Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was back in the lineup on Saturday, after he was forced to leave the team’s game against the Texas Rangers on Friday. “He’s sore but he’s in there top of the lineup and good to go,” manager A.J. Hinch said on Saturday, per the team.
The shortstop was removed after colliding with shortstop Carlos Correa, according to the team’s official Twitter account.
“We feel like we dodged a little bit of a bullet there,” Hinch said after Friday’s game, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. “Maybe something went our way.” McTaggart also reported Altuve showed no signs of a concussion.
Altuve is a crucial piece of the Astros lineup and one of the most valuable players in the American League when healthy. His ability to get on base and wreak havoc to create extra runs is one of the main reasons for the team’s success.
Unfortunately, injuries have started to become a bigger part of the story for the infielder this season. Earlier in the year, he dealt with nagging hamstring issues that knocked him out of the lineup, and now Houston awaits further word on his latest ailment.
Altuve missed no more than 15 games in any of the previous three seasons. He played in 158 of 162 contests last year as he started to become a household name with a .341 average and 56 stolen bases. He’s continued his strong play throughout 2015, showing those numbers were no fluke.
Altuve is batting .314 with 12 home runs and 59 RBI. His .314 average ranks third among all AL batters behind only Miguel Cabrera and Xander Bogaerts.
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