Altuve doesn’t speculate on his return
Five days after straining his left hamstring, Jose Altuve returned to baseball activities before Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays, fielding ground balls and doing some light running during the team’s pregame work.
Altuve declined to speculate on a firm timetable for his return. The earliest he could come off the injured list is Friday when the Astros open a three-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
“It felt pretty good today,” Altuve said. “Obviously I took some ground balls, ran a little bit and threw some balls. I felt really, really good … I’m just happy I really feel good.”
Neither Altuve nor manager Dusty Baker wanted to speculate whether the seven-time All-Star will need a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the lineup. Altuve said he has not resumed hitting yet, but Baker seemed encouraged by Altuve’s overall progress.
Baker is spreading second base duties between Aledmys Díaz and Niko Goodrum in Altuve’s absence. Goodrum started Saturday’s game against Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah. Goodrum and Díaz entered Saturday’s game a combined 7-for-45 this season.
Springer belts painful reminder
It seemed like George Springer never left.
The Astros’ most lethal leadoff hitter ever stepped into the batter’s box on Saturday to begin another game at Minute Maid Park. Five pitches later, he reminded the franchise what it allowed to get away.
In his first Minute
Maid Park at-bat as a visitor, Springer struck José Urquidy’s fifth pitch of the game for a leadoff home run, creating a blend of awkward applause and acrimony at the ballpark he once called home.
“I mean, it’s pretty emotional,” Springer said after the Jays’ 3-2 win. “I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s weird. It’s cool at the same time, but I’m just glad I could help us win.”
The Astros gave Springer a tribute video during his first trip back to Houston last season. Saturday, before his first at-bat, they tried again to honor him. Travis
Scott’s “Butterfly Effect” blared while a still-arriving crowd showered Springer with praise. Springer walked up to the song for most of his seven seasons as an Astro,
A minute later, Springer swatted a subpar cutter 382 feet toward the opposite field. He raised his fist before hitting second base and kept it clinched as he rounded it. Springer fit comfortably into the Blue Jays’ celebration jacket outside the dugout, where he did a little dance with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“I’ve seen that before,” Houston third baseman Alex Bregman said with a grin. “He’s got amazing power the other way. He got that one pretty good.”
Springer’s now hit 90 regular-season home runs at Minute Maid Park. His solo blast on Saturday broke a tie with Craig Biggio for fifth-most in the ballpark’s history — and his first against the team for which he became a superstar.
“It was awesome,” Springer said.
Pressly to remain on injured list
Astros closer Ryan Pressly will not come off the injured list Sunday but was scheduled to face hitters at Minute Maid Park, Baker said on Saturday.
Pressly is still recovering from inflammation in his right knee. He is eligible to return Sunday from an injured list stint that backdated to April 14. Through a team spokesman, Pressly has declined all interview requests since his injury.
Baker has turned to Héctor Neris as his closer with Pressly out.
Sugar Land wins third in a row
Peter Solomon allowed two runs on three hits with eight strikeouts in five innings to earn his first victory of the season as Sugar Land beat Tacoma 4-2 on Saturday in Tacoma, Wash.
The Space Cowboys have won three straight and four of their last five against Tacoma. They wrap up the six-game series Sunday.
Franklin Barreto was 2-for-4 with two doubles, and Scott Manea was 2-for-4.