Following their 11-4 rout of the Rangers on Saturday night, the Astros officially placed second baseman José Altuve on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Altuve was removed from Friday’s game with some soreness in his left hamstring and was unable to take the field again on Saturday, though comments from manager A.J. Hinch suggested that he’s dealing with a very mild injury. While a concrete timetable for the infielder’s return has not been announced, it’s hard to believe he’ll need more than the minimum 10 days to make a complete recovery. Even so, Hinch added that the team still doesn’t know the full extent of Altuve’s injury and will have him meet with doctors at least one more time in the days to come. In the meantime, he’ll be temporarily replaced by Aledmys Díaz and Yuli Gurriel at the keystone. Díaz handled the position in Altuve’s absence during Friday and Saturday’s games, and went 1-for-7 against the Rangers with a grand slam that helped power the team to a 3-0 series lead. The Astros will turn to Díaz a third time during Sunday’s series finale, as rookie Corbin Martin makes his MLB debut versus the Rangers’ Adrian Sampson at 2:10 PM EDT.<doc-sep>José Altuve was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring on Saturday, fallout from his first-inning exit during Friday's game. Pitching prospect Corbin Martin, who is scheduled to make his major league debut in Sunday's game against the Rangers, will take Altuve's spot on the 25-man roster. Houston will purchase Martin's contract from Class AAA Round Rock on Sunday. "I think we are all trying to be careful for this," Altuve said after Saturday's 11-4 win against the Rangers. It can take one day or 10 days, we don't know, so I guess we (made) the right decision." Altuve is eligible to return to the active roster on May 20, when the Astros open a 10-game homestand against the White Sox. Altuve departed Friday's game after legging out a first-inning infield single against Rangers starter Lance Lynn. He remained on base for three pitches of Alex Bregman's at-bat, during which manager A.J. Hinch noticed obvious discomfort from the dugout. "I felt it pretty bad and I thought it was just something that would kind of go away pretty quick," Altuve said. "But then I was on first doing my secondary lead, I felt it again and I called A.J. and (trainer Jeremiah Randall)." This is only the second injured list stint of Altuve's nine-year major league career. He spent 21 games there last season with right knee problems. Altuve underwent surgery one day after the American League Championship Series loss against the Red Sox to correct it. This ailment seems minor in comparison, though Hinch was adamant the Astros are going to be "very careful with this one." The manager said Altuve was "in good spirits" on Saturday and did not think his injury was a "big deal." "When you have these three, five or seven-day injuries, they always last longer than you think," Hinch said. "We've gone through this with him before, we've gone through this with Alex (Bregman), we've gone through this with George (Springer). "These quads, (hamstrings) and calves, as soon as you think it's four or five days, you probably should err on the side of caution, put him on the injured list and play with a full team." Added Altuve: "It's pretty frustrating but, at the same time, if you see how good the team is playing, that will make you go and take your time and be 100 percent to come back and help the team win. This is not about me, this is not about one single player, this is about the team. We have a great opportunity to go to the playoffs this year and the only thing I want is to be 100 percent." GO BEYOND THE GAME: Go inside the breaking news and box scores with insights, detailed analysis and metrics in our Texas Sports Nation newsletter. Subscribe here.<doc-sep>
10:59pm: Altuve’s IL placement is official, Kaplan reports. His roster spot will indeed go to Martin. 5:53pm: The Astros are likely to send second baseman Jose Altuve to the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, manager A.J. Hinch announced Saturday (via Jake Kaplan of The Athletic and Mark Berman of Fox 26). The promotion of right-hander Corbin Martin will be the corresponding 25-man roster move, per Kaplan. Altuve exited Friday’s game with the strain, and even though Hinch noted the Astros don’t think it’s serious, they’re erring on the side of caution with one of their cornerstones. For now, they’ll turn to Aledmys Diaz at the keystone and have Yuli Gurriel back him up, according to Kaplan. This will be only the second IL placement in Altuve’s career since he made his major league debut in 2011. The six-time All-Star missed three weeks last summer with a right knee injury, but that didn’t stop him from producing at an elite level for the fifth straight season. Altuve, 29, hasn’t been his usual great self thus far in 2019, thanks in part to a sure-to-rise .234 batting average on balls in play, though he has still hit a respectable .243/.329/.472 (119 wRC+) with nine home runs and a 25:18 K:BB ratio in 164 plate appearances. Altuve’s replacement, Diaz, has also done well avoiding strikeouts, having fanned in just 13.8 percent of plate trips. However, Diaz has still only mustered a .217/.246/.383 line (66 wRC+) with two HRs in 65 attempts.