Gattis takes his first turn behind plate
CHICAGO — A cleaner-shaved Evan Gattis made the first start at catcher in his Astros career Thursday night.
Gattis, who caught with Atlanta for two seasons but has primarily been a designated hitter since joining the Astros last season, returned to the team Tuesday after spending time at Class AA Corpus Christi to get back into catching.
“To know Gattis is to know that there’s a lot of anxious moments between the at-bats when he wants to be in there,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “He loves to compete, and there’s no better position to be in on every pitch but catcher.”
His catching Thursday also was due in part to the Astros’ sending a largely right handedswinging lineup to the plate against White Sox ace lefty Chris Sale. Gattis homered off Sale for the Astros’ only run in their 2-1 loss.
With the Astros designating Erik Kratz for assignment Monday, Gattis is the lone backup catcher to Jason Castro and will see the amount of action a normal backup would, said Hinch, who added he tries not to catch Castro more than four days in a row.
As league adjusts, so does White
Tyler White was back in the lineup Thursday after a day off — and two days after his best game since the first week of the season.
The 25-year-old rookie hit a pair a solo home runs and added a double that led to another run Tuesday. Before Tuesday, he hadn’t homered since April 20.
“He’s gotten some fastballs to hit and done some damage,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “Obviously (Tuesday), the two-strike home run and the two-strike double were both in battle mode. Not conceding much of the plate, he can cover the entire strike zone. It’s having to calm his body down (that he needs to do more consistently).”
White had two threehit games, three home runs and nine RBIs in the season’s first week, which ended with the former 33rd-round draft pick’s being named AL Player of the Week.
As pitchers adjusted, White’s production dipped. He homered just twice more in April while his batting average dropped all the way down to .221.
But White has adjusted as well.
“He handled the ball in (Tuesday) better than he has in the last month, and that’s why you see some of the power to left field and also the double down the line,” Hinch said. “I think as he gets more and more comfortable covering the inside part and outside part of the plate, we’ll see him more as a complete hitter.”
Like most of the Astros, White fared poorly against Chris Sale, going 0-for-4. White is now hitting .243.
Hinch mulling plan for Gomez
Astros manager A.J. Hinch said he’s hopeful struggling center fielder Carlos Gomez can get back into baseball activities next week.
Gomez went on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a bruised left rib cage, an injury he aggravated diving back to second base on a pickoff attempt Sunday in Boston. The DL stint is backdated to Monday, meaning Gomez can rejoin the Astros as early as May 31.
“We’re shooting for maybe next week sometime,” Hinch said. “I’ll probably meet up with him over the weekend in Houston, and we’ll develop a plan.”
Gomez sat out three games earlier this season with rib cage soreness but avoided the DL.
On the plus side, being on the disabled list will allow Gomez, who has struggled the entire season, to take a rehab assignment and perhaps find his stroke before rejoining the Astros. In 34 games, he’s hitting .182 with no home runs and just five RBIs.
Sentencing in data case delayed
Former St. Louis Cardinals executive Christopher Correa’s sentencing hearing in the Astros-Cardinals unauthorized computer access case has been moved to July 5 by U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes.
The hearing was set for June 6, but Hughes reset the hearing this week, citing a request by the federal probation office.