HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- After missing 79 games, Kyle Tucker will make his long awaited return to the Astros lineup when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.
Tucker hasn't played since suffering what the team called a deep bone bruise after fouling a ball off his right shin in the third inning of the Astros June 3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. It was revealed Monday that later scans showed Tucker actually fractured his leg.
The return of the three-time All-Star comes after the Astros were swept in Cincinnati, which cut their lead in the AL West down to 4.5 games with 22 games left on the schedule.
Tucker was authoring an MVP caliber season when he got hurt. His 19 home runs trailed only Aaron Judge, and his .979 OPS was fifth best among all qualified hitters. The Astros have started seven different players in right field since Tucker went down. The .601 OPS those seven men have compiled in that span is second worst in all of baseball.
