Houston Astros superstar delivers disturbing news after being hit by pitch

For much of the year, the Houston Astros looked like a shadow of the team that set an American League record by appearing in seven straight ALCS games.

Their starting rotation was in a shambles, the offense wasn’t as potent, and their star players weren’t as productive as usual.

However, a lot of those issues can be attributed to injuries, and it’s no coincidence that even after losing two starters to season-ending surgeries, placing Justin Verlander on injured reserve and still being without Kyle Tucker, the lack of roster rotation has helped this group.

So much so that the Astros find themselves back in the playoff race when it seemed like the best thing for them to do was become sellers before the deadline.

It appeared they avoided a major disaster when Jose Altuve was forced to leave Friday’s game after being hit by a pitch in the hand. Any time that area is hit by a baseball, it can spell trouble. And while he didn’t play in Saturday’s game, it appears he escaped a major injury and should be back in the lineup soon.

But while Houston got some good news regarding their legendary second baseman, it doesn’t look as positive for another of their superstars.

Yordan Alvarez had to leave Saturday’s game early after being hit in the knee by a pitch, he told Matt Kawahara The Houston Chronicle he was hit in the same spot on that same knee a few weeks ago and the swelling had not gone down yet.

MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reported the slugger was “feeling sore,” but manager Joe Espada said Alvarez would not undergo testing at this time.

On the surface, that’s positive, but it also has nuances with Tucker’s injury that has kept him sidelined since June 3 with what the Astros are calling a shin contusion.

More updates are sure to come, but the fact that this wasn’t immediately dismissed is a bit concerning considering how much time Alvarez has missed in the past.