HOUSTON – Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña was out of the lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Angels at Daikin Park while dealing with some swelling in his right hand, manager Joe Espada said. He was struck on the hand by a 100 mph pitch in the first inning of Wednesday’s game and was removed after two innings.
Espada said an MRI performed Thursday showed no structural damage in the hand. Peña is day to day. Nick Allen started at shortstop in Peña’s place Thursday. To get more coverage at shortstop, the Astros recalled infielder Raynel Delgado from Triple-A Sugar Land and designated outfielder Nelson Velázquez for assignment.
Peña has been the Astros’ second-best hitter this season after American League MVP candidate Yordan Alvarez but is in a 5-for-52 (.096) slump. Still, the Astros are 43-33 when Peña is in the starting lineup this season, compared to 21-30 when he’s on the bench.
“He’s the sparkplug,” Espada said. “He’s the one that gets us going. And just hopefully it’s for one day. Not only what he does offensively, but what he does defensively, he’s a big piece.”
Peña spent 10 days on the injured list in early July with a calf strain. He was sidelined for more than a month in April with a hamstring strain.
Peña suffered a fracture to the tip of his right ring finger during an exhibition game while playing for the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic team against the Tigers in March. That took him out of the WBC, but he managed to avoid the IL to begin the regular season.