The Astros will debut their new City Connect uniforms Monday night against the Giants, and will wear the alternate togs for every Monday home game this season.
Houston Astros
After the only Sunday off of their season, the Houston Astros resume their opening six-game homestand with Monday’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants at Daikin Park. Check back here for pregame and postgame updates.
Making his latest return to Houston, Justin Verlander opened up on how his offseason talks with the Astros went before signing with the Giants. Read more here.
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Relievers Kaleb Ort and Forrest Whitley both responded well after facing hitters in live batting practice over the weekend, manager Joe Espada said.
Espada said Ort and Whitley are both scheduled for another live BP this week: “And then after that, I think they should be ready to maybe start the season soon.”
Ort (sore left oblique muscle) and Whitley (left knee bone bruise) started the season on the 15-day IL, retroactive to March 24, making them eligible to return April 8 at the earliest.
After throwing two innings Sunday at Triple-A Sugar Land, right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. is scheduled to make his next rehab start next weekend with Double-A Corpus Christi, manager Joe Espada said.
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McCullers struck out the side in his first inning Sunday, then allowed two hits and a walk in his second frame. He exited after 35 pitches in his third game outing as he attempts to return from flexor surgery.
“I thought his stuff was good,” said Espada, who attended the game in Sugar Land to watch McCullers. “He reached 95 (mph). Breaking balls were good. … Second inning of work, he fell behind a few hitters, gave up two runs. But I thought he minimized the damage, and he ended up in his outing throwing the ball really well.”
Sugar Land is on the road for three of its next four series, including a trip this weekend to Durham, N.C. Double-A Corpus Christi is also on the road this weekend but at Frisco, a shorter trip.
Joe Espada has maintained since spring training that Jose Altuve will play second base on occasion this season, so seeing him in the lineup at second Monday should not come as a surprise.
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Ronel Blanco, starting Monday against the Giants, had the second-lowest ground-ball rate last season among returning Astros starters. Playing Altuve at second base and Mauricio Dubón in left field gives Houston a stronger defensive outfield, then, behind a pitcher with fly-ball tendencies.
Espada said he “just wanted to get (Altuve) in there” at second base and “thought today was the best day to get him a start at second.”
Yordan Alvarez has yet to appear in left field this season, but if Espada is looking to play him there in a game on this homestand, Wednesday’s finale behind Framber Valdez could make sense.
Here’s the Astros’ lineup for the series opener:
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2B Altuve3B ParedesDH Alvarez1B WalkerC DiazSS PeñaRF SmithLF DubónCF Meyers
P Blanco
And here’s the Giants lineup:
1B Wade Jr.SS AdamesCF Lee3B ChapmanLF RamosC BaileyDH FloresRF Yastrzemski2B Fitzgerald
P Hicks
When: 7:10 p.m.
TV: Space City Home Network with Todd Kalas (play-by-play), Geoff Blum (analyst) and Julia Morales (field reporter) on the call.
Radio: 790 AM, 93.3 FM (Spanish)
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Monday’s game will mark the first for the Astros in their new City Connect uniforms, which they officially unveiled two weeks ago. Like the original City Connect design from 2022-24, the new look embraces the space them with nods to the franchise past.
Former Astros ace Justin Verlander, who won two AL Cy Young Awards with the team, is back in town this week with the Giants but won’t start in the three-game series. Verlander made his Giants debut Saturday and turned in what he called a “decent” outing in a no-decision against the Reds in Cincinnati. This will be the second time in three seasons that Verlander has returned with a different team. In June 2023, he lost in his return with the Mets.
