Joey

Loperfido

Loperfido returns to the minors after hitting just .136 (6-for-44 with one homer in 19 games since returning from the injured list back on June 9. The 27-year-old former prospect projects as a strong-side platoon option at this stage of his development, but he simply hasn’t hit enough to make that happen this season.

Loperfido entered the game as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth and ended up reaching on catcher’s interference. It scored the first run of a two-run rally to even the game at 6-6. That was still the score with two outs in the top of the 11th when Loperfido yanked a 1-2 curveball to right, keeping it just fair down the line. It was his first homer in 98 plate appearances since the Astros reacquired him from the Blue Jays for Jesús Sánchez this spring. He’s hitting .238/.337/.357 as an occasional starter against right-handers. The Astros played him both Sunday and Monday, but they picked Taylor Trammell and Brice Matthews over him initially against Shane Bieber today.

With Lamonte Wade Junior landing on the injured list, the Astros will turn back to Loperfido to fill the role as a left-handed bat in the outfield. Loperfido was put on the injured list with a strained quad back on April 17th and then was sent to the minors once he was activated.

Loperfido had been sidelined since April 18 due to a right quad strain. He had been on a minor league rehab assignment since May 23 and now will remain at Triple-A Sugar Land for the time being until a need for his services arises at the Major League level.

Loperfido is finally ready to jump back into game action for the first time since hitting the shelf back with a right quad strain back in mid-April. The 27-year-old will need a couple games to get back up to speed before he’s an option for Houston’s outfield mix again.

As expected, Loperfido will be sidelined for at least a week while he continues to work his way through a right quad strain. Dustin Harris joined the Astros on Sunday to take Loperfido’s spot on the active roster.

Loperfido was held out Saturday with his quad injury, and the 26-year-old will likely need to miss a week-plus due to the injury. A corresponding move will be announced Sunday before the game against St. Louis.

Loperfido will get some additional time off to rest and recover after leaving Friday’s game with right quad tightness. Yordan Alvarez heads out to patrol left field in his absence.

Harris fortifies Houston’s outfield depth after Joey Loperfido left Friday’s game with quad tightness. The Astros are familiar with Harris since he spent more than a half-decade in the minors between the division-rival Rangers and Athletics earlier in his career. The 26-year-old profiles as a quality reserve outfielder but is unlikely to carve out a full-time role at this stage of his development.

“I’m not super concerned about it,” he said. “I obviously want to be on the field helping us win. Just going to get it looked at and kind of go from there.” Brice Matthews is more likely to play if Loperfido can’t go Saturday.