Astros arrive late to Cleveland after extra-innings tilt

CLEVELAND -- After playing a five-hour, 18-minute game against the Reds on Wednesday night in Houston, the Astros didn't arrive at their downtown Cleveland hotel until about 6:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.

With that in mind, manager Bo Porter told his players they didn't have to arrive at the ballpark until only two hours prior to the game, giving them a couple of extra hours. They also didn't take batting practice on the field before the game against the Indians at Progressive Field.

Porter, who was on his second cup of coffee while meeting with the media Thursday afternoon, said he would like to play more day games on getaway days in the regular season to avoid late-night arrivals like they had in Cleveland.

"It's something that we -- [general manager] Jeff [Luhnow] and myself -- we'll sit down and look at next year's schedule and try to do everything we can to not have ourselves in those situations," Porter said. "Sometimes you can't avoid it when you're on the road and the visiting team picks certain games' [start times] and you just have to go with the schedule. From your end at home, you definitely want to try to avoid getting into a city when you arrive at 5, 6 in the morning and have to play the same day."

Astros designated hitter Marc Krauss likened Thursday morning's early travel to the Minor Leagues, when teams routinely traveled through the night to get to a destination.

"A lot of us in this clubhouse, we're not that far removed from all that [Minor League] travel," Krauss said. "I think we'll be fine. Everybody probably got enough rest to suffice for the night. Speaking for myself, I feel pretty good."