HOUSTON -- Right fielder Kyle Tucker was removed from the Astros' game on Monday night at Minute Maid Park during his at-bat in the third inning after he fouled a ball off his right shin. Tucker underwent X-rays, which came back negative, and is currently day to day. It¡¯s fair to surmise he¡¯ll miss at least some time in the short term. The right fielder was using crutches to walk to his locker after Houston¡¯s 7-4 win over St. Louis.

Tucker fouled a 2-1 pitch from Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Gibson off the upper part of the shin and dropped to the ground, remaining there for several minutes in obvious pain.

¡°It just hit me in the shin,¡± Tucker said. ¡°I¡¯ve fouled balls off of my leg before and stuff, but this one kind of just hurt a little more.¡±

Tucker slowly attempted to put weight on his leg while discussing the situation with head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall and manager Joe Espada. The right fielder seemed to convince both that he could remain in the game, and he took a couple of steps, gingerly, in an attempt to test out the leg.

¡°He wanted to stay in, that¡¯s all he was saying,¡± Espada said about his conversation with Tucker. ¡°¡®I want to finish this at-bat, I want to stay in, I want to stay in.¡¯¡±

After more conversation with his manager and trainer, Tucker put his helmet back on, walked to the on-deck circle and tried to trot back to the plate. He then shook his head and limped back to the dugout, using his bat to help him walk.

¡°I don¡¯t like coming out of games,¡± Tucker said. ¡°I try to stay in if I can. When I went back on deck and tried to [take] like a harder step or something, it didn¡¯t feel too great.¡±

Mauricio Dub¨®n replaced Tucker at the plate, inheriting a 2-1 count. He drew a walk and scored on Yordan Alvarez¡¯s two-run homer.

Before he was removed from the game, Tucker hit a single in his only completed at-bat and stole a base. He leads the Astros in stolen bases with 10 this season.

Asked if Tucker will be able to avoid the IL, Espada said: ¡°It¡¯s early for that. I¡¯m just encouraged that he¡¯s walking around there and feeling OK. That¡¯s good.¡±