Altuve is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
Altuve will head to the bench for the first time since June 28, ending a streak of 17 consecutive starts. Nick Allen will fill in for Altuve at the keystone in the series finale.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Productive in loss
Rotowire
Altuve went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run scored in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Orioles.
Altuve doubled and scored in the third inning before adding a solo shot in the eighth. It continued a recent power surge for the 36-year-old, who's gone deep four times in his past nine games while tallying a hit in seven contests during that stretch. On the season, he's slashing .235/.304/.409 with 12 homers, 28 RBI, 47 runs scored and two steals across 330 plate appearances.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Clubs homer in loss
Rotowire
Altuve went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Rangers.
Altuve went yard in the fourth inning to get the Astros on the board. The second baseman has homered three times over his last six games, though he's at just 11 long balls on the year. He's also batting .235 with a .711 OPS, 27 RBI, 45 runs scored, 13 doubles, one triple and two stolen bases across 74 contests. He's been declining for a few years, but his OPS would be his lowest since he had a .630 mark in the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Goes deep again
Rotowire
Altuve went 1-for-5 with a solo home run during the Astros' 6-3 win over the Nationals on Tuesday.
Altuve failed to get on base in each of his first four plate appearances but the fifth time was the charm for the veteran second baseman, who smacked a solo homer to left-center field in the eighth inning. He's gone deep in back-to-back games against Washington and is up to 10 home runs on the season. Altuve has reached base safely in six of his last seven games, going 6-for-27 (.222) with four extra-base hits, five RBI and one steal in that span.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Homers Monday
Rotowire
Altuve went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Monday's 12-11 loss to the Nationals.
Altuve put the Astros ahead 4-1in the second inning with a three-run, two-out blast off Miles Mikolas. It's Altuve's ninth long ball this season and his first since June 19. The veteran second baseman has gone 4-for-11 with three extra-base hits in his last three games following a 4-for-31 (.129) slump across his prior eight contests. Overall, Altuve is slashing .235/.312/.394 with 42 runs scored, 25 RBI and two stolen bases across 296 plate appearances this year.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Exiting lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Altuve is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.
The veteran second baseman will get the afternoon off after he slashed .245/.275/.408 with two home runs, no stolen bases, six RBI and five runs over the last 12 games. Raynel Delgado will replace Altuve at the keystone and bat ninth.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Crosses plate three times in win
Rotowire
Altuve went 3-for-6 with a double and three runs scored in Tuesday's 9-7 extra-innings win over the Blue Jays.
The veteran second baseman was a pest on the basepaths all afternoon, as he scored three or more runs in a game for the first time since March 30. Altuve has multiple hits in three of his last five games, batting .381 (8-for-21) during that span as he shakes off a slump that had seen him slash .158/.220/.395 over his first 11 games since returning from an oblique strain in early June.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Powers offense in win
Rotowire
Altuve went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and four RBI in Friday's 9-3 win over the Guardians.
Altuve launched what proved to be the game-winning three-run homer in the sixth inning before adding an RBI double in the seventh. The 36-year-old has gone deep in three of his past five games, tallying seven RBI during that stretch. For the year, he's slashing .234/.310/.405 with eight long balls, 20 RBI, 33 runs scored and one steal across 230 plate appearances.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Resting up Sunday
Rotowire
Altuve is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.
Altuve will be rested for a second straight Sunday in what's presumably part of a load management plan following his return from an oblique strain. Brice Matthews will cover second base and bat seventh in the series finale.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Sitting Sunday
Rotowire
Altuve is not in the Astros' starting lineup against the Athletics on Sunday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Altuve will get a rest after going 2-for-6 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in two games since being activated from the 10-day IL on Friday. Nick Allen will start at second base and bat ninth for Sunday's series finale.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Activated from injured list Friday
Rotowire
The Astros activated Altuve (oblique) from the 10-day injured list Friday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Altuve last played May 16 and didn't require a minor-league rehab assignment after suffering a Grade 2 left oblique strain last month. In 42 games this season, Altuve is slashing .245/.326/.380 with four home runs, 12 RBI, 27 runs scored, one stolen base and a 19:35 BB:K across 185 trips to the plate. His .706 OPS is the lowest it's been since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Taking live BP on Wednesday
Rotowire
Altuve (oblique) is slated to take live batting practice Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Altuve will face live pitching for the first time since he went down with a left oblique strain in mid-May. Astros manager Joe Espada previously indicated that Altuve might not need a rehab assignment prior to being activated, so his return to the Houston lineup appears imminent now that he's facing live pitching.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Nearing live BP
Rotowire
Manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that Altuve (oblique) is expected to take live batting practice before the end of the week, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The veteran second baseman has been sidelined nearly three weeks due to an oblique strain but is progressing quickly through his rehab program. Espada previously indicated that Altuve may not require a minor-league rehab assignment before rejoining the Astros, so facing live pitching could be the final hurdle before he's cleared to come off the injured list.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Close to facing live pitching
Rotowire
Altuve (oblique) took BP, ran the bases and fielded grounders Saturday, and he's slated to face live pitching in the coming days, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Altuve continues to show accelerated progress in his recovery from the left oblique strain that has sidelined him since mid-May. In fact, manager Joe Espada said earlier this week that the team is considering having the veteran infielder skip a minor-league rehab assignment in lieu of taking simulated at-bats. If Altuve's upcoming sessions against live pitching go well, he could be back with the Astros in the early part of June.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Might avoid rehab assignment
Rotowire
Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that the Astros could have Altuve (oblique) simulate at-bats rather than embark on a rehab assignment, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Espada relayed that Altuve has been healing at an "incredible" pace, with the latter having already progressed to swinging at 75-to-80 percent effort. Given the veteran second baseman's recovery from a Grade 2 left oblique strain, he may take simulated at-bats in lieu of a rehab assignment and be back with the Astros quicker than anticipated.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Plans to start swinging soon
Rotowire
Astros manager Joe Espada said Sunday that Altuve (oblique) is expected to resume swinging a bat "in the next day or two," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Altuve traveled with the Astros to Chicago for their series versus the Cubs but is slated to fly to Florida later Sunday as he begins his rehab program for the moderate left oblique strain that recently sent him to the injured list. He's already started playing catch again, but swinging the bat will represent a more meaningful step forward in his recovery from the oblique injury. Altuve still has multiple checkpoints to hit before being deemed ready for game action, but he seems to be making quicker progress than the Astros may have initially anticipated.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Continuing rehab in Florida
Rotowire
Altuve (oblique) will head to the Astros' facility in Florida on Sunday to continue his rehab, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Altuve told McTaggart that he's feeling good, and while an oblique strain typically carries a multi-week recovery timetable, the veteran second baseman seems to be trending in the right direction. Braden Shewmake and Brice Matthews have been splitting starts at the keystone in Altuve's absence.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Move to IL made official
Rotowire
The Astros placed Altuve on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left oblique strain.
Altuve has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain after injuring his oblique on a swing in Saturday's game versus the Rangers. The club has not offered a timeline for Altuve's return, but moderate oblique strains typically result in absences of at least 4-to-6 weeks. Brice Matthews should receive the bulk of the playing time at second base for Houston while Altuve is out.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Absent from lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Altuve (side) isn't in Houston's starting lineup Sunday against Texas.
It's not a surprise that Altuve isn't starting after he exited Saturday's matchup in the ninth inning with a left side injury. The star second baseman is slated to have an MRI taken Sunday, but GM Dana Brown said the "early signs" are that Altuve is dealing with an oblique injury, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Brice Matthews is starting at second base for the Astros on Sunday.
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Astros' Jose Altuve: Out of lineup Friday
Rotowire
Altuve is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
With Altuve getting a breather against right-hander Jack Leiter, Brice Matthews will lead off and play second base for Houston. Altuve hasn't homered since April 17 and doesn't have an extra-base hit over his last six games. On the season, the 36-year-old is slashing .245/.328/.365 with three home runs, 11 RBI, 26 runs scored, one stolen base and a 19:34 BB:K across 181 trips to the dish.
