RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesHOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 01: Ronel Blanco #56 of the Houston Astros pitches in the third inning during the game against the Texas Rangers at Daikin Park on August 01, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TONIGHT’S GAME : The first-place Houston Astros (59-57) will begin the first game of a six-game road trip tonight at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres (59-56).
RHP Ronel Blanco (0-1, 7.36 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season for the Astros tonight opposite newly acquired LHP Robbie Ray (10-6, 3.08 ERA) and the Padres.
THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 39-26 since May 22, which is the second-best record in the AL in that span. On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.
THAT’S OFFENSIVE : The Astros lead the AL in SLG (.416), and OPS (.738), while ranking second in runs scored (540), home runs (157), OBP (.322) and hits (955). In the Majors, the Astros rank third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (168) and Yankees (164).
BLANCO’S BACK!: RHP Ronel Blanco is making his fourth start of the season after missing the first few months while recovering from right elbow surgery. Blanco was a mainstay in the Astros rotation prior to his injury, making 45 starts over the 2023-25 seasons, going 18-11 with a 3.36 ERA (94ER/251.2IP) and a .200 opponent average in that span. In his last start on Saturday against the Rangers, he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
ROAD WARRIORS : The Astros begin a six-game west coast road-trip with two three-game series against the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants. The Astros went 5-1 on their last road trip. Houston is also 22-13 (.629) on their last five road trips and are 28-19 (.596) on the road since going 1-9 on their first road trip of the season. Houston is 29-28 overall on the road in 2026.
THE LINEUP : The Astros have used 114 different lineups in their 116 games, repeating a lineup just twice on the season, which includes using the same lineup on Monday and Tuesday. DH Yordan Alvarez has the most starts at any spot in the lineup among Astros, hitting second 103 times.
VS. THE PADRES: The Astros and Padres have faced off vs. each other 615 times with the Astros leading the series 321-294. The Astros last faced the Padres in a three-game series at Daikin Park from April 18-20 (Astros went 2-1). The last time the Astros were at Petco Park was from Sept. 16-18, 2024 at SD (Padres went 2-1).
WEDNESDAY’S GAME: The Astros were defeated by the Blue Jays, 5-4 on Wednesday at Daikin Park in 10 innings. RHP Hunter Brown (6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) spun his fifth quality start of the season. 2B Jose Altuve (2×5, HR, RBI), 1B Christian Walker (2×4, 2B, RBI) and LF LaMonte Wade Jr. (3×4, 2B, RBI) each recorded a multi-hit game.
ROSTER MOVES : OF Jake Meyers was recalled from Triple A Sugar Land today. Meyers takes the roster spot of IF/OF Zach Dezenzo , who was optioned to Triple A Sugar Land following Wednesday’s game.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH: RHP Bryce Mayer was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Month on Wednesday. He went 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA (1ER/19IP) in July with Double A Corpus Christi. He also recorded 29 strikeouts, six walks, a 0.79 WHIP and a .143 opponent batting average in four appearances, including three starts during the month. According to MLB.com, he’s rated as the Astros number five overall prospect and the top pitching prospect in the Astros system.
HEART & HUSTLE: OF Cam Smith has been the Houston Astros 2026 Heart and Hustle Award winner. This prestigious honor, which is awarded by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA), is presented yearly to players who exemplify a passion for the game and who best embody the values, spirit, and traditions of the game.
NO. 500: RHP Bryan Abreu struck out two in 1.0 scoreless innings on Wednesday vs. Toronto. Struck out RF Nathan Lukes to begin his scoreless 8th inning, recording his 500th career strikeout. Became just the 4th reliever in franchise history to record 500 strikeouts with the club, joining LHP Billy Wagner (694), RHP Brad Lidge (557) and RHP Dave Smith (529).
TRADE DEADLINE : The Astros made one trade on Monday, acquiring OF Daulton Varsho and cash from the Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Spencer Arrighetti . Varsho, 30, was activated on Monday and started the first three games of this series for the Astros, batting cleanup in all three contests.
MVP-CALIBER : Yordan Alvarez leads the AL in all three Triple Crown categories, ranking first in batting average (.329), HR (35), and RBI (85). Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.083), OBP (.442), SLG (.640), and TB (265). In the AL, he ranks first in hits (136), extra-base hits (59), and runs (78), and second in walks (81).
HEAVY TRAFFIC: DH Yordan Alvarez has reached base safely in 21 straight games (since July 10), batting .413 (31×75) with 16 runs, eight doubles, six home runs, 18 RBI, 22 walks, a .551 OBP and a 1.311 OPS during the streak. Alvarez also has on- base streaks of 25 games (May 22-June 19) and 22 games (April 4-28) this season.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: 2B Jose Altuve went 2×5 with a solo home run on Wednesday vs. Toronto. Marked his 247th career home run as a second baseman, surpassing Joe Gordon and Ian Kinsler for the 8th-most home runs by a second baseman in MLB history.
CHIPPING IN : A couple Astros are on mini hot streaks, including OF Taylor Trammell , who’s hit three homers with seven RBI and a .950 OPS in his last 10 games. RF Cam Smith has hit safely in six straight games, batting .385 (10×26) with two doubles, one triple, four RBI and a .945 OPS during his streak. 1B Christian Walker has a nine-game hitting streak, batting .324 (12×37) with four doubles, two homers, four RBI and a .985 OPS.
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