ANAHEIM -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve remained day to day on Friday with neck soreness that isn't considered serious. The five-time All-Star was out of the lineup for the series opener against the Angels, a day after exiting a 5-4 loss to the Nationals after six innings.
Altuve, aka "Tuve" for Players Weekend, was on the field for batting practice prior to Friday's game at Angel Stadium but did not participate. Houston manager A.J. Hinch didn't rule out Altuve returning to action this weekend during this three-game trip to Anaheim.
"He's fine. He's still having a little bit of symptoms with his neck," Hinch said. "He's not going to play until we feel like he is not going to irritate it anymore. Given the travel we had yesterday, I didn't really expect him to play coming into the ballpark. So it's no surprise to me it's day to day."
Altuve left Thursday's game immediately following his third at-bat, a hard line-out that ended the sixth inning. He said he first felt the discomfort in his second at-bat and felt it again on his last swing, when the decision was made to remove him from the game.

Marwin Gonzalez started at second base Friday, with Alex Bregman taking over at shortstop and third baseman J.D. Davis replacing Altuve in the lineup.
Altuve, 27, entered Friday leading the American League in batting average (.357), hits (173) and stolen bases (29) through 123 games. He also has 19 homers and 67 RBIs.
Gattis activated, Stassi to DL
The Astros activated catcher Evan Gattis from the seven-day concussion list and placed catcher Max Stassi on the 10-day disabled list with left hand inflammation.
Hinch said Stassi tore open a half-dollar-sized blister on his palm against the Nationals on Wednesday. Stassi's injury -- and the looming threat of Hurricane Harvey off the Texas coast -- brought Gattis back from Double-A Corpus Christi slightly ahead of schedule.
Gattis, 31, started behind the plate on Friday, batting seventh in his first Major League action since Aug. 3. He's hitting .278/.330/.490 with 11 homers and 45 RBIs through 68 games.

Worth noting
• Rehabbing shortstop Carlos Correa (thumb) played six innings and had four at-bats for Triple-A Fresno on Thursday. After an off-day, he's scheduled to start at designated hitter and play a full game Saturday with the Grizzlies.
• The Astros' travel plans may be impacted by the hurricane scheduled to hit Texas this weekend. Hinch said the club has contingency plans in place if they can't fly back to Houston on Sunday. The Astros have an off-day Monday before hosting the Rangers for a three-game series beginning Tuesday.
"Honestly, our travel is the least of our concern," Hinch said. "It's more dangerous for the people that are there. We're on the West Coast in 80-plus degree weather. Most of our families are there and all the Houstonians are out there. We're not worried about our travel plans. [They] will work out at some point."