DETROIT — While he's mired in an abysmal offensive slump to start his season, Tyler White's playing time will become "a little more sporadic," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Wednesday.

Since May 8, a seven-game stretch in which his teammates have accrued five games of 10 or more hits and scored 61 runs, White is 2-for-17 with eight strikeouts. He's started seven times during the Astros' first 13 games in May.

"For me, he's going to have to keep grinding to try and earn his playing time. It's going to be a little more sporadic, especially as I use the DH spot to use some of our other players," said Hinch, who has started eight other players at designated hitter this season.

"He's going to keep working, he's doing a lot of work with our hitting coaches and is trying to figure it out. He's a good hitter, he's just not hitting right now. That puts him in a tough spot to be in the lineup."

In 87 plate appearances, White is slashing .230/.333/.284 with 31 strikeouts. White struck out only 49 times in 237 plate appearances last season, when he hit 27 extra-base hits and buoyed an injured lineup for most of the second half.

In two starts to begin this series against Detroit, White was 0-for-8 with four strikeouts. He was not in Wednesday night's lineup, ceding designated hitter duties to Michael Brantley.

Brantley and George Springer have combined to start 17 times at designated hitter, a timeshare made possible by both White's struggles and the success of Jake Marisnick and Josh Reddick.

White's .284 slugging percentage ranks 131st out of 142 American League hitters with at least 80 plate appearances. White's average exit velocity is down two miles per hour off his career average. His 31.2 percent whiff rate is up dramatically from 17.2 percent last season.

"Body control is huge for him," Hinch said. "When he gets going forward, things get out of control and he puts himself in some bad positions to try to break out and get some hits. He's had some tough calls — that always seems to happen when you're not swinging the bat very well. But we need him to get going and he needs to get going."

Odds and ends

Cristian Javier, the Astros' Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April, was promoted to Class AA Corpus Christi on Wednesday. The Dominican righthander had a 0.94 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 28 ⅔ innings with Class A-Advanced Fayetteville.

In a corresponding move, Jose Urquidy, Corpus' opening day starter, was promoted to Class AAA Round Rock. Urquidy had 40 strikeouts in 33 AA innings.

Houston manager A.J. Hinch celebrated his 45th birthday on Wednesday. The skipper shares his day with left fielder Michael Brantley, who turned 32.

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