HOUSTON -- Several hours before the Astros hit the field Tuesday night to face the Royals, struggling stars Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez took early batting practice on the field, desperate to break out of their prolonged offensive doldrums.

HOUSTON -- Carlos Correa pushed his rehabilitation from major ankle surgery as far as he could before realizing Tuesday that the best thing for his health was to end his comeback bid for this season. Correa won’t return to the Astros in the season’s final days, manager Joe Espada said,

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ST. PETERSBURG -- The Astros have been in first place in the American League West since the beginning of August, but the gap between them and the AL’s best team -- the Tampa Bay Rays -- is a substantial one. That much was evident over the weekend at Tropicana Field,

ST. PETERSBURG -- Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is back in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Rays. Alvarez, who was dealing with a sore right ankle, was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game Saturday, when Houston dropped a 3-2 contest to the Rays at Tropicana

ST. PETERSBURG -- Carlos Correa, who made the move from shortstop to third base last season when he was reacquired by the Astros in a trade with the Twins, could see time at second base if he returns from an ankle injury in the final weeks of the regular season.

Though not division rivals, the stakes are plenty high for both the Rays and Astros as the two first-place clubs prepare to meet for a weekend series at Tropicana Field. The Rays’ lead in the American League East is identical to the Astros’ advantage in the AL West. Tampa Bay

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HOUSTON -- Yordan Alvarez’s grip on the American League’s Triple Crown has weakened in the last few weeks, the product of hitting only three homers since the start of August. Alvarez clubbed his career-high 38th homer of the season in the first inning of Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks

HOUSTON -- These are not your 2019 Astros, who featured the top two finishers in the American League Cy Young Award voting in Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole and was joined in July by Zack Greinke, who came in a trade from Arizona in July. That was a generational rotation

HOUSTON -- Like he does with nearly every save he gets, Astros closer Josh Hader secured the baseball from his final out and kept it for himself. Sometimes he’ll give the ball to the starting pitcher if the memento means more to him -- such as rookie Ethan Pecko getting

HOUSTON -- The Astros will be without one of their key bullpen weapons for at least the next 10 games after left-hander Steven Okert was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with a right hamstring strain. Fellow southpaw Bryan King was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land. Okert entered Friday

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. HOUSTON -- There may be no better example of determination and grit in the Astros’ Minor League system than 24-year-old right-hander Alex Santos II,

HOUSTON -- The four singles the White Sox pieced together against Astros starter Hunter Brown in the second inning of Wednesday afternoon’s game had an average exit velocity of 80 mph, including two infield hits. Chicago pushed across a pair of runs and forced Brown to throw 28 pitches in

HOUSTON -- The intensity built with every zero that appeared on the scoreboard at Daikin Park on Wednesday, especially in the home dugout. The Astros, fighting to protect their American League West lead, were in desperate need of a hit to not waste a gem of a performance from starting

HOUSTON -- Astros third baseman Carlos Correa cleared another major hurdle in his effort to try to return to the field following the ankle surgery he had in May, saying before Houston's 5-1 loss to the White Sox on Tuesday that he was headed to the team’s Spring Training facility

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON -- It’s no secret the Astros have been struggling to find offensive production from their outfielders throughout this season. Houston has started 10 different players in left field and eight different players in center field, with Cam Smith getting the overwhelming amount of starts in right field.

NEW YORK -- When the Astros boarded their flight to New York a week ago, they were reeling from a 3-6 homestand against three teams with losing records and were about to part ways with general manager Dana Brown. They weren’t exactly a team in turmoil, but they were close.

NEW YORK -- Moments after meeting Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai on the outfield grass at Citi Field on a sunny Saturday afternoon, Brent Strom took him to the visiting bullpen and went to work. Strom was back in his element, doing what he does best and imparting the kind of

NEW YORK -- The return of right-hander Hunter Brown to ace form on Friday night could be as big of a development in recent weeks for the Astros as any other in their push to win the American League West, especially if he’s able to keep it up in the

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NEW YORK -- This was the kind of response the Astros needed coming off last week’s disappointing homestand in which they lost series against the Mariners, Angels and A’s, leading into general manager Dana Brown losing his job in what the team said was a mutual decision. Simply put, the

Could Mike Burrows return to the Astros’ rotation soon? If his first three rehab outings at Triple-A Sugar Land are any indication, the right-hander appears to be healthy and is throwing well enough in the Minor Leagues to perhaps be able to provide some help to Houston’s struggling starting corps.

NEW YORK -- The Astros have a starting pitching problem, which has rippled down to a bullpen that has carried an increasing workload in August and could be showing signs of wear and tear. The timing couldn’t be worse, considering Houston is two games into a stretch of 13 crucial