Venezuela second baseman Jose Altuve exited in the course of the fifth inning of Saturday night’s 9-7 loss to the United States when a 95.9 mph Daniel Bard fastball struck the eight-time All-Star on his proper hand. Specifics on the severity of Altuve’s injury have been not quickly readily available, but he was evaluated right after leaving the game shortly right after returning to his feet.
The loss knocked Venezuela out of the Globe Baseball Classic, and the Astros will present an update on Sunday. Altuve was unavailable to reporters postgame.
“Of course I am deeply concerned, sad, frustrated,” Venezuela manager and Astros initially-base coach Omar López stated. “I would like to express my feelings in a distinctive way, but I have to be sturdy in front of you, in front of my household, in front of my nation. Let’s wait for a couple of days.”
Altuve, getting into his 13th season with the Astros, is a profession .307/.362/.468 hitter and former AL MVP. Venezuela was trailing, five-three, at the time of Altuve’s injury but rallied later in the frame to erase the deficit. The USA rallied back in the eighth inning, when Trea Turner crushed a grand slam to place the Americans ahead for great, handing Venezuela its initially loss of the tournament.
“I hope everything’s okay,” USA reliever and Astros teammate Ryan Pressly stated. “[Altuve’s] a huge element of our lineup in Houston. Just on prime of that, he’s an unbelievable teammate. So just hope everything’s okay, and I am confident I will get the news later tonight or tomorrow morning.”
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