Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left Wednesday’s game against the Oakland Athletics after the fifth inning due to discomfort on his right side, but both he and manager Joe Espada didn’t seem too worried about it.
Altuve called for Espada and the trainer to come out after he felt something during his swing in the fifth inning. He finished the at-bat by striking out on a bunt attempt but did not return for the sixth inning.
“He got fooled on the pitch, and he kind of felt something,” Espada said. “Out of precaution, he decided to bunt with two strikes just to make sure he was fine. Right now, day-to-day.”
Altuve mentioned that his right side only hurt after that particular swing.
Altuve had dealt with an oblique injury last season, but Espada said he didn’t believe Wednesday’s issue was related.
“I’m not concerned that it’s an oblique,” Espada said. “Right now it’s just right side discomfort, and we will see how he feels tomorrow.”
Altuve said he would wait to assess how he feels on Thursday.
“I’m not really worried,” Altuve said. “Maybe I just wake up tomorrow, and I’m good to go, so I don’t really want to take any positions tonight because normally, with an injury you wait until the next day and see how you feel.”
In the sixth inning, Altuve was replaced at second base by Mauricio Dubón, while Ben Gamel shifted from right field to left field and Jason Heyward entered the game in right field to take Altuve’s place in the lineup.
Altuve, who was 0 for 3 before leaving Wednesday’s game, is hitting .302 this season with 19 home runs and 62 RBIs. He has 174 hits, which was fourth in the majors before Wednesday’s game.
The Astros also received more bad news as outfielder Chas McCormick was diagnosed with a small fracture in his right hand. Espada did not have a timeline for McCormick’s recovery, but he will need to go on the 10-day injured list.
