HOUSTON -- All-Star shortstop Jeremy Peña, whose seventh-inning grand slam Saturday has accounted for the only four runs the Astros scored in the first two games in their showdown against the Mariners, was scratched from Sunday’s lineup with left oblique soreness.
Mauricio Dubón, who was originally in the lineup in left field, started at shortstop in Peña’s place, with Jesús Sánchez moving from right field to left field, and rookie Zach Cole entering the starting lineup in right field.
There was no immediate word on how long Peña could be sidelined, but it leaves Houston again without their two best offensive players. The Astros lost slugger Yordan Alvarez to a “significant” left ankle sprain Monday after he had missed 100 games while recovering from a fractured bone in his hand.
Peña missed 27 games earlier this season after fracturing a rib on his left side after being hit by a pitch June 27. He returned to the lineup Aug. 1 and was slashing .273/.337/.455 with six homers and 22 RBIs in 43 games. He was hitting .474 (9-for-19) in the first five games of Houston’s final six-game homestand against Texas and Seattle.
Alvarez, who’s eligible to come off the injured list Friday for the final road trip of the season in Anaheim, said Sunday he could walk without a protective boot. Alvarez isn’t traveling with the Astros to Sacramento late Sunday for the series against the A’s, but manager Joe Espada said he could travel to meet the team in Anaheim.
“We’ll see where he’s at by the end of the road trip,” Espada said. “We all feel encouraged where he’s at right now.”
Alvarez said he’s still trying to get the inflammation down before resuming baseball activities and can walk without a protective boot at times. In 19 games since coming off the injured list on Aug. 26, Alvarez was slashing .369/.462/.569 with three homers and nine RBIs while splitting time between left field and designated hitter.
“Right now, I just have to accept the fact that this is happening,” Alvarez said. “Obviously, it’s frustrating that this is happening. I’m going to leave it in God’s hands and see what happens.”