Maldonado avoids serious injury on collision

Last week, Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. called veteran catcher Martín Maldonado one of the “hearts and souls” of this team. That’s why the Astros were relieved to find out late Tuesday that Maldonado escaped serious injury after a collision at the plate with Rougned Odor in the sixth inning of a 7-3 loss to the Yankees.

Maldonado, who has started 20 of the team’s first 29 games, suffered an injured trapezius muscle when he was hit on the left side of his head/shoulder area by the left leg of Odor, who was stepping around Maldonado to reach home plate. Odor’s leg hit Maldonado as the ball fell by the wayside, and both players wound up on the ground in pain.

The collision knocked Maldonado’s helmet and facemask off as he spun from his knees and onto the ground. The Astros put Maldonado through the concussion protocol, but he never lost consciousness and passed all the tests, manager Dusty Baker said. He’s listed as day to day.

“He’ll be all right, but he’ll be sore,” Baker said. “He said he felt like he had been in a car wreck. We dodged a bullet there. He might be available [Wednesday], but he’s not playing. ... That was an old-time collision right there.”

Collisions at the plate have been largely non-existent after rules have been added in recent years to protect catchers. Still, there was nothing Maldonado nor Odor could have done to avoid their violent meeting on a play which came at the end of a wild sequence of events.

With the game tied at 3, DJ LeMahieu hit a two-out dribbler that Alex Bregman fielded with his bare hand and threw wildly past first base. Gleyber Torres and Kyle Higashioka scored easily and Odor was waved around as well, tangling his left knee with Maldonado’s body. The Yankees said Odor sustained a left knee injury and will undergo an MRI.

“I was trying to make an aggressive play,” Bregman said. “Looking back now, I probably should have ate it. I haven’t been able to look at the replay since it happened. LeMahieu definitely would have beat the ball even if I got it there.”

Bregman had a front-row view of the collision at the plate.

“I’m just hoping both guys are doing OK and are feeling all right and hopefully get back soon,” he said.