The Astros against Paul Skenes: Peña 6, Alvarez DH, Walker 3, Paredes 5, Smith 9, Meyers 8, Dezenzo 7, Allen 4, Vázquez 2 Arrighetti RHP

Spencer Arrighetti won American League Pitcher of the Month in May. He allowed three earned runs across 29 innings and limited opponents to a .165 batting average. Arrighetti's first start of June is tonight against Paul Skenes.

The Astros lost 10-6. They are 27-35. Mike Burrows allowed two more home runs. Bryan Abreu surrendered one, too. Spencer Arrighetti vs. Paul Skenes tomorrow.

Mike Burrows against the Pirates: 5+ IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 90 pitches, 54 strikes, 42 swings, 9 whiffs, 93.9 mph average exit velocity, .364 xBA allowed. Burrows has allowed 15 home runs in 12 starts. His ERA is 5.80.

Yordan Alvarez homered off a 98.7 mph fastball from Bubba Chandler in the first inning. That is the hardest pitch Alvarez has ever hit for a home run in the regular season. José Alvarado's sinker in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series was 98.9 mph.

Facing the team that traded him away this winter, Mike Burrows' first pitch of tonight's game was 96.9 mph. He's only thrown three harder ones all season

Updated story on the return of Josh Hader, who won’t throw multiple innings for the foreseeable future, but is open to it “once we get toward the end of the year — hopefully get into the playoffs” - www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

Bill Murphy is back at Daikin Park as the Pirates pitching coach. The Astros are happy to see him. "I saw him get ejected the other day. I was so proud of him," manager Joe Espada said. "I texted him. I was really proud of him. I didn't know he had the F-bombs in there."

Braden Shewmake was placed on the IL with a right adductor strain. Zach Cole takes his place on the roster. Carlos Correa goes to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Josh Hader

The Astros against Bubba Chandler: Peña 6, Alvarez DH, Walker 3, Paredes 5, Trammell 7, Smith 9, Meyers 8, Matthews 4, Vázquez 2 Burrows RHP

Astros closer Josh Hader will be activated off the injured list today, manager Joe Espada told the team's flagship radio station. What it means going forward, what his usage may look like and how the Astros may manage Hader upon his return - www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

Miguel Ullola's last two outings in Triple-A have been short. His last one came out of the bullpen. That's not by accident. The Astros are transitioning Ullola to the bullpen in hopes he can impact the big league team this season - www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...

Astros’ Tatsuya Imai leans on a left heel to turn the corner in duel with Jacob Misiorowski www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...

The concerning peripherals behind Bryan Abreu’s better results, a new role for Miguel Ullola and an ode to AJ Blubaugh’s UW-Milwaukee Panthers, free and unlocked - www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...

New Crush City Territory episode - Tatsuya Imai turns a corner - Jacob Misiorowski is quite good - Talking through Friday's game Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3la8... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7D6...

Astros’ Tatsuya Imai leans on a left heel to turn the corner in duel with Jacob Misiorowski www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...

The Astros lost 2-0. They are 27-34. Tatsuya Imai was good. Jacob Misiorowski was very good.

Tatsuya Imai against the Brewers: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 110 pitches, 65 strikes, 46 swings, 8 whiffs, 88.9 mph average exit velocity. Imai's 106th pitch of the game was 97.6 mph — matching his hardest as a big leaguer. A very encouraging outing. Imai's ERA is 5.52

Tatsuya Imai's 110 pitches this afternoon are the third-most thrown by a starter in any game this season.

Tatsuya Imai ran it up to 97.5 mph to punch out Christian Yelich, who has not looked comfortable in any of his three at-bats against Imai this afternoon. That's the second-hardest pitch Imai has thrown as a big leaguer.

Isaac Paredes is the 10th Mexican-born player in MLB history to reach 500 career hits. One of them, Alex Treviño, is broadcasting this game in the booth next to me.

Good God

Cristian Javier will pitch for Double-A Corpus Christi on Wednesday and Hunter Brown will pitch on Thursday in El Paso with Triple-A Sugar Land. Josh Hader is scheduled to be activated on Tuesday. Jose Altuve is very close to facing live pitching

Astros-Pirates probables Tues: Mike Burrows vs. Bubba Chandler Wed: Spencer Arrighetti vs. Paul Skenes 🍿 Thurs: Kai-Wei Teng vs. Jared Jones

The Astros against Jacob Misiorowski: Peña 6, Alvarez DH, Walker 3, Trammell 7, Paredes 5, Smith 9, Meyers 8, Allen 4, Vázquez 2 Imai RHP

The Astros won 9-2. They are 27-33. Christian Walker and Jeremy Peña homered. AJ Blubaugh got nine very impressive outs. Jacob Misiorowski vs. Tatsuya Imai tomorrow afternoon.

Yordan Alvarez's last 12 balls in play: 112.2 mph HR 110.1 mph HR 104.2 mph groundout 109.3 mph HR 104.4 mph single 110.0 mph HR 83.2 mph groundout 103.1 mph flyout 112.7 mph flyout 101.7 mph double 84.1 mph groundout 115.1 mph single

Joe Espada will manage today's game, but was clearly in some pretty serious discomfort while doing his pregame news conference today. The ball got him basically near the kidney, Espada said, and trainers applied a patch to get the swelling under control.

Cristian Javier's next step will be a minor-league rehab start, Joe Espada said. Jose Altuve is trending toward not needing one at all. Altuve took BP today, ran the bases and fielded ground balls. The Astros will have him face some live pitching in the next couple days

The Astros against Brandon Sproat: Peña 6, Alvarez DH, Walker 3, Trammell 7, Paredes 5, Smith 9, Shewmake 4, Meyers 8, Vázquez 2 Lambert RHP

Joe Espada said he was struck in the back by Isaac Paredes' ninth-inning foul ball, which ricocheted off the dugout wall before hitting him. Espada said it will leave a mark, but that he'll be fine.

The Astros lost 5-4. They are 26-33. Houston wasted a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity in the ninth and could not score the automatic runner in the 10th.

Kai-Wei Teng against the Brewers: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 91 pitches, 53 strikes, 41 swings, 13 whiffs, 88.9 mph average exit velocity. His ERA after 42 innings is 2.57.

After finishing a no-hitter in his big league debut, Alimber Santa had a pink cowboy hat and backpack waiting at his locker at Daikin Park this afternoon. He held the hat over his heart during the national anthem and is now wearing it while carrying the backpack down to the bullpen

Fifteen days ago, Spencer Arrighetti spoke up and pumped life into a place that needed it. The Astros have responded — and are rejuvenated - www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

The Astros against Coleman Crow: Trammell 7, Paredes 5, Alvarez DH, Walker 3, Smith 9, Shewmake 6, Meyers 8, Allen 4, Salazar 2 Teng RHP

Fifteen days ago, Spencer Arrighetti spoke up and pumped life into a place that needed it. The Astros have responded — and are rejuvenated - www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

Jeremy Peña on Cam Smith's catch: "That was amazing. Cam Smith is such a great athlete. Second-best athlete on the team. I don’t have to say who’s the first. But, great catch. He tried to act cool. No emotion, like he does it all the time. Bro, celebrate a little bit. Shout out to Cam. Great catch."

The Astros won 5-1. They are 26-32. The Astros went 7-3 on a 10-game road trip through Minnesota, Chicago and Arlington. They've won five of their first seven games against the Rangers and are six games under .500 for the first time since April 22.

Nolan Ryan, 1981, 0.98 Randy Johnson, 1998, 1.00* Roger Clemens, 2005, 1.11 Bob Knepper, 1981, 1.17 Justin Verlander, 2018, 1.17 Justin Verlander, 2022, 1.22 Bob Knepper, 1988, 1.28 Johnson's first eight starts were in August, after he was acquired at the trade deadline.

Spencer Arrighetti against the Rangers: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 94 pitches, 55 strikes, 39 swings, 3 whiffs, 91 mph average exit velocity. Arrighetti's ERA after eight starts is 1.34. Only seven starters in Astros history have had a lower one after their first eight starts.

Spencer Arrighetti stood behind the mound for about 10 seconds in absolute disbelief after Cam Smith robbed Brandon Nimmo of a home run.

Astros-Brewers probables Fri: Kai-Wei Teng vs. Coleman Crow Sat: Peter Lambert vs. Brandon Sproat Sun: Tatsuya Imai vs. Jacob Misiorowski

The Astros against Nathan Eovaldi: Peña 6, Alvarez DH, Paredes 3, Trammell 8, Smith 9, Shewmake 5, Dezenzo 7, Matthews 4, Vázquez 2 Arrighetti RHP

Yordan Alvarez has gotten a nickname in the Astros dugout - www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

New Crush City Territory episode - 40 minutes of Yordan Alvarez talk - Is he the MVP front-runner? - Why he gets miscast so often - Teammates in awe Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/38AQ... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHM3...

Baseball’s best hitter is sometimes miscast, be it because his home runs are mammoth or his power is propelling the Astros back into relevance. Yordan Alvarez is “a contact hitter with the most power in the league,” and on a roll that has all in awe - www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...

The Astros won 4-3. They are 25-32. Yordan Alvarez is a freak. Mike Burrows threw seven really nice innings. Joe Espada picked up his 200th career managerial victory.

Yordan Alvarez hit his 20th home run of the season in his 202nd at-bat. He has five home runs in his past three games and has a 1.083 OPS.