Jammed finger earns Altuve rare break from starting lineup Odds and ends
Jose Altuve was out of Saturday’s starting lineup with a sore left finger, which he jammed diving for a ball Thursday.
The All-Star second baseman played Friday and went 0-for-4 after getting seven hits — including two leadoff homers — the previous two days.
“I hit the ground and kind of jammed my hand, and this is the hand that really grips the bat,” Altuve said.
It’s rare for Altuve to not be in the starting lineup. He has played in all but 31 of the Astros’ 672 games since 2012 and averaged 153 games per year from 2012-15.
Marwin Gonzalez started at second baseman Saturday against the Mariners and hit second behind George Springer.
“Even superhumans need a day off every now and then,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s been battling this finger soreness for a day and he didn’t look very comfortable. When I talked to him last night, you could tell he was in a little bit of pain.”
Altuve entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning as a pinch runner, remained in to play second base and grounded out in the bottom of the ninth.
DH at-bats going to Tucker first
With Evan Gattis optioned to Class AA Corpus Christi, his spot as the team’s primary designated hitter opens up opportunities.
And with the Astros facing righthanded starters through their series against Cleveland, Preston Tucker is first up to get those opportunities. He served as DH on Saturday between Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez in the lineup.
Tucker and Gattis are the only two players manager A.J. Hinch has started at the designated hitter this season, with Gattis getting 15 starts to Tucker’s 12. The lefthanded-hitting Tucker pinchhit Thursday and Friday but homered in his last complete game (Monday) when he played left field.
Tucker went 0-for-4 on Saturday with two strikeouts to drop his average to .200 (13-for-65) with three homers and four RBIs.
Gattis, meanwhile, caught seven innings in his first game at Corpus Christi, throwing out a baserunner and going 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.
Sipp activated off paternity list
Lefthander Tony Sipp was activated from the paternity leave list before Saturday night’s game against the Mariners. He collected the final two outs of the top of the ninth, but he gave up the winning home run in the 10th.
The Astros placed Sipp on the paternity list for the Friday morning birth of his daughter, Zoe Chanel.
Injured McCullers makes rehab start
Lance McCullers threw five shutout innings Saturday in a rehab start with Class AAA Fresno in El Paso.
The 22-year-old righthander threw 64 pitches (38 strikes) and allowed two hits and two walks. McCullers struck out seven.
If his body responds well over the next few days, it could be his last start before joining the Astros, possibly on the team’s seven-game trip to Boston and Chicago.
The former first-round pick, who started the season on the disabled list because of a mid-March bout of shoulder soreness, made a rehab start April 11 at Class AA Corpus Christi but was scratched from a second due to what Astros manager A.J. Hinch described as “lingering recovery issues.”
The Astros will face righthander Corey Kluber, the 2014 American League Cy Young Award winner, in Monday night’s series opener against the Indians. Righthanders Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar are slated to start for Cleveland on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. …
Tyler White singled twice Saturday for his first multi-hit game since April 11. The 25-year-old rookie had three multi-hit games in the first week, but his average now sits at .237. …
Luis Valbuena came into Saturday’s game 1-for-23 in his last eight games. But he did launch the tying homer in the ninth Saturday to improve his average to .178.
Jake Kaplan and Angel Verdejo Jr.