Altuve (knee) undergoes MRI after early exit

HOUSTON -- The Astros are awaiting the results on an MRI performed on the right knee of Jose Altuve, who left Thursday’s 8-4 win over the Rangers after two innings with right knee discomfort. Altuve slid awkwardly into third base in the first inning of the game.

It’s the same knee Altuve injured in the 2018 season that eventually required surgery.

“I saw him come up lame, and he came out of the game,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “We’re just hoping it’s nothing, because this has been some kind of year, especially players keep going down. I’m just praying that he’s OK. I think his spike got caught at the corner of the bag, and he got spiked [Saturday]. He’s just starting to swing it [better], and it’s a tough series for him physically.”

Altuve singled in his first at-bat against Rangers starter Lance Lynn and slid hard into third base feet-first while tagging up on a lineout by Yuli Gurriel. He played the field in the second inning, but he was soon removed from the game, with Aledmys Díaz moving from third to second to replace him.

Altuve’s first-inning hit was the 1,600th of his career, making him the sixth Astros player to reach that milestone, joining Craig Biggio (3,060 hits), Jeff Bagwell (2,314), Jose Cruz (1,937), Cesar Cedeno (1,659) and Lance Berkman (1,648).