Astros place star slugger Yordan Álvarez on injured list due to oblique soreness

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The Houston Astros will be without one of their star players for a bit. 

Yordan Álvarez was placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday, the team announced. The All-Star slugger is dealing with right oblige soreness.

The injury appeared to occur at some point during the Astros' 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. Álvarez was in the game for just one at-bat — a groundout to first base — before departing the game. There were no clear signs of any injury, though, when Álvarez, who whiffed at two pitches earlier in the at-bat, left the game.

Instead of heading to Cleveland for a weekend series against the Guardians with the rest of the team, Álvarez went back to Houston for further evaluation. 

"That’s a tough blow right there," Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters Thursday. "We just have to regroup and try to figure out how we’re going to win some ballgames and get through this."

Baker added his postgame comments that it was "likely" Álvarez would miss time. 

Álvarez's absence for at least the interim is certainly a blow to the Astros. The 25-year-old was in the midst of another All-Star season, hitting .272 with a .964 OPS to go along with 17 homers (second-most in the AL) and a league-leading 55 RBIs.

Injuries have plagued the defending World Series champs' lineup for much of the season. Jose Áltuve was out until mid-May due to a fracture on his thumb and recently missed more time due to an oblique issue. Michael Brantley has yet to play this season due to a shoulder injury.

The injuries to the heart of the Astros' lineup have caused them to take a bit of a step back offensively this season. They're 14th in runs per game this season (4.49) after ranking eighth last season (4.55).