Kyle Tucker was forced to exit in the 3rd inning of the Astros’ 7-4 win over the Cardinals due to a worrying shin injury.

Astros' Kyle Tucker looking serious, with question marks and red medical cross beside him

Given how poorly the Houston Astros have begun the 2024 season, the last thing they need is an injury to one of their best players. However, on Monday night, that’s exactly what happened after star right fielder Kyle Tucker was forced to exit the game in the bottom of the third inning of their 7-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting a pitch foul off his shin.

Tucker, on a 2-0 count against Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson, uncorked a huge swing on a cutter that drifted inside the plate. Unfortunately for the Astros right fielder, the batted ball ricocheted off his shin and he immediately writhed on the ground in pain while he clutched onto the impacted area. The good news is that Tucker only appears to have sustained a right shin contusion and that his X-rays were “good”, said manager Joe Espada, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

It’s unclear just how severe the injury Kyle Tucker sustained is. But it’s a good development for the Astros that Tucker did not sustain a fracture of any sort. Now, Espada said that the right fielder is currently day-to-day and that it’s too early to tell if a trip to the Injured List will be required. Nonetheless, Tucker himself is in good spirits and he is adamant that this is nothing he can’t get past even though he needed crutches to “get around” the Astros clubhouse, according to Rome.

“I feel good. We did some X-rays and nothing was broken or anything. I’m sure we’ll do some more stuff tomorrow and whatnot, but right now it’s just kind of hurting. It’s all right, we’ll get through it,” Tucker said.

Kyle Tucker reached base on an infield single in his lone at-bat of the game before exiting due to injury. The Astros were down 3-0 at the time of his exit, but they proceeded to rattle off seven runs, including two in the very same inning Tucker exited, after Mauricio Dubon, the player who replaced Tucker, reached base via walk.

Kyle Tucker experiences deja vu

That was not the first time Kyle Tucker fouled a pitch off his shin and immediately went to the ground in pain. Back on April 18, 2023, in a ballgame against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tucker also swung heavily on a pitch that drifted way inside, and he ended up fouling the pitch off of himself. Tucker had a near-identical reaction nearly 14 months ago to the one he had this Monday night.

Now, the good news is that Tucker didn’t even need to exit the April 18, 2023 game; in fact, he he hit a run-scoring single in the very same at-bat where he sustained the shin injury. He proceeded to miss a grand total of zero games as a result of the shin contusion, and he even played in a total of 157 games last season, making him one of the most durable players in the entire MLB.

While the two nasty-looking foul balls look identical in terms of their impact on Kyle Tucker, it’s evident that the more recent hit is much more painful than the one last year. Tucker had to exit the game and there remains a bit of uncertainty as to whether or not he’ll be forced to miss time. For the Astros’ sake, they better hope that this is an injury that Tucker can shake off, especially as they try to climb back in the AL West standings.

Astros’ options at right field

Kyle Tucker has been one of the best players in the MLB to start the 2024 season. He’s slashing .266/.395/.584 to go along with 19 home runs and 40 runs batted in. He is also one of the toughest outs in the league, as he has more walks than strikeouts (46 to 41). As if he wasn’t already impactful enough, he is also a positive contributor on the basepaths, as seen in his 10 stolen bases on the season.

Given how much the Astros’ pitching staff has struggled, the best way for them to get back into the swing of the playoff hunt is to outscore their opponents. It’ll be difficult to do that without Tucker, their unquestioned best player amid down seasons from a few of their heavy hitters. The likes of Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman, in particular, have been playing at a lower level than everyone has grown accustomed to.

If Tucker needs to miss time due to injury, Mauricio Dubon is the most likely candidate to step into the starting lineup, with Chas McCormick moving to right field. McCormick, however, has been struggling to the tune of a .526 OPS. His track record, however, lends credence to the idea that he might be due for some positive regression.