Later, Kerfeld walked away from the Tucson team for a day after Rocky Childress was called up to the Astros. Kerfeld thought that he should have been called up. He said that he hastily spoke to Astros general manager Dick Wagner and said things that he regretted. In mid-July, Wagner said that Kerfeld's attitude and pitching had improved and that his weight was the biggest factor keeping him from the major leagues. He went 4 – 4 at Tucson with a 4.74, and was briefly recalled to Houston before going on the DL for two months with calcium deposits in his elbow. He pitched effectively in three games in late September, and looked to be rounding back into his stellar 1986 form.