Houston Astros get major break after star injury

It’s not the season the Houston Astros expected, but they’ve turned things around and are once again knocking on the playoff door as they aim for first place in their division.

Given the amount of talent scattered throughout this team, this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, but the fact that it took them this long to figure things out has left many wondering if they’ll ever start playing at this level.

Much of their difficulties were due to the large number of injuries they had accumulated.

With Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander still on the disabled list, the Astros had an incredible run of play, but having another star player on the injured list could have stopped that momentum in its tracks.

That was the fear when Jose Altuve left Friday’s game early after being shot in the hand.

As seen with Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, any time a player is hit in this area, he could miss an extended period of time.

Fortunately, Houston finally got some good news on the injury front, as it appears Altuve will have to take it day to day after his X-rays came back negative and revealed only a bruise, nothing broken or seriously damaged.

“I was a little worried and I was sore, so I came out of the game… I’ll see how I feel tomorrow, but I think I’ll be fine… Thank God, everything’s good right now and hopefully tomorrow I’ll be back,” the legendary second baseman said, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

The “tomorrow” he is referring to is Saturday’s game.

It’s unclear whether the Astros will get him back on the field anytime soon, but it appears they’ll give him at least one day off to see how he reacts.

Regardless of whether Altuve is in the lineup Saturday, the fact that he’s trying to play this early is a great sign for Houston.