The Astros head into their opener against the Giants on Monday night still holding onto the top spot in the AL West, and they’re turning to Hayden Wesneski in the 8:45 p.m. CDT first pitch at Oracle Park.
Houston’s lineup is built around a few bats trying to shake off recent frustration. Jose Altuve hits fourth after a strong August so far, while Yordan Alvarez stays in the two spot despite a brief dip at the plate. Jeremy Pena leads off, and he’s been in a rough patch over his last five games, going 0-for-20 with two walks and seven strikeouts as the Astros have gone 2-3.
The Astros’ offense has been uneven, to put it mildly. On Sunday, Houston managed just a 1-for-23 showing on balls in play, finishing with a .043 BABIP, its worst mark of the season.
The contact wasn’t loud enough to do damage, but even some of the softer balls never found grass. The lineup also went without a walk.
Pena’s slump has been part of that stretch, but Alvarez has also cooled after a long run of getting on base. He failed to reach safely in each of the last two games, snapping a 22-game on-base streak that was the sixth longest of his career. His longest regular-season stretch in the majors came over a 40-game run that began at the end of 2022 and lasted until May 16 of 2023.
Isaac Paredes bats third after a quiet August overall. He’s hitting .154 this month with a .491 OPS and no home runs, though three of his five hits in August came in Friday’s Astros win. Even with a complete game on Sunday, he logged just three plate appearances in the loss.
Taylor Trammell gets the fifth spot and has been swinging it well, followed by Christian Walker, whose 11-game hit streak ended in the loss. Daulton Varsho, hitting seventh, provided Houston’s only extra-base hit Sunday with a home run, though he’s carrying a .566 OPS since joining the Astros. Cam Smith is back in the lineup after sitting Sunday, and Christian Vazquez rounds out the order.
Wesneski brings a 2-0 record and 3.86 ERA into the matchup against Blade Tidwell, who is 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA. Neither starter has much runway this season.
Wesneski has made fewer than two starts and is coming off another six-inning outing in which he struck out four, his second straight start with that line, and he’s won both of his appearances. Tidwell is making only the fourth start of his career after two starts with the Mets last season.
He has also worked out of the bullpen eight times in 2026.
Houston will need cleaner at-bats Monday after a night where the offense couldn’t get much of anything to fall. The Astros have now gone 22 straight at-bats without a hit since Varsho’s home run in the second inning of the last game.
In Other News...
Astros Are Getting The Last Laugh In The Kyle Tucker Deal
When Houston dealt Kyle Tucker to the Cubs before his free agency in 2024, it looked like the kind of move that could define the Astros for years, for better or worse. Instead of letting a star walk, they turned him into a package that has kept producing value, with Isaac Paredes stepping in as an All-Star third baseman, Hayden Wesneski giving the rotation a boost after surgery and Cam Smith forcing his way onto the Opening Day roster while showing real offensive pop.
For a club that has spent so much time trying to stay ahead of the curve, the early returns have made the gamble look especially sharp. Tucker moved on to a big contract with the Dodgers, but his 2026 season has been a rough one, and the contrast only makes Houstons side of the trade look better by the month. The only real question now is how much more the Astros can squeeze out of a deal that already seems to have tilted in their favor. [Read more 🡒]
Jose Altuves Scary Exit Just Created A Real Astros Concern
Jose Altuves night against the San Francisco Giants ended in uncomfortable fashion when a pitch struck his foot and sent him out of the game. The Astros were dealing with more than just a brief scare, too, because losing one of their most reliable hitters and infield leaders showed up immediately in a 4-1 loss. For a club trying to keep pace, every late-game absence matters, but especially one involving a player whose presence usually settles things down.
The encouraging sign is that the initial imaging did not point to a major issue, but Houston still had reason to be careful with how it handled the injury. Altuve was dealing with soreness after the hit, and the Astros opted to take precautions rather than push him back into action too quickly. For a team with bigger goals than one midseason game in San Francisco, the next question is how long it takes before he looks and feels normal again. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Smith Is Giving The Astros A New Reason To Believe
Cam Smith keeps giving the Astros something they have needed as the stretch run tightens up: a young bat that can change a game. Against the Giants, he was right in the middle of a 10-inning fight, delivering both a game-tying homer and a go-ahead ground ball in a win that felt like another reminder of how quickly his season has turned.
Since the start of August, Smith has been producing like one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball, with a .412 average and a 1.150 OPS. For Houston, the bigger significance is not just the surge itself but what it means after a quieter first half, because if this level of impact holds, it could give the Astros a much-needed boost in their playoff chase. [Read more 🡒]