One player’s injury is another player’s opportunity.
That’s exactly the case for Mauricio Dubon.
While José Altuve recovers from a broken right thumb suffered last month in the World Baseball Classic for Venezuela, Dubon has filled in extremely well.
Dubon is hitting .357 and he went 3-for-5 on Monday as the Houston Astros defeated the host Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2.
Altuve is expected to be sidelined for eight-to-12 weeks and his absence has been noticeable with some offensive struggles as a whole.
After all, it’s tough to replace a player who was the American League Most Valuable Player in 2017, an eight-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion.
“You can’t replace him, you just can’t,” Dubon told reporters when referring to Altuve. “I just have to be Mauricio Dubon and just go in there and play. When he’s ready, he’ll take over and be in there and I’ll be ready for whatever.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker believes that Altuve’s leadership skills are directly related to Dubon’s success.
“They’re close, and Altuve reminds him to just play your game,” Baker said. “It’s harder to stop a person from putting pressure on themselves. Only that person can do that. We just tell him to play. We don’t put pressure on these guys to be something that they’re not. Just play and contribute the way you know how to.”
Dubon had three singles Monday and easily could have had five hits if not for two stellar catches by Pirates right fielder Andrew McCutchen.
“I hit the ball hard and it got caught,” Dubon told reporters. “I can’t do anything about that. I know when I’m hitting like that that things are going well. 'Cutch' out there, made two good plays. I can’t complain. I can’t fix anything if I hit the ball 100 mph. That’s baseball. They’re going to make plays like that.”
If Dubon continues to produce like this, the Astros are going to be even stronger. That's a scary thought for the rest of MLB.
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