ST. PETERSBURG -- Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel isn't expected to miss much time despite leaving Wednesday night's 8-1 loss to the Rangers at Tropicana Field with soreness in his right knee.
Manager A.J. Hinch called Gurriel's issue day to day, while the player himself believes he will be back in a couple of days. With rosters expanding Friday, Hinch said Gurriel is not a candidate for the disabled list, though he said he has no plans to play Gurriel on Thursday in the series finale against the Rangers.
"It's a little bit sore, but I feel good," Gurriel said through a translator. "Last couple of days, my knee was bothering me. Today, it was a little more sore. It could be the turf; it's kind of hard. That could be one of the reasons my knee hurts more a little bit."
Gurriel first reported the issue in the second inning after he legged out a double, then was unable to score from second base on Brian McCann's base hit. Gurriel told Hinch he was capable of staying in the game, scoring on Carlos Beltran's sacrifice fly on the next play.
"He complained of some knee soreness when he was running," Hinch said. "You could kind of see him favoring it when he got to the double and he didn't score."
But in the top of the fifth, Hinch didn't like the way Gurriel was moving in the field, prompting him to lift the first baseman with one out in the inning. He was replaced in the lineup by J.D. Davis.
"After the play at first base when he couldn't get to the popup, we just pulled the plug on him," Hinch said.
Gurriel said he underwent X-rays, which were negative.
The 33-year-old is hitting .293 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs in 117 games this season.