Grossman not rushing back from oblique strain

OAKLAND -- Astros outfielder Robbie Grossman remains day to day as he continues to recover from a strained oblique sustained while swinging the bat in the 12th inning of Tuesday's game against the Twins.

He's received ice and muscle stimulation treatments, but it still feels sore and tender.

"Obliques are strange," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "It's not something that you can put a timetable on and say he'll be ready tomorrow. I think it all depends on the progression and the pain tolerance as well. But he's better today than he was yesterday, which is promising."

Porter has relied on recent callups Marc Krauss and Trevor Crowe, who started Thursday as the team's designated hitter and left fielder, respectively, to help fill voids in a roster with multiple injuries.

"Trevor Crowe was playing extremely well before he injured his shoulder," Porter said. "It was unfortunate that we lost him for the period of time in which we lost him because he had started swinging the bat well, he was playing great defense, he was able to get himself healthy, he went back to Oklahoma City and played well and he's pretty much picked up where he left off before the injury.

"Krauss, who had been here, went back down to Oklahoma City. He was playing well there. So it was good to have those guys back here, especially at a time where we started to lose a few of our regular guys."