Astros Lose DH Mid-Game, Will Need Pinch-Hitter in 9th if Runner Reaches

The Houston Astros lost their designated hitter mid-game, per Astros beat reporter Brian McTaggart, meaning if Houston gets a baserunner on in the bottom of the ninth, the club will need to turn to a pinch-hitter.

The practical wrinkle: once a team exhausts its DH — typically by using a pitcher to hit or making a substitution that burns the role — the lineup loses that protected spot for the rest of the game. A pinch-hitter can still be deployed, but bench depth and matchup options become the whole conversation.

This development lands on the same evening that Yordan Alvarez was reportedly removed for a pinch-runner in the eighth inning with the Astros trailing. McTaggart did not specify in this update whether the two situations are directly connected, and no official explanation has been provided. What remains unresolved is which player or sequence of events caused the DH to be lost, and whether Alvarez's earlier removal is a factor.

Watch the Houston bench options if a ninth-inning rally materializes — the pinch-hitter decision, whenever it arrives, will carry the full weight of the situation.