Justice: When Springer goes, the Astros go

HOUSTON — Two notable things happened to the Astros right after manager A.J. Hinch flip-flopped Jose Altuve and George Springer at the top of his batting order:

1. The Astros got hot.

2. Springer got insanely hot.

All with one little tweak to his lineup card.

Take a bow, A.J. Hinch.

“I wish I had done it two weeks earlier if I’d known it was that absolute,” Hinch said.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Springer, Altuve and other #ASGWorthy players

At the time of the switch last week, the Astros were among the most puzzling and disappointing teams. Widely picked to win the American League West, they were 17-28 and 10 games out of first place on May 22.

In a pair of conversations that lasted a total of around 30 seconds, Hinch summoned the two players to his office and told them that Springer would hit leadoff, Altuve second. For seven weeks, Altuve typically had hit first, Springer second.

Things changed instantly. Sure, better starting pitching and a solid bullpen were factors. Regardless, the bottom line changed immediately.

The Astros are 8-2 since, including a 3-0 loss to Zack Greinke and the D-backs on Thursday. They’ve crept to within five games of .500 at 25-30. Their offense has increased from 4.0 runs per game to 4.6. And Springer has gone on a tear that may get him a spot on the American League All-Star team.

“Springer is setting the tone right now,” Altuve said. “He’s getting on base, scoring. When you score first, the game just seems different. We play better when we score first.”

Springer is batting .432 with four doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs since the switch. He began Thursday ranked first in Wins Above Replacement among all AL position players at 3.2, as calculated by Baseball Reference.

Offensively, Springer is second among AL outfielders in hits (64) and fourth in home runs (13), runs (35), on-base percentage (.377) and OPS …

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