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Altuve day to day with right hamstring strain

HOUSTON -- In the midst of an explosive eight-run first inning that gave Felix Hernandez the worst start of his career, the Astros were dealt a big blow.

In his second at-bat of the first inning, Jose Altuve came up limping after running out a ground ball to shortstop and exited the game with a right hamstring strain. Houston manager A.J. Hinch listed Altuve as day to day after the 10-0 win, but said he will not play Saturday, regardless of how he feels.

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"We'll see the severity of it over the next couple of days," Hinch said. "He's sore as expected ... We'll see. We'll hope for the best."

Marwin Gonzalez, who replaced Altuve in the second inning on Friday, will play second base on Saturday, according to Hinch.

Altuve said the injury occurred after he hit the bag, but does not think it is anything serious.

"It's not that bad," Altuve said after the game. "I'm going to come back tomorrow and they're going to [look] at it. See what happens tomorrow."

The injury leaves the Astros -- at least for Saturday -- short on infielders, though Hinch didn't seem concerned after Friday's game.

"We've got some guys that have taken ground balls around the infield," Hinch said. "It's never ideal to have a guy down. We're not going to rush to a judgment with [Altuve] based on how important he is. We'll have to have some contingency plans and see how it goes."

Chandler Rome is an associate reporter for MLB.com.
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