call. “It was a place I never thought I was going to leave. That was reality. I still have a lot of former teammates I have some big-time admiration for.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t put up a statue of me,” Keuchel joked Thursday.