NEW YORK -- If blowing a six-run lead en route to losing a home game to the last-place A’s on Sunday to cap a disappointing 3-6 homestand wasn’t the low point of the Astros’ season, it certainly was close. The loss dropped Houston back under .500, a day before the

NEW YORK -- Astros owner Jim Crane, speaking to the media for the first time since the club parted ways with general manager Dana Brown on Monday, said on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium that he believes the club needed a change while reiterating no decision will be made on the

NEW YORK -- Times Square will have to wait. There will be no time for a Broadway show. And don’t even think about a relaxing stroll through Central Park. The Astros will be all business during a weeklong stay in New York City, which begins Tuesday with a three-game series

NEW YORK -- Astros manager Joe Espada traveled with the club to the Big Apple after missing Sunday’s loss to the A’s in Houston while dealing with a family emergency and will be in the dugout for Tuesday’s series opener against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, a team official said

NEW YORK -- The Astros, who finished a disappointing nine-game homestand by blowing a six-run lead in a loss to the A’s on Sunday at Daikin Park, parted ways with general manager Dana Brown on Monday in what the team called a mutual decision. The announcement came one day after

HOUSTON -- If the Astros miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year -- something they haven’t done in more than a decade -- they can look back on a nine-game homestand in late August that presented a prime opportunity for them to pad their division lead. Christian Walker’s dramatic

HOUSTON -- Astros manager Joe Espada wasn’t in the dugout for Sunday’s 7-6 loss to the the A’s at Daikin Park while he dealt with a family emergency, the team announced. Bench coach Omar López took out the lineup card and managed the club. Espada, who is expected to travel

HOUSTON -- As much trouble as the Astros are having scoring runs this month, they have little room for error in other facets in the game, specifically defense and pitching. In the late innings of a tight game, every pitch is magnified and every play could mean the difference between

HOUSTON -- The road back from Tommy John surgery doesn’t always travel a straight line, and it doesn’t end after a pitcher makes his first start following the long layoff. Challenges persist with mechanics, the quality of the stuff and confidence, especially if the results don’t come right away. Welcome

HOUSTON -- Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña was out of the lineup for a second consecutive game on Friday while he recovers after taking a 100 mph pitch off his right hand on Wednesday. Peña was on the field pregame taking ground balls prior to Friday’s series opener against the Athletics

HOUSTON -- The pregame ritual is as important to Astros catcher Yainer Diaz as anything else he does to get ready for a game. After the starting pitcher tosses his final warmup pitch, Diaz throws the ball to second base and then writes the initials of his late brother, Issael,

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 -- The Astros will wake up Friday morning in first place with 34 games remaining, a fact from which they can take solace after what happened Thursday night at Daikin Park. With a chance to win a series against a team with the second-worst record in the American League,

Could Mike Burrows return to the Astros’ rotation soon? If his first two 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.

HOUSTON - At this point in the season, the Astros will take a win any way they can get it. Especially with the way their offense has continued to struggle, and also with the second-place Rangers getting shut out at home against the Nationals.

HOUSTON -- Astros manager Joe Espada was ejected in the third inning of Wednesday’s game against the Angels after center fielder Mike Trout was awarded first base on a hit-by-pitch on a ball that struck his hand during a check swing.

HOUSTON -- The first thing that went through Ethan Pecko’s mind when he was scratched from his scheduled start Sunday for Triple-A Sugar Land at Round Rock was that he had been traded.

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 -- The Astros are struggling to piece together a stable five-man rotation, which is a problem that’s only compounded when ace right-hander Hunter Brown isn't at his best. Brown continues to have trouble throwing his four-seam fastball for strikes, which has led to fewer swings against him and higher

HOUSTON -- Few players defined the rainbow-jersey era of the 1980s Astros more than Alan Ashby and Phil Garner, both of whom began their career elsewhere before becoming fan favorites in Houston and mainstays on the field during a time when the franchise was coming into its own.

HOUSTON -- The ball jumped off Christian Walker’s bat like a rocket, sparking the kind of wild on-field celebration the Astros hope they get to experience a lot more of in the season’s final six weeks and beyond. Players poured out of the dugout, fireworks exploded overhead and everyone at

HOUSTON -- Astros right-hander Mike Burrows, who’s been out for more than a month with right elbow neuritis, had a successful rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday night, throwing 4 1/3 scoreless while allowing three hits and one walk. Burrows threw 43 of 67 pitches for strikes at

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.

SAN FRANCISCO -- With the victory music pumping in the visiting clubhouse, the Astros couldn’t pack and leave Oracle Park fast enough on Wednesday afternoon. The Giants, who traded away one of their best starting pitchers and their best hitter at the Trade Deadline, gave Houston everything it could handle

SAN FRANCISCO -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, still hobbled from getting hit on the left foot by a pitch in the first inning of Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Giants, was out of the lineup for Wednesday’s series finale and unavailable to play.