Jose

Altuve

Altuve drove in three runs for the third time this season. The homer was his 269th, moving him past Joe Morgan and into sixth place all-time among second basemen. Next up on the list are Ryne Sandberg at 282 and Craig Biggio at 291. Jeff Kent, at 377, is the all-time leader. Marcus Semien, with 267, is also looking to move up the list.

The 36-year-old second baseman exited Tuesday’s game with a left foot contusion and was held out on Wednesday as a precautionary measure. He’s doing much better after a couple of days off though and is right back in there at second base and batting fifth against Mariners’ right-hander George Kirby on Friday evening in Houston.

Altuve was diagnosed with a left foot contusion after leaving Tuesday, and the ailment will keep the 36-year-old out for at least one game. Nick Allen will handle second base while Altuve recovers.

We’ll assume it was X-rays that were negative and that he’ll be undergoing an MRI as a followup. Altuve left Tuesday’s game after being hit on the foot by a pitch and was still feeling sore after the contest. If he needs to miss some time, the Astros could recall Raynel Delgado to play behind Nick Allen at second base.

It sounds like Altuve managed to avoid serious injury when he was drilled on the left foot by a pitch in the first inning. He was lifted for a defensive replacement after staying in the contest initially. He’s presumably day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s series finale.

Altuve managed to stay in the game to run the bases, but appeared to be in some serious discomfort after being hit by a pitch on the left foot in the first inning. He’ll head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be a postgame update on his status.

Altuve knocked a base hit in the fourth inning and scored the team’s first run. He then drove in a run with another single in the fifth before scoring on a home run by Taylor Trammell. Altuve’s third hit of the game would drive in an insurance run in the seventh. The 36-year-old second baseman is hitting .241/.304/.389 with 12 homers, 53 runs scored, and 33 RBI across 386 plate appearances.

How bad would Altuve have to be for the Astros to bench their future Hall of Famer/homegrown hero? We’re surely not at that point yet, but Altuve is probably the worst defensive second baseman in the league and he’s hitting a modest .228/.293/.389. There’s still hope that he’ll turn it around some offensively, but even so, he needs to be clearly above average there in order to avoid being a liability overall.

Altuve will get a much-needed mental break after going 0-for-4 and grounding into a triple play during Tuesday’s game in Miami. The 36-year-old veteran takes a seat for the first time since May 28. It’ll be defensive specialist Nick Allen taking over at the keystone in this one.

Seven outs in four at-bats. Altuve isn’t really cutting it as a league-average hitter and well below average defender this year, and the big increase in his strikeout rate — he’s at 22 percent right now after coming in at 17 percent the last three years — doesn’t bode well for a rebound. Still, he’s spent most of his career defying expectations and might have one more round left in him at age 36.