HOUSTON -- Astros veteran outfielder Jason Michaels will miss the rest of the 2011 season after suffering a displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his left hand on Tuesday night in Houston's 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Minute Maid Park.
The 35-year-old Michaels, who got the spot start in right field, robbed Phillies three-time All-Star slugger and 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard of a base hit with a spectacular diving catch in the top of the second inning, but wound up getting injured on the play.
Michaels will undergo surgery Wednesday.
"With it being Howard, I was playing on the fence," Michaels said. "He's a good hitter. It was a top-spin ball. It was coming down and luckily I got to it. I think my finger, somehow, bent backward. I thought it was just kind of a jam. It turned out that it was hard for me to close my glove. After the inning, I began to realize I couldn't do it. Come to find out it was a fracture. I'm going to get surgery tomorrow morning. It's good to go ahead and get it over with.
"It's a tough one."
Rookie J.B. Shuck replaced Michaels for the start of the third and stepped up with a stellar 3-for-3 performance, including a run scored.
"I just tried to put together good at-bats," Shuck said. "I have been ready and working hard for whenever I got a chance to get in there. Unfortunately, I didn't want to get in there that way after seeing a teammate get hurt, but you've got to get in there and produce.
"You've always got to be ready."
Based on the youth movement and overall direction of the organization, it's likely the Astros won't re-sign Michaels as a free agent during the offseason, meaning the veteran may have played his final game in a Houston uniform Tuesday night.
Michaels, known as J-Mike, has been a popular figure in the clubhouse and among the media over his three seasons in Houston.
He concludes a rough 2011 campaign by hitting .199 with two home runs, 10 RBI and nine doubles over 156 at-bats in 89 games.
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