Hinch, Luhnow hopeful Springer will avoid the DL

Though George Springer was out of the Astros’ lineup on Saturday, manager A.J. Hinch was hopeful the left elbow contusion he sustained during Friday night’s 1-0 loss will not require a stint on the disabled list.

“I don’t think it’s a DL situation,” Hinch said before Saturday’s game, “but it’s been half a day since he got hit. We’re certainly hopeful that it’s a contusion he has to deal with.”

Springer took Rangers starter Cole Hamels ’92 mph fastball off his unprotected left elbow in Friday’s third inning. He remained in the game to run the bases but was noticeably uncomfortable. Hinch removed him at the conclusion of the inning.

After Friday’s game, Springer said the pitch got him “square on the bone” in his left elbow. X-rays taken after the game were negative, and he departed the clubhouse with a sleeve covering his left arm.

General manager Jeff Luhnow said Springer had another X-ray and CT scan conducted Saturday, both of which were normal. He, like Hinch, does not expect a stint on the disabled list.

“He’s not going to play tonight. I don’t know about tomorrow, but he should be back for the Anaheim series,” Luhnow said Saturday.

Saturday was the first day Springer did not lead off or start for the Astros. He was unavailable for comment before the game.

“He’s pretty sore, but he’s doing fine,” Hinch said. “He’s day-to-day, like we said, and he’ll start to move around a little bit. His range of motion is fine, but he’s sore.”

In Springer’s absence, Jose Altuve was slotted into the leadoff spot on Saturday, and Alex Bregman — who began the season hitting second — moved back into that spot. Carlos Correa hit third, and Yuli Gurriel hit cleanup.

Davis on a tear for AAA Fresno

In the final six at-bats of his early-season stint with the Astros, J.D. Davis collected four hits.

And he hasn’t stopped raking.

Davis began his major league season 1-for-14 with six strikeouts. He was optioned to Class AAA Fresno to make room for Yuli Gurriel on April 27, after the Astros’ three-game series in Minnesota, where Davis finished 5-for-7.

His numbers since reaching Fresno are staggering. Entering Saturday night, Davis was slashing .435/.488/.657 and sat atop the Pacific Coast League leader board in batting average and onbase percentage.

“You never can tell how that production is going to translate up here. We’ve seen a lot of players put up pretty gaudy numbers at Triple A, come here and not,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said Saturday. “But he’s a good player, and we’re an organization that has multiple guys in Triple A that deserve to be on this team. With the bottom of our (lineup) struggling right now up here, obviously, you have to think about potentially doing something.”

Davis’ 47 hits — in 29 games through Friday — are third most in Class AAA. During a 12-game hitting streak from April 29-May 9, Davis hit .551. He has 15 doubles.

Teammate Tony Kemp is riding a 17-game hitting streak.

Meanwhile, the Astros entered Saturday’s game receiving sub-.700 OPS performances from the sixth, seventh and ninth spots in their order.

“Obviously, you have to think about potentially doing something,” Luhnow said of the struggles at the bottom of the lineup. “But it’s still early, the guys that are up here have been up here, and they have proven track records for us. … Because our team is more of a veteran team now than ever before, we have a lot less degrees of freedom in terms of moving guys up and down and all that.”

Designated hitter Evan Gattis, he of a .543 OPS entering Saturday’s game, is out of minor league options. Luhnow lauded Jake Marisnick’s outfield defense despite his .455 OPS and a strikeout rate of 47 percent. Marisnick does have an option.

“Jake’s defense is really helpful out there, and we have such a good pitching staff right now that the defense really complements that,” Luhnow said.

When Davis was optioned, the club hoped to expose him to left field, the only somewhat open defensive position on the major league roster. He has played six games in left with the Grizzlies, recording four putouts.

“He’s probably not going to come up here and play left field every day,” Luhnow said. “All we want is for him to be serviceable out there in late innings or for an occasional start.”

Chandler Rome