TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (49-54) will go for a sweep of the Miami Marlins (52-50) tonight in the finale of their three-game series at Daikin Park in Houston, TX.
RHP Peter Lambert (8-5, 3.03 ERA), who’s posted a 1.02 ERA (2ER/17.2IP) in his three starts this month, will get the start for the Astros tonight opposite RHP Sandy Alcantara (10-5, 3.89 ERA) and the Marlins.
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RIDING THE LAMBO: Tonight’s Astros starter RHP Peter Lambert leads the Astros in wins and among AL pitchers he ranks second in opponent average (.197) and sixth in ERA (3.03) (min. 90IP). Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 starts.
MOVING UP THE LIST: Manager Joe Espada has 224 managerial wins as the Astros skipper, which ties him with Terry Collins (224 wins) for 10th all-time in managerial wins in club history. The two immediately trail Hal Lanier (254 wins) for ninth on that all-time list.
GET ‘EM EARLY: The Astros rank first in the AL and second in the Majors in 1st-inning runs (68). Overall, the Astros rank 11th in the Majors in runs (468), two spots ahead of the Marlins (455), who rank 13th.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Astros rank second in the AL in fielding percentage (.988) and their 43 errors are the second-fewest in the AL. 1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed an error in his 98 games played at 1B. Dating back to last season, Walker has not made an error in his last 126 games at 1B (last error was Aug. 23, 2025 at BAL).
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TODAY’S TRADE: Earlier today, the Astros acquired RHP Max Martin from the Royals in exchange for the recently DFA’d RHP Nate Pearson. Martin, 22, owns a 6-2 record with a 2.01 ERA (9ER/40.1IP) in 26 relief appearances across two levels of Class A ball in the Royals organization this season.
MVP-CALIBER: DH Yordan Alvarez is a strong AL MVP candidate as he enters tonight as the AL’s Triple Crown leader, ranking first in batting average (.326), HR (33), and RBI (75). He currently leads all of baseball in OPS (1.081), OBP (.432), SLG (.649), and total bases (239), and in the AL, he ranks first in hits (120), first in XBH (53), tied for second in runs (68), and fourth in walks (66).
LEVELED UP: DH Yordan Alvarez is playing on another level, as he’s riding an eight-game hitting streak in which six of those eight games have been multi-hit games. He’s batting .517 (15×29) with six runs scored, four doubles, four homers, eight RBI, seven walks and a 1.680 OPS during the streak.
HIT PAREDES: Since June 3, 3B Isaac Paredes is batting .297 (44×148) with 20 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple, seven homers, 29 RBI, 18 walks and an .893 OPS in 40 games. He enters tonight with an active 15-game on-base streak and an active seven-game hitting streak.
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TAP FOR SUCCESS: Astros hitters have won an MLB-best 72 ABS challenges and lead the Majors in challenge success rate (60%). 2B Jose Altuve has been successful on 15-of-23 challenges (65%), ranking third in the Majors in challenges won. 3B Isaac Paredes (11-for-12) has been the most efficient regular challenger for the team and was successful in his first 11 challenges this year.
WHAT A RELIEF: LHP Josh Hader is 3-1 with 11 saves (in 11 chances), has a 1.47 ERA (3ER/18.1IP), 29 strikeouts in 18.1 innings, a .154 (10×65) opponent average, and a 0.98 WHIP in 20 appearances. He has not allowed a hit in 14 of his 20 appearances.
DOWN ON THE FARM: The Triple A Sugar Land Space Cowboys picked up a 3-2 win in 10 innings last night on a walk-off single by 1B Cavan Biggio, who’s hitting .300 (12×40) with a 1.107 OPS in 13 games this month. Down at Class A Fayetteville, the Woodpeckers earned a rain-shortened 7-0 win thanks in part to top prospect CF Kevin Alvarez, who hit his eighth homer of the season.
ASTROS SIGN TOP TWO PICKS: The Astros have officially signed both of their first-round picks from the 2026 MLB Draft: OF Logan Hughes (17th overall) from Texas Tech and RHP Jack Radel (28th overall) from Notre Dame.
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TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1986 – The Astros allow just one hit in a 1-0 walk-off win vs. the Expos in the Astrodome. This marks the only one-hit, extra-inning shutout in franchise history. A solo homer in the bottom of the 10th by 1B Glenn Davis is the difference. RHP Nolan Ryan throws 9.1 innings in the start, tallying 14 strikeouts, while allowing that one hit. RHP Dave Smith earns the win for the Astros in relief.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, July 22, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: SCHN, SCHN2
Radio: KTRH 740 AM; KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
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