Jose Altuve exits Globe Baseball Classic quarterfinal with hand injury

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 correct hand. Information on the severity of Altuve’s injury had been not quickly readily available, but he was evaluated just after leaving the game shortly just after returning to his feet.

The loss knocked Venezuela out of the Globe Baseball Classic, and the Astros will give an update on Sunday. Altuve was unavailable to reporters postgame.

“Of course I am deeply concerned, sad, frustrated,” Venezuela manager and Astros very first-base coach Omar López mentioned. “I would like to express my feelings in a distinct way, but I have to be powerful in front of you, in front of my family members, 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 superior, handing Venezuela its very first loss of the tournament.

“I hope everything’s okay,” USA reliever and Astros teammate Ryan Pressly mentioned. “[Altuve’s] a huge component of our lineup in Houston. Just on best of that, he’s an unbelievable teammate. So just hope everything’s okay, and I am certain I will get the news later tonight or tomorrow morning.”