Phillies’ Cristian Pache out with a knee injury that will require surgery

HOUSTON — Cristian Pache hobbled into the visitor’s clubhouse on Saturday morning at Minute Maid Park. He was on crutches. The night before, after working a good at-bat against Framber Valdez for an RBI double in the fifth inning, he injured himself. He was trying to take a lead toward third base, but slid. When he broke back toward second base, his knee buckled.

Pache was taken out of the game. He told manager Rob Thomson that he was “good,” but as the night went on, he felt more pain. Initially, Pache thought he’d be out for just a few weeks. But an MRI later revealed that he had a right knee meniscus tear and would need surgery. It’s unclear when he will return.

It was a freak, non-contact injury, and a tough break for a player who was starting to figure things out. The outfielder, acquired by the Phillies just before the season after the A’s essentially gave up on him, is known for defense, but has struggled to hit at the big league level. He is only 24, but he’s playing for his third organization. That type of experience doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

But he was starting to build it here. After a slow start, Pache was on a hot streak. Over 18 games, he was batting .360/.360/.600 with a .960 OPS. Hitting coach Kevin Long encouraged him to stay back and stay in his legs, and he bought in. After a few weeks, he started making better decisions at the plate and lifting the ball more.

“I was playing my best baseball here with the Phillies,” he said in Spanish.

That made Friday night all the more devastating. But on Saturday morning, Pache found a clubhouse that wanted to lift him up. After receiving his diagnosis, Bryce Harper gave him a hug.

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“I’m sorry,” Harper told him. “You’ll be back.”

Kyle Schwaber gave him a pat on the back, and told him he had the full support of the team.

“I told him we’re going to be here for him,” Schwarber said. “To keep his head up. Sometimes it can feel like this stuff is never going to end, but he’ll come out better on the other side.

“The kid was doing such a good job. He comes into a new team, made adjustments really quick and was getting rewarded for them. And to have something like that happen, it’s unfortunate. He was playing his tail off for us. Offensively, defensively, really well. To have him have that big hit, and the freak little buckle when he tries to shut down going to third, it just sucks.”

It was a kind of support that Pache hadn’t felt with his previous organizations.

“They told me keep my head up,” Pache said. “That’s what you want your teammates to do. You want to feel supported by them. It gives me strength.

“I feel a little hopeless because I want to be on the field. But I can’t keep my head down. I need to stay strong.”

As a corresponding move, the Phillies added outfielder Dalton Guthrie to the 26-man roster. Guthrie was hitting .278/.380/.481 with 10 runs scored over 21 games played for triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... Sunday’s series finale is at 7:10 p.m. on ESPN.