Sore rib cage sidelines Gomez

OAKLAND, Calif. — Center fielder Carlos Gomez will be out of the Astros’ lineup a couple of days because of left rib cage soreness stemming from a play in the field Friday, manager A.J Hinch said.

Gomez, who is hitting .213 with no homers, landed awkwardly after diving on Stephen Vogt’s ninth-inning line drive to the left-center gap, which bounced to the wall for a leadoff double. X-rays came back negative.

It was the second time in a week Gomez required an X-ray. He was hit by a pitch on his right hand in Wednesday’s series finale at Seattle but was back in the lineup Friday.

Feldman finds aggressive streak

Scott Feldman ended up pitching on normal rest after all, only out of the bullpen.

Four days after manager A.J. Hinch notified him he wouldn’t start on his next turn in the rotation, Feldman made his first relief appearance since 2012. Back in his native Bay Area, the 33-year-old righthander looked the best he has all season, logging three perfect innings Saturday in the Astros’ 2-0 loss to the Athletics.

Twenty-two of Feldman’s 34 pitches were strikes. He recorded three strikeouts.

“Maybe coming out of the pen like that helped jump-start my aggressiveness a little bit,” said Feldman, who lowered his ERA from 4.58 to 3.97.

The Astros have yet to reveal whether Feldman will re-enter the rotation for his next turn. Chris Devenski might have earned another start with five innings of two-run baseball Saturday.

Correa eyeing upswing in May

Carlos Correa’s first April as a major leaguer started with three home runs in the Astros’ first two games at Yankee Stadium. The rest of it, while far from a slump, was less great.

“I feel like my first April sucked,” a candid Correa said. “My swing hasn’t felt good in a couple weeks, but I feel like I’m getting back to it.”

Correa’s .271 batting average and .809 OPS in April were nothing to sneeze at, but much of his production came with the bases empty, as evidenced by his nine RBIs. He enters May without a home run in 21 games dating to the season-opening series in New York.