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

HOUSTON -- When Astros second baseman Jose Altuve initially felt the sharp pain in his left oblique while swinging the bat on May 16, he expected the worst. Altuve initially believed he would be out of action around five to six weeks because of his strained left oblique, perhaps keeping

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HOUSTON -- The Astros haven’t been getting much offensive production from their outfielders this season, where rookies Zach Cole and Brice Matthews, second-year right fielder Cam Smith and starting center fielder Jake Meyers each have a sub.-700 OPS. The group oozes athleticism and features elite defenders in Meyers and Smith,

HOUSTON -- Astros ace Hunter Brown moved a step closer toward a return to the big league rotation by throwing 57 pitches in 4 1/3 innings of work in his third Minor League rehab start Thursday night for Triple-A Sugar Land against the El Paso Chihuahuas in El Paso, Texas.

HOUSTON -- When Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez strolled to the plate in the eighth inning while representing the tying run Wednesday night, not only did the fans who remained in the stands at Daikin Park start making some noise, closer Josh Hader began moving around in the bullpen in anticipation

HOUSTON -- Josh Hader will immediately return to the closer role for the Astros after being activated from the injured list prior to Tuesday’s game against the Pirates. Manager Joe Espada plans to monitor his workload on a daily basis, which includes limiting him to three outs per outing.

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ARLINGTON -- The amount of key injuries the Astros suffered in the first two weeks of the season created roster chaos, where starting pitching depth was tested -- and didn’t respond very well -- and the club was plucking position players off the waiver wire just to field a competitive

ARLINGTON -- For a guy who had never robbed a home run before in his life, Astros right fielder Cam Smith played it pretty cool when he took a long ball away from Rangers outfielder Brandon Nimmo to end the first inning of Thursday’s 5-1 win. “Honestly, I didn’t even

ARLINGTON -- Astros first baseman Christian Walker admitted he was “borderline speechless” watching teammate Yordan Alvarez swing the bat on Wednesday night. Shortstop Jeremy Peña said his performance was “next level.” And even Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson said he’s never seen anything like it. And what does Alvarez think?

ARLINGTON -- Christian Vázquez is one of only two catchers in Major League history to catch a no-hitter in the World Series, which he did in 2022 for the Astros in Game 4 against the Phillies. The other is Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, who caught Don Larsen’s perfect game

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ARLINGTON -- No one had more belief in Santa on Monday night than Astros manager Joe Espada. With his club six outs away from finishing off the first no-hitter in the Major Leagues in nearly two years, Espada turned to right-handed reliever Alimber Santa, a 23-year-old Dominican who was making

ARLINGTON -- Based on how Astros starter Tatsuya Imai began Monday’s game against the Rangers, a no-hitter seemed to be as far-fetched as Santa making an appearance in May. It turns out magical things can happen on other holidays, as well.

CHICAGO -- Perhaps you were ready to jump ship when the Astros were 11 games under .500 in mid-May and had most of their starting pitching rotation, their All-Star closer and a handful of key position players on the injured list. But giving up on a team before Memorial Day

CHICAGO -- Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is scheduled for his first day off this season on Sunday against the Cubs, which will come in Houston’s 54th game -- the one-third mark on the schedule. Alvarez has started every game so far and was pulled from Saturday’s 3-0 win at Wrigley

CHICAGO -- What makes right-hander Kai-Wei Teng’s sweeper so difficult for opposing pitchers to hit, says Astros catcher César Salazar, is that it resembles a fastball for a good portion of the time while traveling to the plate and then suddenly takes a hard left. By that time, the hitter

CHICAGO -- Jose Altuve drew a couple of ovations from Astros fans when he emerged from the first-base dugout at Wrigley Field about 90 minutes prior to Saturday’s game against the Cubs. Altuve waved to the fans and did a light workout in the outfield, marking the beginning of his

CHICAGO -- Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti had issues gripping the baseball Friday afternoon, which put him in a couple of difficult spots on a chilly afternoon against the Cubs. A walk and two hit batters loaded the bases with no outs in the third inning, and a pair of one-out

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 seven months early, but the Astros are turning to Santa for some help for their bullpen. Right-hander Alimber Santa, the team’s No. 16-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, is coming to town -- as in Chicago for the Astros’ series against the Cubs this weekend at Wrigley Field.

HOUSTON -- Just as shortstop Jeremy Peña returned from the injured list on Monday, the Astros are losing second baseman Jose Altuve to a Grade 2 left oblique strain, manager Joe Espada said following Sunday’s 8-0 loss to the Rangers at Daikin Park.

HOUSTON -- There were certainly bigger offseason acquisitions for the Astros, whose winter centered around adding pitching depth. No signing made more headlines than Japanese star Tatsuya Imai, who so far has fallen flat, and the three-team trade for Mike Burrows was seen as a solid move to get a

HOUSTON -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve said he will undergo an MRI on Sunday after he was forced to leave Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Rangers in the eighth inning with an apparent injury. Altuve didn’t run out of the box while hitting into a double play and was