“Hey rook, get on third, La Pina’s hurt today.” Surprise directive from Manager A. J. Hinch.
So began the day of the Astros’ fresh rookie, 22-year-old Abraham Toro. On his scheduled day off, hey, he’s just a replacement player anyway, he was suddenly tasked to replace the Astros’ RBI leader, slugger Yuli Gurriel.
On a day when the Astros lineup would be missing not only Gurriel, but fellow mashers George Springer and Carlos Correa, and with Justin Verlander pitching, today’s game figured to be a low-scoring affair.