Having Albert Pujols pinch-hit for Josh Hamilton wasn’t considered

It would have been a gutsy move, one many fans would have applauded but would have risked ruffling the feathers of right fielder Josh Hamilton, the 2010 American League most valuable player and five-time All-Star.

With the Angels trailing, 6-3, runners on first and third and two outs in the eighth inning Friday night, Houston Manager Bo Porter summoned left-hander Travis Blackley to face Hamilton, the potential tying run.

Hamilton is struggling — he entered Saturday with a .220 average, eight homers, 18 runs batted in and 58 strikeouts — but he’s been even more impotent against lefties, with a .169 average, no homers, two RBIs and 24 strikeouts in 59 at-bats.

On the bench was right-handed-hitting Albert Pujols, who was not in the lineup because Manager Mike Scioscia wanted to give the slugger, who has been slowed by plantar fasciitis in his left foot and a sore right knee, a night off to recharge.

When Hamilton is right — as he was for much of 2012, a season in which he hit .285 with 43 homers and 128 RBIs for the Texas Rangers — he’s a player you’d never pinch-hit for.

But considering Hamilton’s struggles this season, especially against lefties, did Scioscia consider hitting Pujols for Hamilton, a move that would have involved players with a combined annual average income of $49 million?

“No,” Scioscia said. “Albert was off, completely. He needed a day. If we were really comfortable with Albert playing, he would have started.”

The Hamilton at-bat lasted all of two pitches, with Hamilton popping out to third to end the Angels’ last threat in an eventual 6-3 loss to the Astros.

Rehab report

Center fielder Peter Bourjos, out since April 30 because of a left hamstring strain, passed his final test — running the bases aggressively for the third time — on Saturday and will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Inland Empire on Monday.

Scioscia said the speedy Bourjos will split his minor league stint between Inland Empire and triple-A Salt Lake and will probably need five or six games, with his playing time increasing from five to seven to nine innings throughout the week, before being activated.

“His legs are important to him in everything he does, so he’ll need to get out there, test it, and maybe he’ll need a day off to recover,” Scioscia said. “It’s like spring training. You can work out as hard as you want in the off-season, but that first day of spring training you’re going to be stiff, and you need to work that out.”

Bourjos, who was hitting .313 with a .370 on-base percentage when he was injured in an April 29, 19-inning loss at Oakland, hopes to be ready for the June 10 game in Baltimore.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com