After HBP, Meyers returns to Astros' lineup in exhibition
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HOUSTON -- Jake Meyers returned to the lineup on Monday, two days after being hit by a pitch on his left hand, something the Astros’ starting center fielder knows could have been much worse.
Meyers went 0-for-2 with a swinging strikeout in the second inning and a groundout to the pitcher in the fifth inning in Houston’s 3-1 loss to Triple-A Sugar Land, but he said he felt good swinging the bat.
“He looks good,” Houston manager Joe Espada said of Meyers. “His at-bats throughout spring have been solid. I think he’s a different guy from what we saw last year. I’m very pleased with where he’s at right now.”
Meyers exited the Astros’ 13-5 win over the New York Mets on Saturday after being hit by a 94.1 mph sinker from Yohan Ramírez. X-rays were negative. Meyers was not scheduled to play in the Astros’ Grapefruit League finale Sunday.
“I felt right away that I was lucky enough to not break it,” Meyers said. “Thankfully, they wanted to get it checked out, and make sure I was OK. Everything ended up with me being OK. ... I got lucky.”
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As for the season ahead, Meyers is ready to get going.
“I feel great,” he said. “I’m excited to get going. This is a really fun team to be a part of.”
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• With Opening Day on Thursday, the Astros are still working to cut the roster down. Espada got a chance to see some of his choices out of the bullpen on Monday.
After Misael Tamarez worked four scoreless frames to start, Ryan Pressly gave up one run on two hits with a walk in the fifth inning. Josh Hader followed Pressly, and threw a scoreless inning while striking out the side before Rafael Montero allowed one run on one hit with a walk in the seventh.
Bennett Sousa walked three and surrendered an unearned run in two-thirds of an inning, and Parker Mushinski threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout.
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“I want those guys just when they get ahead to put some hitters away,” Espada said. “The stuff looks good, but once you fall behind, you give those hitters some opportunities to get good swings. That was the case today with some of our guys. It gives us an opportunity to evaluate, and see where we go from here.”
On the offensive side, the Astros still had some decisions to make. Jon Singleton grounded out in his lone at-bat after replacing José Abreu as a pinch-runner in the sixth inning, and Corey Julks grounded out and walked in two plate appearances on Monday.
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Grae Kessinger, who has been sidelined with a right hamstring strain that he suffered on March 18, ran in the outfield before the game, took batting practice and fielded groundballs.
Kessinger “came out feeling pretty good,” Espada said, adding that Kessinger will take part in Justin Verlander’s live batting practice on Tuesday.
“As for the first time being in this chair, it hasn’t been easy,” Espada said about cutting the roster down. “We want to carry the best guys available to give us an opportunity to win. We have the pieces. It’s just us being smart about how we’re going to put this roster together, keeping in mind that it’s going to be a long season, and we’re going to need all these guys to stay healthy and help us.”