Astros' Jose Urquidy: Making next rehab start Friday
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Uquidy (forearm) will make a rehab start Friday with Triple-A Sugar Land, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
The right-hander threw 59 pitches in his previous outing Saturday and is expected to build up to 70-to-75 pitches Friday. If all goes well, Urquidy could step into Houston's rotation during the four-game series in Seattle next week.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Returning from suspension Sunday
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Blanco (suspension) will be added to Houston's active roster to start Sunday at Oakland, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
The Astros unsurprisingly won't waste any time reinserting Blanco into the rotation upon the completion of his 10-game ban. The right-hander threw live batting practice Monday and shouldn't face any significant limitations in his first start back.
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Astros' Chas McCormick: Activated Tuesday
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McCormick (hamstring) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
McCormick has missed all of May with hamstring soreness, but he'll return to the active roster after a six-game rehab stint. The 29-year-old went 5-for-23 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base in the minors. While McCormick should end up as the Astros' starting left fielder, he's likely to split time with Joey Loperfido and could see more DH work considering the fragility of a hamstring injury.
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Astros' Trey Cabbage: Sent to Sugar Land
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Cabbage was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Cabbage will head back to the minors Tuesday to make room for Chas McCormick (hamstring) on the big-league roster. In 14 plate appearances with Houston, Cabbage slashed .214/.214/.286 with two runs scored and three RBi.
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Astros' Ryan Pressly: Returns to mound
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Pressly threw a scoreless inning without allowing a baserunner and striking out one Monday against the Angels.
Pressly was out for the team's weekend series with finger soreness, but he showed no ill effects in his return. He entered the game in the eighth inning with the Astros down three, presumably because the team wanted to get him some work after the layoff. Pressly has struggled a bit of late, allowing an earned run in half of his last four appearances. He has a 5.19 ERA on the season.
Pena went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Monday's 9-7 loss to the Angels.
Pena is hitting .324 (23-for-71) over 19 games in May. It hasn't been a totally empty average -- he's picked up five extra-base hits, three steals, nine RBI and 14 runs scored. The shortstop is slashing .326/.365/.457 with seven steals, five homers, 20 RBI and 30 runs through 48 contests overall. He's in an everyday role and on pace for a 20-steal season, so there's a fair amount to like about Pena's game in his third major-league season.
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Astros' Kyle Tucker: Records two steals Monday
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Tucker went 1-for-3 with two walks, one RBI and two stolen bases in Monday's 9-7 loss to the Angels.
After a two-homer game versus the Brewers on Sunday, Tucker showcased his speed Monday. The outfielder is in the midst of another excellent stretch with seven homers and four steals over his last 14 contests. For the season, he's up to a .288/.421/.618 slash line with 15 home runs, 34 RBI, 33 runs scored, nine steals and 11 doubles over 47 games. Tucker has had 30 homers and 30 steals in separate seasons, but he's on pace to hit both milestones in the same campaign for the first time in 2024.
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Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Blasts second homer
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Dubon went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and two additional runs scored in Monday's 9-7 loss to the Angels.
Dubon's hits continue to come in bunches. He's logged three or more hits in three of his last 10 games, but he has just one other hit in that span. The homer was his second of the year and briefly put the Astros ahead 6-1 in the fourth inning before the Angels' comeback rally in the fifth. Dubon is slashing .301/.321/.427 with 19 RBI, 13 runs scored, one stolen base and seven doubles across 37 contests this season. His splits are not too far apart this season, but the Astros are soon to be at full health among their hitters, so there's unlikely to be consistent playing time for the right-handed Dubon against same-handed pitching.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Worst start of season versus Angels
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Valdez (3-2) allowed eight runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out three over five innings to take the loss Monday versus the Angels.
Valdez followed up his start of seven shutout innings versus the Athletics with a dud Monday. He was doing fine until the Angels rallied for seven runs in the fifth, including three-run home runs by Nolan Schanuel and Logan O'Hoppe and a solo shot from Jo Adell. Valdez is now at a 4.32 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 34:12 K:BB through 41.2 innings over seven starts this season. He's projected to make his next start on the road in Seattle.
Astros manager Joe Espada said that Pressly (finger) will be available out of the bullpen Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Pressly has been off limits for a few days while dealing with soreness in a finger on his right hand, but it seems he's fully recovered now. The veteran reliever has struggled this season, collecting a 5.51 ERA and 1.78 WHIP through 16.1 innings.
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Astros' Chas McCormick: Won't be activated Monday
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Astros manager Joe Espada said that McCormick (hamstring) will not be activated from the 10-day injured list prior to Monday's game versus the Angels, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
However, McCormick is with the Astros at Minute Maid Park and will go through a pregame workout. His activation will come "soon," per Espada, with Tuesday seeming like a distinct possibility. McCormick has been out for all of May with a right hamstring injury.
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Astros' Eric Lauer: Lands with Houston
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Lauer signed a minor-league contract with the Astros on Monday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The veteran left-hander opted out of his minor-league pact with the Pirates last week and didn't take long to latch on with a new organization. Lauer had a 5.52 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 37:11 K:BB across 29.1 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis, and he may need to post better results for Houston's Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land in order to receive a look in the big leagues. His contract includes opt-outs for July 1 and August 1 if he's not on the major-league roster.
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Astros' Jon Singleton: Productive across weekend series
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Singleton went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk Sunday against the Brewers.
Singleton enjoyed a productive weekend series against the Brewers, collecting five hits across 12 at-bats while scoring a run and driving in two. He's started 18 of the last 19 games since the demotion of Jose Abreu and has hit .230 with a .342 OBP to go along with four homers, 12 RBI and 13 runs scored. Abreu could rejoin the team within the week, but Singleton has made the case to maintain playing time with his production across May.
Altuve went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored Sunday against the Brewers.
Altuve led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, his eighth of the season and first since April 28. He's hit a moderate slump in May, as he's hitting .243 with six RBI and nine runs scored across 17 games, though he has chipped in three stolen bases. Altuve has maintained a .854 OPS across the first 207 plate appearances of the campaign, so there's little reason for concern about his slightly slower stretch of production.
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Astros' Spencer Arrighetti: Yields four runs in win
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Arrighetti (2-4) allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks over 6.1 innings Sunday, striking out six and earning a win over Milwaukee.
Arrighetti gave up a run in the first inning and didn't allow another until the Brewers plated three runs in the seventh. It was the longest outing of his MLB career and his first time finishing at least six frames. Arrighetti has now won two straight starts after beginning his MLB career 0-4. He'll carry a 7.16 ERA and a 36:17 K:BB into his next outing, which is lined up to be in Oakland next weekend.
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Astros' Kyle Tucker: Leaves yard twice
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Tucker went 2-for-5 with two homers and four RBI in Sunday's win over the Brewers.
After striking out in his first three at-bats, Tucker belted a solo homer in the sixth inning and a three-run shot in the seventh. He's gone deep 10 times in his last 20 games after snapping a six-game drought Sunday. It was also his third multi-homer game and first since April 12. Tucker owns a 1.040 OPS with 33 RBI and 15 home runs, tying Gunnar Henderson for the MLB lead.
