Astros' Yordan Álvarez out vs. Red Sox with Injury from Slamming Finger in Home Door | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez was removed from Tuesday's lineup against the Boston Red Sox after closing his left index finger in a door at his home, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Manager Dusty Baker said he was hopeful Álvarez would be back for Wednesday's game, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

"He hurt his finger at the house, was careless with the door," Baker told reporters.

"Your hands are so important when you hit," he added. "Until you hurt your hands, you don't really have an idea, you don't really appreciate them. So we've got to take care of it now."

Yainer Diaz took Álvarez's place in the lineup on Tuesday as the designated hitter.

Álvarez, 26, has had an excellent season when healthy, hitting .278 with 21 homers, 68 RBI, 57 runs and a .939 OPS in 80 contests. He was named an All-Star for the second straight year.

He missed nearly seven weeks with an oblique injury, however, and had he been healthy for a full season might at least be in the AL MVP conversation (though it's hard to imagine anyone topping Shohei Ohtani's remarkable campaign).

Keeping Álvarez healthy down the stretch is vital for an Astros' team (71-55) just 1.5 games back of the Texas Rangers (72-53) in the AL West. Houston's aspirations are clear enough: Win a second straight title and a third one since 2017.

The Astros are already dealing with an injury to first baseman José Abreu, though he is expected to be activated on Thursday after being on the 10-day injured list with back issues.

Outfielder Michael Brantley has yet to play this season as he recovers from a torn labrum suffered last August, though he's played several rehab games in Triple-A and should be available at some point for the team.