HOUSTON -- As expected, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman was placed on the 10-day injured list on Thursday, a day after he exited the game with a left quad strain.

Catcher Garrett Stubbs was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to replace Bregman on the roster.

• Astros Injuries and Roster Moves

Bregman suffered the injury attempting to beat out a double play in the first inning of the Astros’ 8-4 win over the Rangers. His sprint turned into a hop as he grimaced crossing first base. 

There is no known timetable for his return, according to manager Dusty Baker. 

“We really don’t know,” Baker said. “He’s being evaluated by doctors today. Even when they do tell us, to tell you how long it’s going to be, it’s merely a guess. Hopefully he caught it before he got too injured.” 

The quad strain is not Bregman’s first leg injury. He spent time on the IL late in 2020 with a right hamstring strain.

The timing of the injury is suboptimal. The Astros are in a stretch of 20 games in 20 days, and they’re without Aledmys Díaz, who would have been able to absorb some of the playing time at third. Diaz suffered a left hand fracture on May 8.

The likeliest scenario is some combination of shared playing time between Abraham Toro and Robel García, and possibly Taylor Jones.

“To miss a guy that’s in the heart of the lineup, you’ve got to change your lineup around. You have to depend on some other guys to pick up the load,” Baker said. “This is what teammates do and this is what good teams do. You lose one player, then somebody’s got to pick up the load. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you, so you can’t feel sorry for yourself. But it is a big blow.”

Bregman is batting .275 with seven homers and 34 RBIs.