Astros' Jose Altuve Leaves Game With Undisclosed Injury
The Houston Astros saw another star infielder go down with an injury on Saturday night as Jose Altuve was removed from the game against the Texas Rangers.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Altuve made an awkward swing where he stretched out over the plate to ground into a double play. The second baseman barely made it out of the batter's box and did not even attempt to run the play out at first base. Altuve was immediately seen clutching his left side and grimacing in pain as he walked off the field. He went straight to the clubhouse with a trainer and Astros manager Joe Espada.
Here's the swing that got Altuve pic.twitter.com/H04fbwMguV
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 17, 2026
Earlier in the game, Altuve had hit a leadoff home run against Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom. It was just his fourth home run of the year, and at age 36, it appears that Father Time is catching up to the former AL MVP. Through 42 games, Altuve has an OPS of .706, which is well below his MLB career average of .824.
After the game, Espada spoke to reporters about Altuve's injury, although given the quick turnaround, he didn't have much to report.
"He swung the bat, and he kind of felt something on the left side. Obviously, it's not good that he couldn't even get out of the box and run. We're going to see the doctors tomorrow, get some imaging, and we'll see."
Jose Altuve said he will have an MRI tomorrow and will take to the media when he knows more.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 17, 2026
Needless to say, Altuve likely will not be in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Rangers. The Astros lost veteran infielder Carlos Correa earlier this week to a season-ending surgery on his left ankle. Correa tore his peroneus brevis tendon while taking batting practice before a game. An injury to Altuve would seriously deplete the Astros' infield defense, and make an already frustrating season even more difficult.
Houston sits in fourth place in the AL West division with a 19-28 record. They are 5.5 games back of the AL West division lead, but just three games back of their division rival, the Seattle Mariners, for the final AL Wild Card spot. A prolonged absence for Altuve would likely mean that Nick Allen or Shay Whitcomb would step into more prominent roles as the team's depth middle infielders.
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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 8:57 PM.