The Astros' eight-year reign atop the American League West is nearing its end - www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

The Astros' eight-year reign atop the American League West is nearing its end - www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

Jeremy Peña said he aggravated his left oblique during Saturday's game when he tried to avoid a tag on a double play ball "We just decided it was best to give it a day, give it some rest and go from there," he said. "I don't feel too bad, but I don't want to give a timeline yet"

The Astros lost 7-3. They are 84-72. Seattle never trailed in this three-game series and now has a magic number of 3 to clinch the AL West. The Astros remain outside of the playoff picture. Six regular-season games in California remain.

Astros GM Dana Brown told the team's pregame radio show that Jeremy Peña will get some imaging done on his left oblique "but we feel like this could be just a two-day thing. It's minor based on the initial evaluation of it," Brown said.

The Astros could do a few different things, but pitching Hunter Brown on Wednesday would give him an extra day of rest before Game 1 of a potential Wild Card series. If Sunday in Anaheim is a must-win, Brown would be on three days of rest. Cristian Javier would be on full rest

New lineup: Altuve 4, Correa 5, Paredes DH, Sánchez 7, Walker 3, Diaz 2, Meyers 8, Cole 9, Dubón 6

Jeremy Peña has been scratched from the Astros' lineup with "left oblique soreness," the team announced.

The Astros against Logan Gilbert: Peña 6, Correa 5, Paredes DH, Altuve 4, Walker 3, Sánchez 9, Diaz 2, Meyers 8, Dubón 7 Alexander RHP

Through an interpreter, Yordan Alvarez said he is progressing better than the initial prognosis, but isn’t doing any baseball activities while they wait for swelling to go down. Alvarez said he is not going on the Astros’ final road trip of the season.

Cristian Javier will start against the A’s on Tuesday in Sacramento. The Astros are TBA for the next two games of that series.

On tonight's Astros loss - www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

The Astros lost 6-4. They are 84-71. Seattle has won the season series over the Astros and leads the American League West by two games. Houston is outside of the playoff picture with seven games remaining

Framber Valdez against the Mariners: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 87 pitches, 53 strikes, 30 swings, 5 whiffs, 97.4 mph average exit velocity. Valdez's ERA in his past nine starts is 6.71. His season ERA is 3.75.

Sitting Christian Walker in the biggest game of the season prompts some pretty obvious questions. Joe Espada downplayed them. Walker: "I expect to play every day. But, better for the team (to) get another lefty in there." - www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

The Astros against George Kirby: Peña 6, Correa 5, Paredes DH, Altuve 4, Caratini 3, Diaz 2, Sánchez 7, Meyers 8, Smith 9 Valdez LHP

Lowest ERAs in a season of at least 30 starts in Astros history: Roger Clemens: 1.87 (2005) Mike Scott: 2.22 (1986) Hunter Brown: 2.30 (2025) Larry Dierker: 2.33 (1966) Andy Pettitte: 2.39 (2005) Brown will make at least one more regular-season start

Pec tightness for Bryan Woo, according to Mariners manager Dan Wilson. Woo will "likely " undergo an MRI tomorrow.

The Astros lost 4-0. They are 84-70. No Astro reached third base. The lineup totaled three hits and was shut out for the seventh time since the trade deadline. Hunter Brown was excellent on a night he needed to be perfect. One game back in the West

Hunter Brown against the Mariners: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 99 pitches, 59 strikes, 49 swings, 19 whiffs, 92.2 mph average exit velocity. Brown's ERA after 30 starts is 2.30.

Mariners starter Bryan Woo is leaving this game before the sixth inning after a visit from the trainer.

That's a 200-strikeout season for Hunter Brown, who strikes out Eugenio Suárez in the sixth inning to complete the 31st 200-strikeout season by an Astros starter in franchise history.

“I’m close to 100 percent,” Isaac Paredes said. “I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent, but I’m close to that.” - www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

Joe Espada on Yordan Alvarez: "He's feeling better. He was in there getting treatment, walking around without the boot. That's a step in the right direction. We're happy to see how quickly he's getting better."

The Astros against Bryan Woo: Peña 6, Correa 5, Paredes DH, Altuve 4, Cole 9, Diaz 2, Walker 3, Sánchez 7, Meyers 8 Brown RHP

The Astros activated Isaac Paredes, put Yordan Alvarez on the 10-day IL and transferred Kaleb Ort to the 60-day IL

Astros to activate Isaac Paredes prior to massive series against Mariners: Source - www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

The Astros plan to activate Isaac Paredes off the injured list prior to tonight's game against the Mariners, source tells @theathletic.com. Paredes has been out since July 19 after suffering a severe right hamstring strain. MLB dot com first reported

The Astros named Bryce Mayer as their Minor League Pitcher of the Year and Zach Cole as their Minor League Player of the Year.

New Crush City Territory episode - Silver Boot sweep - An encouraging offensive series - Mariners preview Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7DLN... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVT4...

The Astros had perhaps their best offensive inning of the season on Wednesday night against Jacob deGrom, helping to secure a sweep of the Rangers and the season tiebreaker over Texas - www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

For about the last month, Carlos Correa has called for a “collective approach” from the Astros’ lineup. On Wednesday, against one of the best pitchers in the sport, he got it. The Astros are in first place - www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

The Astros won 5-2. They are 84-69 and lead the AL West by a half-game. Houston took all three from the Rangers, who may be cooked. The sweep secured the season series, tiebreaker and allows the Astros to keep the silver boot trophy stowed in their team store.

Cristian Javier against the Rangers: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 88 pitches, 54 strikes, 39 swings, 9 whiffs. Javier retired 10 of the last 11 Rangers he faced. His ERA is 4.45.

The Astros forced Jacob deGrom to throw 35 pitches in the first inning. Carlos Correa saw nine of them. Christian Walker saw seven.

Isaac Paredes has continued to progress well and “the next day or two” will determine whether he is activated this weekend against the Mariners, Joe Espada said. Espada also said he will ask Paredes not to run 100% on the bases given the nature of his injury.

The Astros against Jacob deGrom: Peña 6, Correa 5, Altuve 4, Walker 3, Caratini DH, Diaz 2, Sánchez 7, Meyers 8, Cole 9 Javier RHP

Before every new series, or before every game he starts, AJ Blubaugh takes a barefoot walk around the ballpark. It's called grounding. Christian Walker does it, too. It calms them and was a de-stresser before the biggest outing of Blubaugh's life - www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

New Crush City Territory episode - Yordan Alvarez fallout - Can the lineup recover? - Sorting through the outfield - AJ Blubaugh continues to impress Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4x9F... YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=iaEw...

Before every new series, or before every game he starts, AJ Blubaugh takes a barefoot walk around the ballpark. It's called grounding. Christian Walker does it, too. It calms them and was a de-stresser before the biggest outing of Blubaugh's life - www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

The Astros won 6-5. They are 83-69. The bullpen game went off the rails in the eighth, but Bryan Abreu threw 32 pitches to procure four outs and preserve a win. Houston scored six runs, but went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. The AL West deficit remains 0.5 games

AJ Blubaugh as an opener against the Rangers: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 50 pitches, 33 strikes, 22 swings, 10 whiffs, 83.4 mph average exit velocity.

Josh Hader said "there's no set timetable to be back," but if everything goes well, "it looks like we could possibly be back for the second, third and fourth round, it just depends on how I'm recovering from throwing." Hader is still not throwing, but could resume next week

🎙️ Rates & Barrels ⚾ @enosarris.bsky.social & I discussed the NL East champion Phillies with @mattgelb.bsky.social, an impressive debut from Trey Yesavage, and the Astros' ongoing injury woes with @chandlerrome.bsky.social.... Audio: pod.fo/e/32bd76 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/RatesBarrels

Astros’ Yordan Alvarez to miss significant time with left ankle sprain - www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

Yordan Alvarez has a “pretty significant” left ankle sprain that will keep him “out for a while,” Joe Espada said.

The Astros against Merrill Kelly: Peña 6, Correa 5, Altuve 4, Walker 3, Cole 9, Meyers 8, Caratini 2, Diaz DH, Sánchez 7 Blubaugh RHP

It is team photo day at Daikin Park. Yordan Alvarez was not included in the photograph. Photoshop exists, so that is fixable. Perhaps we will learn more about his condition soon.

After trainers helped Yordan Alvarez into the clubhouse, Joe Espada looked around. “Silence in the dugout. But I do have to say this: once he went into the tunnel, you could hear (in) the dugout, the guys saying ‘Let’s go, we have to pick him up.’” - www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

Jeremy Peña: “I had a front-row seat. His ankle kind of twisted. Then, when he went to plant again, I saw it twist again. It’s not pretty. You don’t want to see that, especially Yordan Alvarez. We need him.” - www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...