Grossman drops in order following slow start

TORONTO -- Left fielder Robbie Grossman was dropped to the No. 8 spot in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Blue Jays, the lowest he has hit in the Astros' order this season.

Grossman didn't respond well, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the club's 7-3 loss at Rogers Centre.

Grossman, who is hitting just .063 this season, batted leadoff in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays and had hit second in his previous seven games. Astros manager Bo Porter said his intention was to take some pressure off Grossman by slotting him in lower in the order with the hopes that it will help get his bat going.

"Robbie is one of those guys, who sometimes as a manager, you have to protect them from themselves," Porter said. "Moving him down hopefully gives him a little bit of a chance to relax."

Porter said the move isn't necessarily going to be long term and the skipper reiterated how much faith the organization has in Grossman, who hit .268 with a .702 OPS over 63 games in his first taste of the big leagues last season.

It's only a matter of time before Grossman starts racking up some hits, Porter said. Grossman walked twice on Tuesday loss and stung a hard liner that was caught by Toronto shortstop Jonathan Diaz, all of which were positive signs in Porter's opinion.

"He had a great second half last season and a great Spring Training, and that's why he was announced as the Opening Day starter," Porter said. "We will continue to give him opportunities, and we believe that this guy is an everyday player. Just because he has had a bad eight games, we aren't going to give up on him."