Astros fall to Reds after Jose Altuve injury, Lance McCullers Jr. struggles

Heading into their Saturday afternoon game against the Cincinnati Reds, the Houston Astros were putting things together.

After losing five of their last six games, including two losses to the Chicago White Sox and two more to the Brewers, Houston strung together a pair of wins against Milwaukee and then the Reds, with a chance to take it to three with Lance McCullers Jr. on the mound.

Unfortunately, that just wasn’t in the cards.

Opening things up against Elly De La Cruz and company, McCullers Jr. gave up three hits, three walks, a home run, and seven runs before being pulled from the game with an IP of just 0.1.

While the Astros were eventually able to get out of the inning, albeit after surrendering 10 runs with their already injury strickened pitching staff, they were hit with another brutal blow when Jose Altuve, the heart and soul of Houston, exited the game with “right hamstring tightness,” according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, and never returned the the game.

Down their second basemen, the Astros continued to battle back from their early hole, hitting 14 balls over the course of the game but in the end, they were only able to amass nine runs versus 13 by the Reds, giving Cincinatti a much-needed win while saddling McCullers Jr. with a loss despite an early exit.

Now sitting at 19-19 with a 12-8 record at home, the Astros won’t have much time to lick their wounds, as they will be back on the field again on Sunday morning for the afternoon finale of their series with the Reds.

Will the Astros be able to bounce back with Ronel Blanco on the mound? Will Altuve be back on the field for Mother’s Day, or will his hamstring cost him a game, a week, or even more? Fans will find out soon enough, as the MLB schedule slows down for no team.