HOUSTON -- The return of star second baseman Jose Altuve from the injured list Friday night after he had missed the previous 17 games with a strained left oblique moved the Astros’ lineup as close to being complete as it's been all season.
It marked only the seventh time in 65 games this season that Altuve, Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes had been in the lineup at the same time.
The Astros will need that core to stay healthy and remain intact throughout the summer if they’re to keep pushing toward a .500 record and then make a run at a playoff spot in the American League. Any of those hitters is capable of carrying the offense in different stretches, like Paredes has done in the past week.
Paredes drove in a career-high four runs, including a three-run homer in the first inning, and starter Peter Lambert allowed one run on a Brent Rooker home in 5 1/3 innings to lead the Astros past the A’s, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Daikin Park.
“He’s getting pitches to hit and he’s not missing them,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “When he gets hot, he can really carry our team.”
Paredes, the third baseman who was in the lineup at designated hitter Friday, has homered in three consecutive games for the third time in his career, giving him nine for the season. In his last six games, he’s 6-for-20 with four runs, two doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs and four walks.
Paredes was slashing .186/.314/.254 with no homers through the first 17 games of the season, but has steadily improved since. Since April 19, he’s hitting .261/.341/.477 with nine homers and has helped Alvarez and Walker keep the offense afloat while Peña and then Altuve missed weeks with injuries.
“I started really slow,” Paredes said. “I recognize that, but I think this is a long season and I think at any point it can turn around and I can help the team.”
Paredes, who became the fourth Mexican-born player to reach 100 career homers on Thursday against the Pirates, followed a first-inning single by Peña and a walk by Alvarez by walloping a sinker from A’s starter Jack Perkins over the left-center-field wall for a 3-0 lead. He added a sacrifice fly in the third inning and drew a walk in the sixth, but was later stranded.
“I think he’s letting the ball get closer to him and he’s just hitting balls in the seats,” Espada said. “Even the home run, it was more left-center, and that means he’s working more toward the middle of the field. The sac fly to right, those are really good signs of him just trying to stay within himself and not trying to do too much.”
On Sunday against the Brewers, Paredes notched the 500th hit of his career with a double, becoming the 10th Mexican player with 500 hits. He’s currently one base hit behind Ruben Amaro Sr. for ninth place among Mexican-born players in Major League history.
“It feels good,” Paredes said. “I feel very excited to reach those milestones. I think at first you don’t kind of think about that, but as your career goes on, the games dictate those types of situations, and you recognize what you're doing.”
Altuve, who hit behind Paredes in the lineup, went 1-for-4 with a single and two strikeouts in his return. Houston’s other RBI came off the bat of Walker, who tripled in the third to score Alvarez from first (Walker scored on the Paredes sac fly).
The Astros are still awaiting the return of starting catcher Yainer Diaz from the injured list, which could come later this month. Diaz, who’s missed 29 games with a left oblique strain, is likely to go out on a Minor League rehab start next week. For now, Espada is glad to have most of his key offensive weapons back.
“It stretches [the lineup] out, and at some point someone’s going to get a big hit, and you can be more creative,” he said. “You expect more from a lineup like that, and they don’t feel like they have to do it all. They know that there’s more guys behind [them]. ‘I can walk, and someone’s going to pick me up.’ That’s what happens when you have a lineup like that.”