HOUSTON -- Angels left fielder Justin Upton is considered day to day after departing Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Astros in the sixth inning with a mild concussion. Upton sustained the injury after going into a hard slide to avoid a collision with shortstop Andrelton Simmons in left field in the fifth.
The Astros had runners on second and third with two outs when George Springer skied a popup to shallow left field. Simmons ran straight back and covered 71 feet to snag the ball, preserving the Angels' 3-1 lead, but Upton appeared to hit his head while trying to get out of the way.
"You're not going to see your shortstop make a play like that," manager Mike Scioscia said. "That was absolutely sensational. With Justin, he knows he's got to get into kind of a slide to make that catch because Andrelton is coming full bore. I think he was focused on the ball. I think he hit his head on the turf, or hit hard on the turf and it jolted him because there was no contact between him and Andrelton. There's no doubt that your heart kind of skips a beat for a second, and you're obviously worried about both guys.
"Andrelton made an incredible play, and Justin was there too to try to make the catch. Unfortunately, he came away with a little concussion. Thank God they didn't hit, that would have been worse."
Though he stayed down for a while, Upton initially remained in the game and took his at-bat against Brad Peacock to start the sixth. After striking out swinging, Upton was replaced by Kaleb Cowart in left field in the bottom of the inning.
Upton, 31, missed eight games with a finger laceration before being activated off the disabled list on Thursday. He is batting .265 with an .816 OPS, 26 home runs and 75 RBIs in 125 games for the Angels this season.