The Houston Astros look to have narrowly averted disaster before their third game of the MLB season.
Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reported on Saturday that star infielder Jose Altuve was struck by a line drive off the bat of teammate Yuli Gurriel during batting practice before that day’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Altuve initially appeared to be in noticeable pain but returned to warm up like usual with his teammates after briefly retreating to the clubhouse.
The former AL MVP was also in good enough shape to take his customary spot in the starting lineup as the game kicked off. Rome did add though that Altuve was sporting a sleeve on his right arm that he did not normally wear.
The 28-year-old Altuve batted .316 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs last season and has gone 2-for-7 with a solo homer through the first two games of 2019. While he appears to dodge a bullet here, we did see a similar batting practice mishap happen with another AL West team in recent months.
