Astros without – Houston opens a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night in Minneapolis with another major absence, as Jose Altuve has been added to the injured list with a strained oblique. With the Astros’ roster already loaded by injuries, manager Joe
Houston is starting this new series with the same question hanging over the dugout: when will the injury stretch finally loosen its grip?
The Astros will be without another key piece when they face the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a three-game series on Monday night in Minneapolis. Houston ended the weekend with 14 players on the injured list.
Some of those names—shortstop Jeremy Peña, outfielder Jake Meyers and relief pitcher Nate Pearson—could return during the Minnesota series. But the Astros learned Sunday that veteran second baseman Jose Altuve will be added to the injured list because of a strained oblique muscle.
Altuve is 36. Through 42 games this season, he is hitting .245 with four homers and 12 RBIs. He is also 72 hits shy of 2,500 for his career. His injury happened Saturday, and Altuve underwent imaging tests Sunday to determine the severity.
Astros manager Joe Espada didn’t dress it up when addressing what this means for the club after the test results.
“Just not what we wanted to hear,” Espada said.. “But we find ourselves having to fight through this one here.. Some of these young players will continue to get opportunities.. And we should be getting Jeremy back. so we’ll get that boost back in our offense and on the defensive side.. We’ve just got to turn the page and get ready for Minnesota.”
Minnesota will go after back-to-back victories as it begins its series against Houston. The Twins are coming off a series loss after dropping games Friday and Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers. They prevented a sweep with a 5-4 win Sunday.
In that Sunday win, Ryan Jeffers hit a solo home run. He drove it over the wall in left-center field and is hoping to keep the momentum going now that Houston arrives.
Last season, Jeffers hit nine home runs in 119 games. He already has seven home runs in 36 games this season.
“That was the goal this offseason,” Jeffers said. “I was not shy about saying, ‘I want to do what I did last year but just add some more homers.’ Be able to pull the ball more.”
On the mound for Houston, Astros right-hander Tatsuya Imai (1-1, 9.24 ERA) will try to hold off Jeffers and the Twins. Imai has allowed 13 runs on 12 hits in 12 2/3 innings to start his big-league career. He will be looking for his first victory since April 4 against the Athletics.
This will be Imai’s first start against the Twins.
Minnesota will counter with rookie left-hander Kendry Rojas (1-0, 2.45 ERA), making the first start of his brief big-league career. Rojas has made three relief appearances since the Twins promoted him this season, and he has eight strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
Rojas will replace Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson in the rotation. Woods Richardson was moved to the bullpen after posting an 0-6 record and a 7.71 ERA through his first nine starts of the season.
The numbers set the baseline for what Monday night could look like: Minnesota is 13-13 at home this season, while Houston is 7-15 on the road.
For the Astros, though, the story starts earlier than the first pitch. It starts with another injury update, another roster reshuffling, and another chance for younger players to step forward in the space left behind.
Houston Astros Minnesota Twins Jose Altuve injured list strained oblique Joe Espada Jeremy Pena Tatsuya Imai Kendry Rojas Ryan Jeffers
So Altuve out again? Astros are cooked.
I didn’t realize he was hurt already, I thought oblique injuries were like… a quick thing? But then again the Astros always have somebody on the IL so idk. 245 with 4 homers doesn’t sound like a lot so maybe it’s not even that big of a loss?
Nebraska? Minneapolis? Either way, this is what happens when teams get “injury luck” right? Like if Peña comes back and Meyers too then maybe they’re fine, but they said 14 players on the IL which is insane. Also why does the article say Joe Houston like the manager’s name is Houston? Confusing.
Strained oblique sounds like one of those injuries that hangs around forever, like a pulled muscle that turns into “day to day” for a month. Espada said “just not what we wanted to hear” and that’s the most Astros sentence ever. If Altuve is 72 hits away from 2500 then this year is already throwing off his whole milestones thing. Twins should take the series easy while Houston’s patchwork roster is out there.